#retrace xxxii

[fivekrystalpetals]

Core of the Abyss and 'her' Children of "Misfortune"

(aka I can't stop thinking how the Core always welcomed and reached out to the Children of "Ill-Omen"— just some observations)

So, once again quoting Lacie's words from Retrace 101:

Yes, always alone and lonely...without even knowing what loneliness is. Still, 'she' kept yearning.. for someone to push through the cold darkness and reach her. —'She' longed for 'someone' who could do that.

[Anyway I am ignoring everything the Glen(s) and the Jury ever said about the Core of the Abyss or the Children of Misfortune (because I don't trust them at all) —and taking only Lacie's theory here to be the truth,]

so, a few theories:

1] Break would have been drawn into the Core of the Abyss whether or not the Intention wanted his eyes

When his illegal seal finished a full turn, Break reached the Core of the Abyss unlike other illegal contractors who fall into the Abyss.

I had assumed this was possible only because the Intention of the Abyss herself summoned Break there so she could pluck out his red eyes for her blind Cheshire before he turns into a chain.

Even the other dolls mention this situation as unusual. The Intention never lets a human/illegal contractor into her room.

You don't usually bring humans here when they drop into the Abyss.

Meaning, the other illegal contractors on completing their contracts get dropped into the abyss and turn into chains without ever meeting the Intention for whatever they wished of her. So much for going through all this trouble lol

So, I imagined that only those whom the Intention permits could enter the Core of the Abyss (that is, her lovely toy room);

But.

Vincent does "waltz" into her "room" without any problem???

Now, I don't think Vince entered her room to purposely antagonize her as he usually did, because he was pretty shaken by all the bloodshed and massacre he just witnessed at Sablier. It was a coincidence and even he seemed shocked he was meeting White Alice in her "other" room when he was sure "Alice" had died in the real world. In fact, he wonders if there being another Alice and all the madness going on in the toy room was his fault as well...

Secondly, this is a feat none of the other older and more experienced Baskervilles could achieve, right?

All the surviving Baskervilles got swept into the Abyss during the Tragedy of Sablier. Yet not one of them came in contact with the Intention. They were only able to traverse the Abyss and come out at various points of time. They did not know what the Intention looked like; neither do any of them talk about actually having met her. They merely repeat what Xai or Glen told them that it was the sudden appearance of the Intention that changed the very configuration of the Abyss as they knew it before.

That's why I think the Intention's words are only partially true (but I don't think she realized this either).

That is, she does have complete control over who enters the Core of the Abyss/her room—

Except for the Children of Ill-Omen.

Because the Children of Ill-Omen are specifically birthed by the Core and are very precious to 'her', the Core wants them to reach out to 'her' at the very depth. So that whenever a Child of Ill-Omen falls into the Abyss willingly*, they are directly led to the Core that used to be a dark shapeless form during Lacie's time, but took on the form of a toy room after the Intention became its vessel.

Lacie insisted that she could see "someone" at the depth of the Abyss and that the "someone" couldn't answer her—

but of course, the Glens and Jury only regard the Core as something not to be touched or approached unless "a serious crisis occurs"

and every time the Core produces another Child of Ill-Omen, hoping, waiting, over and over again that they will reach out to 'her' at the very abyssal depth... instead, they are meted out the punishment of being dragged down by Black Chains and left to die in the very Abyss that wanted to cherish their company. They are being "returned" to the Core because of the misinformation/falsehood that the presence of a Red-Eyed child is an accidental distortion created by the Core and pose danger to the integrity of the world

whereas the actual reason is that Core just wants someone to help her not be lonely anymore.

See:

How sweet is it that the Core loved her toy so much that 'she' gave it a tiny spark of life and trembled in grief when 'she' hears that Lacie will never visit her again? ;_;

The Core never asked for the "ill-omened" children to be punished for being born; on the contrary, they are the ones most precious to her.

That's why I think they inevitably end up in the Core to keep 'her' company, whatever be the reason they fell into the Abyss in the first place, whether the completion of an illegal contract or being swept into the Abyss.

(willingly*: I mean, when the Child of Ill-Omen falls into the Abyss by any other means than being held down by the Black Winged Chains. Because Lacie could descend into the Core by herself but held down by the Black Chains, she could only wait out her permanent death.)

(Since Gil was with Vince, he too winded up in the Core, but he was not cognizant of his surroundings so that's a moot point anyway.)

2] That Break listens and commits himself to the one and only request of the Intention of the Abyss

This is in continuation to the first point; hence, kind of a paradoxical situation—

Because only a Child of Ill-Omen could have ever reached to the depth of the Abyss; and so, only a Child of Ill-Omen could have ever got to listen to her request at all.

But by the end of the story, (thanks to Lady Shelly, by the way, because if not for her, would Break have lived on to pass the Intention's desire to the kids? I don't think so), everyone came to know what the Intention really wanted and worked towards the goal.

So that, knowingly or otherwise, Break did fulfill his role as the bridge between the living world and the Core of the Abyss before his death.

As Leo asked of Vince in Retrace 104:

[thetomorrowshow]

Mutually Beneficial Ch. xxxii

First  -  Previous  -  Next  -  Chapter list

Recommended listening: Shawn James - Burn The Witch

Tw: Villain!Deceit, thoughts of death, mild suicidal thoughts (more like lack of objection to dying)

-

Deceit woke suddenly. Something was wrong. If he wasn't mistaken, that something was . . . Logic. Logic had nearly died. There were only two ways that could have happened—something had been illogical that Logan had believed it, or some other being had coaxed Logic into fading. He was inclined to believe the latter. Whatever it was, it had come very close to breaking him.

What could break Logan?

Remus.

Yes, let's kill him.

Shut up, it's too early for this.

Deceit threw himself out of bed and fairly flew from the room, not even bothering to fix his hair, snapping his clothes on as he ran. Where would Remus be at this hour? He could be anywhere! Remus seemed to rarely sleep in his own room—Deceit had seen him crawl out of cupboards in the morning, come in through the kitchen window (his favorite entrance in the house, so Deceit always kept it unlatched), slide out from under the couch, sing his presence as he danced in from the Imagination. Several times, he'd slunk in quietly from the Subconscious. Half the time, he didn't turn up all day! There was no way of knowing where he was. What if he was still with Logan—or Logan was still with him? Could Deceit get him away from the dark nightmares Remus must have induced, for Logan to have such a vehement reaction as death?

Then Deceit stopped. He reached as far back into his mind as possible—back into that shadowy corner, the one with darkness so tangible it was dripping.

How?

Deceit slowly retraced his steps, stopping outside of the room with yellow light seeping under the doorway. Virgil was still within, still unconscious, he discovered upon opening the door, but the chest—

The chest was gone.

Finally. Finally.

Get. It. Back. Hurry!

Had his protective measures really nearly killed Logic? It felt absurd, but something about the defenses had worked far better than he'd intended. Perhaps Logan would really have been so stupid as to have tried to pull the chains off by himself, but Deceit couldn't believe that.

At least the chains had stopped them. If Logan almost dying was anything to go off of, they hadn't been able to get it open.

But they were certainly mad at him, he'd bet.

Who knew? Perhaps they'd force his own defenses on him, make him fade. Deceit, surprising even himself, found that he didn't care all too much. As long as his mission was complete.

As long as Virgil fades as well.

Deceit looked down at Virgil. His mist still wrapped him like a hazy halo, shimmering slightly. Perhaps it was the odd yellow light, but the Side looked ghostly pale, and was that—were Virgil's fingers translucent?

They were. He was close—just a few more days, another week at most. His time was limited, as they'd found the chest, but that just meant no more waking Virgil, no matter how much he wanted him to hurt. He hadn't killed a Side like this in a long time, and, at the time, he'd never wanted to do it again, but this felt good. In a bad way. Sort of?

Stop. This hurts to think about.

What would they do to him?

He'd almost killed Logan—well, not Deceit personally, but the defenses he'd designed—which would clearly be a cause for retaliation.

They would want to kill him. They probably already did.

Deceit could picture it—Roman, sharpening his sword in the flickering firelight, occasionally sending a dark glare his way. Logan, pulling tight some contrivance of ropes that would make it impossible for Deceit to move. Patton, giving him that simpering smile, while pulling his hands down to the chest, forcing his fingers to one of the chains. . . .

He felt no fear at that scenario. Before he'd been close, he might've been scared.

Deceit had the vague feeling that his lack of objection to death should be worrying, but couldn't muster the strength to care. He enjoyed his job, but on bad days (and today was definitely shaping up to be one of those), he'd rather be gone than alive. He was so tired of pushing on. After Virgil was gone though? Everything would be right. He'd want to live every day, not just on the good ones. Or the Light Sides would kill him, and he wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

I don't want to die.

Oh, sure, die! Never get to see the fruits of your labors! Yes, you should definitely just give up!

Were the two parts of him agreeing? That was a first.

It didn't matter. They either were going to kill him, or they weren't—they were probably going to kill him, though. It was almost heavy, the silence that spoke of end. His end.

They'd never understand.

Let them kill him, then. His mission would be complete.

-

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[clowcards-and-alchemists]

LOVE him <3

- Pandora Hearts, Gil

[fivekrystalpetals]

Whenever Break smiles like this:

that's all. i just wanted to show his real beautiful smile. thanks ❤

[fivekrystalpetals]

Thinking about it, I find tons of similarities between Break and Lottie—

(yes this is yeeeet another of my break/lottie posts but please hear me out!!)

Both of them are:

Valets in their respective houses

Too loyal to their masters and went to the extent of killing hundreds of people for their master

Lost so many family members to an outsider (directly/indirectly because of Sablier)

Fell into the Abyss in the process of trying to keep their word to their master

Returned to the real world after a long time skip, not to their present but many years into the future

[Look at their matching expressions on emerging into the present and realizing the ramifications of their deeds i am crying they are just so precious to me ;_;]

Intent on finding out the Truth of what happened a hundred years ago (adding here: both of them are Seekers in the story. Break might hang out with the kids but he is not exactly the mentor/teacher character. Uncle Oscar is the Mentor/Teacher; Break is a Seeker)

Assumed a fake persona (in case of Break: a fake name as well) for the sake of their mission

Tend to put on the creepiest faces when others are watching and only reveal their true emotions when they think nobody is looking at them

Ruthless getting to their objective; ready to torture and force what they want out of the other party; maybe, even kill

Intelligent and perceptive and easily see through people on multiple occasions (mostly Oz (twice or thrice) and separately? They are reading through and keeping an eye on either of the brothers in their custody lol)

(Also I find it sweet that after Break passed away, Lottie took in Gil as well, Gil-Lottie were the best bros i bet,, ig after Noise's death, Lottie was the lone big sister kinda figure for the boys)

Other tidbits:

Both of them are fond of dolls! Break and Emily yes! and... remember how Echo offered that doll as a 'bribe' to Lottie to give her a few minutes to talk with Oz lol

Oh man they sure know to clean up well (how can I not add this when both of them rocked in their Head Hunter Arc attire :_: I wish we had a clear full shot of Lottie's dress; it was so gorgeous <3)

their real ages are... ambiguous. They could be anything from 20s to 90s depending on how you start, perceived age, experienced age, chronological age, technical age etc. etc. All I know is that these are old ageless people. annnnd Break is definitely younger than her, no matter how you see it lol. So him calling her "little miss/little lady" is....(ik he is flirting with her) but if they ever had a civil conversation, her reaction was gonna be something like this ahjhjgjskl

(unrelated but I love these three 💔)

ah yes this panel but make it Lottie, Break who is laughing HA HA HA HA and Lily in his arms; post-canon, nobody dies/everybody lives au that never happened ;_;

[fivekrystalpetals]

something I really don't understand is why Vincent is so antagonistic toward Break, of all people.

Him wanting to defile Ada because she has never known suffering and if only to see Gil making an angry face, is well, part of his character... he always tries to torture weaker things than him like the Cheshire cat or Echo or all those dolls he cuts up.

Or, even him being bitter toward Rufus Burma (bc he is the descendant of Miranda Burma) might be understandable...

but why Break? Break has no connection whatsoever to the Tragedy of Sablier? plus, it isn't even like he wants to torture him or simply toy with him for his own enjoyment or something.

Nope, he straight up wants him dead.

the only reason he does this:

is because:

this hatred didn't start after Break revealed to Gil that Vincent met with the Will of the Abyss alongside him when he was recounting his backstory, it was well before that but ofc some time after this:

(little Vincent seems friendly enough here)

Break and co. even gets Gil to join the Nightray family after Oz was dropped into the Abyss so, then why?

is it because.... he is bitter that Break did get to change the past but he didn't erase the Tragedy of Sablier from history? or, is it because he possesses the Mad Hatter chain (a chain that kills other chains)? But isn't the B-Rabbit a similar chain iirc?

idk, but what I know is that it is Echo who has been coincidentally thwarting Vincent's traps set for Break and saving him every time. Had it not been for Echo, Break might have lost Sharon (in Retrace 23). Here too, had it not been for her, Gil would never have known that Break was taking on two Baskervilles by himself and never rushed to help him out. So, I guess Break had better thank her properly the next time he meets her.

I thought this panel is just there for fun, filler and gags:

But turns out Gil is actually really seriously dead scared for his life of Break lmao

Break was kind of out of it here what with him declaring Elliot is the Head Hunter and then finding out it isn't the case, then Gil getting on his nerves, Vincent distracting him from the distance etc. etc.,

that the random strike Gil didn't think would land actually landed right on his head

and immediately Gil goes

uh oh

look at that face that's literally his oh no I am gonna die I am gonna die good bye world good bye oz lysm please remember your loyal valet even after he is buried six feet into the core of the abyss bye bye

I have never seen Break this annoyed before and this sure is a face to behold *eyes emoji* ....

but let's zoom in to look at Gil shall we?

[alt text: gil.exe has stopped working.]

[Image Description: Gilbert Nightray is standing frozen, his legs apart and obviously shivering. He hasn't unclenched his fist yet. His gun is currently useless as it is hanging loose in his other hand. His eyes have turned into dots and his hair is standing up in all directions like a scared cat. Three speech bubbles can be seen all around him with no relevant dialogues in particular. One has a dozen ellipsis, another has !?, the third has a large HUH...!?]

anyway

Gil got away with lesser than he probably expected because Break was in a hurry to deal with the other problem,,

but my question is: what even happened in the past ten years that Gil is this scared to annoy Break? Annnnnd how much scary can Break get when he is super pissed off? I kinda wanna see that

[fivekrystalpetals]

PH MASTERLIST

(aka I wrote a lot of stuff about this series now trying to put all of it in one place so I find Things when I search for it)

CHAPTERS

retrace i | retrace ii | retrace iii | retrace iv | retrace v | retrace vi | retrace vii | retrace viii | retrace ix | retrace x | retrace xi | retrace xii | retrace xiii | retrace xiv | retrace xv | retrace xvi | retrace xvii | retrace xviii | retrace xix | retrace xx | retrace xxi | retrace xxii | retrace xxiii | retrace xxiv | retrace xxv | retrace xxvi | retrace xxvii | retrace xxviii | retrace xxix | retrace xxx | retrace xxxi | retrace xxxii | retrace xxxiii | retrace xxxiv | retrace xxxv | retrace xxxvi | retrace xxxvii | retrace xxxviii | retrace xxxix | retrace xl | retrace xli | retrace xlii | retrace xliii | retrace xliv | retrace xlv | retrace xlvi | retrace xlvii | retrace xlviii | retrace xlix | retrace l | retrace li | retrace lii | retrace liii | retrace liv | retrace lv | retrace lvi | retrace lvii | retrace lviii | retrace lix | retrace lx | retrace lxi | retrace lxii | retrace lxiii | retrace lxiv | retrace lxv | retrace lxvi | retrace lxvii | retrace lxviii | retrace lxix | retrace lxx | retrace lxxi | retrace lxxii | retrace lxxiii | retrace lxxiv | retrace lxxv | retrace lxxvi | retrace lxxvii | retrace lxxviii | retrace lxxix | retrace lxxx | retrace lxxxi | retrace lxxxii | retrace lxxxiii | retrace lxxxiv | retrace lxxxv | retrace lxxxvi | retrace lxxxvii | retrace lxxxviii | retrace lxxxix | retrace xc | retrace xci | retrace xcii | retrace xciii | retrace xciv | retrace xcv | retrace xcvi | retrace xcvii | retrace xcviii | retrace xcix | retrace c | retrace ci | retrace cii | retrace ciii | retrace civ

some Serious posts: may-reads-ph | some Fun Posts: ph musings

MY ANALYSIS POSTS

1.] Lottie | (add: re: real reason why Lottie changed sides in the last arc)

2.] Noise | (add)

3.] Alice(s)

4.] Lacie

5.] Glen, Children of Misfortune, Juries and the Baskervilles | (Part 1 : Glen, Jury and Knowledge of Abyss) | (Part 2 : Choosing a side) | (Part 3 : Oswald and his sin of passivity) | (Part 4 : Oswald and Lacie)

6.] Core of the Abyss and "her" Children of "Misfortune"

[fivekrystalpetals]

yes, this was my guess too. Rufus Barma has been around for a long time iirc so he must have either 'felt' the change of timelines and suspected the stranger that appeared at the Rainsworth's house at around the same time with no explanations to have a hand in it or he might have been actively investigating this case when the evidence suddenly vanished (or something similar) which made him suspect some foul play.

I suppose at the end of the day, it is only Break who remembers what exactly happened during the time.

me: yes!! finally I have some time to get back to my reading!!

PH: *getting ready to hit me with Break's backstory*

me: ah maybe another day hahaha byebye

[fivekrystalpetals]

something I don't understand-- ok, so to begin with, my guess was right and the Abyss is indeed a place with enormous power to bring unliving to life and turn humans (or living beings like cats too) into chains. what I didn't expect was the Will actually had the power to turn back time as well.

At Break's request, she did change the past. and the tragedy got delayed by four years and happened as a result of a different turn of events. the original timeline is something like:

-- 10+ years after Tragedy of Sablier, Sinclair family is murdered by a thief, leaving Kevin Legnard and the younger daughter as sole survivors

-- Kevin makes an illegal contract, murders 116 people and gets dragged into the Abyss where he meets the White Alice

-- while in the Abyss, time is fluid and moves back to right when Tragedy of Sablier is taking place; Vincent and Gil enter the Abyss as well

-- White Alice/Will gets triggered seeing Vincent, the dimension starts breaking apart bc of her turbulent emotions; at the same time, Kevin strikes a deal with her

-- the Will changes the past for him and he gets thrown 30 years into the future

Now, under the name of Xerxes Break, he gets to know from Shirley Rainsworth that the Sinclairs lived for four more years. In the changed timeline, the older daughter was assassinated and the younger daughter turned an illegal contractor and sacrificed her entire family to the chain. Seriously, I don't know which outcome would have been less guilty for Break? In the changed timeline, there was not a single survivor.

But my question is-- if the changed timeline replaced the original timeline, then how come Rufus Barma knows of the Red-Eyed Spectre? Kevin was in the Abyss while the past was changed, and he directly appeared thirty years later at the Rainsworth's house. there should be no killing of 116 people either. I don't understand why Kevin's records of illegal contract and his killings still exist in the changed timeline. i mean, yes, as far as the Will is concerned, his contract and the completed seal on his chest can't be erased but the killings happened only because and after his master was killed. it's something only Kevin and the Will should be aware of in the changed timeline, no?

Or.... is it like only people who lived after the incident would be affected by the timeline? as in the Will changes only the events of the past not rewrites the memories of the people themselves. if that's the case, then yeah, the older Barma who was already investigating the case of Kevin Legnard must have been stumped by the sudden disappearance of evidence and change of events too . won't that be hella messy going forward....? oh but again, I guess it's only for Break that the Will changed the past so far bc he was the only one who didn't lose his mind even after being dragged into the Abyss,

me: yes!! finally I have some time to get back to my reading!!

PH: *getting ready to hit me with Break's backstory*

me: ah maybe another day hahaha byebye