There was a plaque by the door declaring the name of this building, but it's illegible now, half-ruined and half-veiled by greenery. Inside, you find what used to be a wide lobby with high ceilings. There are stands dotted across the floor, some of them still mostly intact; it looks like they might have once held artifacts on display, but every glass case atop of them has been shattered and whatever was inside taken. A visitor's desk is half crushed beneath rubble from the floor above. In some places, there are craters in the floors or gaping holes in the wall that looks like something smashed through with brute force; in other places, there are char marks and ash as if there were fires and explosions. All throughout, sprouting from cracks in the construction and holes from the destruction alike to overtake every available surface are vines, weeds, flowers, shrubbery, even a tree grown so tall it threatens to push through the ceiling to the floor above.
The door to the stairwell has been ripped off its hinges, but the stairs inside look usably intact. There are only stairs going up, even though the empty elevator shaft nearby clearly goes down. ]
[ As you walk in, Solomon starts reciting at your shoulder, like some kind of enthusiastic advertising pamphlet: ]
The Harel Research Institute was founded in ■■■■ A.D. by the Harel family with the dream of harnessing the magical properties of old world artifacts. Though their original goal was magic, over time, they renounced superstition for evidence and truth, and became a reputable school of science and history. From there, their focus expanded into all kinds of fields of study, and they gained an especially esteemed reputation in the areas of archaeology and bioengineering. This unique combination led to their greatest public achievement, when in ■■■■ A.D. they obtained and successfully cloned the long-lost remains of the ancient King Solomon of Israel.
After that, this and that happened, so I guess since they didn't have the time to spare to grow another clone from infancy, they decided to resort to a different method. Instead of physical remains, they found traces of blessing of protection placed on Cain by God, and used that along with some other relevant materials as the vectors to create a spiritual reconstruction of Cain. Things went really wrong with Cain, so they must have thought they needed a better one, so they used the earth cursed by the blood of Abel, and created Abel. And so on and so forth, with a few other names.
Since the institute doesn't study magic in the public eye, just like they're not a military operation in the public eye, Solomon's cloning was the only public project out of all of them, and the Institute didn't really want the rest of them to know who they themselves were, so instead of calling them "Cain" and "Abel," they gave them the designations "Reaper" and "Shepherd."
[ he seems to lose a bit of steam as he goes. there's something of a sadness about him, by the end. ]
Well, but I still call them Cain and Abel. Don't you think those sound more like proper names?
Ahah, I never even thought to ask them about it like that. Although, I don't think Cain would give me a straight answer if I did. Actually, it's always bothered me a little that I'm "Solomon," since I'm not really "King Solomon of Israel," the way they are "Cain and Abel"...
You have to make your way of living so difficult, don't you?
[but working to get old man up the stairs. this is. so much. effort. he wants payoff, gdit.]
Why is such a place in such disrepair? Shouldn't most people hate this sort of thing? And yet, it's likely its being kept around as a memorial. It's not like things were meant to remain standing, you know.
Ahahah, are you saying it shouldn't be here at all. or it should be repaired? I can't tell. At least, I'm one of the people who helped destroy it, so I don't really think I'm keeping it around?
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INSTITUTE LOBBY
There was a plaque by the door declaring the name of this building, but it's illegible now, half-ruined and half-veiled by greenery. Inside, you find what used to be a wide lobby with high ceilings. There are stands dotted across the floor, some of them still mostly intact; it looks like they might have once held artifacts on display, but every glass case atop of them has been shattered and whatever was inside taken. A visitor's desk is half crushed beneath rubble from the floor above. In some places, there are craters in the floors or gaping holes in the wall that looks like something smashed through with brute force; in other places, there are char marks and ash as if there were fires and explosions. All throughout, sprouting from cracks in the construction and holes from the destruction alike to overtake every available surface are vines, weeds, flowers, shrubbery, even a tree grown so tall it threatens to push through the ceiling to the floor above.
The door to the stairwell has been ripped off its hinges, but the stairs inside look usably intact. There are only stairs going up, even though the empty elevator shaft nearby clearly goes down. ]
Susanoo
The Harel Research Institute was founded in ■■■■ A.D. by the Harel family with the dream of harnessing the magical properties of old world artifacts. Though their original goal was magic, over time, they renounced superstition for evidence and truth, and became a reputable school of science and history. From there, their focus expanded into all kinds of fields of study, and they gained an especially esteemed reputation in the areas of archaeology and bioengineering. This unique combination led to their greatest public achievement, when in ■■■■ A.D. they obtained and successfully cloned the long-lost remains of the ancient King Solomon of Israel.
After that, this and that happened, so I guess since they didn't have the time to spare to grow another clone from infancy, they decided to resort to a different method. Instead of physical remains, they found traces of blessing of protection placed on Cain by God, and used that along with some other relevant materials as the vectors to create a spiritual reconstruction of Cain. Things went really wrong with Cain, so they must have thought they needed a better one, so they used the earth cursed by the blood of Abel, and created Abel. And so on and so forth, with a few other names.
Since the institute doesn't study magic in the public eye, just like they're not a military operation in the public eye, Solomon's cloning was the only public project out of all of them, and the Institute didn't really want the rest of them to know who they themselves were, so instead of calling them "Cain" and "Abel," they gave them the designations "Reaper" and "Shepherd."
[ he seems to lose a bit of steam as he goes. there's something of a sadness about him, by the end. ]
Well, but I still call them Cain and Abel. Don't you think those sound more like proper names?
Re: Susanoo
[... yeah, that makes sense enough.]
But odd that this place is still around, isn't it?
Re: Susanoo
What makes it odd? Oh, my room is upstairs.
Re: Susanoo
[but working to get old man up the stairs. this is. so much. effort. he wants payoff, gdit.]
Why is such a place in such disrepair? Shouldn't most people hate this sort of thing? And yet, it's likely its being kept around as a memorial. It's not like things were meant to remain standing, you know.
Re: Susanoo
Re: Susanoo
Re: Susanoo
Oh, this next floor is mine.
[ how far did the stairs go exactly? anyway it's fine, here's the door ]