Gloating (A Cultist Simulator one-shot)

[We Just Write]

Connie Lee was jolted out of her magazine by the unexpected sight of a bald woman with marble-smooth skin sitting down at the same cafe table as her, and abruptly initiating conversation.

"You can inform Douglas Moore that he failed. Despite his best efforts, I have passed the Tricuspid Gate and become a Long of the Forge-of-Days."

That caused memories to snap into position. From what Connie recalled, Douglas had been investigating the activities of a "club" by the name of the Unflinching Order at the behest of the suppression bureau. Though their connections to the occult were obvious and the artist leading them regularly painted obviously esoteric works, very little actionable evidence actually emerged to build a case on. And what evidence Douglas did manage to scrape together had a nasty habit of disappearing.

Wait a moment-

"Wait, you mean you haven't killed Douglas? Or had him killed? And why are you telling me this? You do realize you're basically admitting to murder by saying you've ascended."

The bald woman looked distinctly unimpressed.

"Taking those questions in order; Douglas still lives for both moral and pragmatic reasons. Pragmatically, I had no reason or need to harm him at any point while achieving my goals. Morally, I have at no point countenanced the ending of mortal lives in my quest for ascension. As for supposedly admitting to murder, no I haven't. Only some Hours require the death of others to secure one's own ascension, and the Forge-of-Days is not one of them. It would have been easier if I had sacrificed a few people, but it was not necessary, and my conscience wouldn't bear it if I had."

There were several possible rebukes whirling through Connie's mind at that moment. Some examples included 'An Occultist with a conscience? You expect me to believe that?', 'What did you do instead of sacrificing people, then?', and quite a few varieties of blunt rejection.

But in the moment, all that came out was a simple "Why?"

The woman - Pearl, Connie finally recalled her name from the case file - raised what would have been an eyebrow.

"Why do it this way, or why tell you?"

"Why did you tell me this?"

That prompted some thought.

"To prove a point, I suppose. To rub it in your bureau's face that it is possible to be an ethical occultist, despite everything. Well, provided one only goes as far as becoming a Long. I've studied what would be necessary to become a Name in the weeks since my ascension, and I've determined that the cost to others is simply too great to justify."

The cost to others was too great to justify. Now that was a terrifying implication. Wordlessly, Connie motioned for Pearl to continue.

"For a Forge Long like myself? A loyal follower of mine would not only need to sacrifice themselves, but said follower would need to do so using an extremely destructive magical bomb at the site of a flaw in the world. I know of two such flaws, and both are inhabited settlements. One is the town of Kerisham, the other is the city of Vienna. Even aside from valuing my friends far too much to call for them to kill themselves in such a manner, I have no quarrel with the people of Kerisham."

There was a brief moment of consideration from Pearl, before she continued.

"Meanwhile, blasting open Vienna in such a manner would be foolish in the extreme, given the Worms. As I have noted, I have no plans to go forward with this. As a show of good faith, I am providing all relevant documentation on that ritual to the suppression bureau in case any other ambitious Forge Long get bright ideas."

With that, Pearl placed a distinctly ominous stack of file envelopes on the table between the two women. Connie Lee nodded in confusion.

"Wait, aren't we supposed to be enemies? You're an Occultist, and I'm... well, I'm not supposed to talk about that in public."

The conversation was then briefly interrupted by the presence of a waiter. Pearl took a moment to order some tea from the menu, then answered Connie's question once the server had left.

"I honestly don't consider us to be enemies. Yes your regulations would call for my arrest just for all the things I know, but a solid chunk of the suppression bureau's work is flatly necessary."

Now that floored Connie. A self-confessed Long, admitting that the suppression bureau was necessary.

"Pearl, would you please elaborate?"

"Maintaining one's sanity while working with the Invisible Arts is far from easy. There are far too many ways to go off the deep end; dreadful depression, hallucinations, and all-consuming obsessions are only a few examples. Even beyond that, the prospect of siccing a Hint, Maid-In-The-Mirror, or Percussigant on those who've supposedly wronged you is a very strong temptation for people who might be dissatisfied with their lot in life. While being an ethical Occultist is possible, these factors mean that a distressing fraction of Occultists are not ethical."

Connie nodded in thought as she processed that, before Pearl made an admission.

"I myself very nearly went mad, until I managed to fight down the hallucinations. I also made a point of dissuading a would-be occultist for that reason, explicitly making clear to the man that he lacked the mindset to survive learning such things. To the best of my knowledge, he heeded my warnings."

To her own disbelief, Connie replied,

"Thank you for doing that, Pearl."

There was another brief interruption as Pearl's tea was delivered. Then Pearl asked,

"Do you have any more questions for me? I have three more hours before I need to be anywhere in particular."

Connie thought for a moment. Somehow, she'd found herself actually liking this strange Forge Long... that was dangerous.

"You're not trying to recruit or ensnare me, are you?"

"No. If you asked to join the Unflinching Order, I would turn you away. I have enough problems herding those metaphorical cats as it stands. You would not believe how many times Tristan asked to assist in my ascension ritual, despite my repeatedly telling him that his assistance would kill him. Eventually, I got Victor and Rose to simply tie him up in another room for the duration, so he couldn't burn himself unnecessarily."

Despite herself, Connie laughed a bit, though she stifled it quickly. Pearl briefly smiled in response, then motioned for Connie to ask another question.

"I suppose all that's left is... why do it this way?"

Pearl nodded somberly.

"You need to understand two things. First, there are five doors by which mortals can explore the Mansus. Of these, only one door, the Spider's Door, requires a blood sacrifice to open. I have not entered the Spider's Door at any point, despite the fact that doing so would have significantly eased my ascension ritual. Second, my study of the Occult was directly caused by my father's death."

That caused even more details to click into place in Connie's mind, though she didn't answer just yet.

"It took me weeks to regain some semblance of composure, and even now the grief flares up from time to time. I absolutely refused to subject anyone else to that pain, and learning what becomes of the dead in the Mansus only strengthened that resolve. I will not be the cause of another's death, unless absolutely necessary. It was not absolutely necessary to kill to achieve my goals, so I didn't."

"Though a lesser severity crime, we also did not steal at any point. It wasn't needed, and we didn't want to cause problems for anyone."

There was an awkward silence for several moments, before Connie asked her final question.

"So, now what?"

Pearl shrugged.

"We go our separate ways, you try not to get thrown in solitary confinement by internal affairs, I paint more art, and hopefully we meet as friends the next time we encounter each other."

Then, Pearl snapped her fingers, as if she'd forgotten something.

"By the way, two last things. First, if you ever need some help exploring beyond the Peacock Door, I'm willing to lend you my Frangiclave, though I'll want it back in the morning. Trying to duplicate it is an ongoing project of ours. Second, if I ever learn you've opened the Spider's Door, I will never forgive you."

With that, Pearl set down her now-empty drink and wandered inside the cafe to pay her bill.

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A/N: This was based on a recent Cultist Simulator playthrough of ours. Bright Young Thing legacy, character name Pearl, Forge ascension without hurting anyone or stealing from the living at any point. Though there was quite a bit of "unsanctioned archeology".