Tome 6 - Divergence

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Tome 6 - Divergence is the Tome that accompanies the Sixth Rift in Template:IconLink and was released on 10 February 2021.

Overview

The Characters chosen for this Tome are Template:IconLink and Sally Smithson (The Template:IconLink).

Memories & Logs

Yui Kimura: Crash and Burn

Memory 369

An engine echoes through the darkness. A roar vibrates through Yui's body as she accelerates through a thick churning fog across a wasteland of crumbling pagodas and buildings. She passes a wrecked motorcycle on the side of the road. Not far from the bike a rider tries to stand but collapses on a shattered leg. She can't stop. She won't stop. She needs to win. She needs to reach the... she's not sure anymore... She looks left and right as she zips past the ruins of her hometown. She passes the same rider again trying to escape the blazing wreck. Doesn't make any sense. Nothing makes sense. A demon yells in the fog. Seems like he's right behind her, lurking in the fog, waiting to jump out at her.

She manoeuvres through piles of flesh and gore of fallen riders burning and sending puffs of swirling smoke up into the darkness. She yells helplessly and the dead, smouldering riders begin to evaporate into a column of light breaking through the darkness. A rider suddenly stands in front of her. She skids, loses control, and tumbles over the road. Her insides feel like mush. Things are broken everywhere. Cracked bones rip through her skin, spitting out black, warm fluid. She tries to rise but a bone jutting out of her black jeans won't let her stand. Like the fallen rider she ignored, she's broken, helpless and soaked in gasoline.

Memory 370

Misato studies Yui closely. To dream of fog and darkness means you see yourself as an imposter... perhaps even a failure. Yui nods and absorbs her friend's interpretation. Misato sips her beer. To see light means you'll overcome whatever is holding you back. To dream of a crash or a dead end could mean the death of something you want... something you wish for. Yui sighs and doesn't know if she wants to hear all this. The demon? The Oni? Why was it chasing me? Misato nods. The Oni could mean you're struggling to maintain your humanity as you chase your dreams, that you may be torn between right and wrong, between good and evil. Misato laughs to herself as she finishes her beer.

Maybe winning isn't everything. Maybe you're greedy. Maybe you're trying to swallow an ocean when a glass of water would suffice. Yui scoffs. Greedy? I'm broke and you're paying for the beers! Misato shakes a drunken finger at her. Greed isn't just about money, Yui. It's about wanting more of anything.

More races. More trophies. More fame. Maybe your need to prove yourself is killing something in you that doesn't want to die. Yui sighs and downs her beer. Enough stupid talk and more drinking. Behind her dismissive smile Yui believes her nightmare has nothing to do with ego or greed, but the anxiety of not having the money to pursue her dream.

Memory 371

Maybe winning isn't everything... Might not be everything but it is rent money and groceries and beer for the next few weeks if she wins the Secret4. But before she can win, she must be given a chance to race. Shinji the favourite has found a way to keep Yui out of the race, convincing the organisers that a female racer would undermine the Secret4. It's chauvinistic. Barbaric. Dated. But it's also her reality. They're not used to someone of her calibre. Calibre? Shinji has no calibre. He cheats and humiliates and ridicules to get a psychological edge. She knows his game, and he knows he's going to have to race her one of these days. But for now, he tells them if she races, he won't, and since he's the current champ, they somehow believe they need him to attract the money. She's sitting out tomorrow's race. But she'll be there to cheer her good friend Hiro.

Memory 372

Shinji trash talks Yui as she fills Hiro's ears with fighting words. Fighting words... That's what her grandmother used to call them. Words with wings that filled the mind and lifted the spirit. Words... words are more than words. They can build. They can destroy. They can empower. They can turn mice into gods and gods into mice. Shinji tells Hiro he's going to make an example out of him because he supports Yui. Hiro acts tough but Yui sees those fear heavy words crawling into his ear, feasting on his confidence and weighing him down. Shinji turns to Yui and makes fun of her hair, winks at her, and asks if she came to watch men ride. She doesn't dignify his shit with a comeback. She wants Hiro to win, but the termites have taken hold, and he's a shell of a rider on a bike about to crack. She whispers winning words in his ears like her grandmother used to do with her. But he doesn't know how to make those words work for him. He's lost and the race hasn't even begun yet.

Memory 373

4 AM. Yui watches Hiro speed off and take the lead. Shinji and others follow close behind. Maybe her words did help. Hiro rounds the bend. She watches Shinji race beside him and lean in. He leans in close, extends his arm, and touches Hiro's shoulder. Just touches him. Not to push him or hurt him but to annoy him. To distract him. Hiro swears. Loses his focus. Loses control. An instant later he's skidding across with pavement with a wrecked bike leaving a trail of sparks and oil. His helmet is disintegrating layer by layer against the rough pavement like sandpaper. He needs help, but the other racers speed past him all trying to win the prise money. Hiro stands and staggers stupidly into the road. His helmet doesn't exist anymore, and his face has been razed to the bone. His mouth and lips are gone. There're just teeth where lips used to be. A shriek sends a shiver of fear up her spine as a car slams on the breaks, loses control and hits her good friend.

Memory 374

Yui accelerates through the fog with a red-eyed demon chasing her. She skids out of control, breaks her legs, and drags herself helplessly through the fog. Footfalls thunder toward her, shaking the ground with every step. She looks over her shoulder but all she sees is the thickening fog. A boot crushes her hand. She looks up to face — herself. Yui awakens in a hospital by Hiro covered in bandages with tubes sticking out of him. Authorities don't know it was an illegal race. If they did, they'd all end up in jail. She's not sure if Hiro can understand her but she tries her best to comfort him. Doctor says you're lucky to be alive. She wants to tell him he'll never walk again but she can't bring herself to do it. She doesn't say anything. She can't say anything. One lapse in judgement and he lost everything. Could happen to anyone. Yui closes her eyes and for a moment imagines a world where she hunts that bastard down and kills him like a dog.

Memory 375

Misato delivers some good news while they walk toward their favourite noodle dive. The organisers want her to race the Secret4. An unknown benefactor wants to see what she can do. Rumours echo of a billionaire wanting to help lifers realise their dreams.

None of it makes sense. Yui feels many things right now but an overpowering need to put Shinji in his place distracts her. But she knows she must put the mental lens of her focus on winning. Not payback. Not vengeance. Not even gossip or trash talk. Everything on winning.

Not just to impress an eccentric billionaire but to pay the rent and grocery bills.

Sally Smithson: The Cleansing of Crotus Prenn

Memory 906

There is a reprieve this night in the asylum, and Sally does what any sane person would do — she clings to it with all her strength. The weight that sits in her chest melts away, allowing for one starving breath. The scent of sweat and dusty linen is willed from her mind, replaced with memories of tomatoes and fresh soil. Her feet take her down the hall, heels clicking, echoing into an expanse of shadows. She does not allow herself to see the stains on the walls or the fracture in the window's pane. She could draw them from memory but, for this moment, they cease to exist.

As Sally reaches the end of the hall, she peers into a patient's room, illuminated by a blade of moonlight cutting across the floor. A young girl, sitting atop the bed, flinches at the oncoming shadow. Only as Sally walks into the moonlight does the girl release her grip on a bundle of sheets. Sally offers a sympathetic smile to her... the Anxious Girl. The asylum's file lists her name as Marion, but the staff have codes for each patient. The Catatonic Boy, the Sweaty Codger, the Anxious Girl. Everything they are summarised into two words.

Sally sits on the edge of the bed, braiding the Anxious Girl's dry, brittle hair. Did you visit the community room today? The Anxious Girl hugs her pillow. I stayed here. A light moan carries through the hall, the first indication that peace will soon be broken. Sally does her best to ignore it, weaving one strand of hair over another. Did you know that room has a chair by the window? You can see the robins building a nest in the trees. The Anxious Girl looks to the hallway, her shoulders tensing as she listens to the distant moan. Sally gently rubs the girl's shoulder, wordlessly offering her sympathy. They sit for a short time until a scream carries through the hallway.

Memory 907

Sally marches down the hall to the source of the scream. Patients, each in their own rooms, react, an interlude of cries and shrieks joining in, accompanied by the thumping of a head slamming into a wall. The volume builds, louder and more chaotic, until finally, as if reaching a crescendo, a patient howls. Sally rushes into a room, moving towards a hideously scarred woman, restrained to the bed, whose scream slowly dies into soft, mirthful laughter. Did you enjoy the song, sweet nurse? I call it Concerto of Lunatics.

The asylum is wide awake now, alive, anxious, the scattered shrieks and moans of patients ricocheting through the halls. Sally's chest tightens, as she struggles to breathe. Why... why must you rile them? The Broken Woman smiles beneath the swath of bandages over her scarred face. Through two small holes, mismatched eyes—blue and orange—sparkle. Oh, sweet nurse, what are the jesters for if not a laugh? Sally knows to step away, knows there is nothing to gain from arguing, yet she cannot restrain herself. They are humans and, sick as they may be, they deserve sympathy. This is a line Sally has told herself many times over the years, though that is all it has become—a line; a series of carefully rehearsed words pushed through chapped lips. Perhaps this is why the Broken Woman chuckles as if trading quips with a friend. They deserve sympathy? Most have contributed nothing but pain, and the others have contributed nothing at all.

Memory 908

Sally makes no attempt to suppress her disgust as she looks at the Broken Woman's smile. You would criticise your fellow patients for bringing nothing to this world, yet what have you provided? The Broken Woman awkwardly sits up on her bed, pulling at her restraints like a restless marionette. I have provided more to this world than a thousand missionaries. When I saw sickness, I did not coddle it, feed it, wipe the tears from its eyes—I cleansed it! The Broken Woman sees she has Sally's attention. If we want humanity to survive, we must be its custodians, sweet nurse. And yet... we have allowed an infection to fester—the evidence pervading these walls. The Broken Woman pauses, allowing her point to settle. Shrieks and moans from the mentally insane echo through the halls.

Sally feels her nerves tighten with each chaotic noise that comes her way. She has little desire to argue, yet duty compels. Are you not within these walls too? Would that not make you part of the infection? The Broken Woman smiles as if expecting this question. I am the solution, condemned to the halls of the infected. Like you, I was a nurse. But I served not the patients but the greater good. With one simple injection I removed the weak from the gene pool. I watched them in their death throes, knowing my actions were backed by honest science so few have the strength to trust. And do you know what the courts called me for following logic? Insane!

Memory 909

The days pass, but Sally's unsure how many. She always finds herself back in the asylum, tending to the frantic, the violent, the feeble. Down the hall, the Bad Man has slipped his restraints again. Like a wolf, he shows no motive but to prowl for the weak, and it appears he's found his prey. He drags the naked body of the Rancid Son by the ankles. Blood spills from the Son's head. Sally does not know if the man is dead. Calling for help, she sprints down the hall with a syringe filled of sedatives. There are no other nurses to come to her aid. Financial restrictions have seen to that. She considers that she is running to her death this time, but there is something involuntary in her movements, as if she has become a spectator. The Bad Man lets go of the Rancid Son's ankles and turns his attention to Sally. He fails to notice Harvey Kavanagh, the plump orderly, round the corner behind him. Harvey slams The Bad Man into the floor as he's done to so many patients. Sally jabs a sedative into the Bad Man's neck. The Bad Man sags in place and with a look of bewilderment falls to the ground.

The decrepit hall is silent. Sally looks over the scene at her feet. Kavanagh's sizable frame hefts up and down as he catches his breath, thick arm slung over The Bad Man who rests peacefully. The Rancid Son, either unconscious or dead, lies beneath them with Kavanagh's boot pressed against his nostril. The smear of blood from his head goes on for thirty feet down the hall before curling into an adjacent room. Sally laughs to stop herself from screaming.

Memory 910

Sally finds herself in the Broken Woman's room. The mismatched eyes of the Broken Woman appear sympathetic as the sunlight shimmers over them, yet she speaks with sharpened words. Shame about that bloody disturbance yesterday. Boys like that are made a certain way... not built for civil society. The big, brutish one, well, it is as plain as the skin on his face. And the other, oh, the other one hides it well. But have you looked at his family name? That will explain everything.

Sally wills herself to think of a gentle lake, lilies and—no... all she can see are the grimy asylum walls and bloody bandages. There are no gentle breezes to distract her, only the Broken Woman's voice prodding deeper. Did you not have a husband, sweet nurse? I recall the newspaper article... hand to heart, my dear, I cried at his unfortunate death. You would have had beautiful babies. To now be here, a widow of pure genes, serving the filth of the world—such a turn of events.

Sally gets up, leaving a bandage half-wrapped. Her feet shuffle imprecisely as she moves for the door. She tries to push her thoughts away, knows she shouldn't think it, but—it is such cruelty. Her love was pure, her husband pure, and those who live in these halls are anything but. Yet these sick, twisted beasts, receive the care and attention deserved to the man she lost.

Her throat catches on each breath. Her vision blurs. She wants to run but knows it's no use. No matter where she goes, she always finds herself back in these halls. With swirling thoughts, one stark realization breaks through: it is not she who keeps the insane confined to these halls, but the insane who confine her.

She falls to the unforgiving floor.

Memory 911

A lush green field dotted with salmon-coloured lilies and patches of pine trees surround the lake. The colours are more vibrant than Sally remembers, and though it smells of fresh rain, the sky is clear. Andrew sits next to her on a blanket, his blonde hair nearly white in the sun. She wears the dress he had bought her. A symbol of my love, he had written on the card, and for a man of few words it meant many.

He wipes the grass stains from his calloused hands and turns to Sally. We should get home. The lake will still be here tomorrow. A cold breeze sweeps through the meadow, bringing with it the scent of sweat and dusty linen. She grips his wrist with both hands. Just one more minute, please. One more.

She hears saws ripping through lumber, the sound heightening with each violent slash. Tighter, she holds Andrew's wrist, pressing her head into his shoulder and bracing herself. An immense tree slams to the ground behind her, sending twigs and dirt into the air. One after another, they come down in booming, ground-shaking jolts. Sally coughs through a cloud of dust, keeping her grip on Andrew the entire time.

A bead of blood trickles down his arm, coming to rest on her finger. She looks up to see her husband's skull broken open, spilling blood and chunks of brain. One stark white eye looks out from the carnage, focused intently on her. We would have had beautiful babies, Sally.

She collapses into the crimson muck of his chest and cries. The skin on her hands flakes away, turning to dust. She loses her grip on him. Everything she was, down to the dress she wore, decays, blown away in the wind.

The sweaty hands of Kavanagh shake her as she awakes on the asylum floor.

Memory 912

She's in the hallway again. The scent, the stains, her heels clicking—it's the same. Occasional moans and shouts carry from nearby rooms, short bursts of mania or terror that emerge and intermingle: The Concerto of Lunatics.

Sally enters the Anxious Girl's room and sits at the foot of her bed. The girl flinches but, after a second's pause, lifts herself up. Illuminated under moonlight, she offers a timid yet warm smile. Sally takes three strands of the girl's hair and begins to weave a braid. Did you see the robins today? But Sally doesn't wait for the girl's answer. Another day hiding, wasn't it? And what about the robins? They will be dead by the time you leave this room.

The girl's shoulders tense and Sally feels herself do the same. She takes a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. As she parts the hair back from the Anxious Girl's skull, she spies tiny, writhing creatures. An infestation of lice crawls through the girl's hair. Sally pulls her hand back and slaps the girl across her face. Filthy!

Their eyes lock, confusion and startlement among them both. Tears trickle down the Anxious Girl's helpless face, wet chin trembling. Sally takes a step back. She thinks to apologise, to explain the stress she's been under, but something in her refuses. Filthy girl! She storms from the room.

Memory 913

Sally, her face emotionally void, sits next to the Broken Woman's bed. She finds herself more and more in this position, listening to the woman ramble. The Broken Woman fidgets with her restraints, fixated on an unscarred piece of skin at the base of her hand. Purification comes in many forms. We must all make sacrifices. She curls a finger inwards and scratches at the clean piece of skin until it's torn off. For the most grotesque offenders—the genetic abominations—we must take extreme measures. Otherwise, you get... well, the results surround you.

Sally sits motionless, her tired eyes the only indication that she's conscious. The Broken Woman speaks as if chatting with a friend over tea. Do you know what I could do? I could tell you the ingredients for my special injection... the one I used on my patients. A quick little prick and they'll writhe as if a purifying fire burns within. A fitting way to deal with inhuman filth, wouldn't you say? Are you hearing me, sweet nurse? You don't have to be their servant anymore.

Memory 914

Sally feels the asylum closing in on her. Whispers of paranoid lunatics spill through the cracks. She wonders how long she can walk this hallway, questions if it ever ends. She passes the Catatonic Boy in his wheelchair, staring deep into the walls. He gazes in her direction though his eyes look through her. Has the trial begun? He lets out a scream, pausing as if having startled himself, then laughs.

Harvey Kavanagh, the Fat Orderly, emerges from a patient's room and gives her a smile. The skin on his neck dangles as he moves, glistening with sweat. A thick coat of hair covers his arms and curls over the collar of his shirt. His eyes move from Sally's feet upwards, pausing on her chest until he realises she's watching him. His eyes dart to examine the floor as he nervously licks his mouth.

Ahead, the Foul Girl skips gracefully, enjoying her first day out of restraints in a month. She hums a pleasant tune, tracing her hand over the wall. As Sally approaches, the Girl tilts her head forward. She lets out a long, guttural sound, heaving her diaphragm until vomit splashes onto the floor. Content with herself, she smiles and skips on.

Sally continues, giving no thought to cleaning the mess. She sees the Shoeless Imbecile sitting by the broom closet. Thick strands of blood drip from his mouth. With precise rhythm he slams his jaw into the doorframe six times, digs at his gums, and pulls out a tooth. He peers at Sally as if she's the strangest thing he's ever seen.

Sally looks out at the hallway, stretching on forever. She stops, accepting what she's tried to suppress: the sickness can grow no more.

Memory 915

Sally fills the syringe as the Broken Woman instructed. Thick, dark liquid swirls within, a night sky void of stars. The helpless anxiety that crippled her vanishes under a sea of calm.

Though her heels click with each step, she feels as if she floats; as if everything she's to do has been determined, requiring only the gentlest breeze to push her forward. She sees the sickness clearly. It has infected all. But the most hideous, is the one who refuses to face it; the dog that doesn't know it's a dog. And so, she makes her way to the Broken Woman's room.

Strange how, for all the woman's wisdom, she is blind to her impurities. Though she removes the blemishes from her skin, she fails to judge the mismatched eyes that gaze at her in the mirror. But no amount of carving can remove genetics. Such a case requires extreme measures.

Sally grips the syringe and prepares for what's to come. There is such filth that permeates the asylum—if she is to cleanse it all, she had best begin.

In Search of Things Lost: Logs, Stories, and Notes

To be revealed in subsequent Levels..

Challenges

Level 1

Unlock date: 10 February 2021

Survivor Challenges

• Go For Broke: Sabotage 8 hook(s).
• Bring the Light: Repair a total of 4 generator(s).
• Outta Sight: Hide within 10 meters of the Killer without being caught for a total of 45 seconds.
• A True Friend: Unhook a Survivor safely or take a protection hit 8 time(s).
• The Last Place You Look: Unlock 6 chest(s).
• Deadly Race: Be chased by the Killer for a total of 60 second(s).
• Reckless by Necessity: Reset 1 pallet(s) within 10 meters of the Killer while using the perk Any Means Necessary. (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)
• Self Preservation: Hide in a locker within 5 seconds of being in a chase with a Killer. (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)
• Leap of Faith: Vault a pallet or window while in a chase 6 time(s).
• Kimura's Courage: Stun or blind the Killer 2 time(s) as Yui Kimura. (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)
• Bloodless: Escape 2 chase(s) while injured while using the perk Lucky Break. (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)

Killer Challenges

• Property Damage: Damage a generator or destroy a dropped pallet 12 time(s).
• Dark Adherent: Hook 5 Survivor(s). (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Reverent: Sacrifice 6 Survivor(s) to The Entity.
• Spree of Violence: Hit 10 different Survivor(s) with your weapon.
• Take Their Breath Away: Down Survivor(s) 6 time(s) while using the perk Stridor. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Nurse Knows Best: Hook 4 different Survivor(s) while using the perk A Nurse's Calling. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Crow Food: Start a chase with a Survivor 1 time(s) within 10 seconds of them startling a crow using the perk Spies from the Shadows. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Cleanse the Filth: Hit a Survivor right after a Blink 2 time(s) as The Nurse. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)

General Challenges

• Bloody Rewards: Earn 50000 Bloodpoints.
• Glyph Seeker: Commune with 3 Red Glyph(s). (Selecting this challenge generates a Red Glyph.)

Completion Charm

Icon	Name	Rarity	Description
	Tower of the Damned	Uncommon	The foundation of a mysterious tower.

Level 2

Unlock date: 24 February 2021

Survivor Challenges

• Craft Time's Over: Cleanse 15 totem(s).
• Strategic Alliance: Perform a cooperative action for 180 second(s).
• Generosity: Heal a total of 10 health state(s) of other Survivors.
• As Long As It Gets Fixed: Finish repairing a generator or have another Survivor finish repairing a generator 12 time(s).
• Appeal to Heal: Fully deplete 4 Med-kit(s).
• Heroic Cause: Finish healing a dying Survivor or recover by yourself while using the perk Empathy. Do this 2 time(s). (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)
• Speed Bump: Vault a pallet or window while in a chase 5 time(s) as Yui Kimura. (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)
• Item of Interest: Escape the trial while carrying an item of Very Rare rarity or better 1 time(s). (Unlocks journal entry for Crash And Burn)
• Deadly Race: Be chased by the Killer for a total of 120 second(s).

Killer Challenges

• Hunter's Ambition: Start a chase with 12 different Survivor(s).
• Bloody Good: Hit a Survivor with your weapon 20 time(s).
• Buried Underground: Hook 5 Survivor(s) in the basement.
• Execution: Kill 8 Survivor(s) by any means.
• Dark Triumph: Sacrifice 1 Survivor(s) to The Entity during the Endgame Collapse. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Thorough Destruction: Damage a generator or destroy a dropped pallet 10 time(s). (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Sealed Shut: Close the Hatch 1 time(s). (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Chain Combo: Hit a Survivor 2 time(s) within 5 seconds after chaining at least 2 Blinks as The Nurse. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)
• Make Them Suffer: Have 4 Survivor(s) be injured, hooked or dying at the same time while using the Thanatophobia perk. (Unlocks journal entry for The Cleansing Of Crotus Prenn)

General Challenges

• Golden Age: Earn 8 emblem(s) of Gold quality or better.
• Glyph Seeker: Commune with 4 Red Glyph(s). (Selecting this challenge generates a Red Glyph.)

Completion Charm

Icon	Name	Rarity	Description
	Tower of the Rising	Rare	A half-built tower that holds secrets in its cold walls.

Level 3

Unlock date: 10 March 2021

To be revealed..

Level 4

Unlock date: 31 March 2021

To be revealed..

Trivia

• Tome 6 - Divergence introduced for the first time Red Glyph challenges. Upon selecting Glyph Seeker challenge Red Glyph spawns in a trial and needs to be Activated in order to gain progress through challenge completion:
  • Only one Red Glyph spawns per selected challenge.
  • Each Red Glyph is Personal and cannot be Activated by other Template:IconLink.
  • Red Glyph Activation interaction for Template:IconLink takes 3 seconds.
  • Red Glyph Activation interaction for Template:IconLink takes 1.5 seconds.
  • Red Glyph can be Revealed within range of 8 metres.

Gallery

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  Red Glyph in a trial