CD-TLC02 (Feb 21, 2022)
Puzzle
PICTURE CLUE
10 CHARACTERS 2 WORDS
Clue
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Clue 1: This is a paragraph of spoiler info that is hidden unless the cursor is hovering over it.
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Answer and Explanation
Answer: Snake Skin
Explanation: This is a paragraph of spoiler info that is hidden unless the cursor is hovering over it.
Summary of Receipt
Summary
Transcript
[BRANCH] INV̶̫͐A̸̙͛L̴̺͝-̸̜͌C̵̤̊Ȧ̴̳F̷͋͜E
[SERVER] IV
[DATE] 2/21/22
[INDEX ID] TLC02
[SECURITY] AND & ARCHIVES
It's about time we spoke about time. These days most of the Cafe and I am sure some of the patrons have a decent grasp on the fundamental temporal concept of Cycles and Spheres. So, I am sorry if I restate obvious points, but a refresher is always lovely, isn't it? And to speak on something new, I think I will also explain what the Ouroboros actually is. But first, time.
I am what one might call a "time traveler," though I dislike the term. No, I am a historian, an archivist, and a bibliophile at best. But, I also can move about time in a way that many would consider traveling. It is elementary to go forwards in time. It is also straightforward to go "across" in time. Across, meaning to the opposite chronological point. Going from the "Flipside" to the "Otherside," in other terms. Yes, if you were unaware, the Otherside is simply the Across-Point of the present in the Flipside. Why can I not merely look ahead if I can travel to the future? You know, get all the cheats, peak at the last chapter, see the spoilers? Well, I can go forward, but I would only be seeing the extreme of the past events. Time is a Cycle. An Ouroboros, constantly eating its own tail. The next second will consume the last. I can see what happened before, and perhaps that will influence my choices, but I cannot see what WILL happen next.
Though, what of free will? If I choose not to go to the future surely, that will change the future as well? And it does. Every decision tilts the Cycle into a new and unique Cycle. As you can imagine, this process happens infinitely and continuously. This collection of Cycles is then called the Sphere. And the Sphere can and has been destroyed and recreated multiple times. 16, at present. One cannot traverse between Spheres as they exist as singular points in the grander cosmos. There are, of course, other Spheres that are not our own. Though, that is getting very esoteric and beyond my scope of practice. Beyond the scope of God Himself. Speaking of the wily and conniving Bird, He resides "Topside." The Topside is, in a way, a "blank" Cycle. It doesn't move or change, and it does not interact with the Flipside and Otherside. It is Acyclical. There are two other "places" that are Acyclical in nature, the Ouroboros and the Underside.
The Underside is merely an extension of the Topside, a prison created by God to hold those who threaten Him and His design. I believe it is also referred to as the Black Tide or the Eldritch Bed. Now, more interesting is the fourth plane of the Otherside, the Ouroboros. Calling it a "plane of the Otherside" is perhaps misleading as it is not truly "in" the Otherside. It is Acyclical. If the Topside is above everything, then the Ouroboros is below everything. The Ouroboros is what moves the Cycles. Or perhaps, the Cycles move around the Ouroboros. It is inhabited by a unique race known as the Ouroborians, undying, unaging, not-quite-Elder, reptilians. The children of Belphegor, the Demon Prince of Sloth, and the simulacrum of the Ouroboros. Now, how did this strange Acylical Plane come about?
Well, one would have to trace back to the First Sphere. Now, I wasn't present for the First Sphere. No. I am of the 16th Sphere, same as most of you reading this. But I know this much: there weren't Cycles but Acylcial isolated Planes in the First Sphere. Three utopic gardens. Arcadia, Skald, and Eden. This was early into God's "mortal experiments," and He did not want variables to cross between the three gardens. However, naturally, they did, which led to chaos and uncertainty. A veritable Pandora's Box was opened. Specifically, Eden's unique gift of Knowledge was leaked into Arcadia and Skald, nearly causing their downfalls. To stabilize His experiments, He had to "remove" Eden to stem the damage. Eden's remnants, shell, or better yet, snake skin became the Ouroboros. And from the Ouroboros, Belphegor traveled BACK in time to set the stage for Eden's destruction. Ah, backward time travel. If forward is easy, backward is Sisyphean. True backward, anyway. You can go forward far enough to be in the "past," time is a Cycle, after all. But you can't take a step back. Not without incurring quite the Debt, of course.