ZZ-BOTU06 (Jun 14, 2023)
Puzzle
“Eye of the Dog.”
Knowledge | 1 Word
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: ??
Clue 2: ??
Clue 3: ??
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Ouroboros
Explanation: “the Dog” refers to Malachi, and his viewing medium is the Ouroboros.
Summary of Receipt
Summary
Transcript
Receipt: ZZ-BOTU06
Author: Twain
Status: Super Secret
Subject: Kings Cult
Wow. I mean, I kind of figured it would work, but I’m surprised that it did. Boom! Slipped right into the Ouroboros, just like that. No signs of Belphegor, but plenty of her weird snake kids are slithering around—plus, I ran into the weird tiny Langley, Malachi. His whole deal is that he can use the Ouroboros as an Augur focus or whatever, but his main thing is he’s always seeing doomsdays, and it seems like if we don’t stop Fenrir, we’re headed for one such doomsday. I think. It’s really hard to figure out what he’s saying.
S.O.T.
Malachi: Bad sky… ugly sky… UGLY sky. No good, no good. Needs to burn. Needs to rot. Needs to fall apart.
Twain: Hey… buddy.
Malachi: Bad, bad sky. It’s staring at us. Do you see it too?
Twain: Uh… no. It looks… well, it looks weird. To be fair, I’ve never really seen the sky in the Ouroboros before. But it seems… fine? A little… empty? Maybe?
Malachi: No. No, no, no, no. The sky is ugly. It’s disgusting. It’s rotting. Can’t you see it? It’s staring at us.
Twain: Uh… hey, is Belphegor around?
Malachi: Died. Died. Died. Seven Keys, seven Locks. When they croaked, the Gate broke. Dead. Dead. Dead.
Twain: Do you know when she’ll be back?
Malachi: Dead. Dead, dead, dead. She will only return when Thanatos rolls the stone. Up and down, up and down, over and over and over again. YOU! YOU! YOU’LL BE THE ONE TO TRAP HIM IN HIS CHAINS! One half cut in twain, and the other uses a false name. Replaced. Replaced. Replaced.
Twain: Uh… sure. Are we talking like actual Thanatos from Olympus, or is it metaphorical…?
Malachi: Bad, bad sky. Ugly sky. Starless, sleepless, stoneless sky. Broken, broken, everything is broken. Dead, dead, everyone will die.
Nine: Well, it wouldn’t be a prophecy from the Doomsday Dog without everyone dying, would it? Malachi, do you remember me?
Malachi: Nine.
Nine: Precisely so. Say, Malachi, how long has the sky been watching you?
Malachi: Four months.
Nine: Four months exactly?
Malachi: 17 Weeks. 121 Days. 2,880 Hours. 172,800—no 172,801 minutes. 10,368,061, 10,368,062, 10,368,063, 10,368,064…
Nine: Understood. Thank you.
Twain: What is it, Nine?
Nine: Four months ago today, apparently, to the near minute, the Wicked was killed. I believe that Malachi is seeing the… perhaps the remnants of the Wicked’s flames.
Malachi: Bad, ugly, wicked sky.
Nine: Bad, ugly, wicked sky indeed. Say, Malachi, have you noticed a disturbance in your premonitions since Fate was slain.
Malachi: Dead, dead, dead, death cannot stop the threads of Fate.
Nine: Ah—I see. Likewise, Edgar Lane’s powers and the madness that has overcome Julius persist. Even without the ego to drive them, there are still forces in this world of Fate, Phantoms, and the Wicked.
Twain: What the heck is a Phantom force?
Nine: Opening of doors, crossing boundaries, did you really not pay any attention when defeating the Phantom?
Twain: No, no, I did. Why is it called Phantom, though? Shouldn’t it have been called like… Transience? Or… uh, Traversal?
Nine: The proper word doesn’t exist in English. I assume Phantom is the closest translation to the idea that the Phantom embodied. In any case, I’ve gotten the readings I needed. Farewell, Malachi.
Malachi: Good… goodbye. Nine. Goodbye… Replacement.
Twain: Weird, weird kid.
Nine: He’s over 275 years old, you know.
Twain: Yeah, but I don’t think he’s aged all that much in the Ouroboros.
Nine: Ah, fair enough, I suppose.
E.O.T.