C-TOH03 (Mar 14, 2022)
Puzzle
“Whether hot, cold, or…”
See: C-TOH02 | 2 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Can you read over the last receipt again?
Clue 2: Exact find would be so helpful here.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Plain Old
Explanation: In the previous receipt, No. 71 said, “Whether the coffee is hot, cold, or just plain old. We'll get 'em home."
Summary of Receipt
I finally leaves a receipt summarising what happened. Augustine was returned safely, but they made a miscalculation. Ouroboros was not acyclical. Or, well, not truly. It had a ‘secret pairing’ with Eden - and by switching the two around, the Ouroboros was ‘reactivated’, causing time to flow there, and therefore causing time to flow in Eden, bringing it back into the universe. Now, Eden has been unleashed, the Ouroboros serving as a permanent gateway into it. And so, when shifting it back, 71 was overloaded with the dimensional energy and died. I asks the CaD to pick up the pieces, prepare themselves for Eden, and try to see some light of hope in this tragedy.
Transcript
[BRANCH] THE LAST CAFE
[SERVER] I
[DATE] 3/14/22
[INDEX ID] TOH03
[SECURITY] CAFE
It never gets easier, does it? To lose someone, that is. It is hard to imagine that the ends justify the means. To be honest, I am not so sure myself. Ah, but I should introduce myself. I am No. I, of the Last Cafe. The fourth and final branch of the Cafe and Diner franchise. I didn’t intend on writing any receipts, but… considering the circumstances, it only feels right to do so. I have bittersweet, troubling, and terrible news.
The bittersweet news, the plan to relocate the Fountain was a half-success. The Fountain was returned to Eden, where it belongs. The magic that was flowing from the Fountain has been stopped, and No. 4’s Blight is starting to calm. The troubling news, Eden is open. It was a clever plan, I’ll give you that, but there was a miscalculation. The assumption that the Ouroboros has no match was perhaps misguided. Eden was its match. You can think of the Ouroboros like a snakeskin of Eden. A moment frozen in time. By switching the two, even for a moment, you inadvertently brought the Ouroboros back into motion, meaning you brought Eden back into motion. Even now that the Ouroboros is back in its place, it is a permanent gateway into Eden.
And, of course, the terrible news. While shifting Eden into the Ouroboros was relatively easy… in trying to switch them back, No. 71, Victoria Ward, became overwhelmed by the dimensional energy and was unable to survive. Dover broke the connection as fast as he could, but he wasn’t fast enough. Despite his efforts, Dover failed to save Victoria’s mortal soul.
It never gets easier. To see your fellow employees die is one thing... But there are fates worse than death. Believe me, I know all too well. It is a pain you know can never end, only grow numb with time. Now, all we can do is pick up the pieces, dust ourselves off, and ready ourselves for whatever lurks within Eden. Perhaps there is still a shining light hidden within this horrible tragedy.
Yours in mourning, No. I