U-ADBT01 (Dec 13, 2023)
Puzzle
“A shared madness.”
Knowledge | 3 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: ??
Clue 2: ??
Clue 3: ??
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Folie a Deux
Explanation: ??
Summary of Receipt
Summary
Transcript
Receipt: U-ADBT01
Author: Coraline
Status: Unknown
Subject: Another Debt
…
Ichabod: …ktomezo.
Amber: Where are we?
Dover: Limbo.
Sarah: Limbo?! Did we… die?
Dover: I don’t feel dead, for what it’s worth.
Katherine: And I don’t feel any more alive if that helps.
Brent: What was the signal supposed to do, Ich?
Ichabod: Felix did not say—only that it could buy us time, maybe more. That, and it apparently breaks every known Universal law at once.
God: It certainly makes a spectacle! Spectacles, also known as eyeglasses, were first invented by humans all the way back in the 13th century. I suppose none of you were around for that—but perhaps you can see why this is quite troubling. Do you know how difficult it is to fix a broken balance staff?
Katherine: God?
God: Yes, yes. So, like I was saying, a balance staff, interestingly enough, is a lot like a pendulum, isn’t it? Constant motion, perpetual, and yet, here we are. Completely frozen. So… I assume you broke it for a good reason?
Salenna: Do you know about the Heart of Netzach?
Dover: He’s God, right? He’s gotta know—
God: The Heart of Netzach? It was activated? Fun fact: Netzach in Kabbalah represents eternity and endurance—not unlike the lifespan of a tardigrade under extreme conditions. Fascinating creatures—but that’s neither here nor there. Who activated it?
Ichabod: Jean-Marc.
God: HA! Well, Abra, it seems like that settles that.
Devil: Hardly, Demi. Amber, was it? Darling, did Jean-Marc fully embrace the Netzach?
Amber: Uh… no. Secret and Jean were removed from the Universe before Jean was able to touch the Heart.
Devil: As suspected—he played a tune with no finale.
God: Now, hang on, Abra. Intention is eight-tenths of the celestial law. He was about to touch it—that’s a win in my book.
Devil: But the boy didn’t, did he?
God: Oh, technicalities, schmechnicalities. You're splitting hair springs finer than quarks here. You lost.
Devil: How was any of this fair? Jean-Marc was your hand-picked agent; he was rigged dice from the start, and you know it.
God: I had a good guess as to what he might do, but the choice was his.
Devil: But he didn’t touch the Heart. It didn’t matter that he wanted to touch it; he didn’t.
God: Ugh. You’re really going to make this a whole thing, aren’t you? How about this: you give me the winding key—because I won—and I’ll let you stay in the Universe. A debt paid. Deal?
Devil: Absolutely not. The wager wasn’t fair from the beginning, and now we have an inconclusive result. I’m hardly satisfied with that.
God: Well, what do you suggest?
Devil: Hm… ah, well, Amber—she’s a neutral party, isn’t she? Not too swayed by you or me.
God: Fine.
[The Devil raised his hand, conjuring the malformed Netzach into Limbo. He then snapped his fingers, and the twisted flesh and bone that had started to form around the Heart melted away. He then floated the Heart in front of Amber.]
Devil: Look at that. Godhood, at your fingertips, darling. How about a rerun of the old game, Demi, but with a proper neutral party taking the lead?
God: Hm… Would we be allowed to offer advice?
Devil: Blow your horn. I won’t. Wouldn’t want you to think I’m intentionally leading her one way or the other.
God: Well—I should at least point out the benefits. Amber, if you touch the Heart, you’ll have the power to fix everything. Everyone. You could make things right, and your world doesn’t have to end.
Devil:…
God: And look, you might not want to be some unfeeling, undying God—but once you are, you can just undo it. It is, after all, what you make of it.
[The Devil cocked his eyebrow and folded his arms, a sly smile playing on his lips.]