C-SOE01 (Jul 9, 2022)
Puzzle
“VIII”
Knowledge | 2 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Who is VIII?
Clue 2: What is their name in a previous life?
Answer and Explanation
Answer: John Dee
Explanation: John Dee, aka Umbra the Hatman, is the newest hire, VIII.
Summary of Receipt
VIII pens his introduction, which goes through how he became Umbra, talks abut Ursula, the Enochian Bible, and acknowledges the Cafe and Diner's ability to pay things in full.
Transcript
[BRANCH] THE LAST CAFE
[SERVER] VIII
[DATE] 7/9/22
[INDEX ID] SOE01
[SECURITY] CAFE
Greetings, Cafe and Diner. Funny to be on the other side of it all now, though not entirely unexpected. Though I am certain you should all know me well enough by now, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am known by many names: the Shadowman, the Hatman, the Man in the Dark, Umbra. Though I suppose given our current circumstances, you may call me by my true name, if it so suits you—John Dee. Or, I suppose, what remains of John Dee. On second thought, perhaps you would all be more comfortable sticking with my own given title, Umbra. It is a rather fitting moniker.
My journey into the ever-ebon Everdark began with a seed—a seed from the Tree of Knowledge itself. To hold such a thing, to grasp the very essence of understanding of aeons long past… what a dangerous thing. Though to be foolish enough to consume it, that is another matter entirely. As far as I or anyone else who attempted such a feat knows, it transforms, twists, and remakes a person. It destroys whatever mortal shell you cling to and leaves you as nothing more than a leftover whisper of what you once were. A shadow.
Poor Ursula, she fell into a similar fate. Solomon, ever the protective older brother, sought to safeguard his seemingly cursed sister by procuring his own seed of knowledge and giving it to her without her knowledge or consent. His intentions were noble—the road to damnation is nothing if not paved with such intentions. The seed did protect her, in a way. It made her unfeeling, unable to be harmed, unable to touch, to feel—nothing could kill her… though she could never die. Not without help. Not without Eve.
Eve. I've heard her lingering whispers, her desperate pleas, her barking orders, her wretched pathetic cries every moment since I became a shadow myself. I assume all shadows do, to some extent. Though I never let her temptations sway me. I had another goal and restoring Eden had no part in it. Unless… I suppose, if the Enochian Bible was in Eden. It wasn't, for what it's worth. Thank you, by the way, for destroying it. Water under the bridge now.
Though with Eve and Eden's return, our paths seem intersected once again, though this time on the same side. Eve has the power to undo me—as I am what I am because of her. I won't let that happen. You destroyed a copy of the Enochian Bible, yes, but a divine artifact such as that must have other copies somewhere. But that can wait for another time and another place. The long-forgotten debt of our gracious God is coming due, and I sincerely doubt he has the funds to pay it in full.
…But the Cafe and Diner? Oh, you lot are very good at paying things in full. I would know.