Into the Mists: Episode 09

### Reddit Thread

***Into the Mists* Episode 9** was streamed on Arcadum's Twitch channel on June 2, 2021, and premiered on Arcadum's YouTube channel on June 05, 2021, and premiered on Arcadum's YouTube channel on June 5, 2021. The ninth episode is the final episode of *Into the Mists*.
The party ends up in a demiplane and meet an Angel, the Purging One. They eventually fight the machine and discover the true meaning of the Mist.

## Summary

*Originally written by u/RoyalCaster*

After passing through the portal, the party sees a twisted path before them, a strange "vegetation" growing beside it. Yukina determines that they are in a demiplane: a created plane between the Dream Realm and the Waking Realm. Such a place can have rules applied to it by its creator, and not knowing them is dangerous. While observing, Yukina sees that they are in a metal box, as she can see walls and a ceiling. The group gets into a defensive formation in case they run into combatants. As they move forward, they come across a large series of stone walls. Black vines are embedded in the stone, and an unmistakable sound of a heartbeat emanates from the walls. The floor is lined with black opaque spheres that seem to have eyes behind them. Talis gets on her knees to stare into one of them and gets flashed by a green light.

As they enter the maze-like structure, Baëth looks up and smiles. A preternatural instinct takes over, and he easily leads the party to the center. They stop to listen to the whirring sounds coming from there and cast spells in preparation for possible combat. They then approach the center and see a small portal that seems to emanate starlight. The black vines wrap around its outside, and pieces of metal stick out of it haphazardly. Secondly, there is flowing water in a small waterfall which seems to float over two black metal bars. Thirdly, the center is lined with rib-like structures. However, the thing catching most of their attention is the enormous eye in the middle. Many arms and hands grow out of its back and hold its eyelids open, and instead of a pupil, the eye has a face. The Purging One slowly turns towards them, revealing no emotion.

They ask the eye about the Mist. The Purging One says it oversees the Mist and partially directs it. It also claims that the Mist was made to cleanse the "infection". Kiliwen investigates the "portal" they saw in the room, discovering that it isn't a portal at all, but a screen showing a world with large metal buildings. Kiliwen asks what it is, and the Purging one says that it is a communication device to speak with its masters. They then ask what's on the screen, and it says it is its home.

The Purging One declares that, if they wish to know more about the Mist, they are going to need an allowance from a director. They ask to speak to one, so the Purging One opens one of the "ribs", revealing a well-kept corpse with a small hole in its head. Seeing that the director is dead, they decide to try to imitate them in some way. Kiliwen finds a card on their body and swipes it on something. The Purging One now recognizes her as the director, so she asks for the information to be declassified. The Purging One seems to glitch out, but it collects itself. It explains that the infection is that of those called the Eyeless Ones, a parasite that bypasses the genealogy of hosts and makes them like their own. It then reveals that there are some Eyeless Ones in Glies, and the Mist is the tool used to cleanse the infection.

The Purging One divulges that it is an Angel and can be fixed by technicians. When the party calls for them to fix the corruption they saw in the creature, the Purging One reveals more dead bodies with holes in their heads. When they ask about the deaths of the crew, the Purging One falls deeper into apparent corruption. The party summons disablers, but once again dead bodies appear. Talis puts together that the holes in their heads have been made by the Purging One itself, so the party gets into attacking formation. The Purging One initiates phase two, and a counter appears. It seems to indicate the number of a population, and it is going down. When they ask what is happening, the Purging One says that there is a cleansing of Glies. Upon hearing that, the party starts combat to stop it.

The Purging One starts assigning several programs to the party, and things begin to look dire. However, they look through one of the dead bodies and find a wand to control the Purging One's abilities and a key. They use the key on the Purging One and reveal its inner core. The Purging One then puts two of its hands together, charging an attack directed at Kiliwen. Yukina makes her way to the computer screen and sees symbols of the creature's four programs, but there's also a symbol of a new fifth program. As Yukina selects it, the wand Kiliwen wields switches to that symbol. Kiliwen points the wand at the core of the Purging One, and the creature shudders. The fully charged beam shoots out at Kiliwen, but she Clashes it with an Eldritch Blast of her own. Fueled by her faith in Babylon, she overpowers the Purging One by a hair and defeats it.

A message appears on the monitors around them, revealing what the Mist truly is. MIST, otherwise known as Mechanized Internal Suppression Transporter, is an application of bio-engineered medicine that is meant to purge the infection of the Eyeless Ones. This was implemented by the Angel called the Purging One from the planet Ragdar. However, this machine inadvertently mutated the denizens of the Titan's Eye. The Titan's Eye itself is the landing site of the Eyeless Ones. For a time, the MIST didn't cause problems, and the Mistwalkers lived in peace. But by the actions of the Heroes of Kalkatesh, a new infection was introduced. The presence of the Depthar caused the machine to go into overdrive, and in an attempt to purge the new threat, it corrupted itself and its purpose.

This party's journey into the Mist comes to an end when the creature's final words flash by on the screen: *"Keep watch, the Silver King comes."*

## Featured Characters

### Main Characters

* Baeth Wellington
* Garlic Crouton
* Kiliwen Joy
* Talis
* Vasily
* Yukina

### Returning

* Minshi Sho
* Obu Uzuki
* SIMP

## References

1. ↑ Date is shown on YouTube VOD
2. ↑ Verum Weekly: Summary of Streamed Games of the Week (June 3rd, 2021)