| #8. |
| Published: 2025-12-20 [Sat] 04:12, by |
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ARCHDUCK: TRILOGY I — PART II: THE VISITORS The second bell rang at dawn. It wasn’t loud. It didn’t echo. It simply existed, sliding into the morning air like it had always been there and everyone else was late noticing it. Doppo woke instantly. Waifu was already sitting upright, fur puffed, eyes wide. “That was the second one,” she said. “I hate being right.” Outside, the pond had gone unnaturally still. No ripples. No insects. Even the reeds had frozen mid-sway, bent like they were holding a breath they couldn’t release. Shelly was already waiting by the water when Doppo stepped out. Jumpy hovered nearby, vibrating with anxiety rather than actually jumping. “They’re early,” Shelly said. “They?” Doppo asked. Shelly nodded toward the far bank. The air there folded inward. Not tore. Not shattered. Folded—like paper creased by an invisible hand. From the crease stepped three figures. They were shaped like animals, but wrong in the way reflections are wrong when the water is disturbed. The first resembled a duck, but its feathers were flat, colorless, like illustrations cut from a book. The second looked vaguely feline, walking with a smooth, rehearsed grace. The third was small—hamster-sized—but its eyes were too old, too sharp, as if they’d watched a thousand ponds rise and dry out. They stopped at the water’s edge. The duck-thing spoke first. “ARCHDUCK,” it said. Doppo didn’t move. “No one’s called me that in a long time.” The cat-thing tilted its head. “Records persist.” Waifu stepped forward before Doppo could stop her. “Who are you,” she demanded, “and why are you using expired names?” The small one smiled. It was not a kind smile. “We are the Curators,” it said. “We observe stories that deviate.” Shelly’s eyes narrowed. “Deviate from what?” The duck-Curator gestured at Doppo. “From their original form. From their assigned arc.” The pond shuddered. A low hum rolled through the water, deep and ancient, like something below had decided to listen. Doppo finally spoke. “I didn’t deviate,” he said calmly. “I became.” The cat-Curator stepped closer. Its reflection didn’t match its movement. “Becoming without authorization destabilizes narrative environments.” Jumpy squeaked. “IT’S TALKING LIKE A MANUAL.” Waifu planted herself in front of Doppo, paws clenched. “You don’t get to authorize lives.” The small Curator’s smile faded. “Then the pond will be corrected.” The water split—not violently, but decisively. Lines of light traced across the surface like rewritten sentences. Trees flickered. The sky dimmed, as if someone had lowered saturation. Deep beneath them, the ancient thing in the pond rose—not physically, but in awareness. Shelly whispered, reverent and afraid, “The Pond Rememberer has awakened.” Doppo felt it then—not fear, not anger—but a pull. The same pull he’d felt the day he first said, I want to be Doppo. He stepped into the water. The Curators recoiled. “You cannot enter,” the duck-Curator warned. “Protagonists are not permitted to—” “I’m not your protagonist,” Doppo said. The pond glowed. Waifu leapt after him without hesitation. The surface closed behind them like a final punctuation mark. And for the first time since stories were cataloged and contained, the Curators did not know what would happen next. |
| #1. Archduck |
| Published: 2025-06-29 [Sun] 21:09, by |
| This thread is to provide eternal gratitude toward Archduck as a franchise as well as chronicle the story of Archduck. |