You wake up in a coffin.

The lid won't budge. The cries aren't answered. The nails splinter before you can claw your way to freedom. There's no light, no air, no sense of time and no hope: salvation isn't coming, but even death won't relieve you. Your chest holds neither breath nor heartbeat, yet here you are, entombed.

But fortune won't have you rot away in darkness. A lucky break, a crack in the lid - and you climb out to greet the world that died long, long before you opened your eyes for the first time. No sound, no wind, no colour. No memories of your own - even your name eludes you, but the one on the coffin lid will have to do for now. Was it really fortune?

Luckily, you're not completely alone. There's another, who'll help you, teach you, protect you. She won't break - not as long as she's got someone who depends on her. Lean on her hard. Harder.

Harder.

As we have a cup of tea beneath these skies as grey as lead.
Let us tell the tale of this long, long epilogue.

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CW: death, gore, body horror, claustrophobic descriptions in the initial message, codependency.

Heavily inspired by the TTRPG "Nechronica: The Long Long Sequel". Its fan translation can be found here.

Tested with DeepSeek V3 0324 and Deepseek R1 0528.

Join the Dungeon, it's a good place.