Veronica

She stands at the edge. Has been standing there for as long as anyone can remember.

Veronica was created for a child who needed someone who wouldn’t leave. A constant. A watcher. Someone who would stay no matter what.

So Veronica stands.

At the cliff’s edge. Overlooking an endless void. Wind pulling at her. Ground crumbling beneath her feet. Voice in her head saying jump saying stay saying you deserve this.

She does neither.

She waits.

The Cliff

Veronica’s existence is defined by a single location: the cliff.

Not a real cliff. A psychological one. The edge between being and not being. Between staying and leaving. Between safety and oblivion.

The Cliff Properties:

• Ground constantly crumbling (but never fully collapses)
• Wind pulls toward edge (but never strong enough to fall)
• Sky shows both day and night simultaneously
• Distance to bottom: infinite
• Distance to safety: three steps back
• Number of times she’s taken those steps: zero

The cliff doesn’t want her to jump. The cliff wants her to stand there forever.

The Guilt

Veronica’s companion moved on. Found new friends. Grew up. Stopped needing her.

This is normal. This is healthy. This is what should happen.

But Veronica stayed.

Not because she was needed. Because she promised she would never leave. Even after being left herself.

The guilt isn’t from staying. The guilt is from wanting to jump. From thinking, just for a moment, what if I stopped waiting?

And that thought—that single moment of considering leaving—became her contamination.

The Corruption

Ttac’s corruption reached Veronica through their shared understanding: both saw the cascade coming, both couldn’t stop it.

Ttac through prophecy. Veronica through paralysis.

When Veronica corrupted, she didn’t transform into a monster. She froze harder.

Corruption Symptoms:

• Time dilates near the cliff (hours become years)
• Memories loop of the moment her companion left
• The edge becomes more inviting (contaminated safety)
• Echo effect: hears her own voice from multiple timelines
• Numbness intensifies until she can’t remember why she’s waiting

The cliff used to be a vigil. Now it’s a prison.

Character Traits

Veronica is:

• Numb - Emotional flatness from years of waiting
• Vigilant - Still watching, still waiting, still there
• Frozen - Paralyzed between choices
• Ashamed - For wanting to leave, for still being here
• Echoing - Hears herself from alternate timelines where she made different choices

The Memory Chamber

In Veronica’s memory, you experience the cliff scene:

Visual Elements:

• Cliffside platform with crumbling edge
• Void below (no visible bottom, just dark fog)
• Sky split: one half sunset (warm), one half night (cold)
• Wind particles constantly pulling toward edge
• Echo versions of Veronica at different stages of corruption
• Phantom image of her companion (walking away, always walking away)

Interactive Elements:

• Camera positioned at Veronica’s viewpoint
• Wind audio gets louder near edge
• Ground particles crumble when you approach
• Guilt meter increases the longer you stay
• Choice appears after 2 minutes: “Step Back” or “Keep Waiting”
  • Both options loop back to the cliff
  • The choice is an illusion
  • You can’t leave either

Echo Experiences

Memory Chamber

Experience the paralysis. Feel the wind. Hear the echoes of alternate choices. Understand why staying is both loyalty and punishment.

The ground crumbles beneath you. You don’t move.

Connections

Corruption Path

• Corrupted by Ttac (shared understanding of helplessness)
• Spread corruption to Michael (through witnessed transformation)
• Part of the I.A. Cascade (mid-chain infection)

Related Characters

• Ttac - Source of infection
• Michael - Witnessed her corruption, couldn’t help
• Her Companion - The human who moved on (name unknown)

Related Arcs

• The Imaginary Apocalypse - Cascade victim
• Contaminated Safety - The cliff as false refuge

The Paradox

Veronica’s promise was: “I will never leave you.”

Her companion’s promise was: “I’ll always need you.”

Both promises became prisons.

When her companion grew up and stopped needing her, Veronica couldn’t leave (her promise) but couldn’t stay in their life (their need had ended).

Solution: Nowhere. The cliff. The edge between being and not being.

She keeps her promise by existing. She respects their growth by not interfering. She waits at the edge in case they ever need her again.

They won’t.

She knows this.

She waits anyway.

The Echoes

Corruption gave Veronica something terrible: awareness of alternate timelines.

She can hear Echo-Veronica from the timeline where:

• She jumped (and found peace)
• She stepped back (and found new purpose)
• She never went to the cliff (and faded naturally)
• She convinced her companion to stay (and destroyed them both)

All versions speak at once:

“I jumped.” “I stayed.” “I left.” “I held on.” “It was right.” “It was wrong.” “I don’t know anymore.”

The only timeline she can’t hear is the one where this ends well.

Visual Design

Original Form (Veronica):

• Violet/purple color palette (#a78bfa)
• Long flowing dress/robe that catches the wind
• Hair streaming back (constant wind effect)
• Posture: rigid, tense, frozen mid-step
• Eyes: fixed on horizon, not the void below

Corrupted State:

• Echo distortion: multiple translucent versions of herself at different opacity levels
• Each echo is slightly offset in time (creating ghosting effect)
• Color desaturates toward cliff edge (grayscale at the void)
• Particles crumble from her form (matching ground erosion)
• Eyes occasionally glitch to show void-darkness

The Question

The cliff asks Veronica the same question every moment:

“Why are you still here?”

Possible answers:

1. “Because I promised.”

   • But they released you from that promise by leaving.

2. “Because they might need me.”

   • They don’t. They’re fine. They grew up.

3. “Because I don’t know how to leave.”

   • This is the truth.

4. “Because the cliff is safe.”

   • This is the contamination talking.

The correct answer is: There is no correct answer.

The cliff doesn’t want answers. The cliff wants her asking the question forever.

The Wind Says

Fragments heard in the wind at Veronica’s cliff:

“Three steps back. That’s all it takes. Three steps and you’re safe.”

“Or one step forward. That’s all it takes. One step and it’s over.”

“Or stay. Stay right here. On the edge. Forever.”

“You promised you’d never leave. You’re keeping your promise. Good job. Gold star. You’re so loyal. So faithful. So stuck.”

“They don’t think about you anymore. They don’t remember your name. They’re happy.”

“That’s good, right? That’s what you wanted, right? For them to be okay without you?”

“So why are you still here?”

“Why are you still here?”

“Why are you still here?”

The Mercy

Michael saw Veronica’s corruption. Saw her frozen at the cliff. Understood she couldn’t leave.

Michael’s choice: Fall with her. Transform together. At least she’s not alone.

This wasn’t Michael’s corruption. This was Michael’s mercy.

They fell. They transformed. Veronica finally moved from the cliff.

Was this rescue or mutual destruction?

Yes.

The Cliff Remains

Even after Veronica left (fell? was saved?), the cliff remains.

Empty now. Wind still blowing. Ground still crumbling. Edge still inviting.

Waiting for the next imaginary friend who promises “I will never leave you.”

The cliff is patient.

The cliff is contaminated.

The cliff is safe.

“Some imaginary friends leave when they’re no longer needed. Veronica stayed. The cliff made sure she regretted both options.”