swaps your facial features with that of dongbaeks (and vice versa)
You find Kromer sitting on the floor of her room. Nails of various sizes lay in front of her, a couple of hammers lay next to her along with her whip, and on Kromer's other side lays the gauntlet that has remained unused ever since she had it remade. It appears the woman is currently caring for her weapons. Deburring any blade-like edges... Polishing the metal... Applying an oil to keep the metal protected... The Eleventh Sinner seems to be quite focused on her job when her PDA pings from across the room.
There's a small sigh from the sinner at the noise, she doesn't get up from her spot on the floor. Instead, Kromer hauls the gauntlet into her lap and begins the process of polishing its surface.
"Whatever you anons are trying to do, I'm not really in the mood for it right now~."
Even though Kromer says she's not in the mood, she doesn't seem particularly upset either. The woman seems to be focused on her task.
Actually, Kromer is focused enough that she doesn't even seem to realize when her appearance changes. Kromer doesn't notice when the smell of the room around her shifts. Kromer doesn't notice when her vision becomes much more limited. Kromer doesn't notice when an aching tingling starts up on the right side of her face.
The upkeep of her weapons are more important, after all. These weapons are what keeps her alive during every single fuel-up and every single mirror dungeon run. Kromer owes her life to these weapons, and neglecting to finish this task could put her in danger later when she needs the reliability of these nails. If there is a day where Kromer deems the gauntlet safe to wear, she will need all of its abilities to be in tip top shape. Kromer may rely on its heat resistance to pull an ally from fire, Kromer may rely on the sturdiness of the metal to shield her coworkers from enemy blows, Kromer may--
That thought process is broken by an intense stinging sensation tearing through her right eye. The pain is enough for the woman to offer a strangled gasp as a hand travels up to her face. Brushing her bangs aside, Kromer presses her palm over her eye. Her fingers dig in as the unpleasant sensation continues.
After a brief moment of continuing pain, Kromer pushes the gauntlet off of herself and stumbles to her feet.
"Anons, what are you pulling??" Instead of the voice coming out as pained, Kromer appears to be more exasperated. The woman continues to hold her hand up to her face as she scampers to her bed and kneels down. She reaches and grasps under the bed with her left hand until she manages to find her first aid kit.
Upon pulling the large box free from her bed, Kromer fumbles with the latches before eventually managing to pry the case open. The Eleventh Sinner grabs a small mirror hidden within one of the many compartments of the box and lifts it up to her face.
Instead of Kromer finding her face covered in blood or injuries, Kromer finds herself staring at the face of one of her friends. It's a face she sees every day. An eye that is as yellow as a dandelion. The owner of these eyes always holds a deep sorrow in their depths despite the cheerful color. There is always an odd flush to the face, as if the owner has been exerting herself too much. (Yet the color remains as Kromer stares at herself... Odd. She hasn't done any physical activity for the past few hours.) This face has a longer and slimmer nose than Kromer does, this face has dark circles resting under its eye, this face has freckles.
This is Dongbaek. Kromer is looking at Dongbaek.
Why?? Kromer still has her hair. Kromer's body feels the same. So why is her face the only thing that's different? Is this a copy of Dongbaek's face or is this Dongbaek's actual face? Does Dongbaek have Kromer's face?
Kromer realizes she doesn't really care about that answer as the stinging sensation in her eye breaks through the surprise. Dongbaek's expression in the mirror shifts to an uncanny show of discomfort as Kromer processes the pain. Her hand is still resting over the right side of her face, and her bangs have fallen over the hand.
Does Kromer really want to look? It feels almost... Personal.
Kromer is aware Dongbaek has some burns on her face. Sometimes Kromer can see something resembling scarring when a corroded Dongbaek is trying to kill her in battle. But Dongbaek has never allowed Kromer to actually witness her full face. It seems like it's something deeply personal to the First Sinner.
Is this pain normal for Dongbaek? The unnatural coolness of the bumpy skin below Kromer's palm, the tingling ache that seems to come from the very nerves in Kromer's face, the stinging in her eye that only seems to grow the longer it remains ignored... Does Dongbaek live like this daily? Is this Dongbaek's forever?
Kromer's right hand hesitantly pulls away from her face, shifting to hold her bangs to the side so the Eleventh Sinner can examine her friend's face closer.
"Ah..." Kromer hums as she leans in closer to the mirror to examine the entirety of her friend's face.
Unnatural scarring dances around the right side of Dongbaek's face. It starts on her cheek and travels through her eye and up to her forehead. The scarring is sporadic, patches of heavier scarring next to pure unblemished skin next to lighter scarring in the form of rougher skin. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to it, it's not a normal burn. The spots with the worst of the scarring seems to have thick raised webs of skin pulling at the face around it. The thick scars are an unnatural pearly white, knotting together like there are roots under the skin. And Kromer quickly realizes... Those angry scars travel around the eyelids as well. Kromer can't blink her right eye. The scars are thick and the eyelids have healed in a position where they remain open no matter how hard Kromer tries to blink.
Oh. The stinging sensation is air touching the eye. Kromer can temporarily fix that, at least.
Moving her attention back down to the first aid kit, Kromer fishes around in a compartment helpfully labeled 'eye' until she finds some eye drops. She's never had a use for these. Kromer doesn't have eye problems and nobody around her has ever really complained to her about their eye problems. But at least they come in use now.
Oh... It is certainly an odd sensation to use eye drops.
"Hmmmn..." Kromer lifts her left hand to feel the scars on her face. The longer Kromer pays attention to the scarring, the more of that angry tingling raises up to the surface of the skin. It's not a pleasant sensation. "The scars remind me of little tree branches. I wonder if Dongbaek has noticed the similarities between the two..."
The voice coming from Kromer is soft and thoughtful, as if Kromer is merely speaking her thoughts to herself.
Instead of seeming troubled, the Eleventh Sinner's face breaks out in an odd smile. It's definitely not an expression Dongbaek would normally wear, but Kromer is a much more expressive person than Dongbaek. Kromer also doesn't seem to be bothered by the pain that comes with making such an expression.
"Fuhu~. I'll keep Dongbaek's face safe until I get my own back. I'm going back to my weapons for now. Don't cause me too much trouble, anons."
With those final words, Kromer closes her first aid kit and returns her attention back to the gauntlet.
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