Strange Aeons

Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light...

This article is about The Dark Pictures Anthology's third installment, House of Ashes .

Strange Aeons
Installment	House of Ashes
Act	3
Chapter	4
Overall	20
Theatrical Cut
Playable Character(s)	Rachel/Jason
Time(s)	0422 HRS 0433 HRS
Location(s)	Star Chamber
Depth(s)	3877 FT.
Collectibles	6 (Secrets: 5; Pictures: 1)
Curator's Cut
Playable Character(s)	Jason/Nick
Time(s)	0422 HRS 0433 HRS
Location(s)	Star Chamber
Depth(s)	3877 FT.
Collectibles	6 (Secrets: 5; Pictures: 1)
Chapter Guide
Previous	The City
Next	The Vault

Strange Aeons is the fourth chapter of Act 3 in House of Ashes and the twentieth overall.

The player controls Rachel/Jason (Theatrical Cut) and Jason/Nick (Curator's Cut) as the group discovers more about the origin of the vampires.

Star Chamber, 0422 HRS, 3877 FT.

The protagonists look around the Star Chamber.

• If Jason inhaled the gas in the previous chapter, he coughs roughly. Salim tells Jason to stop coughing as it will attract unwanted attention (if their relationship is low) or reassures Jason (if their relationship is high).

Nick places his backpack on a table. Salim tells the others that they need a plan, to which Jason says they should kill the vampires and get out alive, much to Salim's agreement. Jason then asks Nick about the remaining equipment they got left. Nick briefs Jason the equipment; Eight clips of 556 FMJ, three 40 mil high-ex rounds, a couple of nine mil pistols with four clips between them, two White Phosphorus rounds (if WPs are brought), and one block of composition C4.

• If Eric is alive and knows the vampires' weakness, Jason asks about the UV wand. Eric claims that he can fix it in a minute to get it working.

Nick claims that all the equipment are still not enough. Jason then adds some straps of dynamites from the archaeologists' remains. Although the fuses are shot, Nick comes up with the idea to blow them up with the C4. Salim tells the others about the cocoon mounds in the vault, after which Jason comes up with the plan to blow them up, much to Nick's enthusiasm. Jason then hands Salim a handgun. Rachel or Eric, if alive, express concern about giving the enemy a weapon, but Jason states that Salim is their ally now.

• If Joey's medical kit was found and not used by Nick in Slayer, the latter uses it to recover only one of the protagonists' injury. The order of priority is Jason > Salim > Eric > Nick.

Jason claims that the archaeologists were also in this chamber. Salim then approaches a table and picks up a book. The protagonists explore the area and can:

• Find Mary's notes.
• Find one of the archaeologists' confession.
• Find a sketch of the creatures' life cycle.
• Find a picture.
• Find the tenth and final part of Randolph Hodgson's journal.
• Interact with the pedestal. Can only be interacted with after some time. Interacting with it progresses the story.
• Talk to Salim, who is reading a book.
  • Salim tells Jason or Rachel about the creatures' communication system.
    • If Salim shot Eric, Rachel tells him to stay away from her, and when he says he doesn't harbor any hatred, she tells him hatred is keeping her going.
  • He tells Nick that Nick is different from the other soldiers, and he could tell when they met.
• Talk to Eric if he is alive, who is fixing his prosthetic leg.
  • Rachel volunteers to help, and when Eric resists, she can apologize or tell him to fix his own leg. If she is infected, telling him to fix his own leg causes her to jumble her words together.
  • Jason checks up on him. Eric says he's not doing well, adding that he's lost his wife if Rachel is dead. Jason can say he's got Eric's back or tell him to start acting like an officer
  • Nick asks if he needs a hand and when Eric tells him he's done enough, Nick can be respectful or say it isn't his fault Rachel is dead.
• Talk to Rachel if she is alive and not controlled, who is standing near the water. Jason asks how she's holding up.
  • If Rachel is infected, she says she is cold, Jason says she doesn't look good and Rachel insists she's fine.
  • If Rachel is uninfected, she says she's thinking of how to get home.
  • If Eric is dead, Rachel says that Eric planned for everything but couldn't have planned for this, which Jason agrees with. Rachel says she isn't sure if they have enough fight left and Jason says the dynamite will help.
    • If Salim shot Eric, Rachel says Salim shouldn't be here and they can't trust him.
      • If Jason and Salim have a positive or neutral relationship, Jason says they can, and Rachel says he's out of his mind.
      • If Jason and Salim have a negative relationship, he says he doesn't want Salim there either but they need all hands on deck, and he'll be keeping a close eye on him.
• Talk to Jason if he is not controlled, who is standing near the water.
  • Jason brings up Rachel's relationship with Nick.
    • If both Jason and Rachel are infected, they discuss it.
    • If Eric is dead, Jason says she's sorry for her loss, and if Rachel has her wedding ring on she looks at it as she says he was.
  • Nick asks what's on Jason's mind, and he says if Rachel was in command this wouldn't have happened and he'll make the vampires pay. If Jason didn't meet Salim in The Truce or Bloodbath, he confronts Nick about hiding his run-in with Salim, and Nick apologizes. If Salim and Jason have a positive relationship, Jason says Salim is okay. If not, then Jason tells Nick not to hide things from one another, which Nick agrees.
• Talk to Nick if he is not controlled, who is checking the equipment. They discuss the explosives.
  • If Eric is dead, Nick says he's sorry to Rachel, and says he can't lose her now. If Rachel is infected, he feels her hands and she says she's just cold.
  • If Eric is alive, Nick tries to talk about their relationship but Rachel dismisses him, saying that he needs to focus on the task ahead.
  • If Rachel is dead, Jason says he wishes they could have saved her. Otherwise, Jason talks about Nick and Rachel's relationship.

Salim moves his finger along the console, believing that it's singing. If Rachel is infected, voices are heard as she feels pain. Salim then states the sound is a language formed from musical scales. Salim then says Mary was a pianist and notices how the carving looks like the Cetus constellation.

Salim states there was only one scale of sound in the device according to the journal, but Mary was studying it alone, before asking Rachel/Jason/Nick for their help. Salim says the console is too big to be operates single-handedly, after which a minigame occurs where the protagonist has to move and match with another protagonist's finger around the console. When it is matched correctly, the light turn on. All four lights must be on in order to complete the minigame.

• In Shared Story, both players control each protagonist to move their finger around.

After the minigame's completion, music can be heard coming out from the tubes. Salim says how Mary believed the creatures' language was one of music and questioned how could they not feel emotion. Salim then adds a tragedy fell upon them, in which the creatures' empire collapsed, their music felt silent, and they turned on each other. Salim states the tragedy twisted those creatures into murderous animals, in which he adds with no one left to kill, the creatures slept and waited for preys, before ending his sentence with "they waited for us".

• If Rachel is not infected or dead, Jason asks if anyone believes what Mary said. Nick states Mary was right about a thing, that there is no good thing in that place, before suggesting they should go plant the bombs.
• If Rachel is infected, she yells and falls onto the ground, much to the others' shock. Rachel then hallucinates the creatures' ship in outer space, which is about to crash onto Earth. After hallucinating...
  • If WPs are brought, Rachel places a WP round between her knees, before taking out a knife. Rachel can complete a QTE to stab the WP round.
    • If QTE is completed, she is incinerated.
    • If QTE is failed, she drops the knife.
      • In Curator's Cut, Rachel does not stab the WP round if she has a high Fearful trait.

The following segment only occurs if Rachel is infected and WP rounds are not brought/Rachel did not stab the WP round. Otherwise, the next chapter begins.

Star Chamber, 0433 HRS, 3877 FT.

The other protagonists hold Rachel down. Rachel tells the others how the creatures came from the stars. Nick tells the others to do something while Eric reassures her. Jason then decides to shoot Rachel, although the others disagree with his decision. Rachel can tell Jason to not shoot her or force him to shoot her.

• If the latter option is chosen twice, Jason shoots Rachel in the head. As the other protagonists leave, Salim impales Rachel's corpse to make sure the parasite in her is dead.
• If the former option is chosen twice...
  • If Rachel has a high relationship with Jason, he lowers the gun.
  • If Rachel has a low relationship with Jason, he attempts to shoot her. However, Jason misses and Rachel must complete a QTE to disarm Jason.
    • Failing the QTE lets Jason kill Rachel.
• Saying nothing twice also gets Rachel killed.

If Rachel survives up to this point, Salim comes up with an idea to put Rachel inside a cocoon. Rachel can be desperate or resistant.

• If Rachel is resistant, she yells out how she won't be cocooned.
  • If Rachel has Jason's gun, she aims at the others before running away. When Jason follows her, he loses her. He then hears the sound of Rachel turning into a vampire. When the others catch up, Jason believes it's too late and the others leave.
  • If Rachel doesn't have Jason's gun, the latter and Nick attempt to grab her. Rachel must complete a QTE to break free from Jason.
    • If QTE is completed, the same scene plays out as if Rachel had Jason's gun.
    • If QTE is failed, Rachel is forced to be cocooned.
• If Rachel is desperate, she volunteers to be cocooned. Jason and Nick drag Rachel outside the Star Chamber.
  • In Curator's Cut or Shared Story, Jason has to complete QTEs to avoid the spores.
    • Failing it results in Rachel's death to her infection unless Eric is alive and knows the vampires' weakness.
  • If Eric doesn't know about the vampires' weakness or is dead, Salim finds a cocoon where Rachel is put inside.
    • If Rachel has a high relationship with Eric, she can be intimate or intense. Either way, Rachel and Eric kiss before the former is put into the fluid.
    • If Rachel has a high relationship with Nick, she can be intimate or intense. Either way, Rachel and Nick kiss before the former is put into the fluid.
    • If Rachel has a low relationship with both Eric and Nick, she talks to Jason instead. Rachel can be serious or intense, but regardless, she is put into the fluid.
  • If Eric knows about the vampires' weakness, he shines the UV light onto Rachel, causing the parasite to leave the latter's body through the mouth. As the parasite flees, Rachel grabs the UV wand and goes after the parasite to kill it. Rachel and Jason is in a room with tubes. After inspecting several tubes, the parasite falls onto Rachel's/Jason's back and attempt to get into their mouth. Rachel/Jason throws the parasite onto the ground and must complete a QTE to stomp it.
    • If QTE is completed, the parasite is killed. Rachel/Jason can inspect the parasite and unlock a secret.

The protagonists then set for the vault in order to plant bombs on the cocoon mounds.

Collectibles

Secrets

• Mary's Notes - On a crate near the supply table.
• Van Huyten's Confession - On a crate across the room.
• Creature Life Cycle - On a board near the pedestal.
• Randolph's Journal - Part 10 - On a table behind the pedestal.
• Alien Parasite - Found if Rachel is infected and asks to be cocooned while Eric is alive and is aware of the vampires' weakness. It must be found quickly and a QTE must be completed in order to unlock this secret.

Pictures

• Hotel - On a crate in the right side corner of the star chamber.

Deaths

Determinant

Rachel

• If Rachel is infected and...
  • Eric allowed Jason and Nick to bring white phosphorus rounds, and Rachel stabs the white phosphorus round, she will be burned to death. (Theatrical Cut)
  • her Fearful trait isn't high enough, she will stab the white phosphorus round and be burned to death. (Curator's Cut)
  • fails to convince or disarm Jason, she will be shot. (Theatrical Cut)
  • Jason decides to shoot Rachel, she will be shot. (Curator's Cut)
  • convinces or disarms Jason but refuses to be cocooned, she will die from her infection off-screen. (Theatrical Cut)
  • convinces or disarms Jason and agrees to be cocooned, but Jason fails both QTEs while dragging her, she will die from her infection and Salim will impale her with his stake. (Curator's Cut)

An alien parasite

• If Eric is aware about the vampires' weakness and is still alive until this chapter, then Rachel is infected and survives the ordeal and asks to be cocooned, the parasite inside Rachel will be purged by the UV wand. Rachel and Jason can then find the parasite and complete a QTE to stomp it.

Trivia

• This is the fourth chapter in which Rachel can die.
• Nick can only be controlled in Curator's Cut if Rachel is dead.