prof | Let's Play The Spirit Engine 2

<< | ^^ | >>

Chapter 8: The Wyrm Turns

Part 2: The Trial

More enemy fightin' on the way out of the heart!

The ship map is expanding!

New enemies!

These Principle Armours, with their insanely high defenses, will require special treatment.

While PyanPau and Ionae dispatch the Crystal Contagion, Denever powers up to ridiculous heights...

And then slays it in a single hit!

I was not expecting that to work as well as it did.

Gogogogo!

Of course the enemies all respawn for the return trip.

And before hitting Containment, I'm going to the storage area for no reason!

Best hero.

Fun fact: Jesters do random damage types with every hit!

For our troubles, we are rewarded with access to Medea's second most reputable shop!

Okay, back to business.

First order: MORE ENDLESS FITAN

Then it gets weird.

I know what you are, lowly worm. Do not try to intimidate me. You speak to a Matrijatant Adjundant from the greatest depths of the Counterplanes.
You might frighten the humans, but where I came from, your kind scrapes out the bottom of the food chain like a filthy rag.

You can't bluff me, Ionae. I can taste the acrid stench of your fear. You're one of them now, trapped in that brittle little body. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
So much power, so much potential. You gave it all away, Ionae, for what? So that you can be violated by this 'lowly worm'? Every tick of the clock now drags you closer to the grave and the cold embrace of oblivion.
You could have been mighty, immortal...

That's a fantasy! The Matrijatii are not immortal. We fooled ourselves with the word, put death neatly aside and ignored it. But there's nothing that can last forever, not in this reality, not even in the towering fires of the Counterplanes.

Are you sure, tiny mote? You'll never know now, will you?
What a silly, pointless little creature you have become, the foolish outcast god who chose to be human. You'll regret this mistake for the rest of your short life.

Get out! I shan't tell you again! Get out of my head!

No, I like it in here. You're full of holes, vulnerabilities and fears. Even more so than the others. They don't know what they're missing, do they, Ionae? You do.
I think I'll stay and poke around in here some more. I'll let you know if I find anything else...

Ionae! Come on, pull yourself together and get back on your feet! We need to stay calm.

The dark malign influence of the creature is becoming stronger. You must resist it, all of you. We're so close now.

More senseless monster slaughter...

I know what you are. You cannot hurt me. I am at peace and I fear no suffering. It is only a transitive state.

You lie with such hollow conviction, PyanPau. There is no man taht is without fear. Now speak to me. What have you achieved in this past year?

I... I have seen the best and worst of man's nature. I have sampled dishes from three hundred taverns, played Palko with the Lereftese national champion and visited the inmates of Tolstein state prison.
I have seen the sun rise above the Jaelic and watched the eclipse over the icy fields of the Crystal Breaks.

And yet you still have nothing to say to us? Have you no wisdom to offer save that recited from the books of those masters past who truly earned their title?

I have tried, Master, but it is so difficult. What can I say that has not already been said? Ours is a world that defies comprehension. Is it not enough to simply enjoy what we have whilst we can?

The Academy exists, PyanPau, to advance the greater understanding of the cosmos and our place within it. What use are you if you cannot contribute? What use are you to anyone or anything if all you do is consume?

I... do not know, Master. I am afraid that I will never know and that fear drove me to the Academy. I must seek to better myself before I can better the world. I must find my purpose.
It has not eluded me for lack of effort. I need more time!

All the time in the world will not make a genius of a man born a fool, PyanPau. Your place was decided at birth. It is best you learn to accept it and stop reaching beyond your means.

I suspected your education would be a waste when you were first brought before me to teach. Your mind will never be anything more than a small canvas, filled with the thoughts of others.
It would be better for all concerned if you did not return to the Academy. Save yourself the shame, and us the displeasure of dismissing you directly. Let us just forget you and pray that you find yourself as something truly useful in your next life.

No! Master please, grant me a second chance to prove my worth!

Grandfather? Where are you? I need you now to speak for me.
Please. Don't leave me here alone with my failure. Grandfather?!

I know it is an illusion, but that doesn't mean it's not true. Karvey help me, I was a fool to think that I could be anything more than what I am.

It's a lie, PyanPau! You mustn't believe it. Come on, get up. We have to keep moving.

More fighting...

Percy? No, it can't be you. My mind must be playing tricks on me, or rather something is playing tricks on my mind. You were in Porto Vale when the Cloud Children came. You're dead, old friend.

We all are, Denever, and we're waiting for you now. You're the last of us left. What's taking you so long? Do you not miss us?

Of course I miss you, my friends, very dearly indeed. And I will join you eventually, but not now. There is work still to be done, and I have no time to rest and close my eyes.

There is always work to be done, Denever. But at some point you need to let go, to pass the torch to the next generation and settle back toe njoy the fruits of your life's labor.
You could never do that. Were you afraid of what you would be left with? An empty home and a ticking clock? You lost your chance for a family with Juliette. That was my fortune.
You soldiered on while the rest of us settled down and left the world happy and loved. You never stopped to seek the acceptance all men must seek when their end draws near.
You hoped the adrenaline would bilnd you until you were finally outfought and saved the pain of reflecting on your empty life. And now you are alone.

No, not alone! One is never alone in the service of a good cause, and so long as I keep fighting I shall never be so. Have you forgotten the spirit of the Guard, Percy? I have companions at my side.

They're not your friends, Denever. They've only known you for a week. Are you really desperate enough to think that they care?

I-I don't know. They're good people, God bless them.

Perhaps they are, but good intentions do not make friendship. This is an alliance of convenience, but they don't need you anymore, Denever. You're slowing them down.
You've spent your whole life fighting, but you've placed great demands on your body, and it cannot carry you much further. It's time to tie up your affairs here, Denever. The end is close now. You can feel it, can't you?

Yes. I feel it in my bones. I am tired and I am lonely, but I am not afraid.

I know. You've had a long time to prepare. Yours has been a long and productive life, Denever, but you have given so much and gained or built so little for yourself. Don't you feel you deserve more?

I wouldh ave liked it, Percy, the life that you had. I would have traded every victory for a happy home and a wife and children. I have missed out on so much, so very much that I will never know or see or hear or touch...

Shhh, it's alright. No one expects any more from you, old friend. No one wants to see this tired old soldier fall as a pale shadow of his former self, a fool who couldn't let go.
Memories are all that you will leave behind, Denever. You don't have to spoil them. You can lay down your sword and meet this with a quiet and peaceful dignity. You've earned the right to.

Don't give up, Denever, it isn't real. Please, if you go to pieces than what hope do Ionae and I have?

I've had enough! I won't stand to see my friends toyed with like this. You're a coward, monster, do you hear me? You've seen all that we have. Unless you're afraid of us, show yourself!

Okay, let's do this.

Each of my characters can only harm their own copy. Each of them can only hurt the one who created them.

But I have party-wide buffs. Unlike Ick Thelloth, we are not alone.

There are other edges we have in this fight. PyanPau is, by default a melee priest, so so is Kenyate - but I've turned him into a magic attacker, meaning I can bypass his Chi. Ionae's dodge rate is 12% higher than Dead Ionae's.

Which is not to say that there aren't challenges here. The one in the most danger is PyanPau, because Kenyate has some kind of psychic attack that inflicts True Damage.

Two down, Ionae and Denever switch to full support...

...And we have overcome!

Next time: Killing a monster!

<< | ^^ | >>