The fucking equivalent of a 5-Star Monster… Versus a dehydrated, starved and drained 2-Star Mage at best…
The Aberration lunges. With whatever stamina I have left, I dive sideways, but it's tendril whip my ankle. Numbing cold crawls up my leg. Poison.
Panic crystallizes into strategy. In EAA, Myconids were weak to fire. But I'm a Wind-aligned Mage, stranded in a damp forest.
The myconid charges again. I scramble atop a boulder, mind racing. Think beyond the game. Apply real world science. The bioluminescent fungi—some looked like the fungus on earth called the Sphaerobolus, explosive in the right conditions. Wind Slash could ignite them if…
"Wind Slash! Slash! SLASH!"
I slash wildly at a cluster of glowing caps. But no slash comes out.
"Huh? W-why?"
[ Remaining MP: 4/250 ]
Oh… well fuck me…
The myconid raises its appendages, all 4 of them ready to crush the ̴̢̥̪̠͇̝̤̙͓͇̟̝͍̥͉͐͛̈́̐̂͌̂͐̍͆͌͋͛ì̷̢̩̥̻̝̙̫̰̱̱͙͠͝͠n̴̡̰͕͙͕̮̖͕͈̮̦͖̦͐̐͑̈̑̊̓̍̽͊͌̄͑̒̚͠͠s̶̛̪̥̯̥̲̙̗̣̣̼͋̅̃͛́́̈́͆͗͝ỉ̸͎̞͐́̀̆͗̎͐̓̅͠g̶̛̮͉̮̦̝͚̤̎͗̆̈́̒̔̓͒̇͛̾͂̚ņ̷̯̰̫̲͈̖͉̟̜́͆̈́͐̌̆̌̎̍͘̕͠i̴̧̧̢̗̟̤̟̹͉̙̖̩̪̫̟̤͇̊̿͑̆̃̄̋͗͘͝f̵͓̊̋̆͂̏̊̒̐̀̓̇̔̋̚͝͠ȋ̵̛͉̤̝̖͎̥̬͇̦͛̆̾͊̈͂͠͠č̵͉͎̺͈̦̟͉̻̇͛̔̋͌̓͘a̶̟̹͎̤̥̖̯̪͊̂̊̃̏͌̿̈́̊̅͗n̷̨̝̳̖͉̔̂̃͒̆̂͆͌̒͘͠͠t̵̢̨̧̡͙̹̭̜͎̯̭̮̪̗̉̌̽̒̾̀͌́͘ human under them. I sit there again, though echoing in my head in the same way as my previous death. I was so close to a world where magic exists, a childhood fantasy of mine. If only I were smarter, more perceptive and easily adaptable. But no, i'm just a b̴̩̹̳͔̩̣̰̔́͒ö̸̡͈͇͍̫̼̺̱̥̥̤̳̤́͋͂͜o̴̳͍̘̿̎͒̒̂͛͑́͛̆̍̌̚̕ͅk̶͓̬̣͛̍́̀͆̾̽̓̇̅̉͑̈́̊̚w̴̳̼̞̘͍̄͒ȏ̴̰͙̹̰̏̔͂̉́͊̂͑̊̚̚͝r̴͉͔̆̉̂̈́̃m̵̨̛͎͕̯̰͔̙̤̬̥̈́̎̓̄̾̑̏̔̔̚͜, I only know how to read and wri-
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A rampage of p̴̨̲̳͇̟͕̭̻͎̘̏͋̀̒̾̆͜͠u̸͇̬̖̭̗̫̣̥̭̰͓̫̓͗͗̾͝ṟ̵̙̜̰̭̙̹͚͉̤̠͎̻͖͔̆̄̉̅͌͗̾͒̆̑̕̕p̵̛̰̮͖̖̘̙̱̋̽̽̏̏̏̑̕̕͝͠l̸̥̭͋ę̶̧̘͉͙̥͍͙̬̣̓̂̈́͒̌ ̸̢͖̫̗̳̠̺̣̞͎̌̉̽͑̏̋̇̋͆͠͝͝a̵͖̞̖̪͑̈n̸̺̭͎͇̗̹̫̬̦͎̆͊͗͊̈́̽̈̕͘͝͠d̸̨̢̛̩̞̱̰̬̺̈́͑́̅̎̉̀̈̏͌̽̔͐͝ ̸̧̣͕̟̪̘̭̝̀́͂͒͛̈́̆̉̿̿͂̐̒̀͜͠b̸̧̢͎͖̣̞̭̥̬̬͓̜̘̜̤͑̈́̂ļ̷̛̫͓͈̝́̀̃̍͆̄̉͜͝ȃ̷̛̹̙̰̩̲̤̬͎̫̬̒̓̉̍̂̂̐̽̾̇͘͘͝͝͝ͅc̴̜̞̖̝͚̜͔͐̊̀̇̾̓̈̿̒̑́́̈́̇͝͠k̶̛̥͓̃̔̎̈́… A flash of darkness… I look beside me and see the arm of the Myconid, burnt by the shoulder. And the entire body? Evaporated, By fire? No—not flame. Something worse. A singularity of hunger, bending light into its maw. The spell had swallowed the Myconid whole. No ash. No sound. Just… absence. Where the Aberration stood, the earth itself is gone, replaced by a smoldering crater lined with glassy, warped stone.
I know this spell. Dark Flare, a dark element spell. And to this destructive level… Only one individual could cast it…
The interface flickers again, its blue text warping into j̷̢̢̝͚̘͎̹̳̣̦̯͖̝̖̜́͗̋̇̂̓̕ą̷̛̛͚̺̱͉̗̝͙̹̠̹̪̍͛͑̓́͗̄̌͊̄͌̔̚͝ͅg̸̢̧̨̛̫̦̠̖̜͓̏͌̃̀͊́͗̊͂̔̋́̋̌̿g̶̨͔͚͈͓̗̲̀̾̋̏͊͊͊͑͜͝ͅͅe̵̛̞̖̞̺̘̝̖͖͙̼̹̮͋̿̀̀͊̅͐̈͜ͅḍ̴̿̒̈̈́̊͋̈́͆̍̉̏̿́̌͆̄̚ ̷̢̟̙̤̈́̓̓̆̈́̿̆̽̉̍͒c̴̨̼̈̇̓̅͐̽̈́́̇̒̐̐͘͝r̴̡̙̜̘̤̺̖̩̫͉͛̋̀͊̄̇͝ì̶̘͉̯̈́̎̎̾̎̂̋͊̍̽̿̽̉̐̕͝m̷̧̨̨̘̙̞͚͖̹͇̣͙̺̝̝̏̍̋̒͋̈́̊͊̀͝s̵̳̓̃̄̃͆̍͠o̶̖̾̋́̕ṋ̷̨̛̜͇͉̎̃̉͐̉͋̐̕͝
[ ERROR. ERROR. MAIN STORYLINE CORRUPTED. Ỉ̵͕̲̺̝͖̝͉̺̽̌̂̎͌̈́́͆̌̚̕m̸̨̨͍͕̝͚̗̹̘̹̖̀̂́̓ͅm̶̡̡̟͔͓̖͕̺͉̬̺͍̹̲̭̜̙͛̋̊̅̉ę̴̢̡͙̖̺̲͈̰̟̈́n̸̢͚̥̯͎̱̘̫̩̞̂̍͠ḛ̸̗̹͒̍̐̽̽̔̅̚͝n̶̨̳̘͚̦̣̲̥̩͚̥͙̖̞̗̆̀͐͑͂̕͜ͅt̷̯̱̞͖͙͕̟̉̍̎̾͒̌̋̀́̽̏̕̕̚ ̸̨̻̰̻̦͋̇̓̋̓̈́͐̍͘͘͝͝ď̶̡̡͙͔͇̗̘̯̦̦̱̥̐̂̏̓̃̕͠e̵͝ͅa̶̢̗̲̦̖̙͆͛̀̾̍̈͘͘͝͝͠ţ̷̡̧̛͇̦͎̲̪̳̳̤̣͚͕̟͙͛͊̾̇̀̉̄̆̓͊͝ͅḧ̴̢̳͈͎̫̯͔̙͖̦́̐̉̕ ̴̢̰͎̟͚̫͙͓͕͕̀͗̅͆͋͑͛̀̀̕͝͝͠á̶̢̹͖̟̣͇͌̃̈́̃̓̆͆p̷̨̨̨͇̯͚͍̼̗̦̹͋̉͆̇̿̍̚͜͜͠p̵̡̻̜͓̲̥͐̔̇̍́͋͘͜͠r̸̢͇̘͚͓̺̹͔̮̳̮̭͎̦͆͜a̸̯̬̳̗͊̔̌͊̉̏͂̒͂̃̏͒͋̀̔͜͠͠ỏ̴̧̱̤̮̤̳͚̙̰̖̈́̆́͗͌̚c̴͉͈̰̳͈̻̰̖̖̼̑́̄͌͐̀̎̅͊̀̉̏̃ͅh̶̖̖̏e̶̪̱̥̲̪̩͒̐̍́͒͜s̸̖̰̦̩̯͖̪̳͍͔̣̻̣̙͔͙͑̓̿͆̌͒͑̋̕͝ ]
[ F̵͖̈́a̴̱͝ţ̷͌ḁ̸̽ļ̶̚i̴̳̊t̷͙͝ý̶̦ ̸̖͌D̷̿͜e̷̛̻t̷̋ͅȩ̷̿c̶̙͂t̴͇͑e̴͌͜d̷͈̈́ ]
Class:Ŗ̶̺̖̲̗̲̫͙̫̬͍̣͓̤̬̰̮̅̈́́̔̏̀͝ư̷͓̘͓̑́̌̀̏͆̅̐̎͆̈́̌̌̉͝n̷̢̨̛̛̬̹̯̰͖̞̺̣̝̰̭͐͑͑́̈́͘͜ͅ
Stats: Ŗ̶̺̖̲̗̲̫͙̫̬͍̣͓̤̬̰̮̅̈́́̔̏̀͝ư̷͓̘͓̑́̌̀̏͆̅̐̎͆̈́̌̌̉͝n̷̢̨̛̛̬̹̯̰͖̞̺̣̝̰̭͐͑͑́̈́͘͜ͅ
Element Affinity: N̷͙̬̱̦̺̟̮̦͚̭̜͔̥͔̖̪̽̉̈́̈̅̔̋̋̚͜u̸̻͎̗̙͇̤̺̓̚l̵̟̣͓̺̱̤̮͍̱͛̑̒̍̈́̏͑͗͜͝ļ̷̧͈̩̺̼̝͇͌̋͑͑͒͝ͅ
Mana Remaining:-̸̧̼̫͆̈́̈͋̎
I bolt. I don't care about stamina. Faster. Faster.
But the forest ends at a black veil. Around, a sea of fog churns. Above, a moon the color of a bruise. The forest itself recoils. Mushrooms wither. The air grows heavy, metallic, as if the world is holding its breath.
The presence draws closer. The fog parts.
A figure steps forth.
Black robes. A staff topped with a pulsing heart. A face I'd hated long ago—sharp features, cruel smile, eyes like smoldering coals.
Ẁ̸̞͈͚̦̹̺͊͘͘ẻ̶̛̖̗͇̟̯̤̙̬̦͖̝̞̻̅̒̌̌̓̃͌̔̾͊́̇͠͝͠a̶̭̖̫͕̤̮̰̟͔̱̬͚̥̺̿͊̈́̅͌̒̀̎͊̑͒͘̚ͅv̷̡̛̗̳̙̰̼̣̤̱̐͐̓̉̊͛̔̓͛́͗͗̚͠͠͝e̷̤̞̙͛̅̈́̀̉̈́̄̿̿̕͝r̷̨̛̭̘̺̮͉̘͕̙̫͂͂͐̈́̓̂̀̒̎̈́͝͠ ̷̣̗̹͙̓̿͂̈́o̵̰͖̒̀͛̈̓̂̃̅̄̆͘͠f̵̳̺͍͖͚͕̩̞̫̼̠̦͊̃͆̉̀̽̋̑̋̓͠͝ ̶̨̹̩̹͍͔̈̑̌̀̇͊L̶̨̛̞̠̤̝̟̈́̏̓͐́̈́e̶͔͌͐̈́͗̔̐̔̓̐́̈́͊̐̕͝t̶̡̺͕̪̙͕̞̲͔͗́͗̈́͛͂͆͆̔̒̀̾͝h̶̫̹̹̞̱̹͇̤̋͊̄̀̽̉̆͑͊̊̅̈́͋̕̚̕͠â̷͓͕̥͎̟͖̝̊̈̂̾̓͜͠͝r̸̡̰̱̝̝̽̄͋̑̌̆͐͒̕͝͠g̷̨͇͇̪̬̗̖̔͛͑̃͒́̈͂i̴̢̳̲͔͓̼͂͐̌̿̓c̷̳̹̮͚̆̒͆͛̉̅̚ ̶̧̨̡̱̱̟͚̲̟̯͈̘̬̤͕̳̝̽͒̔̒̉̂́̈́̏̔̀Ļ̸̟̯͙̳̻͈͉͙̲̠̗̔͂̓̊̋̌̇̽͆̐ͅì̸̗̘̟͙̯̪̣̺͖̲̳̮̈̉͒̏́͛͐̓͊̉͘͝͝ͅͅğ̷̨̢̧̡̪͚̻̭͎͚̗̘͛͑̿͑̉̄̆́͑̇̏̀͘̚h̶̛͔̣̳̀̓́͊͆̉͗̀̉͑̓͆̌̍̂̕t̶̻̥̺̭̼̠͉̥̼͈̆͗́̆̂̿̍̓͜
The final boss of all the endings in EAA. The architect of the apocalypse. The man who, in the game, nobody could ever defeat. Only accessing those ending via a glitch in his summoning ritual.
He tilts his head, amused.
"Ah," he purrs. "That cheat code."
"Huh? Cheat code? Temporal Anchor! Inhabit-"
A single flick of his staff and the interface shatters into static.
Valac's laughter is the sound of bones breaking.
"Welcome," he says, "To the true ending of Elenos."
"True ending?"
The last thing I see is his staff rising.
Then, nothing.
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[ You have died. ]
Respawning
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Error. Save file not found.
[ ̷̢̾͒̐̍̈́͂͑̚͝-E̴̢̥̥͔̙̞͉͓̺̠̤͆̍̓͐͜ͅR̶̛̼̠̖͈̹̫̼̗̟̖̪̼̈̊̒̌̿͂̓͌̏͒̾͑̿̚͜͠ͅṘ̵̡̢̪̼̝̗͍̫̦̫OR̴̨̡̨̛͕̖̺̣̝̲͎̟͕͔̗̍̾̉͑̀͜ͅ ̷̢̧̾͒̐̍̈́͂͑̚͝E̴̢̥̥͔̙̞͉͓̺̠̤͆̍̓͐͜ͅR̶̛̼̠̖͈̹̫̼̗̟̖̪̼̈̊̒̌̿͂̓͌̏͒̾͑̿̚͜͠ͅṘ̵̡̢̪̼̝̗͍̫̦̫Ȯ̷͎̩̝͙̼͔R̴̨̡̨̛͕̖̺̣̝̲͎̟͕͔̗̍̾̉͑̀͜ͅ MAIN STORY Í̷̛̦͈̳͙̓̀͒́̿̈͛́̀̑͂́̈͛͘Ņ̷̲̘̯͈̗̊͑͊́͂͌͂̈́̑̄̒̏͋͑̒F̴̙͇̼̬̉̊̓͂̆̿̒̕͘͝͠E̸̠̤͔̹̊̍͂̓̆͛̆̅͒͠C̵̨̠̱̠̾̇̓̒̓̏͊̀͑͘T̷̢̼͔̝̪̞͉͍̪̻̬̰̙̿̑̃̆͠ͅE̴̬̯̼͈͖̊̄̿̒̈́̆͑̇͘͠ͅD̵̡̩̱͉̘̯͓̦̻͉̺̗̤́̉ ]
Beginning New Game+
Difficulty: Apostate
[ Begin ]