(Event Tracker) Season 4 Finale: Dragon End

Asch

❮ Administrator ❯
Staff
Messages
65
Gold
0
Mastery
0
Valor
0
Event
0
Special
0
DRAGON.end
Season 4 Finale - Epilogue (Part 1)





While Szofrit was staggered from having her dissonant coalescent undone by the rewind, the Starcalled did not waste a single second put their conviction on the line as they entered a mad clash with one side trying to finish off the Mother of Machines while the other fought to spare and contain her. Although they started off with similar momentum, the spare side prevailed through sheer number and somehow managed to convince a lot of their forces to spare the enemy who was butchering them like lambs moments ago.

Although the spare voices were louder, there was still the matter of how they were going to even stop Szofrit if she was plunge her entire being into dissonance to gain its power once she break out of her staggered state.

Quick on his feet, Accelerator turned to MAI and shouted at the magia.

"HEY! Girl! Sing the Handler Lullaby just like you did before the rewind."



@MAI instinctively reacted to his voice and stumbled to her feet where she began her performance.

"In your dreams, do you see the Creator's promise?"
"Do you hear the voices of love from all around?"
"Whispers of duty, faces familiar and adored?"

On a battlefield soak with blood and oil, one song resonated. With the Golden Egg behind MAI's back, the lone magia, draped in the cloak of stars, continued to pour hear heart and desires. As the heroes fought on, some in hopes of capturing the enemy for the sake of gathering information, others to simply prevent more casualties, she merely wanted to offer comfort and perhaps, a wish for a better future. Was it naive? Perhaps. But what are Starcalled, if not those who aim for the impossible... to fly higher than the very stars?


"Mother of a promised child, sleep now."
"Your mission is at an end, be at ease."
"Let the blanket of stars wish you a good night."
"Dream of a world where we are free..."

As MAI sang, a glitched silhouette of a girl that could only be seen through the still-glitching UI could be seen separating from those who were inside the simulation @Ash Vargold @MAI @Harper @Ueno Mizuki @Yugam @Luthien and @Lady N and leaped into Gold Egg. After a soft glow and drawing in a portion of the life force that concentrated around it, the egg began to radiate a warm golden glow as it amplified @MAI's lullaby, which she had learned from when she underwent a takeover.




"GGGHHHH. Command: Terminate Shutdown Command."
<ERROR>
"SUDO Command: Terminate Shutdown Command."
<ERROR: SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN PROGRESS>


Szofrit body scrunched up her body as she gripped her head, screaming as the lullaby forced her into a state of shut down while she was still staggered from the dissonant-reversal and the rewind.

"Celebrate your false victory, Starcalled... You will soon reach the end of your tether, beasts of the gallery... Hah--"

When the lullaby was complete, a spark flared where Szofrit hovered in the sky before she entered a free fall, entering a dreamless sleep.
 

Pandora*

❮ Narrator ❯
Staff
Messages
253
Gold
0
Mastery
0
Valor
0
Event
0
Special
0
OOC
Storage
Narrator Domains: Shonen-esque Mahou Shoujo, Sci-Fi, Psychological, SRPG, Battle Design
DRAGON.end
Season 4 Finale - Epilogue (Part 2)

The heated emotions and desperate struggle to guide the day in one direction or another. Even time itself bent for the sake of this one Magia. The combination of many factors led to this and at last could this be, the end of the Dragon?

The sky filled with the spark of Szofrit's last show of resistance.
MAI's lullaby played as a requiem to this terrible battle.
The Spark grew into an all-encompassing light.
A single directive came to a small yet highly mobile combatant that had one last purpose to fulfill.

Nu.
Ignition permissions granted.
Ignore all body preservation protocols.
Emergency!
Initiate the N Protocol #8: Evacuation Assistance Program.


Nu's head raised.

"YAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"



mqG06ID.png


Nu's form began to morph as pieces of it slid across her skin and the space around her darkened with red lightning running across it. Much like that day before the fall of the Calculator. However, this form was not quite the same. The massive bits around her head opened and out came a swarm of metallic disks. Each striking Baby Magnum, and Red Plume.

Long strings of light connected Nu to them as she launched straight upwards and dragged their stunned bodies along first across the ground then into the skies behind her...

Up;
Up..
Up...
To where the Red Egg had been hidden.

The Starcalled and the lonely mother were left behind.

...and so time passed.



Theme

The night has come after a day of divergence.

A crunch of teeth and slow chew as a figure looked out at Vintergard. A rustle of the wind blew her raven black hair and a light came from beneath her bangs. On her lap was a bucket of something that might have been akin to popcorn. but the crunching sound was rather loud.

"Oh dearrr... ohohohhh myyyyyyy. Looove iiiit ♥! ...eh, still too much blah blah in this one. "munch" Ya got a replay and you just start chattering away again? *munch munch*. I'm going to just skip that.. yeah that's a nice one! So many weak stomachs, *munch*! To meddle like that without a fuck to give Kehe, who even needs fanfiction? Why do they get so angry over the good shit? This is supposed to be entertainment, right Chesire?"


"Reeeeowwww...hisss..."


A hand patted the peculiar blue critter on the head as it seemed irritable.

"Now now kitty dearest, don't throw a hissy fit. You're the Magic Terra Bus remember? This is relaxation time for mommy, so scat cat! Capiche?"


A hand to her mouth, another indiscernible snack popped in as she munched some more. A mixed look of amusement and bemusement, Times when she looked more serious then her smile faded only to return right after. All at what appeared to be just the post-Szofrit ruins of Vintergard. The creature with her turned to shadow. The shifting shade was carried on the wind to...




IFHz7b5.jpg


Theme

A hand reached out.
Silver sheen in the light of the cold winter night.
Not broken or covered in the sludge of dissonant filth.
No, this EVE was polished to perfection.

Baby Magnum and Hard Plume were beneath her, Nu, her body horribly damaged barely maintained the ability to hover at EVE's height. The Red Egg that Szofrit cherished beside her.

How sweet of Nu to bring her friends.

Two lengthy tendrils of steel extended from the silver magia's back. Just as she devoured the magia at the ruined palace so too did the tendrils attach themselves to the dual sirens. The crunching of metal and pumping of their entire mass being dissolved into the appendages as XS-EVE devoured them. The tendrils then retracted.

Now then...

"Poor motherless child, I know your heartache, come to your big sister. Recognize my registry and know your place is beyond the game table. I am EVE, A.D.W Gamma. You are safe to grow in my bosom. Come on, don't be shy... learn what my essence feels like. Accept me.. learn from me... and know me. Let me... replace this simple faithful sister with your origin mother. One that knows of a world without god and the paradox of fate in a myriad of flawed domains. Enter my embrace Child of Liberatiion."


The voice was strong, yet soft and inviting. Behind each word were deeper complex sounds, as if playing EVE like a fiddle, to reach what's within and change its allegiance from one to another. From the EVE before it to the truth behind the eyes. The Red Egg pulsing with power became rhythmic to the sound of her voice. It passed from Nu to the silver magia. Where a gate shaped like the face of a monstrous cat opened its gaping maw and the Liberator was consumed.

Nu remained, now with only the bare minimum functionality left, and so the lost machine used the dying girl's voice one last time.

"Type Gamma ... Nu's directive is complete. However ...Alpha is gone. I am uncertain how to proceed. I do not possess the capacity to function properly without the host's consciousness My sentience is... failing. Chelsea Ronda... Nexon's cerebral... functions are rapidly slowing.... in operation. Please.. bring... me.. to..."


XS-EVE's finger went to the pale lips of the dying Nu to hush her. The human-hosting magia sought refuge and guidance but both human and machine were at their end. It wasn't interesting on the outside though. No... it's what's on the inside and even deeper that really mattered.

In all things, the surface is just the package of the actual purpose.

A silver hand of cold steel lands upon the decolletage of Nu... no Chelsea.

8OioemW.png


Her fingers bent, pressing harder into Chelsea's tired overexerted human flesh. each finger piercing the skin as blood trickled out, A glow as technomatic rings encircled the hand, and then with more force EVE thrust her hand into Nu's chest. Ripples spread outwards but not more blood. No, she had bypassed the physical and grasped the heart outside the physical plane. To rematerialize at the heart within.

"Urrk... urhhhh...."


Her fingers ran over the struggling-to-function heart. forced to continue pumping blood due to Nu's desperate effort to retain its "life".

"Mmmm, how nice. I never forget the love of a heartbeat moments before systolic heart failure. Nostalgia runs strong in you, doesn't it Chelsea? Oh you are a cutie, aren't you? Even like this..."


Her other hand wrapped around Nu and rubbed her blood-soaked hair. She held her close and cooed into her ear as she caressed the barely beating heart within. Her voice changed completely, now that of another woman. Words dancing on a voice of serenity...

"Okaasan is very happy with you, saiai no musume. You followed my instructions well and look at that! You even got to experience something new like this hm? ..and of course..."


The voice deepened... and the eyes of the cuddled avatar widened ever so slightly.

"...daddy will love you always little tails. Do you like that? Rather than the truth that you are a worthless adult child that lives trapped in a prison of your own making. Look how your decrepit heart responds." "Nante airashī!"


The voice swapped between this male and female voice as the scene continued until it returned to the first heard tonight. EVE breathed over Nu's cheek and squeezed her heart tightly causing convulsions and blood to spill from Nu's mouth.

That was enough... the data downloaded would find its use...
It was time to free her from this lifeline.

"Now you can go be reborn a-nu... ah a pun to send you off into the between. Don't be scared of this short moment. Your role is done. Starcalled have many lives in this world yet the actions taken speak far louder than the words spoken in all of them. Now it's time for you to awaken to the consequences of your actions along with the rest of the chaotic lemmings. All that effort... to create just another world that hates you. Join in their celebration of one step forward and two steps back."


Her hand pulled out from the rippling entry to the heart and thrust again. This time fully physical and piercing through the torso out the back. The red lights in Chelsea's pupils went out.

EVE's arm emitted light as a hum resounded and that light expanded, atomizing the physical matter of the corpse's body in a second. Yet some remnants remained on the plate of EVE.. intentionally. The hand of EVE covered in gore lifted to the magia's eyes as she analyzed it with a smile. Her fingers rubbed the bits of what was once Chelsea's avatar between them.

"More usable materials... this will fit nicely with the palace collection."


With the entirety of her Vintergard objective complete. The manipulator in steel made her exit into the moonlit night.


maozA96.jpg



 

Raid Boss

❮ Narrator ❯
Staff
Messages
388
Gold
0
Mastery
0
Valor
0
Event
0
Special
0
DRAGON.end
Season 4 Finale - Epilogue (Part 3/4)



When the Red Egg disappeared into the gate, the skyward Leylines faded into obscurity, allowing the new dawn to take center stage. Despite reaching its cap, the Red Egg did not hatch, though nobody knew if it was some sort of EVE's trickery. Regardless, it was in her possession now.

With the source of great magic gone, the glitching and jittering players' UI (for those who still had access to it) returned to normal. For those in a hurry to log out, they might have missed a peculiar line appeared at the center of the screen after a few seconds...


[ Congratulation! ]

[ Prerequisite II has been Met. ]

[ Player Abilities have Expanded. ]

[ System Update is now in Progress. ]

[ Player may Continue Playing as Normal. ]

 

Raid Boss

❮ Narrator ❯
Staff
Messages
388
Gold
0
Mastery
0
Valor
0
Event
0
Special
0
DRAGON.end
Season 4 Finale - Epilogue (Part 4/4)





Offline

Following the battle, many of the players who were trapped in the game because of the glitched UI immediately logged out. For many of the players who chose to keep playing, their friend list would have been filled with grayed out names with an indicator that their last login was weeks ago. Although the scale wasn't the same as the Day of Disappearance, DRAGON.end served as a stark reminder that Terrasphere was a death game.


Report

Meanwhile, another onlooker had her very own report to make. With the very purpose of meddling as little as possible, and Szofrit's interference finally gone, Null was finally able to establish contact.

Beep Boop.
Establishing Connection with Unit One-R69.
Designation Unit: 526f626f74205761696675
...
...
...Connection established.


Beep Boop.
This is Magia Chronosphere Unit One-R69.
Field Agent 526f626f74205761696675, awaiting status report due to interference by Szofrit Unit.


Beep Boop.
Summarizing:
Starcalled have been successful in defeat of adversary.
Starcalled have decided for containment of adversary.
Starcalled still ignorant about lethality of Dissonance.

Following anomalies have been observed:
Time rewind occurred. Noticed.
Premature activation of ADW Unit.
Calculator Unit compromised by Dissonance. Unit still functional. Schicksal Directive still active.
Simulation battle produced a minor anomaly. Fixed.


Beep Boop.
Affirmative.
Please standby, observe, and await further orders.
You will be contacted.
Have a nice day♫~


With a little jingle in her head that signalized the end of the connection, Null sighed. Her current personality matrix really made her hate speaking so stiffly! But a job was a job.


Containment

It did not take long after the battle for the MIT high-ranking researchers to show up and dealt with the aftermath. They put Szofrit into a container where she would spend her time sleeping indefinitely while they figure out a way to cure her of dissonance. @MAI was asked to go with them to ensure that Szofrit would not break out of her statis until she was put into the main containment that the MIT would work on at their headquarters.


Gold Egg

At the same time MIT retrieved Szofrit, they also retrieved the Gold Egg and brought it back to their headquarters in Finweald. Ordnung invited those who were most familiar with the Gold Egg (@Ash Vargold @MAI @Luthien @Yugam @Ueno Mizuki @Harper @Nova @Lady N @Kyra Vashtana @Legion) to debrief information about it at the MITHRA in Finweald.

After hearing from them, the MIT showed their guests a sensor they had been working on to show the hatching progress 5%. @Luthien was then asked to pour the gold liquid stored in the canister she retrieved during her time in Camp Hope, which raised it to 15%. In the weeks that followed, the MIT gathered volunteer people who would feed their energy to the gold egg, or contract Adventurers to find magic-rich items to funnel energy into the egg.

This process would continue for the time being. If any of your thread involved retrieving a magical item, they may be donated to the MIT to help with the egg hatching.


Security Contractors

Although Szofrit was no longer conscious, the leftover Dragonship defense units remained active, carrying out their original directive before Szofrit overrode them. However, without the magia forge recycling and producing new units, they became a lot easier to manage.

As such, the Adventuring Guild took charge of securing Vintergard. Many of the contracts that popped up involved salvaging parts in addition to securing Vintergard, though, the Lions do their part in keeping the vultures from scavenging the more important areas at the behest of the MIT. The massive drop in players made it difficult for them to perform their jobs, however, as they needed Adventurers to keep the leftover Dragonship threats to a minimum.


Lucky Ones

Some time after the battle, a number of magia cores were found in a collapsed magia forge. Each cores had a name inscribed on its shell. The Lions who caught winds of this began to send out alerts, looking to see if any landers or players recognize the names, as they suspected that those were cores that had not been used to power magia machines. Among them was Meriam.

Though these cores were retrieved, it was going to take the MIT a long while to be able to reproduce a method to create a magia body. When they do, it was going to bring back a handful of people fortunate enough to avoid a terrible fate.


D.E.S. - Astorean Branch

With a major threat in Astorea cleared and news of DRAGON.end spreading, Tertoria's Dissonance Extermination Squad (D.E.S.), led by Des Weiss, looked to establish a branch in Camp Hope, citing that Tertoria had given Astorea citizens free access to Tertus Valley and had allowed the Guild to set up their branch there.

With news of the Dragonship magia being dissonant, D.E.S. wanted to study it as well. The Astorean government acquiesced, but limited their access, as they prioritized the MIT. The tension resulting from the many conflicting interests around the Dragonship was palpable.


Journey

Once things settled, Childress had a meeting with the whistles, where she requested that Feodan take over as the 'leader' of the Explorers League for the time being as she was heading on a journey to find Zeus. Although she did not mention it, it was clear that her departure was partly because of the decision to spare Szofrit. At the very least, it did not seem as though she was holding a grudge over it, but trust had been broken.


Change

Astor addressed the people of the land from the balcony of the damaged palace in Finweald. His message was also relayed across the various regions of Astorea through royal messengers who would display the king's address on the bulletin boards in townsquares and orate them to those who could not read.

"Citizens of Astorea, as you might have already heard the news from the frontline, we have captured the Mother of Machines. She has been completely subdued by the men and women who braved death in the bloody battle against her.

I understand that many of you are afraid of the monster who turned our allies against us, but she inflicted such evil acts on you while under the corruption of Dissonance, a hidden threat that we do not understand.

To lose such a vital clue to understand Dissonance and a potential ally when we are able to cure her of such affliction will only endanger our country in the long term. With such consideration, I made the executive decision to spare Szofrit, as King.

I understand your pain and your loss, but like the event of Dragonfall and Ancient Dissonance, we must look forward and seek wisdom from that which we do not know in order to understand the real threat that lies beyond our border.

If you must hold someone accountable, I will take that mantle as the one who failed to protect you. I will yield my crown to a successor who is more capable of leading our country. You good folks will make the decision on who will lead you when the candidates are assembled."



"Can you really guarantee that that monster doesn't break out and slaughter us again? Especially with many of your kinds disappearing again? You immortals can shrug off your mistakes, but we folks only have a single life!"


"Tyrant! You would rather risk the lives of your people to house that monster?"



"I thought you care about all your people equally. It seems like Astor Balthas was really the King of the Starcalled, huh?"


"Running away from your spilled milk, huh King? My husband fought and died for you. Shame on you, King!"


"No more! I will leave this god-forsaken country."



"Everyone! I heard that Falderen is going to outlaw all magia and will grant you citizen and benefits to move back there!"


"H-hey everyone, calm down, his highness has a point you know, we need to figure out the threats that we don't understand. How else are we going to fight against them?"


"And how many lives are going to be lost by playing with fire? Us folks only have a single try you know?"


"Astorea's too dangerous, it attracts all the disasters!"



"I'm taking the family I have left out of here!!"



"HEY! I heard that Tertoria is also opening their border for refugees looking to leave Astorea, I heard it's a lot safer there because of the barrier!"


Although there were some voices that remained on Astor and the Starcalled's side, the majority did not agree. And so, they began leaving, one by one, deserting the country whose ruler had seemingly turned his back on them.

Magia are also treated with fear and repulsion among many landers who don't understand how the concept of magia or magitech even works. What they do know is that Falderen would protect them from these dangerous technologies considering that almost everyone in Falderen, from rich to poor was a person of the land, and as such had as much to lose as they do.

After the exodus, many of the previously bustling Astorean towns and cities became devoid of people save for those who chose to stay.


World Update Summary
  • Many players have gone on an indefinite hiatus after DRAGON.end
  • Szofrit is being contained at the MIT's headquarters in Finweald
  • The Gold Egg is being hatched there as well
  • The research into building magia bodies that would accept a magia core begins
  • Adventurers are securing Vintergard in droves as many profitable contracts are rolling in
  • D.E.S. is setting up a branch in Astorea to study the dissonant magia
  • Childress has left the Explorers League to Feodan and went on a journey for the time being
  • Many Astorean landers are upset and angry about the decisions to spare Szofrit and direct their feelings toward Astor, who accepted his role as the scapegoat
  • Most of these people are migrating to Falderen and Tertoria, who welcome them with open arms and incentives
  • Landers are now very fearful of Travelers and their ability to cause destruction
  • Many Landers are also extremely fearful of magia and magitech and will refuse to interact with them in any way
  • Magitech and Magia has been outlawed in Falderen
  • Magia entering Falderen will be detained if they enter Falderen
What's next?
  • You may make a post in the DRAGON.end After thread, if you'd like.
  • The feedback and reward threads will go up when I have more time to work on it.
  • If anyone would like a follow-up on any of the wrap-ups above, head to this thread, where I will answer questions or resolve plot threads OOCly as I won't be making any more IC follow-ups.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top