Complete Megathread (S4 Finale) DRAGON.end After

[Raid Boss]

DRAGON.end
Season 4 Finale - After

This thread is for those who wish to make a single post (no word limit) to wrap up their involvement with the event. This thread is taking place immediately after the end of DRAGON.end.

The post in question could take place in-game or out of game after your character's finally able to logout and perhaps reconsidering logging into the game again. This is a great place to write a good-bye letter if you plan on retiring them.

If you would like to interact with others, invite them to a side thread. If you would like to say something to NPCs, make a request here.

This thread will close in a week!

 

[Ash Vargold]

You should check on-​

No.

Help out with the-​

No.

At least send a-​

"No."

[ Congratulation! ]​

Ash glared blearily at the system message, only half-processing the contents. If it had been any other moment, he might have been excited to have something about the game he'd spent so much of his time to understand. Instead it just felt like a twist of the knife, like someone trying to gild the shitshow they'd just dragged themselves through.

People had died, some of which would be permanent. He'd watched his boss caught up in the throes of some kind of robotic mind control, and now he couldn't even find her. Hell, he had nearly fallen victim to the angry chorus of the dead, and he could still feel that itching against the back of his mind, now that he'd reclaimed the System's "blessing" that made him capable of actually managing that again.

He looked down at his hands. The pain had been numbed away by the limiter with a suddenness that made it feel like he'd stuffed his head with cotton. It felt almost wrong in a way he didn't feel like processing right now, just as the rest of the avatar felt "normal" again. Hearing, smell, the flick of the ears and the tail, all slotted back into place.

Before this, he'd considered this form a tool he'd adapted to manipulating, like driving a car. He wasn't so sure now.

How deep did the System really reach?

He always knew he was risking death, playing this game. Now he wondered what else it could do.

Ash opened the palm menu. It was a relief to see it back to normal, with nothing flickering or darting out of reach. He ignored the cold feeling in his stomach to open up his friend's list, looking for names he recognized, or dreading the possibility that he wouldn't see them...

...he considered the fact that some of the names he'd added, the newbies he'd passed information off to a lifetime ago in case they needed a hand, might have slipped off without him even noticing.

But the friends he did remember were still there. A relief, even as part of his mind reminded him that this was only for now, that any moment they could disappear without a trace.

...if he kept this up, that could be him one day.

Ash stared at the menu. Stared at the numerous little self-care alarms that had popped up when he couldn't see them.

"...I can stop whenever I want."

Maybe he should make that 'whenever' into 'now'.

When Ash Aisling woke up, it was to the sharp smell of incredibly cheap perfume. She lay there for a moment, disoriented by the sudden contrast between the world he'd she'd just left and the mundane quiet of the one she'd returned to. Then the smell became too much to handle, and she pulled her headset off.

Sure enough, the smell had come from a piece of paper taped to the headset, written in her housemate's hand.

Congrats on not dying!

Dinner didn't go to waste. Leftovers in the fridge, no need to thank me.

Got a proposal for you when you're back in your right mind.

"...eurgh." Aisling let the cologne-soaked note drop to the ground. The headset was dropped a little more gently. It took a few moments longer before she laboriously pulled herself upright on the couch, wincing at the numerous pops and strains left by her long session on the couch.

She had a chair for this kind of thing, but she hadn't expected to be in game longer than an hour at most. Just her luck.

Once she was upright, she stared blearily at the clock. Still dark, and it would be for a few more hours. Her stomach burbled ominously, reminding her of the meal she'd missed, but the idea of eating made her feel ill in a different way. Her body had been doing nothing, but her mind was still caught in the aftermath of an arduous fight for survival.

Aisling stared down at her hands for a moment. Perfectly clean, unmarred by anything more strenuous than garbage can. Hers, no matter how much the fuzzy disconnect in her mind wanted to claim otherwise.

She should go to sleep.

 

[Erick Stryker]

Tick. Tick. Tick.

How long had he been acutely aware of it? Time passing, forward or backward? Was it the first time he saw a thousand possibilities, or somewhere between being ripped apart and sewn back together in the stream? Erick felt the pain beneath his skin from where he should by all accounts have been dead, but everything marched backward.

His body remembered something that, for all intents and purposes, never happened.

But it had.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

To the others, the affirmative that came with Szofrit being contained... it came as both relief, and a signal for mourning. The dead who remained fallen would either rise again elsewhere, or never again. And there were those who would mourn for that. Erick felt...

His hands were still numb, with pins and needles pricking the tips of his fingers. He had reached out and been pulled back, but every time he did, he felt less himself. Less human. The Astoreans fought to live, or simply not to die. But why did Erick fight?

The harsh reality he'd come upon was that it wasn't for any one person. There were those who he wanted to protect in particular, but there were just as many people he didn't know who he firmly believed deserved the same. Asch Vargold asked him why the game was worth dying for, and at the time, he couldn't give the man a direct answer.

Now, if asked the same, he knew what he would say.

"I don't remember when life last felt worth living."

He said it to no one in particular, still staring down at his open hands. His fingers twitched, a reflex that he attributed to the pain of sensation returning. He wasn't sure anymore. About what was real, and what mattered to him. There were people here, in this world, living lives that were consequential to them, if not to the people playing the game.

Did they not deserve the same as those people who weren't part of their world? The argument posed was that they were data, but that data seemed to be thinking, rationalizing, experiencing emotion- could it not be said that the same was true of people in the world they'd come from? If you attributed existence to a god or some other higher being, were humans not just simply strings of data put conveniently together, able to experience things like emotion?

He looked toward Childress, who he could offer no compassionate words to. In the end, they had done wrong by her, and with his choice of inaction, he had enabled that wrong. Astorea's people would not see justice done, and Erick Stryker was complicit in that. If he returned to Finweald, where he saved lives, where he fought against this very tragedy- could he face them in good conscience?

"No," he answered quietly.

There were many things he had to think about, and many more things he would have to do to atone. If he wanted to be trusted- if he wanted to protect others, he first had to prove he could be trustworthy.

So far, he was failing at that.

There was nothing outside the game that was pressing him to log out. Nothing worthwhile, anyway. Hunger, thirst, maybe a need to use the restroom- but those things seemed insignificant. He didn't feel like he'd done anything significant with his dive yet. He wasn't sure like he felt as though he ever had.

So...

"I'm going to go looking for something," he said, typing the message as he dictated to himself aloud. "I'm not quite sure what it is yet, myself... but it feels like there's so much I don't know, about this world, and about myself. So much that I want to learn. So many answers I don't have. So I'm going to keep looking until I feel like I can face myself, and everyone else.

It's just not my time yet."

He sent the message, then slowly turned and put Vintergard behind him.

Tomorrow was a new day.

 

[Ishtar]

The system messages kept coming, warnings, error notifications, flashes of red that vanished from her sight as soon as they came. She ignored them, there was no need to bother with such trivial things. Something told her that the system would right itself on it's own, she just had to be patient. Was it some connection to her origin? What was she anyway? Did it really matter? Lips that weren't hers but also belonged to her twisted into a cruel smile. She sat quietly in a tree, flexing her fingers and admiring the sensation of being. What would this so-called 'real world' feel like, she wondered.

She willed her status screen into existence, and it appeared before her eyes. The distortions caused by the interference up until now was gone, but there were still some curious tidbits.

CHARACTER STATUS​

Name: A̸͈͑t̸̜͐t̵̛̞i̷̞͝a̶̦͐ ̶͚̀P̶̯͗a̸̘̿t̵̹͝ä̶́ͅl̵̫̏
Race: B̵̞̰̊e̷͓̼͗a̸̛̺͎͌s̶̠͚̕t̶͎̹̉͗k̸͍̋i̸͍̲̚n̴̙͐
User ID: !̷̧̉̐@̵̗̑̓&̴̥͐͊&̷͕̮́#̶̩̏̄@̶̫̈́ͅ1̵͙̊̃
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Masteries: <̶̻̈́n̷̪̗͒͝o̶̢͇̾̅n̸̛̖̰͐e̷͚̚≯̨͑͌

"Would you look at that..." She murmured, dismissing the information with a click of her tongue. "At least I don't have to sing a song every time I want something done like a certain idiot with delusions of grandeur."

The tiny voice railed against her in the back of her mind and her lip twitched with amusement. "Talkative aren't you? This is what you wanted, isn't it? The pain's all gone dearie."

The tiny voice retorted and she snorted out a laugh, "Hahaha! Come now! Why are you complaining so much? You should be grateful that I'm going to actually use this life that you've squandered for... how long was it?"

The tiny voice screamed at her and finally, she frowned, her eyes going cold, "Pathetic. You and your little cult. All you wanted was to build up a tight little following, get rich off of a handful of tithes, and enjoy the adoration of your followers. So small minded. Tepid. Weak. Uninteresting. Boring."

The tiny voice responded and she shrugged, "Not waste my time like you did," She sneered, "After all, the starcalled practically handed the hearts and minds of the landers to me on a silver platter. They spared the bitch! They really did it! I honestly cannot believe it!" She clapped her hand to her face and howled with laughter. "AH HA HA HA! Oh what fun!"

The tiny voice spat something out and she lowered her hand, "I would watch your tone. I'm only planning on saying hello to your little boy-crush. You'll only have yourself to blame if he gets hurt."

Blessed silence. Her lip twitched again and another message appeared in her vision.

Notice

A sync error has occured. User [Linsday Clark]'s brain activity does not match the existing profile. User [Linsday Clark]'s mastery signature does not match the existing profile. User [Linsday Clark]'s racial signature does not match the existing profile. This error will be recalibrated, unfortunately, therey may be a small loss in progress as a result. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Please log out at your earliest convenience and reconnect. A new profile will be calibrated and synronized at that point. You may be required to rebuild your avatar's appearance and mastery set at that time.

Your inventory, friends list, and other external data has been saved.

Her eyes sparkled. "Log out? Are you serious?" She cackled out a laugh and opened up the main menu. There it was. Up until this point a red error had appeared over the log out button. Now it was as easy as one little tap. "No, not yet, I have a few more things to do with this face of yours, dearie."

She paused and tilted her head thoughtfully, "Hmm... do you think you'll stop existing once I log out?"

Silence. She clicked her tongue, boring. Whatever. She had better things to do than to talk with a dead woman. She slipped off the limb of the tree and sauntered through the woods, wandering towards the subjugation force camp. She could already see the list of names on the raid group growing shorter and shorter as individuals logged out, exhausted from the battle. One name in particular winked out and she frowned.

@Ash Vargold, so he left. "Before we could have a word, bastard," His words in the comms had drawn her undying ire. He wanted to lash out at the creators of the game. That was enough to interperet it as being someone willing to put an end to this world, this beautiful world. Ah, she couldn't let that happen. No. That wouldn't do at all. He had voiced against sparing Szofrit, but his words would create a greater enmity between himself and the landers than the bleeding hearts had for themselves. More importantly, with his stature and connections... "You are a threat, Ash Vargold. I can't leave you alone..."

But maybe letting him leave was a good thing! "Every good story needs a few heroes. I hope you'll keep me entertained, dearie~"

Now wasn't the time for any brazen moves either, no, she needed to do the things that Attia didn't have the guts to do. She needed connections and she needed to gather better information. She had two names in mind. @Jin and @Rael . Jin's personality had drawn her in immediately. He had an amusing sensibility and might be someone worth investing time into. Rael had made herself the center of the ire from the Landers who had lost someone to Szofrit. Turning back the clock and giving the woman a chance to live had changed everything. But why? She had wielded such power just to change the natural course of the story.

The creature had to know.

So she left two messages with the soldiers at the camp before retreating again.

Jin, I won't bother you with petty tithes of pretty words. Come meet with me some time, I think you and I could help one another make this world a bit more entertaining.

Rael, I hear you like stories. Would you like to help me write a very exciting story? Come meet with me when you have the time.

She stopped only to fire off a third message through her private messenger. One addressed to @Hanno Futaba; A set of coordinates and a single word 'Help'. Her work done, she opened her menu and smiled before tapping the log out button...

---

Jacques stared at the ground, his face craggy from the nights of grief. He rubbed his eyes and tried to get some of the crust off his cheeks but his hands were too filthy to make any real difference. He looked at his fingers, he could still see the blood on them even after they'd been washed over and over. He could still see her face, twisted in pain, as she lay on the ground amidst the horde of monsters that wicked creature had unleashed upon the world. The horror of it all nauseated him again.

"Sera..." He warbled, dropping to his knees next to the pile of dirt and stone. A simple marker was all he could give her. There was no body left to collect after the rampage of machines had trampled it into nothing. He pressed his head against the stones and wept alone.

The Starcalled spared the master of those things. They took it alive. How could they? The lord had said that the Starcalled were there to help them, to fight for justice and protect the world. But they'd let that monster live. Why couldn't Sera have lived instead? Why didn't she matter?

"Poor thing..."

He jumped, turning around.

"W-who's there?"

"Shh... it's okay..." The motherly voice said in his ear. A pair of eyes opened in the darkness behind his head, pink orbs of blazing light that twisted and clicked. Pale hands reached up and wrapped around his chest from behind, pulling him into an embrace.

"I'm here to help."

 

[Ayna Nietzsche]

⋇⊶⊰✦⊱⊷⋇

❰ Adventurers Guild ❱

Vintergard Unknown

Again? One moment Ayna was hurling herself through @Kamala Graham's illusion in order to end Szofrit with her lightning-charged spear once and for all, the next Szofrit’s body was doing some sort of Exorcist bull<basseal honk>! The frustrated magia screamed in futility, her justice having been taken away from her. Yet again.

But maybe it was an opportunity in and of itself, not a denial of fate?

The realization slowly dawned upon her. She was made to commit crimes under the whims of a machine mother, but where was justice against her? Complicit or not, in control or not, her hands were still stained with the blood of innocents. Would she also let stupid <basseal honk> strangers steer her future, her fate? Or would she deliver upon herself the true justice those souls deserve? An outsider’s justice would never be enough.

So, while everyone else was busy with their respective bull<basseal honk>, and right when Szofrit filled the sky with her final spark of defiance, Ayna zoomed the hell out of there. But not before a final glimpse of her elven friend, and an unintentional glimpse of the massive mountain man that was okay, she guessed, a token of remembrance, a gesture of kindness, a memory or reminder that this was what needed to be done.

And then she, too, was gone.

Spoiler

---

Voice Mail

So much fuss over nothing.

Voice Mail

There are more answers here. I just have to find them.

Voice Mail

ざこ better watch their backs. They forgot who they're dealing with.

---

⋇⊶⊰✦⊱⊷⋇

❰ Fukuhara Electric ❱

Tokyo, Japan

Hmm. Huifang took a moment to look over the documents again. She narrowed her eyes, as if deep in thought. Before she could speak, a disinterested yawn preceded her words. Or was it simply a protest against being made to work "so early" in the morning? Either way, she had to grab her favorite energy drink before continuing.

"研究者に続けるように伝えてください. より多くの情報, より多くの事実, より有益なデータが欲しい—"

She stopped mid-thought when she caught a glimpse of a notice on her computer. It was an unread electronic mail from Meera, one of many since the events at Vintergard, inside that game. Huifang heaved a long sigh, shaking her head. She gestured for the person in the room with her to leave, massaging the bridge of her nose. Why did this game have to be so stressful? It's just a hobby!

"私を残してください. 一休みしたい."

As soon as the other person left, Huifang heaved another sigh, this time much louder, backed up with the annoyance and grief from within. Leaning hard against her office chair, she forced it to swivel, so she could face the massive glass window that gave her a stunning view of the docks. I guess there are more stories left to tell, huh?

 

[Chrys]

《⋯《 ⋯ ❖ ⋯ 》⋯》

Adventurers Guild

Everybody do the time warp!

Hmm? Chrys wasn’t entirely sure what he was “seeing.” To his disinterested mind, it was all a bunch of bologna. Or however that word was spelled. And then he was pulled back, not just back in space but also back in time. Why does this feel so bloody familiar even though I’ve personally never done time shenanigans ahhh I’m suddenly craving curry with ant juice in it—

…a loud thud knocked him momentarily unconscious. Chrys groaned, again, feeling the familiar thiccness of the ground on his back, again, the familiar pain slowly subsiding…again. Slowly, Chrys got back to his feet, again, spitting out blood, again. Or maybe it was just mud. Again. And then he vomited. Minging. He should’ve expected that part. Chrys never really did like rollercoasters and such.

His ears were still ringing, again, when he caught sight of a crowd screaming at each other in the middle of the battle. "Well… This...is an experience," he heaved a sigh, again, shaking his head, before pausing for a moment or two and then just standing there, trying to make sure he wouldn’t puke again.

Damn these prats! Bet none of them even have disposable incomes yet. And they think, what, they can save this world? This isn’t even real! It’s all just a bloody game! Old man basically yelled at clouds…again, but this time he put a hand on his back and just started limbering up. Can’t do anything else if your back isn’t limbered up, yeah?

Chrys was amazed when he looked up and saw the illusion @Kamala Graham had crafted around Szofrit. So very pretty and seemingly real. As real as this whole game was anyway. And then he caught sight of @Ayna Nietzsche zooming straight into it, like a human torpedo that hated art but had nothing else to throw at the masterpiece. Daft muppets who’re too skint to commission artists online and would rather have a robot nick shit for them. Just ask mommy for fivers and tenners, you numpties.

So then he does what he was born (in game) to do. Chrys, using only his brute strength, picked up a massive part of the earth and then chucked it straight at Szofrit. Rock big. Rock hard. Rock fly. If Szofrit survives, she gets to be saved. If she dies, well, then, that’s that. Pretty smart thing to do, washing his hands off of whatever the hell was going on. At least that’s what he thought…he would be doing. Then he saw Levi walking toward Szofrit.

For a second or two, Chrys contemplated throwing the rock at Levi. Just for the lulz. But it was just a fleeting thought. Instead, he ended up dropping that massive part of the earth right in front of himself. And then he sat down on the ground with his back against that massive part of the earth. Chrys yawned, stretching his arms and his legs.

Whether Szofrit died or not, this job was basically over. Levi was going to get the last hit or whatever NPC shenanigans were pre-programmed for this event and things will move forward. Besides, Chrys, in all his fit glory, was only hired to stop this nth iteration of the end of the world, and it had already ended, for better or for worse, a few minutes ago before someone decided to faff around with bloody friggin’ time.

That shit’s way above my pay grade… I’ll never be faffing around with time. Not again. I mean, not…ever.

Besides, if Szofrit lived and ended up murdering more landers, that just meant more jobs for him. If Szofrit died, then maybe the king would gift him a piece of real estate in this hellhole. He did do that thing with that massive hand and went toe-to-toe with Hard Plume. Surely, the king, if he survived, would not forget that noble act of self-sacrifice wink wink. Either way, Chrys wins. Capitalism wins. Capitalism. Always. Wins. Put that in your bevvy and crack on, you cheeky git.

[ Congratulation! ]​

What the? Chrys was utterly confused. Prerequisite II? Expanded? Update? Then again, when was he ever not? NORMAL?!

As soon as he could, he logged out. Wait, did I just— Not intentionally, though. He was trying to check whether things were actually "back to normal." He just happened to log himself out in his attempt to verify that. You know, adulting stuff. Or something.

 

[Kamala Graham]

‧͙⁺˚･❀･˚⁺͙‧

Adventurers Guild

Re-leaf-ed

Kamala dropped to her knees, exhausted and relieved that what felt like the most trying event she's ever participated in was finally over. This game was brutal. All these Players and non-Players alike, screaming at each other, arguing in the middle of an active battle... Kamala had never experienced something so incredible and horrifying at the same time. Maybe I really am sheltered.

The elf looked around her, trying her best to find and reunite with her close friends. All she could find where strangers, some with familiar faces, but most were unnamed extras in her personal story. But then she caught a glimpse of @Chrys and her heart swelled up, a smile finding its way over her lips. She rose from the ground and started running toward him, glad that he was okay. She had just taken three to four steps when he suddenly vanished where he stood, seemingly having logged out right away. Oh, he must be busy with stuff in the real world, maybe with Song...

It pained her that he left without saying goodbye, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to a personal emergency. Even friends have to keep some distance from each other, some secrets, some troubles that only they were privy to. She continued looking around. She knew Sam, Elias, and Leyna hadn't participated in this event, with zero traces of them being anywhere near this place, but there was someone else she reunited with here, someone else who was a constant in her gaming life. Ayna? Where are you, @Ayna Nietzsche?

Kamala looked and looked and looked. Not unlike a lost lamb searching for its shepherd. But she found none. She found no trace of her friend. Not anymore. As if she, too, had logged out as soon as she could. Or maybe she had gone with Szofrit, left her to be with her Mother of Machines. No... She'll be back. We'll meet again... She'd never trade us, me, for...

Kamala heaved a sigh, closing her eyes. She'd heard about the fate of supports in games. This must be what the strangers meant when they referred to her role as a sad, lonely path. Only remembered when the DPS or the tanks need healing. Always forgotten after "kills" are made, battles are won. When she opened her eyes again, she put on a smile. It's just a game. She just needs a break.

‧͙⁺˚･EXIT EVENT･˚⁺͙‧

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Breathing heavily, Kyanna winced at the fungal layer that crawled on her skin. The excessive use of her Corruption powers turned out to be far more taxative than she expected, even if so far it has been rather harmless.

Her eyes trailed up to Szofrit, who was now being surrounded by people who worked on completely restraining her.

Kyanna eventually got back to her feet, ignoring the flickering UI that brimmed with messages that made no sense for her. Prerequisite II? System Update? Kyanna didn't care for it, she only had her attention for who was saved and who unfortunately didn't have the chance.

But mainly, the ones she most cared for-

Hurrying to @MAI, @Eva, and @Tick Tock, she sighed. "I'm... Glad to see you are all safe..." She said, though her lips pursed seeing the state of the magia girls, who were all in a dire situation, perhaps both physically and mentally. "... For most of part... At least." Her tone lowered in a quiet concern, peeking at Eva. "Do you think we can do something about them..? Or we will need to bring them to MIT?" She asked, soon getting to work on giving either of them some support, summoning giant mushrooms to serve as a 'walking bed or seat' for them, if they wished to hop on.

Eventually, her eyes would also set on @Magi Heart and @Seigi Ling Ling, with another worried expression crossing the witch's face as she approached her pinkette friend.

"... Magi..? Are you alright?" She muttered a question, already knowing what the possible answer was. Her friend was really strange during all of that combat, but she tried to keep everyone safe, even if in her own way. "If you need help... To get out of here, let me know. I still have energy to summon more of those." She gestured to the mushrooms.

 

[Hanno Futaba]

When Szofrit was finally taken down and properly captured, safe from the danger of being destroyed from those who considered that the best choice to deal with that dilemma, Hanno couldn't help but let himself fall on his knees. His shield, Ghast, was still disrupted after the time rewind, and all that the faerin could think about was how much of a mess things would be for the next few weeks... And probably months... And maybe even years.

His gaze slowly turned to notice Levi, but before he could open his mouth to call him, messages flickered from his UI, bringing a confused frown to his face.

[ Prerequisite II has been Met. ]

[ Player Abilities have Expanded. ]

[ System Update is now in Progress. ]​

'... Prerequisite II..? Is that... Has that ever been a thing? What is the Prerequisite I?' He muttered, only frowning more as it spoke about abilities being expanded, and a System Update.

A System Update. This world had... An update?

It was ironic, how a game that at first felt uncanningly realistic to Hanno, four years ago, now felt uncanny for showing something that made it resemble more to a game than to something real.

Hanno's mind rushed in overthinking... What if that world was truly just a game? What if nothing in there had true value? What if there was nothing truly worth saving there? Truly worth of risking his life on? Ironically, once again, the same questions from four years ago rushed deep into his mind, but this time it was leaning to the other side. This time--

Mail

Help, <Coordinates>

- @Attia Patal

When the message flickered in front of his eyes, he paused, or better... Froze onto place.

He immediately reached for his Friendlist, seeing her name grayed out.

Was that a message sent before the time and UI glitching? Perhaps something he couldn't really understand? She did look fairly hurt when he had managed to see her before the time twisted, and now--As confusing as it was, Hanno only had once certainty: His friend was calling for help, and judging from the offline, and the possibility of UI-Locking after everything... He couldn't just ignore it.

Any plans of logging out were erased from his mind immediately, and any dilemma regarding if it was worth or not to continue risking his life to protect those in this world disappeared.

Without looking back, he hurried himself.

 

[Eva]

It's over, they have successfully subdued Szofrit. Talks about where they should keep her were being made.

@Kyanna Wynne ran at them with relief that everyone was safe. The witch herself looked fine, albeit her tired face was apparent. "I wouldn't trust anyone right now." Eva gave her two cents regarding where the magia should go. "But right now I think they needed MAI to keep Szofrit at bay. As for Tick and Tock..."

The white-haired inventor looked at @Tick Tock, whose exterior almost looked like broken vase haphazardly put back together by how much damage they took.

"Can you two somehow go back to the city while staying undetected? The situation is still tense, and we can't afford any fight to break out again."

"Go meet me back at my house." Eva ordered, one finger pointing at the distant city of Finweald. She could always log out to rest, but Tick and Tock live in this world and thus are always at risk. "Also, Kyanna-" The woman quickly turned at the fungimancer, still sitting beside her. "You say you still have more energy, but you exerted way more than you have before. I suggest you log out... and rest."

Her UI pinged back, apparently free from whatever it was that disrupted the whole system. Congratulations? Prerequisite II?

Looks like this was indeed still a game for some people.

 

[MAI]

‎

‎
‎

A moment of respite and the loudest chorus of silence that MAI had the displeasure of ever experiencing until Szofrit fell to the ground and was confirmed to be out of commission. Then, it was well and truly over at long last. While some cheered, others remained devastated. The magia simply slumped in her kneeling position with a loud sigh, still by @Vina's side. She felt a bit too exhausted to go or do anything else at the moment.

Though, as she glimpsed at her UI, there was a cold sensation that ran across her artificial skin. The messages sent by the system meant one thing - the game did not consider this scenario to be out of the norm and perhaps even guided all the pieces into place. Szofrit was meant to be stopped and if she had won, she would not have been able to end this death game regardless of her ability or knowledge. It was a terrifying thought that many probably shared, at least if they arrived at the same conclusion.

At least @Kyanna was safe, the witch's presence a significant comfort. Though the two could not stay together long, as others quickly rushed MAI over to Szofrit despite the girl's tired state. Clearly, they were worried that the boss might still wake up, and so the magia would spend some time in the services of MIT before they could secure her themselves. Of course, she made sure to send Kyanna a message to reassure her of where she was and that all was fine.

 

[Ueno Mizuki]

Mizuki hissed as she stood up after having absorbed several attacks which had been meant for Szofrit. After words had failed the only thing left to do had been to pour everything she had into achieving her objectives, even if that meant risking her own life to ensure Szofrit wasn't slain before they finished capturing her. Thankfully those who shared her goals had managed to achieve that much, even if it had been a close call in the end.

The fact that near the end of the fight the army had split into two main groups, opposing each other almost as much as they both opposed Szofrit, spelled trouble in the near future. Not everyone was going to let go of what had happened here, and a lot of trust had been lost in the process of dealing with the magia threat. With some luck there wouldn't be any disasters in the near future, because Astorea would need some time to recover from all that had happened.

Her gaze went over to the golden egg, which was still unhatched but had nevertheless ended up playing a role in bringing this ordeal to a conclusion. It had somehow resonated with @MAI's song, allowing the magia to shut down Szofrit. The question of how to contain the Mother of Machines had been one without a concrete answer, but it looked like a solution had been found nonetheless.

Now that the danger had passed and she could finally relax Mizuki exhaled heavily, her bristling fur settling down as her eyes stopped gleaming and the red eye turned back to yellow. Almost immediately she winced, the pain of all the injuries she'd accumulated throughout the fight hitting her as the adrenaline wore off.

...F'king ow!

Her hand went up to her chest, where her heart was beating visibly. She didn't have the chance to heal it during the fight, but now that everything was over she could finally fix herself up. While it wasn't as fatal as one might expect it to be, it still hurt like hell when you weren't hopped up on adrenaline. Under her hand her flesh knit itself together, leaving no sign of the gaping wound that had been there moments before.

Now that Szofrit had been captured and rendered harmless (or at least, as close to harmless as realistically possible) she'd have to rely on the MIT to study her. Best case scenario they figured out a way to undo her Dissonance corruption, but even if that wasn't on the table at least she could provide some valuable data on the greater threat which had caused all of this. Back before the hiatus she'd thought that Titanius was a fairly unique phenomenon, but as it turned out Dissonance was much bigger than one eldritch monstrosity, no matter how immense that monstrosity might be.

And there were also questions about the notification that had popped up right after Szofrit was defeated. The fact that Szofrit had been messing with the game systems made it easy to think that this entire incident had gone outside of the expectations of those who had created this world, but that notification made it sound like everything was still according to plan.

What was Prerequisite II?

What new Player Abilities were unlocked?

And what would the System Update change about this world?

For the first question the easiest guess was the defeat of Szofrit, and for the latter two the only thing she could do was wait and see.

But despite everything they'd succeeded. Mizuki grinned as she looked back at the incapacitated Szofrit, feeling victorious where most others were expressing exhaustion or uncertainty. Her hands were trembling faintly and her breathing was ragged, but she was still standing and the battle was over. So far as she was concerned this might not have been a perfect victory, but it was a victory nonetheless.

She looked at @Harper, who'd been next to her in the final stretch to keep at bay anyone who approached Szofrit with killing intent. Raising a hand she patted the tigress on the shoulder.

Good job. Remind me to pay for the food and drinks next time we're at a tavern.

From how she understood it Harper had ended up helping out not because she was fully convinced that capturing Szofrit was the right idea, but because she'd been asked to do so. Which meant that it was only right if Mizuki showed gratitude for the assistance, especially since she wasn't sure if she could have blocked as many attacks as she did if it wasn't for the judoka by her side.

Letting out a deep exhalation she looked up at the sky, the light of dawn casting tall shadows and painting the heavens a light blue with an orange fringe on the horizon.

There's still stuff to do, but I doubt there'll be any more fighting for the rest of the day. I'd suggest logging out and getting some rest.

With those words she turned around and headed towards Szofrit, planning to assist in containing and relocating the Mother of Machines. It'd be some hours still before she could convince herself to log out.

 

[Harper]

It was over. Szofrit had been captured, and the battle had been concluded.

Harper wouldn't really express much in terms of emotion at their accomplishment, the tigress just watching as the events unfolded in front of her. Lives were lost, friendships were torn and trusts were broken. People's destinies forever changed by what transpired in this field.

Yet she could only ponder about where she even fit in all of this. She was very much a transient presence in this world, coming and going as she pleased. Was she even in the right to shape a world she barely even belonged in as she saw fit? The looks of dejection, frustration and anger from those denied their vengeance certainly made her lean towards thinking that she didn't have the right.

But those were just strangers at the end of the day, and was she really wrong in trusting and trying those she considered friends in this world? It seemed like the logical thing to do, especially when both sides had their merits. But when both sides also had their risks, Harper couldn't help but feel the weight of her actions on her her shoulders.

The warning about stuff being unlocked and goals being met suddenly popped into her UI both startled her and served to remind her that the UI should be functional now, allowing her to log off if she wanted. It somewhat annoyed her that with all the variables that had been thrown into the mix, somehow this whole situation still worked out for whoever made this death game. It seemed too perfect at this point, Harper doubting if the makers of this were even human at this point.

"A-Ah!"

The beastkin's internal ramblings were interrupted by a fellow beastkin in @Ueno Mizuki , who went up to her to give her thanks for the help in fending off attackers. Harper half-mindledly nodded in response, turning towards Mizuki before speaking. "Sure thing, I was just doing what I thought was right and stuff like that. I just hope you pouch is full on the day that I bring you up on that promise, haha." Harper let out a chuckle and a somewhat weak smile, clearly showing that she really wasn't all there after all that's happened.

She turned one last time to face the battlefield and watched over it for a few moments, before taking up on Mizuki's advice and bringing up her UI. On the confirmation pop-up asking whether she wanted to log out, Harper would turn to Mizuki one last time.

"This is all just a mess. For once I'd rather be studying..."

And with a final, defeated-sounding complaint, Harper would confirm her choice and slowly disappear as she logged out from the game.

She wasn't sure when she was coming back, but she sure as hell needed some time to rest.