Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)

[theguynamedwafer]

In the interest of not further derailing discussion, depending on what Kayaba tells us, should we just go all out next turn? We can't really afford to keep screwing around. Gwen is going to have to use Daji to free Undine, and using Alice or Urvashi is probably a good idea to start clearing out memories. That, or use Paladin to start cleansing poison, and, if it works on it, the filth itself.

 

[Redsoff]

If Kyouji gains power from Reverse Social Links, what happens if he forms an Upright Social Link? Would it weaken him? Summon a Persona to combat him?

I'm asking because Shion is someone who would qualify for that. Kyouji's current deal is that he has only one self-image of himself: a piece of shit who can only drag others down to his level. To Shion, he's someone whose assistance allowed her to overcome her fear of guns, someone who is motivating her to be someone who can help him, to return the favor.

To Shion, Kyouji is a friend.

And if acknowledging that means it will summon the physical manifestation of "knocking off your bullshit" then that would be pretty handy right now.

 

[theguynamedwafer]

If Kyouji gains power from Reverse Social Links, what happens if he forms an Upright Social Link? Would it weaken him? Summon a Persona to combat him?

I'm asking because Shion is someone who would qualify for that. Kyouji's current deal is that he has only one self-image of himself: a piece of shit who can only drag others down to his level. To Shion, he's someone whose assistance allowed her to overcome her fear of guns, someone who is motivating her to be someone who can help him, to return the favor.

To Shion, Kyouji is a friend.

And if acknowledging that means it will summon the physical manifestation of "knocking off your bullshit" then that would be pretty handy right now.

Click to shrink...

No no, you have it backwards in this case.

As shown in the fight, Kyouji's 'normal' social links are what would be considered reversed links in any other situation.

As stated in the previous turn, Kyouji's link with Shino is reversed. It's because she's not hating, pitying, or otherwise looking down on him. And Kyouji doesn't get any power from 'reversed' links.

 

[The Zog]

My main theory is that if we can humanize his links we can nullify them. Though we probably won't be able to do it with a link like his dad or the bullies.

 

[Ayan - Sunlight]

[X] Morningstar

 

[Alcor]

Honestly, I'm inclined to fall back to my guiding principle of "LLENN is a GGO savant the likes the world has never seen. Trust her intuition." And her take on the situation was "why are we not just attacking Kyouji?" and well, I trust her intuition over my own so that's probably where I'm currently at.

 

[Underdog Emiya]

As we wait for pete to finish writing our interesting talk with Kayaba, here's the random reflection of the day, this time about Urmetazoan.

Spontaneous Generation: Narratively assumes the form of an animal (creature is determined based on the logic of the world you are inhabiting) while retaining the mental faculties of a human. Is active only when this Persona is active. If used in combat your base stats will change to reflect your new form, but will generally be inferior to that of your avatar. [0 SP]

Click to shrink...

We already thought that turning into animals was useful, that was established already. What I do wander now is...well, the human being is an animal. Therefore, could we use this as a sort of once per day disguise potion? What you guys think?

 

[theguynamedwafer]

Pretty sure QM would just veto it. See a few things that got suggested at the start of the BoB for that.

 

[afreaknamedpete]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] What's my HEAVEN, huh...? There are a lot of things I want: to apologize to Rossa, to put a stop to people like you or the Death Guns who act like whatever goes on in your fucked up brain gives you the right to play god with everyone's lives, and to know that the people I care about are doing alright. And above all else, I want to face myself and move forward with my life instead of hiding from all the things I don't like. To know from the bottom of my heart that I've become a better person not because you or some other bastard messed with my head, but because I dragged myself there.
[X] You say that you want to make a world where I'm happy, where everyone is, but all I've seen you do is enable addicts. Sugou wasn't happier after you stepped in because you'd made him a better person, he was happy because you gave him a chance to keep ignoring the consequences of being a piece of shit rapist. Just like how every goddamn junkie on the streets is happy whenever they shoot up their next fix and forget, no matter how much they fuck things up. If I was fine with that sort of happiness, I'd never have accepted myself. The things I love, the things I hate, they're all me. Maybe some hypothetical Hiyori would be happy in one of those super-special prison cells you keep offering people, but she wouldn't be me. And I refuse to give up even the tiniest piece of who I am because you couldn't handle living in a world that didn't revolve around you!

[X] "I want to know, how to make Kyouji Shinkawa listen. No philosophic bullshit, how do I get through that thick skull of his and make him listen?"

[X] "Death Gun...they are more than one man. I know Kyouji, Johnny Black is involved, maybe XaXa...Give me them. Tell me the names of every single person connected to the Death Gun conspiracy - real names and identities."

[X] "Pitohui. I want to understand who she is. Show me why she wishes to put her life on the line."

An answer to all your questions, and the key to all your problems. You could beat Kyouji. Reveal Death Gun. Save... everyone. As Cardinal spirals around you, a thousand questions in your mind vie for your attention. "I don't trust you. What's stopping you from logging me out the moment you're done? If you're truly sincere, you'll go first."

His voice is cool and collected, unperturbed by the threat. "You do not have to trust me. There is no danger here, only an exchange of knowledge. I am not truly interested in your own Heaven, Hiyori, it is Cardinal that wishes to know. But very well— so long as you cooperate I will have Cardinal answer any question it can."

"Three questions."

There's silence, and for a moment you wonder if he'll go along with it. Then his voice speaks again, this time with a note of amusement, "Are you the type to wish for infinite wishes? Very well, I accept on behalf of Cardinal. There's a certain poetry to asking a god three questions. Proceed."

You stop. Setting aside all the bigger mysteries, your priority remains in the short term. Right now you need solutions, not answers that will only produce more questions. "I want to know how to make Kyouji Shinkawa listen. No philosophic bullshit, how do I get through that thick skull of his and make him listen?"

Cardinal swirls around you, the red lines shifting and twisting into shapes. You see Kyouji's real-life self, Eulenspiegel, flashes of a man in a white coat, laughter from Isei High students and then—

Nothing.

Kayaba's voice returns, bored and disinterested. "It appears he has a difficult relationship with his father, was a victim of bullying, and looks up to his elder brother. He possesses a strange power that lets him resist Cardinal, as do you."

"I know that already! Anything new!?"

"Cardinal is not equipped to answer such a vague question. If you wish for my advice, I suggest you break his mind and then use your powers to force him to comply— you have ways to edit Fluctlight IDs, do you not? I am aware of an item called a «Piety Module» that can permanently affix a Fluctlight ID modification. I can have Cardinal generate a copy—"

"No, NO! That's useless advice! Why the hell would I do that!?"

"A perfectly reasonable solution, I would think. But as I said, your request is too vague, and your opponent is too alien to Cardinal's sensors. Next question."

You're left fuming, but it's not as if you had any way of forcing the issue. Cardinal was just a system. And Kayaba? Asking him for real advice would be like talking to a wall. Fine. Objective questions, one even Kayaba can answer. "Death Gun. I know they are more than one man. I already know about Shinkawa Kyouji— Johnny Black is also involved, maybe XaXa... give me them. The names of every single person connected to Death Gun. Real names, real identities."

"You certainly waste no time," Kayaba responds. This time Cardinal lies silent, not even the barest hum of activation. "It just so happens that the Death Gun project is of interest to me, and I've spent quite some time spying on their activities. They are, after all, former players of mine."

​

Pictures, flashes of code—a treasure trove of information.

"First is the main account and ringleader. His GGO ID is «Sterben». His data is directly carried over from SAO. As you no doubt suspect, he was known as «XaXa». It appears your current opponent has also logged in using this account before."

You're not surprised, but his real ID was new information. So XaXa was in the BoB, only hanging around the edges orchestrating events instead of participating directly.

Wait...

"Kyouji's XaXa?" That struck you as... extremely unlikely.

"«XaXa»'s real name is Shinkawa Shouichi. They appear to be brothers."

Your blood runs cold. Kyouji lived in Bunkyo-ward, he went to the same high school as you. XaXa wasn't just close, he was in your neighborhood. You could've crossed him in the goddamn street! But before you can even process the information, Kayaba simply continues.

"The second member: «Johnny Black», real name Kanamoto Atsushi. His Fluctlight has logged into over a dozen different accounts, and he was using «Blackwood» in the «Bullet of Bullets». He never recovered his SAO Avatar data— he was rather open about his involvement in «Laughing Coffin», no doubt his NerveGear was confiscated."

Information you could've guessed. It seems he really was just a patsy, though a willing one.

"«PoH», real name Vassago Casals, as written in the Western style. He's serving as a consultant but hasn't gotten directly involved with the killings yet. You may wish to know that interpol has a large file on him with warnings that he should be considered armed and dangerous. He's a suspected hitman with ties to the Syndicate, but he's never been officially charged with any crimes."

You feel your frustration building, "He's registered under his real name? Just like that?"

"I suspect ZASKAR simply doesn't care, so long as he pays. His avatar is carried over SAO, and he maxed out his Dagger skill. There's a chance his old SAO equipment may even be compatible with GGO. PoH was also just a handful of kills away from unlocking «Darkness Blade»— a shame that Kirito had to end things prematurely. Technically any murder done under his direction also added to his tally, so he was closer than he knew."

You wish you could say you're surprised, but you're not. You knew none of the other Coffins had the brainpower to pull off something like this. XaXa, Johnny Black... they all scared you. To a certain extent, PoH did too.

But you worked with him more directly than any of the other Coffins. XaXa and JB were the true crazies— but the rank and file? They had more in common with Gwen than the true believers. PoH had a distinct leadership style, and «Laughing Coffin» ran itself more like a frathouse than some cult— no perhaps a better analogy was it worked almost like a real-world MMO guild. He was casual, even friendly at times— he'd remember birthdays, tell dumb jokes, always be there to lend a reassuring ear to any Coffin that had doubts.

XaXa and JB needed no convincing to murder and slaughter. But they'd never be able to manage a community. Take a random sampling of 10,000 gamers, and exactly how many of them would turn out to be murderers? Two or three? Enough to populate a guild?

PoH was the key, the glue of the entire operation. Slowly making everyone think what was heinous was just standard play. Normalizing horror until it just became fun. Gwen... she was always trying to convince you to become a full member. Your entire friendship, it all started after PoH made you go on countless missions liaising with her. If LC didn't get raided, if you were there for another month, another two...

What would've seemed normal to you?

"I see you're thinking, but our time is short. This zone is running on 100x FLA, and taxing Cardinal. Ask your next question."

What? More technobabble you don't understand. "FLA?"

"Is that your second question? Very well—"

"Hold on, that can't be it! They have to at least have a GM on board. And what about Itsuki? You know why I'm asking you!"

The voice of Kayaba Akihiko grows dark. "I am curious who shall prevail in your little contest and wish to not spoil the proceedings. But very well, I will at least tell you their closest associate. There is a Syndicate member involved, who did not log in with his real name. Cardinal's surface scan has him self identifying as «Hydra», but I lack the context to parse it beyond it being some sort of criminal codename. Anything more will require a deeper scan, one I cannot do as he is not logged in right now."

"The GM! I know there's a GM involved!"

"The GM is less of a conspirator and more of a victim of Hydra's manipulations. Next question. I must remind you that this is not a negotiation— either you ask your last question, or you don't."

You want to scream, but you force yourself to calm down. "Fine! Fine. If you can do all this... scanning stuff, tell me this. Pitohui. I want to understand who she is. Show me why she wishes to put her life on the line."

Your first question could not be answered.
Your second question was answered directly by Kayaba Akihiko.
But your final question? It is not Kayaba that responds.

Cardinal awakens.

Red lines swirl around you, converging upon you. Cardinal is the world itself, and everything is a part of it. Lines resolve into tendrils, twisting into the shape of a hand. It extends towards you, palm out, and unfurls. Within, is the figure of a woman with black hair, and eyes as sharp as daggers. Pitohui, or at least her avatar.

And then it's gone, replaced with something it can understand.

Flickering lights— Pitohui's Fluctlight, casually revealed to you by Cardinal. It's not just a picture or recording. It's active— alive. She must be logged in right this second.

Cardinal asks and you are made to understand. You synchronize with the Fluctlight and for a brief moment in time you are Pitohui and she is you. And you are...

Dying.​

A thousand sights and a million pains. But one sound. One sound that cuts through everything.

Classical music— Beethoven, Chopin, Mussorgsky, Pachelbel, Schubert. It's pleasant and calming and wrong. There's something cutting through every single note. This incessant beating, the clarion of a metronome that will not cease.

It's a heart monitor. Faint, fading. Your heart.

---

But that's not enough. You want to understand. She wanted to die, but did not want to commit suicide. What was the root of that thought? As if responding to your wishes Cardinal gives you your answer. The red and black hand lifts. It flaps in the void.

And then it squeezes.

First, you don't understand, so used to the blessings of Undine that the very idea is practically alien. The hand, it's around you. Around your neck. You can't breathe. No, it's worse. You are...

Dying.​

You can breathe. You must breathe. Even when every breath is shallow, painful, and could be your last. An endless marathon that just doesn't end. Seconds drag on to minutes to years. Your mind is aflame with a single thought, the desire for it to stop. You want to beg, plead, do anything to make it end.

"Code blue! Code blue! Someone grab me a ventilator!"

Fire in your lungs. The wholly unique torture of a fumbling doctor ramming plastic through your throat, missing, and then trying again. A nanny, worried at your bedside, a small speaker with classical music your only company when even she inevitably leaves.

"You're very lucky, young lady. Any later and you'd be dead."

The first time they said that you felt grateful. The tenth time, you wish they had just let you die. Over and over again you are brought to the brink and wrested free. You listen to the music for that's all that's left of your life.

"We couldn't reach her parents. I know this is unorthodox but can you sign? It'll help prolong her life."

A new nanny signs another form. Another round of tests. Tubes and catheters, years spent under the bright lights— and above all else that incessant music. The gift that's turned into torture.

"Yes, your case is likely terminal. That being said, I know of a pharmacist in Japan who has taken an interest in your condition. The drug is only in stage one clinical trials, and we have no idea what the safety profile is, but—"

You're tired. You're so tired. Brought into this life just to be a guinea pig. Your parents are on tour in another country. They sign over the phone. But all you want is for them to turn off that fucking music...! To just let you be silent! You should be—

Dying.​

"You're discharged. Follow up with a pulmonologist once a month, return if you get a relapse, and continue to take the medicine twice per day. Thank you for choosing us for your care."

And then just like that, it's over. 14 years of this— just... gone. You don't have to think to breathe. Nothing hurts. You can smell, you can talk, you can even sing. You missed your growth spurt, you're malnourished, but you're— alive.

Why?

Your parents say it's that so you can compose. Carry the family legacy. Someone shows you to a piano. And that's how it goes— a parade of tutors, lessons. Days fold in each other and it seems as if time stands still. You don't know what it was. You don't even know if you were in control.

There's blood running down your fingers. You smash your hands again and again on the keys. You break the pedals off the machine and hurl it into the wall. You scream. With great difficulty, you tip the whole thing down the stairs.

And something wondrous happens when it hits the floor. Silence. Final, absolute silence. The sound is gone, the instrument is shattered, and the music is finally—

Dying.​

"I know it may be a bit of a move, but would you like to come stay with us?"

You expected to be disowned. Institutionalized. Anything but... this. You're in Japan, living with your grandparents. They cry with you, they hug you, they scold you, they make you do chores. They pick you up from school, take you out for bad ramen. Things change. You pick up a guitar. You miss a note. Your grandma laughs and asks you to try again. Your grandpa pulls out his own— the thing is so off-tune it's physically painful to listen to. He hasn't read sheet music in half a decade.

It's the first time you've ever really loved music. Pop, jazz, rock... you pick up everything. Except the classics, the ones you even now can still hear with your heartbeat.

They were old. They died within a week of each other. There was no great tragedy, no murder. One day they were there, and the next day they were not. And then you were alone. Free to do whatever you wanted. So you did the only thing you knew how to do. You sung.

You found the old recordings. You put them next to your bed and hummed them to sleep. You dreamt of your grandparents. You dreamt you were with them. You dreamt you were—

Dying.​

"H-hey. I-I'm your biggest fan. Y-you want to go and do something? Hey. Hey, don't run away from me! You bitch, after all I did to support you!"

He pulls out a knife. You stare at the thing, transfixed. He... he was going to kill you. Your heart is racing, and the blood pounding in your ears. That metronome of your own heartbeat— the sound of your childhood. It comes back all at once. Your would-be murderer stares in confusion as you start singing. Schubert's Erlkönig— you can't help it. You're back in that hospital, back with that music, ready to accept that you are—

Dying.​

Then a human bowling ball barrels into the stalker.

You hate the interloper. The sheer hypocrisy, a different stalker, here to save you from the first. You berate him, you beat him. You make him grovel, beg, and bleed. But he just keeps coming back for more.

You listen to Schubert again. It's as vile and disgusting as always— but it brings you back. To that time when you were ready to die. You bring your hands up to your neck, you want to feel that you are—

Dying.​

Goushi stops you. He always does now. He'll let you choke him, squeeze him until he's near death. But he never lets you do it to yourself. He's bought you another gift— a NerveGear? SAO Beta? Just a toy. A distraction.

"Whoa, you almost had me there, haha! Where'd you learn to fight like that? Ah, crap, gotta run. Listen, we've got to do this again sometime— hit me up on the full release! I'm keeping my old name, so just search for Kirito, alright?"

The sword clatters to the floor as your opponent logs out. When the blade sliced through your neck, you felt it. That sensation. Your mind goes dark, the breath leaves your lungs, your life ends. But then it doesn't. It feels empty. Yet it's the closest. The absolute closest you've ever felt to—

Dying.​

"You've got talent kid. I don't usually do this, but we just got a sudden cancellation. Stage is a bit big for the likes of you, but if you want the chance, it's yours."

It's just one day. SAO can wait for one day. Everything goes well. A standing ovation, the shouts for an encore that drowns out even the cheers. The producer hands you a contract the second you finish performing.

And then the news. SAO, the death game. You dodged death. Over and over and OVER AND OVER AND OVER!

Blessings upon blessings rain down upon you without end. For 14 years nothing but pain, suffering, and that horrible music. But it's as if you cannot die.

Your illness, cured by some pharmacist an ocean away, whose name you don't even know.
Your parents, they were going to control you, direct your life, kill your spirit. Then grandparents you barely knew show up to whisk you away and shower you with love.
Your stalker, ready for the perfect murder-suicide. Only for Goushi to save you, to keep stopping you.
And then the Death Game. Denied, providence handing you not only salvation but success beyond your wildest dreams.

You died one day. And now you sit upon the [崎]precipice and await [神]God's arrival. But he does not come.

There's a girl half your age. She was there at your first concert. She's here at your second. She hands you a copy of your CD and asks for an autograph— your first ever autograph. You sign it with your new name.

Somebody dies. [神崎]Kanzaki Elsa is born. It might be the only death you'll ever get to see.

And then it happens. An announcement, a man with red eyes. You have no desire for oblivion, nor any attachment to the pain. But you've been there, time and time again, that space between life and death, that liminality. It's your last chance before Kanzaki Elsa is all that's left. This is your «Real Deal»— you want to feel it again. You want to feel like you're—

Dying.​

System Call: Incarnate DEATH GUN [FREISCHÜTZ ERLKÖNIG] ReferenceID:11.Droit​

---

You wake up. The choking has finally subsided. You asked to understand Pitohui, and like a blind, dumb god, Cardinal delivered your request the only way it knew how. Kayaba's voice is no longer present, the only one left in this space is that thing named Cardinal. You feel its attention upon you, wrapped in its coils. There is no ending and no beginning, nothing but endless lines and shapes that warp and distort around your form.

The revelation that Pitohui was Kanzaki Elsa scarcely registers. Because you're trapped. No way to log out, no way to even resist.

You scream out Kayaba's name, but he is no longer listening. You realize the man doesn't care for your opinion, he doesn't care about anyone's opinion. But this thing all around you— this Cardinal. It cares. For this one moment, it cares about nothing but you.

System Call: Initiating High-Power Scan. Translating Fluctlight ID. Authorization: [HEATHCLIFF]​

You've seen this pattern time and time again. A blinking series of flashing lights, like a million little stars. In Sugou's prison. On Shigemura-sensei's whiteboard. In flashes and bits all over your adventures in the virtual world.

You've never seen this one. There's no distinction to be made, you can no more distinguish this fluctuating light from any other—

But you know. This one is special.

​

It's yours.

Your Fluctlight.

Your soul.

All that you were and are, reduced to a graphical interface for the convenience of a machine god's eyes. You can't feel disgusted, not when it's yours, but like watching a film reel of your life be unwound you can't help but feel it's wrong.

That great thing is wrapping lines of black and red like a thousand snakes, burrowing into your consciousness, probing and prodding. It doesn't heed your words, it cares not for consent or protest. Cardinal will do as it's designed. It's not meant to understand. It's a tool, created for a specific purpose. You're reminded of words nearly forgotten, one Cayna told you was the name of Yuuki's FullDive machine.

Soul Translator.

This is what Cardinal is trying to do. It's peering past all your surface thoughts, right into the core of your self. Translating all that you were into simple data.

You're struck by an inescapable thought. One your Fluctlight mirrors as it flickers and reddens in response to your agitation. This thing, this Cardinal, if it could read your Fluctlight then what was stopping it from copying it? Changing it? Replacing it? Are you Hiyori, or are you just a Fluctlight, existing just to die in the one ephemeral moment you were translated to satisfy Cardinal's curiosity?

The thing has your soul at its mercy, a child with a new doll, ready to pull and love and rip. The tentacles of red and black multiply, a dozen, a hundred, a million million lines to correspond to each tiny unit of your soul. Even you knew this much— that nothing can be observed without first changing it.

I want to apologize to Rossa.

Regret. Mourning. A single light in the back wavers from side to side. A tendril seizes upon it, worming its way around your thoughts.

I want to put a stop to people like you or Death Gun.

Anger. Justice. Your soul glows an incandescent red, and Cardinal gleefully follows, tracing the shape of your emotion with a thousand threads.

To face myself. To face forward.

Ideal. Shadow. Monochrome white and yellow patterns dance between the red and the black, but Cardinal's tendrils multiply to accommodate.

You call out but even your Shadow is a part of you, and it cannot help you here, for it is no more safe from the probing Cardinal than you are. You imagine Personas, but for each one you call, you only serve to pique the creature's interest. The force that animated Aincrad, no, the entire virtual world was bearing down upon you, and only you. There's no one left to help. No one—

You were being dissected. Unraveled. Cataloged. Copied—no. Worse.

Cut out and pasted back in.

System Call: Fluctlight Translation at 50%. Accessing Subconscious. Fluctlight backup procedures initializing. Authorization: [HEATHCLIFF]​

Unacceptable.

​

The lights— your light, snuffs out. The thousand blinking flickers of your soul grow silent. Pure, lightless dark.

Yet you remain, and clarity falls on you.

A pure chasm of darkness surrounds your Fluctlight like a shell, hiding even the flickers of your soul from view. Cardinal's tendrils spasm. It's confused, unsure how to proceed. And then the darkness awakens. It churns, it rages— a million million lines of chaos blast out of your soul like an explosion, striking every one of Cardinal's tendrils. The thing is not capable of screaming, Cardinal is not alive, nor is it intelligent. It is not equipped to understand something that is neither human nor machine.

And thus, it flees.

---

"W-what..."

You open your eyes. You're back in the cabin, Kayaba's little slice of paradise in the virtual world. Only somehow things are different. There's a gaping chasm that rends the earth in half, the building is turned inside out, planks hang in midair, doors where windows should be. The logs that comprised the walls and ceiling are cracked like broken glass, and the snow somehow falls up into the sky.

For once even Kayaba Akihiko is speechless. His face is contorted into a grimace of concentration, his hands typing on an invisible keyboard. With one frustrated motion he throws his arm forward and the world untwists back to normalcy.

He looks focused. Overwhelmed. Scared.

"That's never happened before," he says, his voice curt and pressured. With one final push, the world finally rights itself back to normal. "Truly fascinating..."

"What did you do to me!?" You scream, unable to process what just fully happened.

"Hmm? That was a «High-Power Scan». It deconstructs a Fluctlight in order to read its component parts, thus allowing Cardinal to peer into the unconscious as well as the conscious. Naturally, it's a very efficient means of reading the information within a Fluctlight. Don't be alarmed, any destruction Cardinal would've inflicted upon your Fluctlight would've been reversed once we loaded a backup."

You want to throw up. That thing just tried to disassemble your soul. "I-it was trying to kill me! You just tried to kill me!"

"Nonsense. All it would've amounted to is a temporary disruption of your stream of consciousness. The scan is total— Cardinal knows the superposition of every individual photon post-scan. You would've been reconstructed in full, none the wiser. It is no more a death than sleeping in bed and waking up in the morning."

"You tricked me. You attacked me." Once more another looks out through your eyes. You feel this rage that's not your own, all but screaming that this was a violation of the rules.

Kayaba merely frowns, "I did no such thing. You can't expect me to just trust what you say, can you? Words are easily forged. Fluctlights are not. But it appears that you have a way of blocking Cardinal's access. Exception after exception in your case, Hiyori."

Kayaba turns away from you and steps towards the cabin. In a split second day passes into night, and smoke billows out the chimney. Winter gives way to spring, and the chirping of freshly hatched cicadas can be heard all around. "As the far simpler method is no longer available to us, I suppose I shall have to indulge you. Now, I fulfilled my promise to you, so why tell me what it is you desire in your world—"

"I want fucked up people like you to stop PLAYING GOD WITH EVERYONE'S LIVES!" You're breathless, the words are forced out in a shout. All the deaths— and this man just doesn't care. He has no sorrow, no regret, not even pride. Your life, all lives... all of it just... summed up in that word you're beginning to hate. Fluctlight. That's all you are to him. Not a person, not even a soul. "I-I just want the people I care about to be alright."

He doesn't respond, simply nodding along.

"A-and... above all else, I want to face myself and move forward with my life instead of hiding from all the things I don't like. To become a better person."

Kayaba stares at you, giving you no indication he was even listening. "Is that truly the world you wish for?"

"NO! It's the world I'm going to live in— the one I'll work towards, the one I'll achieve because I dragged myself there, and not because some bastard like you messed with my head!"

His response is blank, his expression as inscrutable as ever. "I see. A world without me? No, a bit too simplistic. Perhaps what you seek is that sense of satisfaction. Hmm... I can't say I relate, but then I do not intend to. Your world is your own after all. Thank you for your answer, incomplete though it was."

No. You're not done. Not just for yourself. But for the 6000 people, this man killed. For the potential countless more he intends to harm. You can't let it go unsaid. Distantly, a fireplace burns hotter, and the smoke from his cabin intensifies.

"How dare you."

"I beg your pardon?"

A thousand words left unsaid billow out of your mouth. Everything you're fighting is nothing more than Kayaba's sideshow. With Cardinal at his beck and call there's nothing you can do against him. But for you, for every soul he's killed and maimed, directly and indirectly...

There's a clown hanging at your side. It giggles and points and whispers in your ear. Scream. Curse. Make Kayaba Akihiko feel something!

"You say that you want to make a world where I'm happy, where everyone is, but what have you actually done? You've killed, lied, and manipulated." The words tumble out of you, and they don't stop. "Your worlds just enable addicts. Sugou wasn't happier after you stepped in because you'd made him a better person, he was happy because you gave him a chance to keep ignoring the consequences of being a piece of shit rapist."

"And yet, none of us knew Sugou's true thoughts," he responds, his voice quiet, calm, and even. "That was merely your interpretation. There's nothing wrong with that— I don't judge you for it, but neither should we judge Sugou for the same."

"I can judge him for the horrors he perpetrated in THIS world! Horrors you ENABLED!"

You're not done. The infection of filth Spiegel planted in your mind joins you in a chorus of anger and scorn.

"If I was fine with your mandatory happiness, I'd never have accepted myself. The things I love, the things I hate, they're all me. Maybe some hypothetical Hiyori would be happy in one of those super-special prison cells you keep offering people, but she wouldn't be me. She'd just be a doll, locked up in your playhouse!"

"Hmph. And what would be the difference between the hypothetical you and the you now? Your experiences would be the same—"

"Fuck off with your zen bullshit! Fuck all your shit justifications! What do you want, huh? What's the real reason you're doing all this!? You wanna talk about satisfaction!? You're the most selfish, self-absorbed, narcissistic, asshole of them all!" Because that was the crux of the matter, wasn't it? Throw away all the technobabble and cognitive psience, and what did you have left? A man dissatisfied with the world, imposing his own fantasy on everyone else. A hypocrite. Contradictions abound. "This— this whole thing! It's just cause you couldn't handle living in a world that doesn't revolve around you!"

His eyes narrow.

Silence.

The smoke from the cabin intensifies. The sounds of nature cut off. A shadow of red and black hovers, half-formed, around the shoulders of Kayaba Akihiko.

You keep going. You need him to know. You need him to hurt. "You strike me as a sore loser. Tell me, what were you doing those two years in SAO? Running your little guild? Hey, now that I think about it, didn't I watch that fight you had on the 70th Floor against the Black Swordsman? I thought you were moving oddly. Were you cheating?"

"You have no idea...!" Kayaba growls, his voice dripping with contempt.

"Hahaha..." you start, a small giggle at first, but it grows. Maybe it's the leftover data from Eulenspiegel, maybe it's the whole situation finally breaking your mind, but you're beginning to see. People were contradictory— conscious, and subconscious wishes and ideals colliding into a murky, confused mess. Stop thinking of Kayaba Akihiko as this monolithic demon king. He's a person, and if there's one thing you're learning from Spiegel it's that everyone, to some extent...

Was a piece of shit.

"I heard that's what got you exposed. SAO, cut short cause you just couldn't bring yourself to lose. Seriously, what the hell were you even doing faffing around as Heathcliff, even making your own guild? What, did you try it in «Elder Tale» and got laughed out for being too intense?"

He doesn't respond.

"Hahahahaha, oh it's starting to make sense! Nothing wrong with using unlimited cosmic powers to show up us kids. Gotta be the biggest, baddest dude on the block, by any means necessary. That's totally healthy behavior. Heaven, the fate of the world— you don't really care. You had someone who loved you. All the talent and resources you could ask for. But you threw all of that away."

"...This has been a waste of my time," he says, his tone flat and icy.

"No, no. This has been great, I feel like we really got to know each other! Now I see how you and Sugou ended up as friends." You smile, noting his reaction. "You know what Sugou said at the end? That he was helping people. Taking them away from this world into his new paradise. Even at the end he couldn't admit he was just a selfish piece of shit. But you're different, Kayaba. Of course you are! You're doing this for us."

You feel your Personas, all circling around your mind. They're faint, out of your reach. The prince golden light places a hand on your shoulder, but you realize it's not alone. Hanging off the pharaoh like a deranged monkey, Eulenspiegel laughs and laughs and strangely? You're starting to find it funny too.

"It's contradictory. You say it's for a greater good and then spend two years roleplaying as Heathcliff? 100 fucking floors? It didn't need to be Sword Art Online. You could've thrown us a single floor or a deserted island to conduct your experiment. But you couldn't resist. So you dress it up, you tell yourself it's all for the sake of the world. So much work just to squash that feeling of contradiction. Blinding yourself to the simple fact that you're a selfish piece of shit who got people killed cause he wanted to play a video game—!"

The grass flattens beneath you, the cabin erupts into flames. A flash of movement and a wave of pressure. Your voice is ripped out of your throat.

Something blinds you with pain and sheer overwhelming force. You can't think, you can't breathe, you can scarcely exist as you feel every bone in your body liquify under the assault. The trees part before you like dust in the wind, and your mangled body skids across the snow into a twitching heap. Limbs twist, and fatal wounds linger, the system not permitting you to die. But through it all an indescribable feeling of satisfaction.

He hit you.
He got angry.

Kayaba looms over you, his form blurred and indistinct, hidden by this lumbering monster of red and black flickering around him. He lowers his hand, staring at it— the ripples from Cardinal that he threw out to attack you with still lingering upon his palm. Anger morphs into open disbelief. "...I misjudged you. You are much more unpleasant than I thought."

"Ha-ha-hrk-haha, s-ee? You're h-human after all!" Every pang of laughter sends a spike of pain through you, no system absorber here to dampen the feeling. Not of the pain nor the triumph.

"We're done. Cardinal, ensure she cannot enter via this avenue again."

You raise your voice one last time, but in a flash of red and black Kayaba is gone. There's a brief, all-too-familiar feeling of disorientation, and suddenly all the pain disappears.

>You have, to a small extent, begun to understand Kayaba Akihiko.
>The FOOL Arcana has reached Rank 2!
>ARCHON has powered up! A boring but functional global stat increase.

---

You open your eyes. The stench is back. You're lying in a pool of mud, staring up at the cloud of flies overhead, Sinon's shining form the only thing of interest for miles. You used an ability to escape harm, only for... everything to go to shit.

You've made more progress in your investigation in one subjective second than you have all week.
You mind-melded with Kanzaki Elsa— making you now two for two on crazy singers you have to rescue from VR.
You almost had your soul eaten.
You managed to piss off the closest thing virtual worlds had to a god.
And now? You're back here in the mud. Dealing with this asshole.

You can't help it. You start laughing.

Everyone stops. Even Spiegel stops.

Humans are contradictory. It brings you back to the first question you had, one that Kayaba had no real answer to. How do you make Spiegel understand? Why did he profess to not care about others, only to draw power from them? Why did he expend so much effort into the entire Death Gun business, only to then claim he didn't really care?

Why was he laughing when he didn't find anything funny?

You've reached a conclusion. Was it the correct one? You don't know, but it's something. Just like Kayaba Akihiko, Spiegel can't accept that contradiction within himself, so the only conclusion he could make was that everything, always, was a piece of shit.

Sinon could pity him. Reject him.
But she could still be his friend.

You could be his enemy. Death Gun's nemesis.
But you could still help him.

You've never heard of Eulenspiegel before today. But it came with you to meet Kayaba, it's your enemy but it... helped you, in its own way. Like with your own Personas, calling upon it lets you grasp the tiniest hint of his legend— Eulenspiegel was a jester, a mad raving fool who enjoyed nothing more than exposing hypocrisy, of highlighting the contradictions of others. A villain, a fool, a folkhero. All these things and none.

Spiegel could be an accessory to murder.
But he could could also be so much more.

You just need to show that to him.

Spoiler: PLAN PHASE

NEW INFORMATION!
You have confirmation, though no direct proof, of the following pieces of information:
Death Gun Core Members:
XaXa (Sterben, Shinkawa Shouichi)
Johnny Black (Blackwood, multiple alts, Kanamoto Atsuhi)
PoH (Vassago Casals)

Death Gun Major Affiliates:
"Hydra" (Suspected to be Itsuki)
Unknown GM, affiliated with Hydra.

Pitohui's real-life identity is the singer/songwriter, Kanzaki Elsa.
Kanzaki Elsa is a stage name.
You suspect she's not obsessed with Death itself, but rather the act of Dying. She seeks to reproduce that feeling at all costs.
Her relationship with music is contradictory.
Freischultz -Erlkönig-

STATUS OF COMBATANTS
All party members are at FULL HEALTH and FULL SP.
Kuro: FILTH x 2
AGI -1 (expires never)
VIT -1 (expires never)
Poison 1 (expires never)
15/16 HP, 6/10 SP
Sinon: FILTH x 0
CHT -1 (expires next turn)
AGI -1 (expires in 2 turns)
Gwen: FILTH x 2
Poison 1 (expires never)
13/14 HP, 10/10 SP
LLENN: FILTH x 1

Available DETERMINATION: 20 D

Personas:
Paladin
Alice Lidell
Urvashi
Villefort
UndineEulenspiegel
Mithras Liturgy - Not yet Eulenspiegel

One Stop Combat Sheet (up to date for this combat)

Spiegel
HP: 3 Damage taken
STR: ?
MAG: ?
AGI: 3
VIT: ?
CHT: ?
Weakness: Everything
Resist: None

Skills:
What-a-Karn: Raises a shield around an allied unit that reflects EITHER Magic or Physical, as determined by the result of a 1d2 roll.
Filthy-Diarama: Collects a large amount of filth and heal its user.
???

RELEASE RECOLLECTION:
Owl Mirror: Infuse the memory of FILTH into the local area, and intensify it over time. Transform other Personas into Eulenspiegel, provided you have a social link established with the owner of said Persona.


Memory of the Champion
HP: 1 Damage sustained.
CHT: 6
VIT: 5
Weakness: Everything
Resist: None

Memory of the Streamer
HP: Full
CHT: 5
VIT: 4
Weakness: Everything
Resist: None

Memory of the School x 5
HP: 1 vanquished, 2 Damage to another one.
CHT: 2
VIT: 2
Weakness: Everything
Resist: None

Memory of Kuro-Undine
HP: 5/5
AGI: 4
VIT: 1
CHT: 3
Weakness: Elec, Pierce
Resist: Blunt, Wind
Null: Ice

---

TACTICAL INFORMATION

>Sinon is not yet airborne, and is FAR from everyone, and EXTREMELY FAR from the Champion.
>Kuro is in MELEE range with Undine, CLOSE to the School, FAR to the Streamer, and EXTREMELY FAR from the Champion.
>LLENN is on the outskirts after chasing down the Father. She is in MELEE with the School, CLOSE to Undine, FAR to the Streamer, and EXTREMELY FAR from the Champion.
>LLENN has no way of reaching the Champion in 1 turn.
>Gwen is invisible and can be retcon'd into any range!

>Spiegel is highly mobile, and can be considered in MELEE/CLOSE/FAR from everyone.

>The FILTH is intensifying across the battlefield.
>FILTH stack 3 doubles the potency of all debuffs on you.
>FILTH stack 4 doubles the poison damage.
This pattern repeats for future FILTH stacks.

>Shinkawa Kyouji possesses the power of the Wildcard, allowing him to form Social Links.
>Shinkawa Kyouji can form Social Links mid-battle, and do so unilaterally. He forms Social Links with those he thinks mock, hate, pity or otherwise laugh at him.
>Shinkawa Kyouji's Wildcard does not allow him to use multiple Personas, but he can turn other Personas into Eulenspiegel, provided he can maintain an active Social Link.

>One Persona per scene, chosen at random if multiple Personas are used in a scene, from Kuro's roster when used against Kyouji will immediately become twisted into Eulenspiegel by the power of his Wildcard.
>You may 'free' your Persona by defeating its corresponding Mud Memory.
>When your entire roster is Eulenspiegel'd, you either lose or expend considerable DETERMINATION summoning another Persona.

A Eulenspiegel Persona has all stats set to:
STR: Rank E (1 Dice)
MAG: Rank E (1 Dice)
AGI: Rank E (1 Dice)
VIT: Rank E (1 Dice)
CHT: Rank D (2 Dice)

Weakness: Everything
Resist: Nothing
Passive: Immune to all FILTH effects

Skills are retained.
Enhance Armament and Release Recollection are both sealed.

>Win by wiping out all the Memories or defeating Spiegel. Spiegel can erect more Memories and also heal himself, defensively buff himself, and otherwise make a nuisance of himself.

---

DO YOU ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE IN DIPLOMACY? [Free Combat Banter]

[ ] Tell Sinon to tell Spiegel the truth.
Everything, hold nothing back. Every complaint, every nasty feeling, every frustration— lay it all out. She's not some goddess nor his savior. She can hate your guts and still worry about you. She can find you creepy and still value your friendship. She can be contradictory.

[ ] Hammer on Shouichi.
You knew him as the man with the red eyes. But Kyouji knows him as his big brother, the one person in the world who's always on his side. He can be family and still a monster. He can be your hero and still need to be stopped. He can be contradictory.

[ ] Tell Spiegel your truth.
You have some sense of what Spiegel has done. An accessory to murder, threats— real crimes. You know what Argo would say. But what would you say? Because you've done what he has. You don't understand him, not fully. But show him you can be Lux the Laughing Coffin spy, just as much as you can be Kuro. You can be contradictory.

[ ] Try to talk to Spiegel.
WRITE-IN speech.
You may also have Sinon say something to Spiegel as well, or in place of Kuro.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

[ ] Lasso the Soul [Paladin]
How do you get an idiot to listen? Well I reckon he's not going to use his words when he's slinging all that mud around. I think the pink eyesore's got the right idea. Shoot out his legs, stop him from running around like a drunken roadrunner, and then force him to listen.
-Instruct LLENN and Gwen to corral him to you with their mobility.
-Have Sinon clear a spot of Filth, even if it means harming you in the process. Draw Spiegel into it.
-Focus as much damage into Spiegel as possible, letting yourself be hurt just to do as much damage as possible.
-Force him down and then deliver diplomacy.

[ ] The Audience Awaits [Alice Liddell]
You wish for him to listen to your ally? Oh dear, quite the conundrum, especially with those dreadful voices. It is so very hard to concentrate in a crowd. But you can't disperse a crowd with half measures, on no. You have to give them a little... spook!
-Continue with the current plan of silencing all the effigies, but actually use your strongest abilities to do this.
-Sinon will fire until she can't anymore. Gwen will break out the Toaster. LLENN will start spree killing the School. You will run closer to the Memory of the Champion and wipe it out with Megido.

[ ] A Spot of Irony [Villefort]
His name, it means mirror, does it not? An apt description. If his effigies wish to laugh at him, then I suggest we give them an alternative target for their. Show them their reflections, make the horrid things laugh at themselves.
-Shape a CRYSTALLINE element into a series of Mirrors.
-Have your party members carry them over to the various Effigies.
-May work, may be a waste of time.

OR

[ ] Write what you want Kuro and your to do (your GOAL) and with which Persona. Specific plans will typically be rewarded with more bonuses than general plans. Your capabilities depend on your equipped Persona.

Spend SP (2 SP per Persona) to use multiple Personas in a turn.

As a note, you can just say have LLENN attack X, have Kuro attack Y, etc. If I get a plan like that, I shrug my shoulders, roll, and just let the dice decide. You can explicitly invoke skills and whatnot, and I'll do my best to interpret and roll.

But you can also do actual narrative stuff. Like team up attacks, rather than give specific mechanical orders you can just ask your party members to do specific things or try to go for complex stuff. Team attacks, stuff like that. You also aren't limited to one action per scene, it's best just to be clear what you are trying to accomplish (ie, GOAL) moreso than what specific mechanic you are invoking.

Diplomacy is separate from the combat plan.
Also apparently Kanzaki Elsa is actually supposed to be Kanzaki Elza. You lied to me, SAO Wikia! The OCD part of me wants to go back and replace every word. The practical part of me is just retconning it back into Elsa via GM fiat.
Also shout out to Elsa's (bite me SAO Wikia) crazy novel backstory. I have dressed it up a bit, but this is more or less her canon backstory.

 

[Frozen Flame]

That was amazing. It's probably going to cause a problem or two down the road, but damn if smacking Kayaba right in his smug face and making him blink wasn't the highlight of my night. If we can, I want to recruit Kyouji just to see him and Hiyori team up to top this roast the next time Kayaba shows himself.

I'll hold off on making any plans until I've heard what everyone else thinks about our course of action, the most I feel comfortable stating right now is that I'm in favor of Shino telling Kyouji the truth, but after that W I feel good about our odds.

 

[Kermie]

Dear god, that "dying" section gave me chills. Goddamn.

 

[Kutenaiabi]

...seeing Kayaba break down like that...is so satisfying.

Well done. Well done indeed.

 

[Alcor]

Also apparently Kanzaki Elsa is actually supposed to be Kanzaki Elza. You lied to me, SAO Wikia! The OCD part of me wants to go back and replace every word. The practical part of me is just retconning it back into Elsa via GM fiat.
Also shout out to Elsa's (bite me SAO Wikia) crazy novel backstory. I have dressed it up a bit, but this is more or less her canon backstory.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I've been defaulting to Elza because I tend to use TVTropes first and the Wikia second for research beyond what I've watched/read of SAO and the youtube clips of Elza's songs (which is an actual album release you can buy digitally) is titled "Elza" but I wasn't going to press it because I didn't know if it was just an odd translation choice and not the fan community preferred one (think Fate's Saber officially being "Altria" when basically everyone hates it and thinks "Artoria" is a far superior rendering.)

And while I picked up the GGO Alternative LNs I wasn't far enough to hit the crazy Elza backstory but I ran into parts of it through earlier TVTropes "research." I'm further than Season 1 of the anime and probably a good chunk into what Season 2 is likely to cover.

Loved this update (I love most of them but this was particularly good, loved the Elza mindmeld and then Nyarly slapping Cardinal away when Kayaba tried to scan Hiyori and his subsequent breakdown when she verbally laid into him.

The voice of Kayaba Akihiko grows dark. "I am curious who shall prevail in your little contest and wish to not spoil the proceedings. But very well, I will at least tell you their closest associate. There is a Syndicate member involved, who did not log in with his real name. Cardinal's surface scan has him self identifying as «Hydra», but I lack the context to parse it beyond it being some sort of criminal codename. Anything more will require a deeper scan, one I cannot do as he is not logged in right now."

"The GM! I know there's a GM involved!"

"The GM is less of a conspirator and more of a victim of Hydra's manipulations. Next question. I must remind you that this is not a negotiation— either you ask your last question, or you leave unsatisfied."

Click to shrink...

I think this is still Itsuki. In game canon he is implied to have a pretty dark backstory and took the effort to tell pretty much everyone he knew different backstories for himself and somehow kept it straight with the only possible exception being the Game's MC so that could fit with "Hydra" AFAIK. And Taipan appeared to be hero-worshipping him so that part about the GM still fits I think.

 

[The Zog]

Kayaba's voice returns, bored and disinterested. "It appears he has a difficult relationship with his father, was a victim of bullying, and looks up to his elder brother. He possesses a strange power that lets him resist Cardinal, as do you."

"I know that already! Anything new!?"

"Cardinal is not equipped to answer such a vague question. If you wish for my advice, I suggest you break his mind and then use your powers to force him to comply— you have ways to edit Fluctlight IDs, do you not? I am aware of an item called a «Piety Module» that can permanently affix a Fluctlight ID manipulation. I can have Cardinal generate a copy—"

Click to shrink...

Sorry about asking for the Kyoji right in to be made more specific. Looks like the first more general question would have been better.

But you worked with him more directly than any of the other Coffins. XaXa and JB were the true crazies— but the rank and file? They had more in common with Gwen than the true believers. PoH had a distinct leadership style, and «Laughing Coffin» ran itself more like a frathouse than some cult— no perhaps a better analogy was it worked almost like a real-world MMO guild. He was casual, even friendly at times— he'd remember birthdays, tell dumb jokes, always be there to lend a reassuring ear to any Coffin that had doubts.

Click to shrink...

Hiyori's leadership style and how she handles her Social Links is really similar to PoH's.

System Call: Incarnate DEATH GUN [FREISCHÜTZ ERLKÖNIG] ReferenceID:11.Droit

Click to shrink...

This pretty much confirms that all Death Gun Persona are syncretized with the Freeshooter.

System Call: Fluctlight Translation at 50%. Accessing Subconscious. Fluctlight backup procedures initializing. Authorization: [HEATHCLIFF]​

Unacceptable.​

Click to shrink...

Boss-man to the rescue! You do care!

"Hmm? That was a «High-Power Scan». It deconstructs a Fluctlight in order to read its component parts, thus allowing Cardinal to peer into the unconscious as well as the conscious. Naturally, it's a very efficient means of reading the information within a Fluctlight. Don't be alarmed, any destruction Cardinal would've inflicted upon your Fluctlight would've been reversed once we loaded a backup."

You want to throw up. That thing just tried to disassemble your soul. "I-it was trying to kill me! You just tried to kill me!"

"Nonsense. All it would've amounted to is a temporary disruption of your stream of consciousness. The scan is total— Cardinal knows the superposition of every individual photon post-scan. You would've been reconstructed in full, none the wiser. It is no more a death than sleeping in bed and waking up in the morning."

"You tricked me. You attacked me." Once more another looks out through your eyes. You feel this rage that's not your own, all but screaming that this was a violation of the rules.

Click to shrink...

For all Kayaba's utopian ideals and his evil messiah guy act he's sure good at commodifying people into objects.

And he's sure surprised by the Nyarly interrupt. PHILEMON really didn't warn him of her other self?

There's a clown hanging at your side. It giggles and points and whispers in your ear. Scream. Curse. Make Kayaba Akihiko feel something!

Click to shrink...

The insight granted to worms. Kyoji's greatest strength if he was the protagonist, the ability to see what the Chosen really are beneath all their ideals and grandiosity.

"And yet, none of us knew Sugou's true thoughts," he responds, his voice quiet, calm, and even. "That was merely your interpretation. There's nothing wrong with that— I don't judge you for it, but neither should we judge Sugou for the same."

Click to shrink...

That's some real slave-owning isekai protagonist levels of apologism, there!

"Hahaha..." you start, a small giggle at first, but it grows. Maybe it's the leftover data from Eulenspiegel, maybe it's the whole situation finally breaking your mind, but you're beginning to see. People were contradictory— conscious, and subconscious wishes and ideals colliding into a murky, confused mess. Stop thinking of Kayaba Akihiko as this monolithic demon king. He's a person, and if there's one thing you're learning from Spiegel it's that everyone, to some extent...

Click to shrink...

Yes, contradictions! My favorite Nyarlathotep line! We should be saying that a lot in the future!

"It's contradictory. You say it's for a greater good and then spend two years roleplaying as Heathcliff? 100 fucking floors? It didn't need to be Sword Art Online. You could've thrown us a single floor or a deserted island to conduct your experiment. But you couldn't resist. So you dress it up, you tell yourself it's all for the sake of the world. So much work just to squash that feeling of contradiction. Blinding yourself to the simple fact that you're a selfish piece of shit who got people killed cause he wanted to play a video game—!"

The grass flattens beneath you, the cabin erupts into flames. A flash of movement and a wave of pressure. Your voice is ripped out of your throat.

Something blinds you with pain and sheer overwhelming force. You can't think, you can't breathe, you can scarcely exist as you feel every bone in your body liquify under the assault. The trees part before you like dust in the wind, and your mangled body skids across the snow into a twitching heap. Limbs twist, and fatal wounds linger, the system not permitting you to die. But through it all an indescribable feeling of satisfaction.

He hit you.
He got angry.

Kayaba looms over you, his form blurred and indistinct, hidden by this lumbering monster of red and black flickering around him. He lowers his hand, staring at it— the ripples from Cardinal that he threw out to attack you with still lingering upon his palm. Anger morphs into open disbelief. "...I misjudged you. You are much more unpleasant than I thought."

Click to shrink...

Hah, underneath all of Kayaba's talent, skill, and grand ideals it turns out he is just another generic isekai protagonist who crumbles when the world isn't designed to let him win.

 

[afreaknamedpete]

Sorry about asking for the Kyoji right in to be made more specific. Looks like the first more general question would have been better.

Click to shrink...

Just to mention that mechanically you do learn of one way of getting through to Kyouji. Originally I was going to use Kayaba as the mouthpiece but then it clashed with my characterization so I decided to make Hiyori realize it herself. The key here is that Kayaba helped Hiyori empathize with Kyouji.

 

[theguynamedwafer]

So...does this mean that we unintentionally burned out Apathanatismos? I really hope it still has SOME functionality after this.

As for a plan...

[X] Diplomacy: The Mahou Shoujo Who Laughs
--[X] *laugh uproariously* "I understand what you mean now! Everyone is, has been, or will be, a, as you so eloquently put it, piece of shit at some point in their life! It's an inevitability! But now that I've understand it, I, well..." *chuckle* "I know how you feel. And isn't it just the worst? To feel like there's no way out? But here's the secret Spiegel: there's always a way out, you just have to find it! I should know, I've been in your position before! Where do you think your brother got the idea for Death Gun? From his time as one of the big bosses of Laughing Coffin in SAO! And you know who was on the bottom of the totem pole the entire time? Me! So believe me when I say I know a thing or two about being forced into the proverbial muck." *smile and offer your hand* "I can show you the way out. You just have to let me help you."

[X] Plan: Clear the peanut gallery
-[X] Main focus is to get Kyouji to listen to what Hiyori's saying
-[X] Hiyori destroys the memory of the soccer team with Alice while also forcing Spiegel closer to her
-[X] Gwen focuses on freeing Undine through any means necessary, including use of Daji, before destroying the most destructive memory within reach
-[X] LLEN uses her mobility to force Spiegel within audible range of Kuro and keep him there
-[X] Sinon destroys the loudest, most disruptive memories with overwhelming force

Preliminary plan. Thoughts are welcome.

 

[DrWalpurgisnacht]

I do really like that what helped us take down Kayaba, in that scene, was synthesizing Owlglass and Nyarlathotep. We basically got to play Spiegel's version of the quest for a scene!
There's definitely a road to the future being pointed out there. Right now, Kayaba is too metaphorically big to fight. We have to make him smaller.

[X] Hammer on Shouichi.
[X] A Spot of Irony [Villefort]
Shouichi's status as someone who's "shit" that Kyouji still feels positively towards makes him the biggest contradiction to be exploited, and...I'm honestly just curious to see where that one goes.

 

[Underdog Emiya]

[x] The Flipside
-[x] "Forgive me, forgive me, I just had the funniest thing happen to me and I can't help but keep laughing. Hahaha..."
-[x] "Allow me to make some requests: LLENN, what do you think of Pitohui? Sinon, what do you think of Spiegel here? Come on, don't be shy. Let out all the good and the bad. You can also join if you want Gwen, if you want."
-[x] After they speak, say. "Lemme tell a little story, of when I hanged with your big bro. Yeah, him, big, tall, red-eye XaXa. So we tried to ambush this girl, the Rat, who tried to use me as a whistleblower for the Coffin's dirty business but she escaped, leaving one of her buddies behind. So he tries to goad me into putting him back in jail, but I have no guts to go ahead with the deal, be the hero...I wasn't the hero, I let your bro torture the guy and couldn't help but watch it and feel nothing..."
-[x] "Even now, I don't know why I did it, but allow me to tell you a few things, Kyouji. If it was for survival, why would I willingly return to the jaws of the beast that held control over my life for the better part of a year? If it was for liking the way things were, then why do I stand in your way now? If it was only to spite them...then why I, someone who spent so much time under PoH's thrall, who knows how he can get in someone's head, is bothering to talk with someone who is, by all means, in the lower part of the pole?"
-[x] "The truth is that people are more complex than what you keep saying, Kyouji. We are shit, as dirty as the ground of this swamp...but it's not all we are. If that were the case, Sinon the Sniper would have discarded you the moment your usefulness was over and Kuro the Coffin wouldn't bother with you in the first place. And, if you were all that you said, why raise a hand to Asada Shino, before Sinon even came to be? Shut the voices for once and give a good look at yourself."
[X] A Spot of Irony [Villefort]

 

[SITB]

System Call: Incarnate DEATH GUN [FREISCHÜTZ ERLKÖNIG] ReferenceID:11.Droit

Click to shrink...

System Call: Initiating High-Power Scan. Translating Fluctlight ID. Authorization: [HEATHCLIFF]

Click to shrink...

Limbus Company jump-scare.

(I know that it's 100% coincidental, but I did a double take until I remembered that Heathcliff was Kayaba's GMPC name).

---

I really like the framing of how Hiyori understood Kyouji because even as Kyouji infects Hiyori with Eulenspiegel-itis she is linked to him in return because that kind of bond forming is a two way street (especially for Wildcards).

 

[Alcor]

Limbus Company jump-scare.

Click to shrink...

oh no now i'm doing it too. I chuckled at Erlkonig for the same reason but whiffed on the lay-up of Heathcliff.

that crossover would work too well with the twisted HEAVEN rulers as distortions and persona as EGOs.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyVr4TEHpKY
"Miss Cardinal... I believe that is not exactly the case..."
*Manifests EGO Persona*

♬ With your hand, do what must be done
(Delete) Delete
(Delete) Delete
(Delete) Delete ♬

 

[afreaknamedpete]

I flunked out of Lobotomy Corp, but I got really into Library of Ruina. When I learned the sequel was gonna be a gacha game I got rather sad and divested myself of the franchise. I don't have anything against gachas but I only really have enough time and effort to follow one, and I'm currently following HSR.

But yeah, nothing's ever truly original, especially with stories using mythology as inspiration (except late-stage Jung. I plant my flag upon the fertile soil and claim to the world that I was here first). In my defense Pitohui was literally singing Erlkonig in the middle of the fight with LLENN, and the lyrics do somewhat align so I'm sticking with it.

 

[The Zog]

[X] Plan: Clear the peanut gallery

[X] Hammer on Shouichi.

Neither of the write-ins appeal to me since they're either a wall of text during a fight or try to force things to the ending too quickly. We can't socially beat Kyoji in one big perfect speech, instead, we should grind him down. See how something guaranteed to affect him hit and then use it to tailor our diplomacy for later turns.

 

[Kermie]

[X] Plan: Clear the peanut gallery

[X] Hammer on Shouichi.

 

[Alcor]

[X] The Audience Awaits [Alice Liddell]
[X] Hammer on Shouichi.

I think the pre-written Alice combat strategy has the right idea, more or less. Basically unleash our big attacks to quickly clear the memories. And I think it has a pretty good distribution of force (LLENN seems like she'd do well against the School, Almighty against Champion, etc.) Maybe there are some optimizations to be made (Play With Me over Megido?) but I am maintaining my self-imposed ban on combat plans lol.

 

[BoundaryPhantasm]

[X] The Audience Awaits [Alice Liddell]
[X] Hammer on Shouichi.