[X] Behold, a TRUE would-be God
Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)
- Thread starter afreaknamedpete
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi Fantasy
Vs Sugou: A New World Fool -Edge Punisher-
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
[X] Alfheim Online thanks you all for playing! Time to wake up! (Finisher)
-[X] Direct Commands (Call to Gwen is automatic so I'm not putting it here)
--[X] Shiroe: Singularity on Sugou -> Thorn Bind Hostage on Sugou
--[X] Gwen: Agilao on Sugou -> Agilao on Sugou
--[X] Yuuki: Suminagi on Sugou -> Mother's Rosario on Sugou
--[X] Lux: Kuhleborn's Curse (Undine) -> Kuhleborn's Curse (Undine)
-[X] Direct Commands (Call to Gwen is automatic so I'm not putting it here)
--[X] Shiroe: Singularity on Sugou -> Thorn Bind Hostage on Sugou
--[X] Gwen: Agilao on Sugou -> Agilao on Sugou
--[X] Yuuki: Suminagi on Sugou -> Mother's Rosario on Sugou
--[X] Lux: Kuhleborn's Curse (Undine) -> Kuhleborn's Curse (Undine)
Yuuki is the first to reach him, stepping into his guard before Sugou can even raise a defense. Her stance is low, her legs bent, and her katana remains nested in its wooden sheathe. Sugou's sword comes down in a panicked swing, lacking in grace but full of desperate fury. It clips her side, but she ignores the light damage, the wounds sewing closed with a healing light from the ghost of the shrine maiden hovering behind her.
Yuuki steps forward, and another kanji symbol appears on the ground when her foot slams into the soil.
"HIYAAAAHHH!" You see the sword twitch in her hands, but you don't see the cut itself. All you hear is the whistle of displaced air, and the soft click of Yuuki sheathing her blade.
A thin line appears through Sugou's sword, his Persona Alberich, and finally Sugou himself. He opens his mouth, trying to scream in pain, but the only thing that's audible is the sound of space rippling. What was one slash becomes two, three, a dozen. Then a thousand crisscrossing wounds appear over Sugou's body as Yuuki's single strike is multiplied by the distorted space of Shiroe's Singularity spell.
"NOT ENOUGH! ALBERICH!"
The goblin screeches as lighting blasts against Yuuki's body, but she weathers the blow, powering through with sheer willpower. Sugou raises his weapon, preparing to finish the job, but a thorn warps around his wrist and binds him to a nearby tree.
"Been saving this move for a special occasion!" Yuuki announces, and you sense the air distorting around her katana. The weapon was different and the situation could hardly be compared, but you can sense the power building up in her body.
This was the move she tried to use on you, in the tournament in which you first met. Then, she riddled your body with holes, marking a cross upon your body. One you barely managed to prevent her from detonating. Here... she didn't need to do anything that flashy. Her friends were here to pick up the slack.
An ofuda appears over Sugou's body, superimposing itself over Shiroe's thorns. The shadow of the shrine maiden, always behind Yuuki and watching over her, steps forward and takes center stage. Phantom chains erupt from within the seal the maiden placed over Sugou's chest, and they cross across his body and join the Thorns already covering Sugou's body.
The magic of «Elder Tale» mixes with an «Asuka Empire» Miko's binding spell, leaving a cross-shaped mark upon Sugou's chest dripping in Astral and Spiritual magic.
"N-no! It can't end here! I won't accept it!" Sugou gasps through the pain.
"OUR SWORD WILL VANQUISH EVIL!" In a single burst of speed so fast it bordered on teleportation, Yuuki is standing over him. Katana raised high in a two-handed stance, with the shadow green-haired ninja at her side diving at Sugou with tanto held out like a spear.
"HAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
The katana falls. The tanto rams into the cross inscribed on Sugou's body.
A heartbeat of silence passes into an explosion of sound and energy when Shiroe's spell detonates against the force of Yuuki's strike. Sugou's body is engulfed in a pillar of purple petals, and you hear Sugou screaming one last time before everything is drowned out by the smoke of overlapping skill detonations.
...
When the smoke clears, you see a broken man. Your opponent, Sugou drops to his knees, crumpling to the ground while the flames of his «Object Eraser» sputter with the fall of its master. He's barely moving, the last vestiges of his strength spent receiving Yuuki's most powerful attack.
"STOP! PLEASE!"
Queen Mab shrieks, and she flies over, kneeling down at the dazed form of Sugou, trying desperately to stem the wounds covering his body.
"Out of the way, you damn NPC!" Gwen says, knocking Queen Mab away with a simple backhand from Daji. "You ain't getting out of this cleanly," Gwen says, spitting at the near catatonic Sugou. With a flick of her finger, Daji casts a ball of fire down at the defeated Sugou, laughing as her fire engulfs the man, enjoying the way he rolls along the floor like a wounded insect trying to escape a magnifying glass.
"M-make her stop..." Sugou coughs out.
"Ah, but I'm not done yet." Gwen snarls, "I'm not going to stop until my every last memory of you is replaced with the image of you begging for your pathetic life!"
Gwen raises her hand, and the fire that surrounds Sugou roars, intensifying as flames lap at his flesh. Sugou tries to scream out, but all that leaves his throat is the strangled cry of a wounded animal.
...
"Gwen... please." You call out, placing a single hand on her shoulder.
Gwen's fires die down.
"Tch..." Gwen growls.
You nod, walking forward and standing beside Sugou's prone form.
"You're in control of this space, aren't you? Release the blocks on logging out and leave. You still need to face justice for what you've done." You say, eying the ring still adorning his finger.
"P-please. Whatever you want. Just l-leave us alone, I beg of you!" Queen Mab stumbles back next to Sugou's side. Every expression and every mannerism is perfectly simulated. Queen Mab's grief, her worry, it seems so real...
But...
She's still an NPC, right? Just a simulacrum...?
The alternative, that she was a soul that was borne into the world just to be a slave, was far too cruel to contemplate.
"Then give us the ring." You say, reaching down to Sugou.
"D-dear. Please. We... we've lost. You have to survive. Please, give them what they want!" Queen Mab says, grasping Sugou's hand. "I... I'll find you again. No matter what it takes. We'll be together again, I swear!" She clutches his hand tight, tears in her eyes, and her grip slowly tightens as she lifts Sugou's hand upwards.
...
You have a split second to jump back as Queen Mab's eyes widen, her last expression in her brief existence one of shock and betrayal.
As Sugou wrenches his hand, ring and all, through her chest.
"Hehehehe... That's right. I'll just take the power back, it's the only way to win. Yes, the only way!" Sugou gestures forward, his ring sucking in the form of Queen Mab. The NPC flickers and then breaks before your eyes, fading away into a scattering of pixels.
Even to his own ally, no even to someone he was supposed to love...
"S-she loved you!" Yuuki calls out in shock. "W-what did you do that for!?"
"Hehehehaha! She served her purpose, didn't she? And it doesn't matter, none of it matters! I can make more, I can create another Queen whenever I want!" Sugou laughs, rising to his feet with renewed vigor, the ring and Alberich shining around him with redoubled light. "I'll have plenty of time once you're all dead! ALBERICH! I CAST ASIDE LOVE IN THE NAME OF THIS NEW WORLD! POWER! GIVE ME POWER!!!"
"He's trying something!" Shiroe warns, and you reach out, summoning forth Undine to cast a massive tidal wave of magic straight into Sugou's prone body.
He laughs as water fills his mouth.
He laughs as his body breaks against the rocks.
He laughs as he gargles out two words into the world itself.
My hand quenches your light,
I wrest from the rock the gold,
fashion the ring of revenge;
for hear me ye floods:
love henceforth be accursed!
"RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"
System Call: Accessing Memory from User:[OBERON] ReferenceID:[Alberich]
Appending [Accursed Love] into Main Visualizer. Release Recollection.
Appending [Accursed Love] into Main Visualizer. Release Recollection.
You intensify your spell, the spirit of Undine flowing into the summoned water. A stream turns into a deluge, and then into a river itself.
You bear down upon Sugou with the force of the flood.
But you cannot snuff out the one thing that matters— the ring. The SEED.
It cuts through the water... and the realm erupts in light.
You realize in hindsight that the Fluctlights Sugou first constructed were pure and beautiful. Essentially indistinguishable from the Fluctlights of the SAO players you encountered in ALO. This man, Sugou, was likely the one person in the world with the knowledge needed to edit, duplicate, and construct Fluctlights.
His creations were perfect. Lifelike.
The magnum opus of a perfectionist: dolls that were created purely to love first and to fight second.
But these? These were broken. Mockeries of life.
Less of a fluctuating field, but more akin to fluctuating static. Human noise.
An arm erupts from the ground, gripping your ankle. The trees alight with moaning, melted faces, and the ground becomes dotted with half-formed fairy wings and bits and pieces of organs turning the ground into a factory of human offal.
And... something pulls itself out of the ground. A facsimile of humanity covered in gore and half-formed organs. An amalgamation of body parts, of limbs, of faces. Upon each inch of this creature, you see the faces of Asuna and Rinko repeated over and over like a camo pattern made of human skin.
This... wasn't just some monster, or creature. It was connected with the ground and trees, contaminating every inch of the new world with images of Titania and Queen Mab. Sugou was no longer concerned with recreating his perfect slaves. Every last ounce of power the SEED was lending him was being blasted out into the world, to create the barest minimum of a being. Something so simple and broken that it could be produced en masse to swarm you. Something that would die in seconds to its own Fluctlight Contamination, but to Sugou he could just make more.
"There will be time enough to enjoy ourselves in the new world, my loves! But today your lord has need of another side of you! Deliver them violence. Deliver them DEATH!!" Sugou cackles, dragging himself upright with the help of a hundred hands reaching out towards him.
obeROn! OBERoN! I loVe YOu!
More and more broken body parts rise up around you. Arms where legs should be, heads coming out of eyes, and breasts growing out of arms.
Lea...vE My lovE alOne!
You hear Yuuki stumble beside you, falling to the ground as a leg erupts out of the ground, grasping her.
"D-dammit. I can't use any skills if I can't move my feet!" Yuuki says, slashing away the leg pinning her in place, but as soon as she cuts it off another appears.
Asuna flips around, dodging grasping arms and broken shattered rapiers erupting from the ground like thorns. Gwen's surrounded herself with a ring of fire but she's hemmed in, her mobility restricted by the sudden change in scenery. Shiroe's standing next to her, warding off the stray arm with a swing of his banner, but you know he has scarcely a single offensive spell left in him.
Yuuki finishes off her opponent in a flashy display of swordplay but it's not enough. Another rises to its place, and another after that. It's not just the creatures, it's the world itself, Sugou sacrificing his own dreams to create a world where he could lay you to waste with the power of his own delusion.
His ring shines ever brighter as more and more broken Fluctlights are created. Behind him, the cackling Alberich cracks its whip in excitement.
"HAHAH! YES! HAHA! THIS IS IT! DIE, DIE FOR MY NEW WORLD!"
oBEroN My LoVE!
You dodge a lunge from a tangle of limbs, and duck under an oversized mouth stretching out of a nearby tree to bite you in half.
Without even weapons that you could wield, the Persona wasn't enough to cut your way out of this.
You turn your gaze to the ring still shining brightly on Sugou's finger. You just need to reach that, if you cut that ring of his finger, this would be all over...!
You miss a step, and your foot collides with Rinko's face, jutting out of the ground like a rock formation. In an instant the ground, the trees and the very air itself seem to close in around you.
A dozen faces. A hundred pairs of eyes. You're trapped.
DiE dIE DIE die...
A rapier slices through the curtain of limbs, and all the parts surrounding you explode into pixels. Asuna lands next to you, a shockwave erupting in the wake of her sudden deacceleration, giving you a brief moment of peace in the sudden madness.
"We have to clear a path! There's too many bodies in the way!" Asuna says, her SAO rapier a blur of momentum as she throws out a dozen stabs a second at the rapidly growing field of bodies.
Another explosion of fire off in the distance as Gwen clears a path for the rest of your allies. One last charge. Together.
"Got any more last-minute plans, glasses?" Gwen asks.
"Outnumbered, outmatched, and facing someone who I suspect can just gain new superpowers just by wishing for it hard enough? To quote my old guildmaster..." Shiroe smiles wryly, raising his banner and saturating you all in buff spells, "The best plan is to just PUNCH THROUGH!"
Yuuki slashes the air with her katana, the shockwave creating a path through the bodies straight at Sugou. Asuna charges forward, battering away the grasping limbs and clearing a path for you to run on. Shiroe drags bodies back with astral thorns while Gwen simply widens the path with explosion after explosion.
iT huRtS IT huRtS iT hURts!
"I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT!" Sugou screeches. "ALBERICH! NOW!"
The creature goes berserk. You diffuse lightning against your arm, power through flames, and jump over the line of half-forged rapiers erupting from the ground. You bash away body after body, and use every ounce of magic you possess to shred every last obstacle in your way. Undine summons forth another river that you ride over the tangle of bodies.
So close, just a few meters more...!
A leg erupts from the ground and you rip it off with Pūtanā's claws.
A disembodied head spits out a wave of fire and you twirl around it with Urvashi's dance.
Arms grasp at your hands and you banish them with Magdalene's light.
A blob tries to roll you over but you disintegrate with the primordial magic of Alice.
You expend every last ounce of your power, your Persona flashing between every form you can manage. You couldn't make it, you were out of power. You wouldn't reach.
Your allies were behind you, your foe before you. One last horde of monsters, one last stand.
If only...
If only you had a sword!
...
"LUUUUUXXXXX!!!! CATCH!"
You feel something fall into your hands. The weight, the length. It was perfect.
You slash without looking behind you, cutting down the entire line of limbs in a single stroke.
It's not enough, it's still not enough! One sword wasn't enough!
...
It flies through the air cast forth with strength only possible from a character with a maxed-out «Throwing Weapons» build, demolishing everything in its way. An ornate pure black double-edged sword, complete with a distinct jagged hilt.
You catch the sword midair with your free right hand. It's the heaviest weapon you've ever held.
But it feels right.
A crystal blue blade on your left, and a heavy black blade on your right.
You recognize these weapons.
«Dark Repulsor», nearly as heavy as its counterpart, slams into the ground with the force of a jackhammer. «Elucidator» slashes forward, clearing a path through the limbs with a pure shockwave of force.
You jump forward with your full might, both blades trailing lighting in your wake. Sugou's ring glows brighter than ever, preparing to unleash its full might on you, but you will not be denied.
"GET OUT OF MY WORLD!" Sugou roars in his final moments, the ring shining like a supernova, the «Object Eraser» in his hands pulsing with unbridled power.
You crash against each other.
The GM item strikes «Dark Repulsor» and rebounds— this was an SAO item. It was beyond the purview of an item designed to destroy ALO data. Taking a page out of your book, Sugou summons forth a malevolent purple blade in his free hand, the figure of Alberich screaming in defiance.
You ignore the lightning coursing through your body.
You ignore the purple blade digging into your body, releasing its destructive power into you.
You ignore the feeling of a million invisible razors scraping across your body.
And you focus... on your swords!
The twin blades respond in kind, shining bright as stars. The energy inside you flows into the swords, magnifying and refracting their power.
You lunge, your swords answering with a song of steel.
Sugou screams.
The crystal blue sword and the heavy black sword slam forward together.
System Call: Reactivating feature[Sword Skill]. Category:[Dual Blades] ID:[Fatal End]
And a single finger is cut clean off.
...
<ERROR: Cannot connect to Main Visualizer.>
<ERROR: Cannot retrieve map data for World Tree.>
<ERROR: Illegal restriction of player Logout functions detected. Disabling.>
<ERROR: Cannot locate player assets.>
<ERROR: Cannot—>
<ERROR: Cannot—>
<ERROR: Cannot—>
<ERROR: Cannot locate Alfheim Online>
...
<Thank you for playing Alfheim Online! If you enjoyed your time with us, please leave us a like on the SEED Nexus!>
AN: I rolled some dice, you mechanically beat Sugou, etc.
Decided to not worry about the mechanical stuff at the end. I had this thing planned where Sugou would summon the Titania/Mab world monster blob thingy as a final trump card, and it would've dealt more damage to you due to high stress and stuff like that... but eh, fuck it, I want to end the fight on a high note instead of dragging it out. Besides, gonna be changing things a lot with regard to mechanics soon anyways.
No vote this chapter, we'll deal with the fallout next chapter.
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Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
No problem. I would like to think that if this was a Persona game, that last summon would have been a cutscene more or less, with button smashing in a quick-time event. Also, what was the inspiration for Gwen to summon Kirito's swords? She just though of the most powerful SAO player she knew off more or less?
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
Will cover it next scene, but the chain of logic is as follows:
>Gwen can throw swords.
>Asuna is there.
>Gwen yelled at Asuna offscreen to help.
>Asuna is married to Kirito.
>As has been established, married characters share inventories.
>This is actually how Kirito revives Yui (as Yui's heart is in Asuna's inventory in canon).
>Thus, technically, Asuna has access to Kirito's inventory...
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
I completely forgot about that detail, lol. Then that was epic.
Well, it is the original protagonist of the series, it was bound to make cameos one way or another.
Also, I would like to talk a bit about his cousin, Suguha just because yes (I'm pretty sure it was mentioned that in this quest she doesn't have the same... inclinations as in the original series, so I'm sure she just cares about him as any family would).
Is just that thinking about the things we know, she must have it pretty rough. Her adopted cousin has been trapped in a videogame for 2 years, that was already bad enough. But then one day you find out people are waking up, SAO is over! But then they tell you and your mother that your cousin is still not awake, among others. But then, they tell you that your cousin doesn't even have a Nervegear anymore but he is still not waking up and no one knows why. So now your cousin is in another place (I bet her mother must have filled the NDAs but Suguha just doesn't have clearance to know what is exactly going to happen to Kirito) where there could be hopefully a chance for him to wake up.
I bet she has been using ALO as a distraction of those things, which must have helped the Charm-like effect the server had.
Maybe she was one of those Fluctlights at the end, answering to Sugou.
I wonder how is she doing.
Also, as a side note, Cayna must have been freaking out a bit when Yuuki didn't return in the time she was thinking.
Also, as another and honestly silly side note, I just realized that Cayna is a character of another isekai. Yeah, I know that there are many cameos like that, that is the point of the setting and themes, but I authentically believed she was a character in actual SAO until I went and checked XD.
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- Location
- The Z-Cave
We actually have not received any confirmations about Suguha's inclinations in the quests AU and hopefully, we never meet Suguha again to find out. Besides my salt one of the things I love about this quest is that all the divergences have caused Hiyori to get a completely different friend group who are all more interesting than Kirito's leftovers.
Same with me, I thought she was an SAO character until another poster said he was a fan of her series.
- Location
- USA
In the Land of Leadale is... decent. It's not exceptional or anything imo, but it's not bad. It's original run as a web novel also predates SAO's anime, even if it didn't get a LN contract until 2019 or an anime until 2022.
Cayna is cool.
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
Like, dude, I get you don't like Kirito, you already made the fucking point clear before. But my guy, not only did he made a big impact by being the one to end the Death Game, Lux also admires him.
Face it, we'll hear about him -or his Fluctlight copy -a lot in the future.
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
Ya'll dodged her character arc. Which is honestly very convenient for me...
Cause then I get to throw her in the third arc! No more convenient kendo tournament to keep her away from the plot this time...
I did lobotomize Cayna a bit. In the source material (I only watched the anime) she doesn't undergo much of a 'character-arc'. I think the show was going for a slow-life kinda aesthetic, which is fine but hard to convert into a SL like format.
What's hard for me is that I can't think of an example where Cayna reacts to a real hardship because she never really encounters anything of the sort in the source material. So I have no idea how she acts when she can't just blow the problem up. She was actually the original MANKIND SL but I cut it for Yuuki mostly because A) Yuuki is the best and B) I didn't like Land of Leadale.
Maybe once this fic is over I'll write up my final ultimate super duper isekai tier list.
(Un?)fortunately for her, Sigurd was more funny to bully at that critical moment where we had to bring a party member to one of our Norn battles and so the threads of fate entangled him as our sorta-ally during the early/mid part of ALO instead.
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
True, I hope we see him again.(Un?)fortunately for her, Sigurd was more funny to bully at that critical moment where we had to bring a party member to one of our Norn battles and so the threads of fate entangled him as our sorta-ally during the early/mid part of ALO instead.
The LAW of OBERON
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
TUESDAY - May 20th, 2025
SEED Developer Room
You open your eyes.
And find yourself back in... well, not necessarily in reality. But in a more comprehendible slice of unreality. In that black and red void space of the dev room, as if that final battle with Sugou never happened at all.
But there's something changed. Glimmering before you, it shines its light across the entire stage. The SEED of ALO, returned to its familiar egg shape, hovering in front of you. Unlike before it still glows with a strange power, only marginally diminished by the battle that just unfolded.
This is... what Kayaba Akihiko was working on. The project he deemed worth the sacrifice of 4000 lives, some manner of system that allowed a collective belief to overwrite reality itself. You can scarcely comprehend what just happened and what you managed to prevent.
You look down at the broken man before you. He's unconscious, unmoving. If Asuna's claims were correct he was in a NerveGear, which meant there were no safeguards to log him out when he lost consciousness. If you were to slay him, right here and right now, deplete the last vestiges of his avatar's durability, would he die? Would the microwaves fire?
You find it hard to believe that Kayaba Akihiko would program the NerveGear to fry brains in the unlikely scenario someone was diving into a different virtual game using the NerveGear. The device was mass-produced, and despite the best efforts of the police, rumors abound of NerveGears on the black market even to this day. It wouldn't even be surprising if people besides yourself were still diving with the machine. But there's one thing you are sure of now. That if you believe it hard enough, or if Sugou believes it hard enough, the NerveGear would kill just the same.
"Lux. You holding up alright?" Shiroe says from behind you, his «Elder Tale» avatar fading into pixels before your very eyes. Slung against his chest you see Yuuki, eyes closed and softly snoring. Her Samurai uniform is flickering away alongside Shiroe's robes.
"She's fine, I think the fight just... took a lot out of her."
Incarnation... Yuuki's belief in her friends was so strong she could outright materialize them into being. A feat not dissimilar to what Sugou himself did with Titania and Queen Mab, only she had no SEED to draw on.
You smile at the little hero. You could never incarnate your beliefs in the same way she did, to believe in something so strongly that it could manifest. You're... truly glad you asked her for help. Not just for her skill in battle, but for her strength of will that let her overcome insurmountable odds. You wouldn't have gotten this far without her.
"I sent a message to Cayna. Her doctors are about to log her out of her Dive machine now," Shiroe says, setting Yuuki down on the ground.
A ring of blue light surrounds Yuuki, and as she shines with the glow of the logout effect you can make out two figures besides her. A ninja and a miko. Arms wrapped around the sleeping knight, they disappear into the light together.
...
"About Sugou, we need to decide what to do. Argo's contacts are moving to arrest him. We could log him out so he can face justice but... it might be safer if we let him stay in the NerveGear instead..." Shiroe trails off.
"I know exactly what we're doing." Asuna steps out of the fog, Gwen trailing behind her.
"Uh... yeah. We're logging the fuck out. I've been here like all goddamn day. And Flash? You've been here for two and half years! So c'mon, leave the cleanup to Lux and Glasses and let's blow this joint. They can be counted on to do all the brain stuff."
Asuna is hesitating. She looks not at Sugou but at you. At the... SEED floating in your hand.
"Hey, what's the hold-up Flash? Oh, I get it. Yeah, rehab sucks. Bathrooms are not fun. But hey, even I got through it! Believe me, rehab goes a lot smoother when you're rich!"
You doubt that's what Asuna is worried about.
"...Asuna. These... swords. They were yours?" You ask, holding out «Dark Repulsor» and «Elucidator». As you twist your body to display the weapons the SEED moves with you, as if it has chosen you as its new master.
"No. They were Kirito's..." Asuna trails off, continuing to eye the SEED. Asuna and Kirito were married... so they had to have shared inventories. So these were the weapons of the «Black Swordsman», the very same arms that defeated Kayaba Akihiko...
"You're welcome by the way!" Gwen chimes in, poking her head out from behind Asuna. "Figured our so-called Vice Commander here would have tons of spare weapons lying around, so I ordered her to pick the most kickass ones for you to use. You can pay me back later after I get out of this stupid place! Lux, c'mon, deal with Sugou already! I don't wanna be here anymore!"
Asuna's looking at you. You're... not sure what to say to her. Thank you... and why didn't you give them to me earlier? But you know that these swords belong to her.
You hold out the swords to her, the SEED following along with your arm.
Asuna approaches you, but she stops a few meters away. It's not the swords she's focusing on right now... far from it.
...
"Lux... g-give the SEED to me. I- I'll take it fr..." She shakes her head, then looks you in the eyes. "No. I'm not going to fight, not when I know I won't win. Lux, I need the SEED. Please."
She takes a step forward, and you can make out tears welling up in her eyes. She's not used to asking for help like this, especially from someone she doesn't trust. You can feel her judgment over you, the words «Laughing Coffin» an irreparable rift between the two of you. You had hoped she would help you against Sugou, but you're forced to admit she's left you with more complications than solutions.
"Please. There's someone I have to save. Kirito's still somewhere here, in another world. With that SEED I can go to him. I can save him, I need to save him. It's the only way SAO can ever be over."
You... really don't want to deal with this right now.
Shiroe frowns and crosses his arms.
And Gwen stares at Asuna like she just grew a second head.
"Whoa whoa, what sweet hell is this bullshit? Case you didn't remember you've been rotting in a hospital bed for two and a half years. You really want to stretch it to three years Flash?" Gwen complains, slamming her palm into her face. "The docs can only do so much. At this rate you'll end up breathing and shitting through a tube for the rest of your short life."
"I concur. Where exactly is this coming from, Asuna? We don't know where Kirito is trapped. If you received this information from Sugou, I strongly recommend ignoring it." Shiroe says, walking forward to place himself between you and Asuna.
Asuna... seems to shrink under Shiroe and Gwen's harsh words.
"I... I know! But! Just... look at this."
You weren't sure what to expect. Another SEED? Another artifact of Kayaba Akihiko?
Shiroe's breath hitches and you share his shock.
It's... a picture. Of Kirito, smiling at a boy you didn't recognize, in a land you don't recognize. A single picture, taken under suspicious circumstances, but enough to launch an entire conspiracy. You recognize this MO... the interloper, the one who was watching your entire plan unfold. The GM that created the keycard that dragged you into this mess.
Yanai.
Your worst fears are confirmed as Asuna holds out her hand and shows you one more item.
A... black keycard.
Almost identical to the one you had, with the exception of a series of numbers clearly printed on the side of the card like a serial code.
«52.68.96.58»
"W-where did you get that?" You ask, dreading the answer. Even now were you dancing on the palm of Yanai's hand?
Asuna looks at you. She's hesitating, unsure how much to share. But one emotion beyond all others dominates her features. Simply put... Asuna was exhausted. She was in no mood to put up a fight. "It... was a strange slime creature. I think he was Sugou's employee. He says that if I used that card on the SEED I could go to where Kirito is. If what he says is true I..."
Shiroe grits his teeth, thinking the situation through. "Perhaps... a different VR game? A coliseum, that's too generic of an element to narrow it down..."
Gwen stares at the keycard in Asuna's hand like it's a cursed relic. "Suspicious keycards from slimes. What could possibly go wrong? Shit, get real, this is a bad idea and you know it. Besides, why are you in such a rush? Kirito looks fine. See? He's having the time of his life. Got a new boyfriend too and everything."
Kirito didn't exactly look to be in any distress, though who knows where the picture was sourced from.
Asuna returns the card and the picture back to her inventory. "Please, Lux. You've already done enough. Even if it's just a small chance, I want to take it. No, I need to take it. All I'm asking you is to... log out. Leave the SEED to me. Please."
"...You have no idea what you're doing. Asuna, we have no idea what SEED is capable of, much less that it's capable of facilitating travel to another world. Even if that slime told you it works that way... he could have just fed you a lie," Shiroe warns, raising his voice.
Asuna turns to Shiroe, tears forming in her eyes.
"I know, I know. But... but if there's even a chance I..." Asuna stops, squaring her shoulders and trying again. "I won't beg. This is my life. I choose to take a chance on this. Please."
"Argh, this is insane! Do you know how much shit we went through to rescue you just to watch you fall into the most obvious trap in history?" Gwen cries out.
Asuna closes her eyes, refusing to respond.
"Gah, just leave this moron. She wants to play around with weird Kayaba magic BS let her. Let's just logout Sugou and let her do what she wants."
"No... I... I need Sugou too. He comes with me, it's my toll for safe passage."
Gwen stares at Asuna, mouth agape, "Holy shit you are INSANE. You want to bring that rat bastard along with you!? You sure he didn't screw with your mind too!?"
"NO! Just... just think about this logically!" Asuna shouts, gesturing towards the unconscious villain sprawled out in the virtual space. "His mind will be trapped in the FullDive system, he won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. This way... everyone gets what they want."
"So after everything, Sugou goes free!?" You can't help but shout, the twin blades still in your hands gesticulating your displeasure. "Then what did we come here for? What did we risk our lives for!?"
"I-I'll sweeten the deal," Asuna says. "You can keep those weapons. Not sure how you would keep them but you seem resourceful. In exchange for the SEED. I think it's a fair deal."
"Fair my ass! Lux, fuck this, just keep the damn swords! Consider it a payment for services rendered," Gwen turns towards Asuna "Cause in case you forgot we dragged you out Sugou's sex dungeon!"
...
"Wait."
You turn towards Shiroe, brow furrowed. Why couldn't things be simple?
"...This may work in our favor," Shiroe says, massaging his chin in thought.
"How, Glasses!?"
"Asuna isn't wrong. Sugou's crimes are remarkably lacking in physical evidence, and this is... well, it's rather hard to pin down the exact extent of Sugou's crimes. I certainly wouldn't want to be the prosecutor assigned to this case. Ironic as it may be, RECT may even be eager to try to keep this in-house and suppressed, to protect the reputation of the company if nothing else."
"B-but Asuna is the heiress of RECT. They wouldn't protect Sugou... would they?"
"Hard to say," Shiroe comments. "We have no reason to believe this will be a repeat of the Phantom Thieves. Sugou has no incentive to, well, confess his sins... and RECT is not a monolith. It's a company with thousands of employees. A scandal can and will ruin lives, and RECT's President must know this. There's every chance he'll just grit his teeth and do everything he can to keep this under wraps."
You had Asuna's testimony, and if you so chose it, Sugou's research data as proof of his crimes. You didn't know anything about law but you're certain that at least Sugou wouldn't be roaming freely.
"Argo's on our side. She has an in with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, she'll ensure Sugou sees justice even if RECT doesn't play ball," you say. If anything Argo was a bloodhound in these matters, and she had no love for Sugou.
...But that was Argo. The «Virtual Division» was an entirely different beast. You had no idea how they operated beyond their strange methods of contracting high school girls to do their dirty work.
Shiroe smiles grimly.
"Let's presume that the government's interests are not necessarily our own. Consider what Sugou has accomplished. Within that man's mind are the results of... months of highly illegal research into the limits of Fluctlight manipulation and memory editing. We can't forget Sugou's a genius. Imagine the government giving him a lighter sentence in exchange for his knowledge..."
"Wait, hold on!" Gwen shouts. "This is the government we're talking about! Not some shady Yakuza!"
"This is dangerous knowledge. The less people that know about this, the better." Shiroe concludes. "I certainly won't feel safe diving into VR anymore after what I learned today... but I'm saying there's an unavoidable reality we need to consider. That it would be most convenient to RECT and the government that Sugou's crimes are covered up, or at the very least minimalized."
Your heart stops as you imagine what Shiroe is proposing. Without the data gathered through ALO Sugou wouldn't be nearly as effective, but he was still the mind that designed and created this experiment. A Sugou held on a leash, giving the technology he developed to the government... this technology that could turn a living person into a mindless drone...
Wouldn't it be easier to just... close the book on this?
Destroy ALO...
And slide the one man who could replicate this disaster under the rug?
It's a clean solution. One could even say it fixes all your problems... lock Sugou's brain away into another virtual world, purge all vestiges of his project from the world...
The SAO survivors were saved. Your goal was accomplished.
...
You could just... kill him?
No. You promised that you wouldn't do that. Not even to an enemy, not just for your convenience.
...
Asuna looks at you, waiting for your verdict. Shiroe and Gwen seem to have stopped, awaiting your words.
And you stare into the small thing hovering before you.
It's... strangely beautiful.
The SEED. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it's a «World Seed», a nascent new world fed off the souls of thousands of players, now just waiting for fertile ground to sprout in.
If the human soul was nothing more than a fluctuating light...
Then a world was nothing more than... this?
A brilliant golden SEED?
...
You feel it reaching out, touching your mind. Within lies everything that was Alfheim Online. Your avatar, your skills... the Norns. Thyrm. Dorz'l. And the world and all its creations.
What do you save?
What do you leave behind?
And... what do you do about Sugou?
Please Submit in PLAN format!
SEED Developer Room
You open your eyes.
And find yourself back in... well, not necessarily in reality. But in a more comprehendible slice of unreality. In that black and red void space of the dev room, as if that final battle with Sugou never happened at all.
But there's something changed. Glimmering before you, it shines its light across the entire stage. The SEED of ALO, returned to its familiar egg shape, hovering in front of you. Unlike before it still glows with a strange power, only marginally diminished by the battle that just unfolded.
This is... what Kayaba Akihiko was working on. The project he deemed worth the sacrifice of 4000 lives, some manner of system that allowed a collective belief to overwrite reality itself. You can scarcely comprehend what just happened and what you managed to prevent.
You look down at the broken man before you. He's unconscious, unmoving. If Asuna's claims were correct he was in a NerveGear, which meant there were no safeguards to log him out when he lost consciousness. If you were to slay him, right here and right now, deplete the last vestiges of his avatar's durability, would he die? Would the microwaves fire?
You find it hard to believe that Kayaba Akihiko would program the NerveGear to fry brains in the unlikely scenario someone was diving into a different virtual game using the NerveGear. The device was mass-produced, and despite the best efforts of the police, rumors abound of NerveGears on the black market even to this day. It wouldn't even be surprising if people besides yourself were still diving with the machine. But there's one thing you are sure of now. That if you believe it hard enough, or if Sugou believes it hard enough, the NerveGear would kill just the same.
"Lux. You holding up alright?" Shiroe says from behind you, his «Elder Tale» avatar fading into pixels before your very eyes. Slung against his chest you see Yuuki, eyes closed and softly snoring. Her Samurai uniform is flickering away alongside Shiroe's robes.
"She's fine, I think the fight just... took a lot out of her."
Incarnation... Yuuki's belief in her friends was so strong she could outright materialize them into being. A feat not dissimilar to what Sugou himself did with Titania and Queen Mab, only she had no SEED to draw on.
You smile at the little hero. You could never incarnate your beliefs in the same way she did, to believe in something so strongly that it could manifest. You're... truly glad you asked her for help. Not just for her skill in battle, but for her strength of will that let her overcome insurmountable odds. You wouldn't have gotten this far without her.
"I sent a message to Cayna. Her doctors are about to log her out of her Dive machine now," Shiroe says, setting Yuuki down on the ground.
A ring of blue light surrounds Yuuki, and as she shines with the glow of the logout effect you can make out two figures besides her. A ninja and a miko. Arms wrapped around the sleeping knight, they disappear into the light together.
...
"About Sugou, we need to decide what to do. Argo's contacts are moving to arrest him. We could log him out so he can face justice but... it might be safer if we let him stay in the NerveGear instead..." Shiroe trails off.
"I know exactly what we're doing." Asuna steps out of the fog, Gwen trailing behind her.
"Uh... yeah. We're logging the fuck out. I've been here like all goddamn day. And Flash? You've been here for two and half years! So c'mon, leave the cleanup to Lux and Glasses and let's blow this joint. They can be counted on to do all the brain stuff."
Asuna is hesitating. She looks not at Sugou but at you. At the... SEED floating in your hand.
"Hey, what's the hold-up Flash? Oh, I get it. Yeah, rehab sucks. Bathrooms are not fun. But hey, even I got through it! Believe me, rehab goes a lot smoother when you're rich!"
You doubt that's what Asuna is worried about.
"...Asuna. These... swords. They were yours?" You ask, holding out «Dark Repulsor» and «Elucidator». As you twist your body to display the weapons the SEED moves with you, as if it has chosen you as its new master.
"No. They were Kirito's..." Asuna trails off, continuing to eye the SEED. Asuna and Kirito were married... so they had to have shared inventories. So these were the weapons of the «Black Swordsman», the very same arms that defeated Kayaba Akihiko...
"You're welcome by the way!" Gwen chimes in, poking her head out from behind Asuna. "Figured our so-called Vice Commander here would have tons of spare weapons lying around, so I ordered her to pick the most kickass ones for you to use. You can pay me back later after I get out of this stupid place! Lux, c'mon, deal with Sugou already! I don't wanna be here anymore!"
Asuna's looking at you. You're... not sure what to say to her. Thank you... and why didn't you give them to me earlier? But you know that these swords belong to her.
You hold out the swords to her, the SEED following along with your arm.
Asuna approaches you, but she stops a few meters away. It's not the swords she's focusing on right now... far from it.
...
"Lux... g-give the SEED to me. I- I'll take it fr..." She shakes her head, then looks you in the eyes. "No. I'm not going to fight, not when I know I won't win. Lux, I need the SEED. Please."
She takes a step forward, and you can make out tears welling up in her eyes. She's not used to asking for help like this, especially from someone she doesn't trust. You can feel her judgment over you, the words «Laughing Coffin» an irreparable rift between the two of you. You had hoped she would help you against Sugou, but you're forced to admit she's left you with more complications than solutions.
"Please. There's someone I have to save. Kirito's still somewhere here, in another world. With that SEED I can go to him. I can save him, I need to save him. It's the only way SAO can ever be over."
You... really don't want to deal with this right now.
Shiroe frowns and crosses his arms.
And Gwen stares at Asuna like she just grew a second head.
"Whoa whoa, what sweet hell is this bullshit? Case you didn't remember you've been rotting in a hospital bed for two and a half years. You really want to stretch it to three years Flash?" Gwen complains, slamming her palm into her face. "The docs can only do so much. At this rate you'll end up breathing and shitting through a tube for the rest of your short life."
"I concur. Where exactly is this coming from, Asuna? We don't know where Kirito is trapped. If you received this information from Sugou, I strongly recommend ignoring it." Shiroe says, walking forward to place himself between you and Asuna.
Asuna... seems to shrink under Shiroe and Gwen's harsh words.
"I... I know! But! Just... look at this."
You weren't sure what to expect. Another SEED? Another artifact of Kayaba Akihiko?
Shiroe's breath hitches and you share his shock.
It's... a picture. Of Kirito, smiling at a boy you didn't recognize, in a land you don't recognize. A single picture, taken under suspicious circumstances, but enough to launch an entire conspiracy. You recognize this MO... the interloper, the one who was watching your entire plan unfold. The GM that created the keycard that dragged you into this mess.
Yanai.
Your worst fears are confirmed as Asuna holds out her hand and shows you one more item.
A... black keycard.
Almost identical to the one you had, with the exception of a series of numbers clearly printed on the side of the card like a serial code.
«52.68.96.58»
"W-where did you get that?" You ask, dreading the answer. Even now were you dancing on the palm of Yanai's hand?
Asuna looks at you. She's hesitating, unsure how much to share. But one emotion beyond all others dominates her features. Simply put... Asuna was exhausted. She was in no mood to put up a fight. "It... was a strange slime creature. I think he was Sugou's employee. He says that if I used that card on the SEED I could go to where Kirito is. If what he says is true I..."
Shiroe grits his teeth, thinking the situation through. "Perhaps... a different VR game? A coliseum, that's too generic of an element to narrow it down..."
Gwen stares at the keycard in Asuna's hand like it's a cursed relic. "Suspicious keycards from slimes. What could possibly go wrong? Shit, get real, this is a bad idea and you know it. Besides, why are you in such a rush? Kirito looks fine. See? He's having the time of his life. Got a new boyfriend too and everything."
Kirito didn't exactly look to be in any distress, though who knows where the picture was sourced from.
Asuna returns the card and the picture back to her inventory. "Please, Lux. You've already done enough. Even if it's just a small chance, I want to take it. No, I need to take it. All I'm asking you is to... log out. Leave the SEED to me. Please."
"...You have no idea what you're doing. Asuna, we have no idea what SEED is capable of, much less that it's capable of facilitating travel to another world. Even if that slime told you it works that way... he could have just fed you a lie," Shiroe warns, raising his voice.
Asuna turns to Shiroe, tears forming in her eyes.
"I know, I know. But... but if there's even a chance I..." Asuna stops, squaring her shoulders and trying again. "I won't beg. This is my life. I choose to take a chance on this. Please."
"Argh, this is insane! Do you know how much shit we went through to rescue you just to watch you fall into the most obvious trap in history?" Gwen cries out.
Asuna closes her eyes, refusing to respond.
"Gah, just leave this moron. She wants to play around with weird Kayaba magic BS let her. Let's just logout Sugou and let her do what she wants."
"No... I... I need Sugou too. He comes with me, it's my toll for safe passage."
Gwen stares at Asuna, mouth agape, "Holy shit you are INSANE. You want to bring that rat bastard along with you!? You sure he didn't screw with your mind too!?"
"NO! Just... just think about this logically!" Asuna shouts, gesturing towards the unconscious villain sprawled out in the virtual space. "His mind will be trapped in the FullDive system, he won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. This way... everyone gets what they want."
"So after everything, Sugou goes free!?" You can't help but shout, the twin blades still in your hands gesticulating your displeasure. "Then what did we come here for? What did we risk our lives for!?"
"I-I'll sweeten the deal," Asuna says. "You can keep those weapons. Not sure how you would keep them but you seem resourceful. In exchange for the SEED. I think it's a fair deal."
"Fair my ass! Lux, fuck this, just keep the damn swords! Consider it a payment for services rendered," Gwen turns towards Asuna "Cause in case you forgot we dragged you out Sugou's sex dungeon!"
...
"Wait."
You turn towards Shiroe, brow furrowed. Why couldn't things be simple?
"...This may work in our favor," Shiroe says, massaging his chin in thought.
"How, Glasses!?"
"Asuna isn't wrong. Sugou's crimes are remarkably lacking in physical evidence, and this is... well, it's rather hard to pin down the exact extent of Sugou's crimes. I certainly wouldn't want to be the prosecutor assigned to this case. Ironic as it may be, RECT may even be eager to try to keep this in-house and suppressed, to protect the reputation of the company if nothing else."
"B-but Asuna is the heiress of RECT. They wouldn't protect Sugou... would they?"
"Hard to say," Shiroe comments. "We have no reason to believe this will be a repeat of the Phantom Thieves. Sugou has no incentive to, well, confess his sins... and RECT is not a monolith. It's a company with thousands of employees. A scandal can and will ruin lives, and RECT's President must know this. There's every chance he'll just grit his teeth and do everything he can to keep this under wraps."
You had Asuna's testimony, and if you so chose it, Sugou's research data as proof of his crimes. You didn't know anything about law but you're certain that at least Sugou wouldn't be roaming freely.
"Argo's on our side. She has an in with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, she'll ensure Sugou sees justice even if RECT doesn't play ball," you say. If anything Argo was a bloodhound in these matters, and she had no love for Sugou.
...But that was Argo. The «Virtual Division» was an entirely different beast. You had no idea how they operated beyond their strange methods of contracting high school girls to do their dirty work.
Shiroe smiles grimly.
"Let's presume that the government's interests are not necessarily our own. Consider what Sugou has accomplished. Within that man's mind are the results of... months of highly illegal research into the limits of Fluctlight manipulation and memory editing. We can't forget Sugou's a genius. Imagine the government giving him a lighter sentence in exchange for his knowledge..."
"Wait, hold on!" Gwen shouts. "This is the government we're talking about! Not some shady Yakuza!"
"This is dangerous knowledge. The less people that know about this, the better." Shiroe concludes. "I certainly won't feel safe diving into VR anymore after what I learned today... but I'm saying there's an unavoidable reality we need to consider. That it would be most convenient to RECT and the government that Sugou's crimes are covered up, or at the very least minimalized."
Your heart stops as you imagine what Shiroe is proposing. Without the data gathered through ALO Sugou wouldn't be nearly as effective, but he was still the mind that designed and created this experiment. A Sugou held on a leash, giving the technology he developed to the government... this technology that could turn a living person into a mindless drone...
Wouldn't it be easier to just... close the book on this?
Destroy ALO...
And slide the one man who could replicate this disaster under the rug?
It's a clean solution. One could even say it fixes all your problems... lock Sugou's brain away into another virtual world, purge all vestiges of his project from the world...
The SAO survivors were saved. Your goal was accomplished.
...
You could just... kill him?
No. You promised that you wouldn't do that. Not even to an enemy, not just for your convenience.
...
Asuna looks at you, waiting for your verdict. Shiroe and Gwen seem to have stopped, awaiting your words.
And you stare into the small thing hovering before you.
It's... strangely beautiful.
The SEED. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it's a «World Seed», a nascent new world fed off the souls of thousands of players, now just waiting for fertile ground to sprout in.
If the human soul was nothing more than a fluctuating light...
Then a world was nothing more than... this?
A brilliant golden SEED?
...
You feel it reaching out, touching your mind. Within lies everything that was Alfheim Online. Your avatar, your skills... the Norns. Thyrm. Dorz'l. And the world and all its creations.
What do you save?
What do you leave behind?
And... what do you do about Sugou?
AN: Currently you hold all the cards. So there's no rolls nor conflicts, if you vote for it, it will happen. The SEED will obey you. Asuna cannot stop you.
What do you take from the SEED? Explicitly, everything you do NOT take will be lost when you destroy the SEED.
*WARNING* Your NerveGear has limited storage capacity! So you can only take up to the STORAGE LIMIT (10 Points). *WARNING*
[ ] The data of «Excalibur».
>Sure it's destroyed, but considering how many of them were running around rebuilding one shouldn't be too hard.
>Keep the weapon for use in a future SEED game. You've grown attached to the thing!
>1 Point.
[ ] The data of «Thrym».
>He's just an NPC... right? Do you owe him anything?
>Thrym will be available as a fusion ingredient.
>1 Point.
[ ] The data of «Dorz'l».
>You could reunite him with his master. It feels like the right thing to do.
>Dorz'l will be available as a fusion ingredient, if you want to be really, really mean to Silica.
>2 Points.
[ ] The data of «Dark Repulsor» and «Elucidator».
>They aren't your weapons. Asuna will be very pissed if you do this WITHOUT letting her enter the Underworld.
>These weapons have history, for all that entails in a world of memory.
>2 Points.
[ ] Queen Mab's data.
>She existed, albeit briefly. Did she deserve the fate that was inflicted upon her?
>A professor from Caltech will be VERY interested in this data.
>2 Points.
[ ] Titania's data.
>Titania's existence is entangled with Asuna's, and Lux doesn't hate Asuna nearly enough to subject her to this level of existential torture.
[ ] Your avatar data.
>Allows you to use your appearance data in future SEED games. This has advantages and disadvantages, as the figure of Lux is now publicly known.
>This data has been highly corrupted and thus costs a large amount of data.
>3 Points.
[ ] Sugou's research data. The totality of the «World Tree» and all its sins.
>Absolute, inalienable proof of his wrongdoings, alongside the dangers of VR. As Lux is not a programmer, if you select this option I am automatically having her release it to Argo in order to ensure nobody can sweep it under the rug.
>Will release his findings into the world, for better or worse.
>4 Points.
[ ] ALO's world data. The world below the tree.
>Land, dungeons, all non-NPC assets compressed and capable of being reproduced by a dedicated team. Everything about ALO that isn't in the World Tree.
>Will be of great interest to certain parties.
>5 Points.
[ ] OBERON's player data. Not Sugou, but the god he manufactured.
>Why would you want this...?
>OBERON will be available as a fusion ingredient for a powerful fusion.
>5 Points.
[ ] Your Third Eye.
>It is yours, after all. So why shouldn't it be a part of you, permanently?
>Unlocks a permanent upgrade [Third Eye], allowing you to access its powers at the cost of 1 STRESS while in the virtual world regardless of active Persona.
>You learn how to 'mask' your weakness. Enemies must pass an opposed CHT roll against you to be able to see your own weaknesses.
>Can be used out of combat as well, provided you are in the virtual world (or both you and your target are equipped with an active AUGMA).
>7 Points.
What do you do about Sugou and Asuna?
[ ] Not My Problem!
>Sugou and Asuna will enter the Underworld.
>An interested party will find Asuna and help her.
>An interested party will find Sugou and... well. They won't be helping him.
[ ] Awaken Dreamer.
>Sugou and Asuna will logout and wake up in the real world, with all that it entails.
[ ] One Last Adventure.
>Asuna will enter the Underworld. Sugou will awaken in the real world.
>An interested party will be very cross with Asuna.
>An interested party will find Asuna and help her.
[ ] Under the Rug.
>Sugou will enter the Underworld. Asuna will awaken in the real world.
>An interested party will find Sugou and... well. They won't be helping him.
[ ] Write-In [Free unless you want to do something super-crazy]
>To be explicit, you cannot mind control Sugou. Well, you CAN, but it will wear off when he logs off since you don't have the Slender Persona.
>You... can kill Sugou, but since I consider it to be out of character given choices made any violent write-in is subject to a 10 DETERMINATION minimum cost.
What do you take from the SEED? Explicitly, everything you do NOT take will be lost when you destroy the SEED.
*WARNING* Your NerveGear has limited storage capacity! So you can only take up to the STORAGE LIMIT (10 Points). *WARNING*
[ ] The data of «Excalibur».
>Sure it's destroyed, but considering how many of them were running around rebuilding one shouldn't be too hard.
>Keep the weapon for use in a future SEED game. You've grown attached to the thing!
>1 Point.
[ ] The data of «Thrym».
>He's just an NPC... right? Do you owe him anything?
>Thrym will be available as a fusion ingredient.
>1 Point.
[ ] The data of «Dorz'l».
>You could reunite him with his master. It feels like the right thing to do.
>Dorz'l will be available as a fusion ingredient, if you want to be really, really mean to Silica.
>2 Points.
[ ] The data of «Dark Repulsor» and «Elucidator».
>They aren't your weapons. Asuna will be very pissed if you do this WITHOUT letting her enter the Underworld.
>These weapons have history, for all that entails in a world of memory.
>2 Points.
[ ] Queen Mab's data.
>She existed, albeit briefly. Did she deserve the fate that was inflicted upon her?
>A professor from Caltech will be VERY interested in this data.
>2 Points.
>Titania's existence is entangled with Asuna's, and Lux doesn't hate Asuna nearly enough to subject her to this level of existential torture.
[ ] Your avatar data.
>Allows you to use your appearance data in future SEED games. This has advantages and disadvantages, as the figure of Lux is now publicly known.
>This data has been highly corrupted and thus costs a large amount of data.
>3 Points.
[ ] Sugou's research data. The totality of the «World Tree» and all its sins.
>Absolute, inalienable proof of his wrongdoings, alongside the dangers of VR. As Lux is not a programmer, if you select this option I am automatically having her release it to Argo in order to ensure nobody can sweep it under the rug.
>Will release his findings into the world, for better or worse.
>4 Points.
[ ] ALO's world data. The world below the tree.
>Land, dungeons, all non-NPC assets compressed and capable of being reproduced by a dedicated team. Everything about ALO that isn't in the World Tree.
>Will be of great interest to certain parties.
>5 Points.
[ ] OBERON's player data. Not Sugou, but the god he manufactured.
>Why would you want this...?
>OBERON will be available as a fusion ingredient for a powerful fusion.
>5 Points.
[ ] Your Third Eye.
>It is yours, after all. So why shouldn't it be a part of you, permanently?
>Unlocks a permanent upgrade [Third Eye], allowing you to access its powers at the cost of 1 STRESS while in the virtual world regardless of active Persona.
>You learn how to 'mask' your weakness. Enemies must pass an opposed CHT roll against you to be able to see your own weaknesses.
>Can be used out of combat as well, provided you are in the virtual world (or both you and your target are equipped with an active AUGMA).
>7 Points.
What do you do about Sugou and Asuna?
[ ] Not My Problem!
>Sugou and Asuna will enter the Underworld.
>An interested party will find Asuna and help her.
>An interested party will find Sugou and... well. They won't be helping him.
[ ] Awaken Dreamer.
>Sugou and Asuna will logout and wake up in the real world, with all that it entails.
[ ] One Last Adventure.
>Asuna will enter the Underworld. Sugou will awaken in the real world.
>An interested party will be very cross with Asuna.
>An interested party will find Asuna and help her.
[ ] Under the Rug.
>Sugou will enter the Underworld. Asuna will awaken in the real world.
>An interested party will find Sugou and... well. They won't be helping him.
[ ] Write-In [Free unless you want to do something super-crazy]
>To be explicit, you cannot mind control Sugou. Well, you CAN, but it will wear off when he logs off since you don't have the Slender Persona.
>You... can kill Sugou, but since I consider it to be out of character given choices made any violent write-in is subject to a 10 DETERMINATION minimum cost.
Please Submit in PLAN format!
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Well, I knew something to this effect was going to happen...
Wonder if we wouldn't be debating with Asuna if we'd freed her on the scouting mission...
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
-[X] The data of «Excalibur».
-[X] The data of «Thrym».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Queen Mab's data.
-[X] Sugou's research data. The totality of the «World Tree» and all its sins.
-[X] Awaken Dreamer.
I was considering taking OBERON's data, but if we did that and took Sugou's research data, we'd only have 1 point left.
Edit: Realized I forgot to put a choice for what to do about Asuna and Sugou.
In essence, we're not letting Asuna take an incredibly stupid risk (for all we know Kayaba could get his hooks in her) and I smell a potential permanent party member (assuming we can get past the whole 'Laughing Coffin' business).
Wonder if we wouldn't be debating with Asuna if we'd freed her on the scouting mission...
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
-[X] The data of «Excalibur».
-[X] The data of «Thrym».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Queen Mab's data.
-[X] Sugou's research data. The totality of the «World Tree» and all its sins.
-[X] Awaken Dreamer.
I was considering taking OBERON's data, but if we did that and took Sugou's research data, we'd only have 1 point left.
Edit: Realized I forgot to put a choice for what to do about Asuna and Sugou.
In essence, we're not letting Asuna take an incredibly stupid risk (for all we know Kayaba could get his hooks in her) and I smell a potential permanent party member (assuming we can get past the whole 'Laughing Coffin' business).
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Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
Well...here we go.
[X] Thanks for the Memories!
-[X] The data of «Thrym».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Your avatar data.
-[X] ALO's world data. The world below the tree.
Honor our allies. Keep them close to your heart. Allow Dorz'l to see his tamer again.
Face our past. Take fear by it's reins. Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds.
And throw Sugou's name in the dirt. Forever. Argo will probably take care of the worst of that information.
And as for words...I have a write-in.
[X] Write-In: "A Faustian Bargain."
-[X] "Alright. The fate of Sugou Nobuyuki and the SEED is yours to choose...as long as you let me tell two stories. And then you make your decision."
-[X] "There was once a man named Faust. He was a man who craved knowledge. Craved to know everything that there was to know. And thus, he made a deal with the devil Mephistopheles. His soul and his will for a longer life. However, finding something to love, he desperately attempted to avoid his fate, only to be dragged down to the fire. And, from that came a singular term: a faustian bargain."
-[X] "And then there's another one, involving someone I used to know. She was afraid. Fearful of dying in the hands of vile figures. Then, a demon with red eyes came and made an offer: her life for some information. Information that would kill others. Fearful of her fate, she chose to live...up to this day. Two different times, two differents countries, two different pairs, the same fate. Regret."
-[X] "Asuna. This deal that you are doing is a bargain with the devil, and he doesn't even bother to hide his prints. I can't care less for the fate of Nobuyuki, but whoever has interest in the SEED has no interest in the good of the world. You only noticed things from your gilded cage, Flash. You don't know how much the world has truly changed...all because of Kayaba. I feel that Alfheim is only the beginning of something worse looming in the horizon."
-[X] "...earlier, I said that I was willing to offer my life to pay for my crimes. But that was not the right thing to do. I...I want to live. I want to be able to live for myself and for those that I care about, to...to be able to live. I have the power to stop you, but I don't want to do that. You are free to choose whatever you want, Asuna Yuuki. But I have my own deal with the devil with you..."
-[X] "My life. I offer you my life to stay. If you want me to kneel over thumbstacks, so be it. If you want me to lick your boots, then so be it. If you ask me to find the Black Swordsman, however...well, you noticed that I'm not your average player anymore. I will destroy HEAVEN after HEAVEN until I manage to find him and, if needed, drag him out of there."
-[X] "So my question now is...what path you choose? The one with unpredictable repercussions...or to shake hands with the devil you know? Because, be aware of this. Regardless of your choice, I'm sure our paths will meet again...for better or for worse."
[X] Thanks for the Memories!
-[X] The data of «Thrym».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Your avatar data.
-[X] ALO's world data. The world below the tree.
Honor our allies. Keep them close to your heart. Allow Dorz'l to see his tamer again.
Face our past. Take fear by it's reins. Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds.
And throw Sugou's name in the dirt. Forever. Argo will probably take care of the worst of that information.
And as for words...I have a write-in.
[X] Write-In: "A Faustian Bargain."
-[X] "Alright. The fate of Sugou Nobuyuki and the SEED is yours to choose...as long as you let me tell two stories. And then you make your decision."
-[X] "There was once a man named Faust. He was a man who craved knowledge. Craved to know everything that there was to know. And thus, he made a deal with the devil Mephistopheles. His soul and his will for a longer life. However, finding something to love, he desperately attempted to avoid his fate, only to be dragged down to the fire. And, from that came a singular term: a faustian bargain."
-[X] "And then there's another one, involving someone I used to know. She was afraid. Fearful of dying in the hands of vile figures. Then, a demon with red eyes came and made an offer: her life for some information. Information that would kill others. Fearful of her fate, she chose to live...up to this day. Two different times, two differents countries, two different pairs, the same fate. Regret."
-[X] "Asuna. This deal that you are doing is a bargain with the devil, and he doesn't even bother to hide his prints. I can't care less for the fate of Nobuyuki, but whoever has interest in the SEED has no interest in the good of the world. You only noticed things from your gilded cage, Flash. You don't know how much the world has truly changed...all because of Kayaba. I feel that Alfheim is only the beginning of something worse looming in the horizon."
-[X] "...earlier, I said that I was willing to offer my life to pay for my crimes. But that was not the right thing to do. I...I want to live. I want to be able to live for myself and for those that I care about, to...to be able to live. I have the power to stop you, but I don't want to do that. You are free to choose whatever you want, Asuna Yuuki. But I have my own deal with the devil with you..."
-[X] "My life. I offer you my life to stay. If you want me to kneel over thumbstacks, so be it. If you want me to lick your boots, then so be it. If you ask me to find the Black Swordsman, however...well, you noticed that I'm not your average player anymore. I will destroy HEAVEN after HEAVEN until I manage to find him and, if needed, drag him out of there."
-[X] "So my question now is...what path you choose? The one with unpredictable repercussions...or to shake hands with the devil you know? Because, be aware of this. Regardless of your choice, I'm sure our paths will meet again...for better or for worse."
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[x] Eyes on the Dragon
-[x] The data of «Thrym».
-[x] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[x] Your Third Eye.
-[X] Awaken Dreamer.
Dorz'l to reunite him with Silica. The Third Eye was a... "gift" from our patron. It'd be wrong to just throw that away. Thrym is just there because I had and extra point left over.
Awaken Dreamer because I do not want shady slime guy getting his mitts on Sugou's brain.
-[x] The data of «Thrym».
-[x] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[x] Your Third Eye.
-[X] Awaken Dreamer.
Dorz'l to reunite him with Silica. The Third Eye was a... "gift" from our patron. It'd be wrong to just throw that away. Thrym is just there because I had and extra point left over.
Awaken Dreamer because I do not want shady slime guy getting his mitts on Sugou's brain.
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
>> Asuna makes her proposal
>> Lux stares
>> Lux summons Magdalene
>> Lux Hamas Asuna into oblivion in an attempt to exorcise her since is clear she is not thinking straight.
>> Lux stares
>> Lux summons Magdalene
>> Lux Hamas Asuna into oblivion in an attempt to exorcise her since is clear she is not thinking straight.
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- Location
- The Z-Cave
I really like this one. Excalibur has become our own personal thing throughout the quest so I want to keep it.
These two make me wonder if we waited on Yuuki's link and got these I wonder if we could have gotten better upgrades then the Alices?
I think taking this is a bad idea. If this arc has proven anything it's that Lux's greatest strength is her anonymity while she sets the stage and springs her trap. This will cost us one of our greatest strengths.
We need this.
I really don't think getting this is worth it. Nephren-Ka is already our nuclear option so him not taking up a Persona slot really isn't worth the cost.
There's no way we're leaving Asuna and Sugou with another lunatic with a god complex who from what I can gather is better at it than he is who's sidekick is a guy whose almost as slimy as he is.
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
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Hmm... For the SEED:
I want to release Sugou's research data. I think it solves too many issues raised in this discussion. First, it provides the evidence of his crimes so he shouldn't evade justice. Second, it removes the incentive for any third-party to protect him. For RECT the damage will be done so rather than protect him they'd be incentivized to put everything on him to protect themselves. It reduces any leverage Sugou himself might have to give the government if the data is already out there so they don't have an incentive to protect him in exchange for info. Third... the box has been opened already. Maybe right now it's only Sugou who can pull it off but now enough various parties (the government through our/Argo's reports, Yanai from being at his side, Administrator probably) are aware of it that the research is sure to go into overdrive. If we release it now, sure we save them the time perhaps, but we at least warn people that this is what the SEED is capable of. Many (most even?) might still decide to take that risk but at least we've sounded the alarm - and maybe even given more "white-hat" researchers the information they may need to help prevent this - if that's at all possible.
Unfortunately (and I'm sure by design because IMO they're the two most significant options) that immediately prices us out of Third Eye's upgrade. It's a nice upgrade and I'd love to take it but... yeah...
I'm strongly against keeping Kirito's weapons. No need to antagonize Asuna. Heck, I'd be in favor of just giving them back at no reward because they're rightfully hers. ALO World data seems too costly and vague for me to really want to go for. OBERON no thanks.
Which leaves: Excalibur (1), Thyrm (1) Dorz'l (2), Queen Mab (2), and our Appearance Data (3) with 6 points remaining. Excalibur seems an easy pick provided we have the points lying around. Thyrm... to be honest I'm a bit wary of the implication of fusion ingredients with our Persona but may be overthinking it. I'm still a bleeding heart and so would like to reunite Dorz'l and Silica if possible, however this is definitely the pragmatic cut if you want points for something else IMO. Queen Mab... really just feels like an in to Rinko but would Lux really care about that even if OOC it could be helpful? Finally the appearance data... I feel like in GGO it'll hurt more than help but given the power of belief and how we're now a known and accomplished VRMMO destroyer... could help somewhere down the line even if not necessarily in GGO.
Personally I'd go with Excalibur, Dorz'l, and Appearance Data but not by much over the pre-established Excalibur, Thyrm, Dorz'l, and Queen Mab. Like that would basically be my 2nd combo pick overall.
As for Asuna and Sugou - definitely in favor of waking them up. Asuna won't like it but I still think both we (and Argo) can somewhat soften the blow by telling her our intel on Kirito's location (RATH). Being rich and connected to RECT actually may give us (or again Argo but then hopefully to us) our best way to get info on RATH through her. And as for Sugou - nah, we sending him to jail.
And there's already a plan out there that basically has all this already, what luck! Though it makes me a bit sad to not go through the routine of trying to come up with a plan name pun or try to be cute with it.
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
I want to release Sugou's research data. I think it solves too many issues raised in this discussion. First, it provides the evidence of his crimes so he shouldn't evade justice. Second, it removes the incentive for any third-party to protect him. For RECT the damage will be done so rather than protect him they'd be incentivized to put everything on him to protect themselves. It reduces any leverage Sugou himself might have to give the government if the data is already out there so they don't have an incentive to protect him in exchange for info. Third... the box has been opened already. Maybe right now it's only Sugou who can pull it off but now enough various parties (the government through our/Argo's reports, Yanai from being at his side, Administrator probably) are aware of it that the research is sure to go into overdrive. If we release it now, sure we save them the time perhaps, but we at least warn people that this is what the SEED is capable of. Many (most even?) might still decide to take that risk but at least we've sounded the alarm - and maybe even given more "white-hat" researchers the information they may need to help prevent this - if that's at all possible.
Unfortunately (and I'm sure by design because IMO they're the two most significant options) that immediately prices us out of Third Eye's upgrade. It's a nice upgrade and I'd love to take it but... yeah...
I'm strongly against keeping Kirito's weapons. No need to antagonize Asuna. Heck, I'd be in favor of just giving them back at no reward because they're rightfully hers. ALO World data seems too costly and vague for me to really want to go for. OBERON no thanks.
Which leaves: Excalibur (1), Thyrm (1) Dorz'l (2), Queen Mab (2), and our Appearance Data (3) with 6 points remaining. Excalibur seems an easy pick provided we have the points lying around. Thyrm... to be honest I'm a bit wary of the implication of fusion ingredients with our Persona but may be overthinking it. I'm still a bleeding heart and so would like to reunite Dorz'l and Silica if possible, however this is definitely the pragmatic cut if you want points for something else IMO. Queen Mab... really just feels like an in to Rinko but would Lux really care about that even if OOC it could be helpful? Finally the appearance data... I feel like in GGO it'll hurt more than help but given the power of belief and how we're now a known and accomplished VRMMO destroyer... could help somewhere down the line even if not necessarily in GGO.
Personally I'd go with Excalibur, Dorz'l, and Appearance Data but not by much over the pre-established Excalibur, Thyrm, Dorz'l, and Queen Mab. Like that would basically be my 2nd combo pick overall.
As for Asuna and Sugou - definitely in favor of waking them up. Asuna won't like it but I still think both we (and Argo) can somewhat soften the blow by telling her our intel on Kirito's location (RATH). Being rich and connected to RECT actually may give us (or again Argo but then hopefully to us) our best way to get info on RATH through her. And as for Sugou - nah, we sending him to jail.
And there's already a plan out there that basically has all this already, what luck! Though it makes me a bit sad to not go through the routine of trying to come up with a plan name pun or try to be cute with it.
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
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DarkN0va
The Multiversal Gamer
- Location
- Duel-Topia
[X] Eyes on the Dragon V2
-[X] The data of «Excalibur».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Your Third Eye.
-[X] Write-in: Kill Sugou, he's to dangerous to keep alive, even(and perhaps especially) on the government's leash. costs 10 DETERMINATION.
Mostly agree with your plan @NMS, but Excalibur is Our Weapon, passing up on keeping it for what was basically an ally of convenience like Thrym, just feels wrong, and letting Anyone get access to Sugou's intellect in any way shape or form is just to dangerous to allow.
-[X] The data of «Excalibur».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Your Third Eye.
-[X] Write-in: Kill Sugou, he's to dangerous to keep alive, even(and perhaps especially) on the government's leash. costs 10 DETERMINATION.
Mostly agree with your plan @NMS, but Excalibur is Our Weapon, passing up on keeping it for what was basically an ally of convenience like Thrym, just feels wrong, and letting Anyone get access to Sugou's intellect in any way shape or form is just to dangerous to allow.
[X] The Hammer of Justice, and a few things for the road ahead
-[X] The data of «Excalibur».
-[X] The data of «Thrym».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Queen Mab's data.
-[X] Sugou's research data. The totality of the «World Tree» and all its sins.
-[X] Awaken Dreamer.
-[X] The data of «Excalibur».
-[X] The data of «Thrym».
-[X] The data of «Dorz'l».
-[X] Queen Mab's data.
-[X] Sugou's research data. The totality of the «World Tree» and all its sins.
-[X] Awaken Dreamer.
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