A beast padded forward, a female lion with eyes of kaleidoscopic pink and grey, the sigil of an inverse E across her forehead. She stopped at the waterfall boundary and observed them with keen intent, the Pressure of her Astral presence like a curtain thrown across the world. The Forebear's Blade trembled greedily in his hand.
Move aside, Gisena! Keep doing what you're doing, Catherine! Best Girl has arrived! The species difference might present a challenge for shipping, but do the sages not say "a cat is fine too?" Platonic friendship is also acceptable, I just want more of Ǝ. It might make it awkward to get lost in her beautiful eyes if we aren't in a romantic relationship, though.
What does that symbol mean? I go to wiki. It's "
existential quantification in predicate Logic," of course! Only an idiot wouldn't know that. Ǝxposition Cat means that xposition Cat exists? Interesting. Rather than anything about her, specifically, the symbol might be part of a spell needed to keep her in this Realm. If she wasn't here, she couldn't be here. Most people don't have to say that with a tattoo, but it's not that strange!
Something like Ǝ is also the "yo" sound in katakana? It serves another purpose as a friendly, casual greetng, so clearly she isn't here to fight. Put away your sword, you maniac.
Has Pressure been described in that way before, or is it only outsiders that get the "curtain" treatment? The more important question is what makes the Astral portion of physical beings different than Astral beasts, probably. And I notice a similarity between a curtain and the waterfall. Does symbolically keeping apart from the "world" reduce the strain of existing here? In the Opalescent Tower, too. Might be a good sign if Ǝ's summoning is unique because of that, and can't be replicated anywhere LP pleases.
A worthy opponent at last. Since he'd killed the Rotbeast it'd had nothing but scraps. The Doom of the Tyrant flared within him. He would not be commanded by this creature, this monstrous beast. Not now, and not ever.
Gisena stepped back politely, but Hunger pressed forward, blue of the Praxis already materializing across his blade's edge.
YES! Finally! A full-blown, seriously deadly Tyrant proc! I shouldn't be celebrating, because that's a disaster, but maybe I can finally improve my failing grade in Tyrant Mechanics class. So, what happened here? Ǝ said "Halt" and Hunger flipped his shit. My first thought was that that's a bit much for a single word, but no. It makes perfect sense. There's no ambiguity, no room for interpretation or "maybe she meant..." in that. So, to avoid Tyrant procs, everyone Hunger speaks to should be needlessly verbose? The issue with that is it can't easily be enforced on the people most likely to activate it. Communicating only in a language that doesn't go for the "direct command" thing? I never thought the convenient language everyone speaks would get in our way.
Hunger felt the Doom activate. I wouldn't have expected that at all. Wouldn't it be easier for the Doom if it kept subtly slipping into Hunger's personality? But feeling it isn't the same as stopping it, and he says it comes from "within." Identifying the origin of these impulses should let you say "nah," but it wouldn't be a curse if you could escape it that easily. It's even worse than being stealthy, because you
want to be the Tyrant. At least in this straightforward situation. It might also come with extra anger, the lioness wasn't described as "monstrous" exactly (but that might be my shipping goggles interfering).
This is aaaaalllmost the situation described in the first post, where enemies can't make us do the opposite of what they say- unless it's to attack them. And "halt" is only a few degrees away from "don't attack me." Which is bad. Ǝ wasn't unreasonable, and was as non-threatening as a near-high Rank lion from beyond defending her territory can be! Uh. She stayed behind the waterfall and wasn't flexing her claws, at least, so the threat wasn't immediate. But in similar circumstances, this could be a problem. Like with the Sovereignty, if they were more twitchy and their "borders" more strongly defined. To avoid this... well, being strong enough that the victim doesn't want to make an issue of it helps, and so does the victim knowing about Hunger's disability well enough to deescalate, as shown here. I think my semi-joking pamphlet suggestion could use another look. But for more creative solutions, Hunger's response will be "attack," but flavored by the circumstances. Here, he wanted an epic fight to sate his bloodlust (our hero, everyone). But maybe an axiomatically harmless Edeldross beatdown could satisfy him, if he can learn that instinct?
The bloodlust isn't as weird as I thought at first. "Come on, Hunger, you killed the Rotbeast like yesterd-" No, it was almost two weeks ago. Hell, this is a definite improvement over his whining that he couldn't kill Mizuku, he's actually getting more patient! We should throw Hunger a party.
At least, the intensity isn't weird for Hunger. The "muahahaha feed my blade" is more concerning. It's the Hunger ring that's normally the greedy one. The Blade is also an XP multiplier, so hopefully it's just getting it's time in the sun rather than anything more nefarious. Gisena wants no part of this either way. I wonder what's going through her mind right now... if Hunger is psychologically capable of it, hearing her perspective could be valuable. She's always been a genius, and now she has an observation to work with.
The creature took a step back. "Please. I do not wish to harm you. Were we to battle, neither of us would escape unscathed. In actuality I come bearing a gift for one of you."
Hunger stopped, tide of the waterfall sheeting and humming over the edge of his blade, its supernal sharpness splitting the ward-magics down to their core.
"The Lord Protector summoned me to intercept you," The creature said. "But I see now that our mutual opposition would be folly. So long as the Chosen One travels alongside you, our interests are aligned. I, too, would see this Realm restored to its former glories."
It stared at Aobaru. "Come forth, Chosen One. Allow me to take a look at you."
"Not too far forward," Hunger said casually. "Don't let it lunge at you."
"Chosen One? Me?" Aobaru said dumbly, coming to a halt half a handspan behind Hunger.
Huh. Despite reacting with murderous rage at being told to stop, swearing to never give in to Ǝ's commands, after a few more sentences from her, he stops. To be fair, she's spamming deescelation at him like her life depends on it (which it might). It worked, but it's hard to tell if any one part was more responsible for this miracle than any other. The "please," the physical retreat, the statement of intent, the gift, and the... consequence. Viewing the last as a threat would never lead to peace, so I don't think that's it, but it's also an explanation of why she's deescalating. So it might have had some value. Hm.
Probably a combination of everything. Ǝ is not explicitly surrendering, but it could be interpreted that way if Hunger so chooses, in his Tyranny. Ambiguity saves the day? We need to have some tactics that allow both parties to walk away with their pride intact, feeling like they've won, to disentangle a hypothetical mutual Tyrant proc. Which'd probably be impossible, but Hunger vs. mundanely stubborn opponent is similar but solvable. "Fighting would just hurt both of us" is a good start, but won't always be true. What worthless concession could Hunger demand that would satisfy him without pissing off an enemy too much? A specially prepared tribute Gisena could give to the opponent to give to Hunger, to artificially mirror Ǝ's gift? It's part of his culture, you see.
Hunger doesn't cool off entirely- but that certainly doesn't mean he's still in the grips of the Doom. Immediately attacking was excessive, but his current level of caution isn't. His command to Aobaru is also ambiguous. It's quite sensible for Aobaru to stay behind Hunger, but was that the motivation for his words, or could the Tyrant not stand to have his squire follow another's orders above his own? Answers come with more questions, but I'm satisfied.
Setting aside the Tyrant, Aobaru is the Chosen One! Yes, the protagonist jokes weren't jokes after all. I'd ask what the chances we'd stumble across him were, but I already know the answer. It's one in a million, and as we all know, those chances happen nine times out of ten. I'd say "especially with Rank," but that's just putting mechanics to the narrative in this case. Aobaru is chosen... to restore the Voyaging Realm? The Shardcanist blurb mentioned the Realm's deterioration. but since we turned that down I figured it'd be somebody else's problem. Unfortunately, Hunger has no Luck +'s.
The "what" of Aobaru's task is clear, but who chose him? Ǝ, sort of, but she's talking like it's something on him she can see. He's covered in Chosen One goo, he is- might be the divination wards that revealed it. The Foremost? I'd ask why they'd need a destined hero, since they have swarms of devoutly loyal minions like the Armor Prototype, but if they haven't done the job yet they never will. Plus, the AP selfdestructed, so bad example. He's chosen because there's gotta be a hero, got it?
More immediately, Ǝ says that she was summoned to stop "you." Not any trespassers, Hunger and friends specifically. At least, that's the most straightforward interpretation. But this waterfall domain, the collapsed tunnel- it doesn't look like a rush job. How much advance warning did LP have? And what was Ǝ getting for her service, for that matter.
"The legacy of the Builders lives on within you," the lioness explained. "Only you can re-activate the control array located at Realm's center. Power beyond the uttermost imaginings of your presently-mortal mind, should you prove worthy to hold it. But you are not awakened yet... Your potential lies curiously dormant. The hour of destiny has not yet come for you. I could change that, awaken what slumbers within. It would be a gradual transition, and you may attract dangers beyond your personal capacity to handle, but your friend the Praehihr should keep you well in stead. He seems eager for a fight, regardless."
Ǝ throws some shade at Hunger for his tyranny. Good, he deserves it for being mean to best girl.
I'd like some more details on Aobaru, though.
Why does he alone carry the Builders' legacy? Why is it odd that it's slumbering? How does Ǝ know how to unlock it? At least we have a solid destination- the center of the Realm. That's not so bad, we're fairly close already. By distance, anyway, which is the least of the challenges. Will we have to deal with the Shard's dungeon anyway? The escalation doesn't stop.
It's wonderful that Aobaru's awakening still comes with a powerup, even if it's greatly delayed. That means Hunger won't have to do all the work himself and can slack in his teacherly duties!
"That sounds pretty amazing," Aobaru said cautiously, "But how do we know that any of what you're saying is true? This... this is crazy. Why me?"
"An accident of circumstance," the lioness shrugged. "Or perhaps something deeper. I would have you awakened to your potential. That is the only price I request for the safe passage of your entire party to the Princess' Tower... and the information I bear on the Lord Protector himself."
Aobaru continues to not be a horrible turd this update, thank goodness. He's not yet redeemed himself in my eyes after the cover-blowing "how dare this princess make the king wait nyehhh," speech, but he's getting there. Common sense goes a long way.
I suspect the reason Ǝ is being so vague is because she barely knows anything herself! 90% bluffing around the 10% you actually know. I've used that trick enough myself. :s She knows enough to "awaken" Aobaru, at least. The only reason I'm not calling bullshit is because she implied that it's odd that his power hasn't already manifested, so fixing it should be less complicated. And since she's betraying LP for us, that gets a lot of points. Best girl points. Because we desperately need information on our enemy, who doesn't seem to have the same problem when it comes to us. Tell me everything.
"I'm surprised at your latitude of action," Gisena commented. "He summoned you, but you wriggled very adroitly out of those bindings! Yet you don't resemble any of the Astral denizens I've met at all... I wonder where he got you from?"
"A place halfway between here and there," the lioness nodded, nudging the supernal blue of Hunger's blade-edge. Her muzzle came up fully against the cutting blue, and yet she was not cut.
His eyes widened. A being from somewhere along the gradient between this base reality and the true fundament beneath. Did it inhabit the same realm he'd ventured into to strike against the Rotbeast? What was the Lord Protector that he could call upon such a creature?
Also, because she's terrifying. Do not get cut, even if it can cut what cannot be cut? Forebear memes get clunky if you don't abbreviate them as you rise up the ISH. But if you do, the precise amount of awesome isn't communicated. Gotta say Cut^3 even if it cannot be Cut^2 or something.
And part of the reason is because she's from a deeper(?) level of reality. Or vice versa. This brings up bad memories of garbage xianxia- fortunately, it's not "bow down you inferior lower (yes, both of them) beings!" It's only Hunger's speculation that she comes from the Realm of Forms. How accurate is that? It doesn't seem like a place anyone
lives, except in the sense that everyone is partially there and represented there. But I could say something similar about the Astral Realm, and my disbelief hasn't caused everyone there to pop out of existence.
I'd chuckle if it turns out that Ǝ just lives in the tower. Since it's made of Skystuff, it would satisfy her statement, right? "Oh my god, how did the Protector summon you?" "He knocked and offered fish." But the worst part about her origin is that we can't summon her with Enclosure no matter how much Rank we get, since that's only applicable to Astral denizens. For now? Maybe with more study, we can summon best girl.
Doesn't explain how she got out of the contract, though. Probably just negotiated in a condition where she'd not act against the restoration of the Realm, which'd be a vanishingly unlikely circumstance. Too bad for LP that we're just that.
"I'll do it," Aobaru said. "If it gets us past you without having to fight, and also gives us intel on this Lord Protector guy... it sounds like a good deal to me. What do I have to do?"
"Nothing," said the lioness. "Simply stand there."
There was an instinct in him to halt this, to have the boy re-consider the precipitous course to which he'd agreed, but Hunger stilled himself. Much as he'd like to intervene, it was ultimately Aobaru's choice. That he personally had suffered from his stint as hero of destiny did not mean the boy was doomed to the same. Certainly not if he had anything to say about it.
The lioness gently stalked forward and laid a paw against Aobaru's hand. There was a brief flare of magenta light and Aobaru gasped.
"Whoa. I- whoa..."
That was easy. From this level of reality, at least, but Ǝ doesn't look especially drained.
Hunger is the best. I don't know how many times I've been "I appreciate when he does X," but I was about to say it again in response to him letting Aobaru decide his own fate. The fate of his fate? Which isn't at all the same thing as abandoning him. Let's just hope (and Arete) that we're up to the challenge.
"Now then," the creature continued, "As I have turned wholly against my summoner, we have limited time before the terms of my conjuring result in my inevitable banishment. Your chief priority must be the defense of the Chosen One; with the forces arrayed against him you can scarce afford further distractions. I cannot see your full intentions but I assume you will not be deterred from your opposition of the Lord Protector. In your current state you have very little chance of opposing him directly."
Well, there's the answer to my original question- Second Priority is against best girl's advice. I don't think I'll finish this reaction before updoot, so I'll have to change my vote now. Brb. Alright, done- the vote was neck and neck, so if we die it's my fault. Or Ǝ's, because she's lion.
"Scarce afford" isn't "you will 100% die," especially with Arete, but I'm scared of the Onslaught. Sucks about Letrizia, though- man, why can't we just get everything we want, without stopping the recklessness? This game is too fair.
More information about Ǝ's summoning. It makes sense that, if you need a summoner to get here/stay here in the first place, the simplest method of punishment would be to stop maintaining that. And LP was either unable or unwilling to enforce anything stricter. I'd be relieved about that, but Ǝ just told us we're a scrub compared to him. Gotta get more Arete.
She paused and trembled, cracks like splintering stone forming across her back. Through them peered a light of unearthly paleness, like the sun filtered through clouds.
Noooo, Best Girl can't disappear already! But the cracks in her back might be more than a tragedy for my ship; they could also be a clue to her origins. I can analyze the sky this update after all! If the lowest level is the Empyrean, it'd make some intuitive sense if "sun" was between that and the world. At least, before you think about it too hard, but that's appropriate for story-based physics. And the clouds remind me of how her Rank was described as a curtain. The Astral Realm is between the sun and the Earth. Ǝ'll have to pass through all of those on the way home. And whether or not "halfway" between here and there is precisely true, there should be something between the sun and the sky. Which would metaphorically be... I got nothing. The rules of this particular multiverse? The sun is a source of energy, but what allows the sun to exist? A Realm of Dust?
Incidentally, if I put my fourth grade hat on, clouds are formed from water that evaporates from the planet as part of the water cycle. Makes me think about how "cloud-shadow" Astral nonsense fits into that metaphor.
The lioness licked her lips and continued. "He is owed many favors by the foremost entities of this Realm of Myth. That said, you are a Praehihr and capable of progression beyond limit... look into the armamentarium of Mirellyian dynasty. They harbor artifacts that would work perfectly with your style of magic. The Tower itself is forged of the same material as your incomplete Cloak of Sky. Marshal your powers quickly and seek aid from the legions of House Eruntael. You may be sheltered against many divinations but your companions are not. The next entity he sends against you may lack my raw potency, but will be more finely-tailored to-
This, here is why Ǝ is exposition cat and best girl. So much information! She can't say we're not following her advice about getting our grubby little hands on every artifact we can, at least. The Tears and the Tower are both gamechangers (or would be, against any lesser opponent). We haven't completely ransacked the armamentarium, though- just the Tears. But we can't bully Adorie any more, there has to be a limit to greed. Let's leave the disposition of whatever goodies she has left to her and her advisors. We have plenty of other sources of powerups. Once and Future is so close I can taste it, I just need to write a little bit more. Marshaling power quickly, (AKA Arete mining), check.
Her other advisory bulletpoints are less straightforward to satisfy. Ǝ appears to know almost everything relevant about us (a good foundation for a relationship, hm?), or can at least assume the missing pieces. There's precedent for "
Praehihr" in Versch, we're not disguising the Evening Sky so it's obvious enough, and she's not entirely confident that we can't be dissuaded from fighting LP and assumed not for times' sake, but how does she know the mechanism of Accretion? It's not the most flashy magic, and even though it's an application of Astral Rank it doesn't seem that common in this universe- but it's not like we've seen more than a tiny fraction of it. Hm. Did she learn all of that from divining our friends, from Foremost infodumps, or mundane intelligence and experience?
I'm cool with Best Girl knowing all of that, but since she was working for LP until seconds ago, it's likely he's aware of all of this as well. I don't expect her to have shared everything with him, but hope is the first step on the road to disappointment (I thought I was clever for writing that, but apparently I just quoted 40k?). Meaning... he'd be prepared for Empyreal Signs, if that's a known thing the Tower can do. The only one that I can imagine being easily countered is Nightmare Flight, when we were already concerned about teleportation bouncing off the walls. A reason to kill him before dealing with the decimation, maybe. Summoning is too versatile to come up with exact preparations for- something he takes advantage of himself, for sure. Fortunately, Ǝ warned us about his influence in the Land of Myth, so even though he obviously has some elsewhere to summon Ǝ in the first place, I'm not excessively concerned about any of our summons going "You want me to go against
that guy? No can do."
If the Protector knows about our magic as Ǝ does, we shouldn't Abduct his equipment. It's a shame, since it's bound to be epic. But personality contamination is already a risk with that technique, even without specific traps.
And if he knows we're a Cursebearer, well. That's not entirely a new complication, with the Temple's R-type business, but it's worse here. He'd want to snip us as quickly as possible to stop Progression, and avoid feeding us mooks even without that being default strategy as per the Evil Overlord List. If he knows our specific curses, he can bait us into a direct attack, do PR damage, or wait for Apo-chan to screw with us, I guess. But this is barely a problem. I'm voting to attack him directly anyway! And the others I'd expected to deal with without his helping them along. Since there's a difference between "generic Progression-Type" and "Hunger, an actual maniac," we can just pile on Arete to outrun our self-inflicted problems. One day that's going to fail horribly (more than usually, I mean) and Rihaku will laugh endlessly, but it's too late to turn back now so we might as well go faster. Wow, what a horrible piece of advice I've just written, never listen to me.
Her first sentence is the most curious- and now I realize that's intentional, because she's on an uncertain time limit so her words would reasonably be ordered by importance. A ruler would be influential, but favors sounds appropriately fey-like for summoning. But they're already here? Was "foremost" a hint, I wonder? Surely we don't actually have to fight the Shardcanist, that would be obscene. I'm not sure what we can do in response to this information, except read up on the "foremost" Myth people in preparation to deal with them even if Adorie doesn't have them on a Loyalist list. Just in case.
Her warning that our next enemy would be sent to strike our weaknesses is the biggest reason I was pushing for ADS. Ǝ got cut off, but it doesn't matter exactly what she was going to say. Keyword, All. We're not going to get ADS now, with OaF right in front of us, so we'll have to figure out another way to beat a Hunger counter. It's entirely possible that Rank 9.375 Hunger with whatever King of Winter does will just thrash the next encounter, but don't underestimate LP.
First, what are Hunger's weaknesses? Ǝ gives us one when she says our companions can still be divined. And they're squishy. They're squishy and LP
knows it. I don't think Undying Vanguard will share the divination resistance, but it'd at least take care of the squishyness. I doubt my ability to convince people to vote for it, not to mention that we'll have to dig up the Arete for it. So we shouldn't split the party? I'm convincing myself to delay Decimation mitigation more and more. We could, potentially, keep plans secret from the rest of the party members so they can't leak them. Just a single contingency? Since Gisena is too useful not to involve in planning, anything too complicated would do more harm than good. Everyone should be under Shadowcord at all times, it might help against divination, even if it only makes LP work for it.
We don't have much
time to address Hunger's build-related weaknesses. It's possible to grind two picks for Iridescence, or to grab a Grace real quick, but every hour is precious for more than one reason. We might have to just take the hit if needed at this point... but I hate taking hits. Ooh, idea. We summon up an Astral being to try to figure out what the "next entity" is- patching all of our weaknesses is impossible (ADS: fucking excuse me, I'm right here) IMPOSSIble, but if we can deal with the one he's targeting in time, it's almost as good. The spell has a day of cooldown- damn, it takes an hour to cast? I just said those were valuable, ouch. But still, a complementary Astral minion that can cover our weaknesses would be ideal, especially after we increase our Rank with OaF. Problem is, it might be stronger than us? It's not a problem if summoning doesn't count as "matters military," and even if it does we don't have to grab the strongest minion we can. Problem solved, I guess.
Like "foremost," I'm giving "finely-tailored" the side-eye. I'm not gatekeeping figurative language even if cats don't wear clothes. But why did she use that specific phrase? It could be completely innocuous, especially because it's a common one. But Iridescence is looking more appealing right now.
We were already planning to meet up with Eruntael OoC, good to know that Best Girl supports our tactics. It'll be a change of pace, having an army on our side for once (Elixir Kingdom:
), which necessitates shifting tactics. Int is more of a force multiplier with more people, but I can't muster up the will to argue for ADS right now. But +1 Rank might actually be better in this case! All decisions about Eruntael's legions should be made by Hunger throwing darts at a board. You don't need cleverness when you're this lucky! I'm exaggerating, of course. There's gotta be a smartypants way to spread the benefit of Hunger's Rank. I can only think of having him as part of the decision-making body, though, which would've been desirable anyway. We'll see when we get there.
At last the lioness could continue no further, the speed of her disintegration hastening until with a thunderous crack the fissures overtook her entirely. Like pulverized stone she shattered, leaving only fragments and dust behind, and the waterfall receded steadily, become an intermittent dribble.
Can I get an
ꟻ in chat for Ǝ. I'm so fucking clever, hyuk hyuk. My self-impressedness has even overcome my sadness at losing best girl, if for a moment. But now I'm sad again. At least her death was dramatic. And, more important, temporary, since she's just going home, but I still miss her. Ahem.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Rotbeasts on fire off the shoulder of Verschlengorge. I watched G-beams glitter in the dark near the trellised gate. All these moments will be lost in time, like Tears of Winter in the waterfall. Time to die.
Ǝ was summoned into a statue, then? It would make sense that she wouldn't have an appropriate "form" for manifestation in this world, living so far down, and that a focus might help. I'm temped to say we should sweep up the fragments, to potentially summon her later, but that might just be the creepy stalker in me talking.
I'm more surprised that the waterfall vanished when she did. The defenses were tied to her (this is me assuming the water is meaningful- can't get complacent just because it's obviously meaningful and it's the land of myth, that's when I'll be wrong), which is understandable if it's her "domain," but it's very inconvenient for the Lord Protector. Without the lioness to defend the tower, thinking about it, any real threat could get through the traps, so it'd be a waste of effort to make backups
here in case of her betrayal.
"Well," Hunger blinked. "That was a lot to take in." They had underestimated both the speed and the resourcefulness of this Lord Protector. Had they been forced to fight, would he have won here?
"Whoa..." Aobaru said once more, before snapping out of his reverie. "That... was..."
"Care to share with the class?" Letrizia said archly.
He rubbed his brow. "I can't really describe it with words. She showed me a little bit of what the Voyaging Realm used to look like, millions of years ago. I think it - the section I saw - was some kind of amusement park."
You fuckers aren't showing the proper respect for the exposition cat! She died for your sins, you know. Or at least was temporarily sent home for your sins, which is much less of a sacrifice. So really, I'm the only one suffering here. But still, everyone here has revealed their lack of taste, you were just in the presence of best girl.
According to Rihaku and the roll of 98, we wouldn't have lost- but it sure wouldn't have felt like a victory, either. Fortunately, we procrastinated. Even more so, now that my eyes have been opened to the glory of Ǝ, how could you bear to fight her? I'm not sure what lesson we should take from this complication in the short term. It's fine to say not to underestimate the LP, but... hm. Dealing with Decimation first would be underestimating him, I'd say. Strike three. Other than that, grind as fast as we can? Prepare to use all trump cards, like Silver (that'd hurt, a lot)? We need to summon a cool minion, for sure. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there's no reason to turn down a tactic that demonstrably works!
Aobaru has been forevermore branded as the Destined Roller Boy, but he specifies here that he didn't confirm that
everything was an amusement park. The rampant Armor also talked about the park, and since it was near his home, wouldn't it make sense that it'd be the focus of his infodump? I pointed this out because I thought it'd be important, but now I'm thinking that the difference between "universe-sized amusement park" and "universe-sized entertainment district, part of which is an amusement park" is academic. He's still Roller Boy.
I wonder what we're missing from his explanation, that couldn't be captured in language. "It's an amusement park" is a good, wordful statement, after all. Was it an amusement park that was Tier 2 on the ISH? Amuse, even if it cannot be amused. I could use some of that!
Epic rollercoaster destiny aside, it's more relevant that Ǝ might be millions of years old. You can't ask a lady her age directly, but Best Girl lore is of foremost important.
"An amusement park?" Aeira said slowly.
He shook his head. "I know how it sounds. But I don't mean that in a frivolous way. They took amusement very seriously. The being we just met, she used to be part of their analogue to a petting zoo. A protector and companion for the kids that were dropped off while their parents and older siblings went on the rides."
"And she wants her job back?" Letrizia guessed. "Even after millions of years. Wholly committed to her purpose, just like Verschlengorge. The Foremost sure knew how to make 'em."
Oh, ask and receive. Ǝ was in fact there, as a babysitter. And if the Foremost made her... dammit, I just realized I've been exaggeratedly proclaiming my attachment to this new character, who is an actual factual genetically engineered catgirl. "Absolute Peak Degeneracy" is a tag for a reason, but normally I don't fall into it by
accident. Anyway, the genetically engineered catgirl was a babysitter. Good with children, another reason she should be Hunger's waifu.
Again, Aobaru is doing a good job of using his words, so he probably was just having trouble getting his thoughts in order. I'm sure there are parts filled with things man was not meant to know, but most of it is 'normal', if awesome. Even the daycare is over the top.
If we take Letrizia's words as fact, serving LP must have, in Ǝ's mind, advanced her babysitting goals somehow. There could be a complex web of favors diluting any meaning of specific actions, I guess. But you'd think that taking care of non-Foremost children would be an adequate substitute? The Protector's grasp of the motivations of Foremost creations might be one of his most deadly traits yet.
New reason to focus on the Voyaging Realm over the Human Sphere: Do it for hƎr.
"Okay, roller-coaster tycoon," Hunger said amusedly. "We know you've got to revive the dilapidated park, but did you get any tactically useful information from this glimpse? What were the Foremost like? Were they humanoid in appearance? Did they display any unusual capabilities? Any hints as to the nature of the forces coming for you?"
"Nothing on that last one," Aobaru shook his head. "It was wild. There were dimensions involved that I can't really describe, and I don't know if it was purely metaphorical, but they looked like humans to me. More or less regular humans, though some of them had some pretty sick mods. Elf, orc, kind of like the stuff you'd see in Voyaging City but way more refined."
First thought- those are clearly actual elves and orcs. Second thought- what's the difference?
Seram could have been an elf lord for realsies, after all, and even though the Foremost aren't cooler than the Accursed, they should be more than enough for species changes, all the way down to the dimensions Aobaru can't describe. That could give a new spin on cultural appropriation, huh. At least until the Foremost because a big blob of Foremost stuff. In comparison, the guys in the Voyaging City are just cosplaying. Which raises the question, where did the elves and orcs go? And why haven't they been slipping in, having their own isekai adventures here? The name "Human Sphere" seems much less generic in this light. Maybe more menacing?
Then he clarifies his issues communicating his vision. It might be less that there was more access to other Realms back then, and more Aobaru's lack of experience seeing them. And not having the vocabulary, ofc.
Hunger is a bit tense, it seems, even though he can still joke. Even if he's cool under pressure, he can still feel it. Unusual capabilities are a given, but the only immediately relevant question is the one without an answer.
"Speaking of Voyaging City," Letrizia mused, "I really should be getting back... it's no hurry though! I want to stay with you guys and develop my Element as much as I can!"
"Unconcerned with matters imperial?" Hunger raised an eyebrow.
Letrizia pouted. "Just let me have this, okay! It's nice to be free, even if I'm just following you guys around. Besides, there's no place safer than next to my bodyguards!"
Letrizia addresses the elephant in the room, which is a relief. Much like some of the thread, she's not eager to deal with the actual plot. Or the plots against her. She's also feeling obligated to return, and she misses her friends, so it's not that straightforward. It does mean that we could delay for quite some time without her pushing back, looking at it coldly. But warmly, Letrizia deserves happy fun times with freedom and magic! Which is exactly what we're giving her... right? Ignore the Lord Protector, and the Rotbeast, and the Temple. Setting aside all the bad things, this trip is full of nothing but good (and neutral) things. We're the best bodyguards ever, no matter how many wars we involve our principal in.
"Flattery will get you nowhere." Hunger turned to Aobaru. "I've been involved in the Chosen One business before. It never goes as trivially as they say. We'll do our best to make sure you have it easier than I did, but be prepared for severe adversity. When we're done here I'll tell you a bit about what I went through. It's not something I'd wish upon any but my worst enemies."
"Don't set yourself up as some sort of mentor figure," Letrizia said worriedly. "Those are almost always fated to die!"
"Fate promises many things," Hunger said bitterly. "It rarely delivers. And if it wants a piece of me, I would welcome the opportunity."
Time for Aobaru to become Hunger's squire in truth. Poor boy had no idea what he's signed up for. As heartwarming as Hunger's dedication is, it's a bit silly to be an "apprentice destined hero." Deadly serious, though, because while the Fates like their jokes they aren't to be underestimated.
Unless they're up against the Tyrant. Even after getting Trinity at last, his bitterness hasn't receded. And no wonder. Such a delayed gift is just salt in the wound, not that he'll turn down power. Hunger will have to do a better job with Aobaru than destiny did with him. Because if not him, who? Destiny's already off to a terrible start, hasn't even given the boy more superpowers yet.
The mission has been delivered, we've got a princess to rescue and a tower to steal, the Protector is coming, we've got two days on the decimation clock, it's 3:48 and I'm mining Arete. Let's rock.
