...so many omakes to read, so many quests updating at the same time, the new CYOA to read and make a build for...
well, let's start from the usual reaction, then I'll proceed from there
"TO REIGN SUPREME" REACTION.
ok, I accidentally saw that we DID go through a timeskip, but that's it.
so, let's begin. I'm curious if we finally met Haeliel and had Aobaru recover.
Also about our party's reaction. Aobaru's betrayal will introduce some tension...
To Reign Supreme
Hunger threw the unconscious boy back into the Realm of Evening. That the Apocryphal Curse had turned Aobaru against him by dint of a mere lack of faith was disturbing; but there would be time later to dwell on such things. The stars mourned the loss of their master: their light now given a melancholy pallor, the universe cast into the blood-crimson of mournful decline. Hopefully the boy was not irredeemable.
Time now to deal with Dien.
If we're lucky, he can be healed.
If we're VERY lucky, we might even be able to get him to trust us again... though I think we'd need Haeliel for that, to give him more perspective on why Cursebearers are necessary,
even with their curses.
Novakhron struck the Surgeon's form like a furious wave-front, shattering the shoreline of its impact into tumbling flinders as his enemy's Rank tried furiously and failed to maintain the coherency of its body. Dien retaliated now in earnest, striking above and below from the Realm of Forms, a bramble of siphoning appendages questing for Novakhron's flesh through tunnels of falsified space. This Hunger dispelled with a mere shrug of Ruin, near-indolent ripple of the Forebear's might which rent that assault with languid temerity. Before Dien could strike again, Hunger had manifested his Ruin through the lens of the Praxis, a flood of runes in piercing azure that wrapped the self-proclaimed Hero like a full-body binding.
FINALLY WE MANAGE TO USE THE SEAL!
well, that is that, I think. With the seal binding him, I don't think Dien will be able to do much.
...you know, once Hunger went all-in this ended
very quickly.
So suppressed, the comprehensive destruction of Ruin turned inwards upon him - and, manifested in a form suitable to the Imprisoner - Dien Bravo could do little indeed as Hunger's next blows began to land. Every action countered by the Ruin of his unwilling raiment, even the most heroic of Dien's flailings amounted to naught. Point-blank the cannon of Novakhron barked once, twice: the universe shuddering at each blow as the Dog of War sought finally to slaughter, rather than merely subdue.
Blast after blast severed vital components from the star-spanning god-horror, disfigured hearts wretchedly spasming as they fell in smoldering ruin from its colossal corpse. Yet even with his physical body rendered inoperable, the Surgeon struggled onwards. Here in the Astral realm, then the supernal, he hurled frantically at Hunger everything he had, everything that he was. All the ill-gotten gains of his galactic conquest now liquidated and turned into so much flaming detritus to be launched at his foe in some final futile act of defiance. Quelled by the sea of runes, Dien's actions lacked direction and vigor; a child in Novakhron could have sidestepped such strikes, were its armor insufficient to laughingly repel them.
Such waste.
And so falls Dien Bravo. In the end, he wasn't even the real final boss of his story...
Aobaru stole that from him.
well, with him sealed, I imagine the capture worked out. His knowledge will be useful if we can get it out of him, and I'm sure that we'll be
really persuasive.
Worst case, we'll have to wait until we pursue the Mind Domain to take it by force.
Hunger sighed. "So this is all it amounts to in the end. Was it worth it, Surgeon? All those lives, and only for this feeble caricature of a last stand."
"They are not lost, Lord Hunger!" Dien Bravo rejoined. "Surrender your life to me, and I will restore each and every one, unharmed and free of all influence. I give you my word as a Hero - no innocents need to have died this day!"
...this sounds a lot like the
stupid ending from Jade Empire, where the big bad asks you to die so he can rule forever...
and you can accept.
Honestly, why would we even do that? I actually believe he's saying the truth, but given a few years we'll likely be able to do it ourselves with the Life/Death domains!
In the end we'd be trading the Tyrant Hunger for the Tyrant Dien.
"You know I won't do that," Hunger replied, landing a fist in what passed for Dien's sternum, tearing the god-body to strangle the spirit beneath. The Orc emitted a brief choking sound as his breath - his conceptual circulation - ruptured, and was seized.
"I... did not give you enough credit!" Dien managed, shaking his metaphorical head. "So ruthless a Tyrant, unconcerned with the well-being of his peoples - what are they but the implements of your puissance? And the speed of your ascent, to rival even my own, despite all the resources you lacked, and your shallow intelligence... magnificent! I can only regret that I did not embody a worthy enough challenger, in the end. And so this collection of realms plunges into night everlasting."
Oh, we
care. We just have our own priorities.
Hunger HAS to come first, because everything else can be recovered and restored in time.
As long as Hunger survive, there's hope, and everything else is not truly lost.
...I want to be annoyed at his dig to our intelligence, but admittedly when you compare it to him and Gisena we DO come up short...
Hunger scoffed, and exerted himself to accelerate the others in his party. "You failed, Dien Bravo, because you thought of the world in the stark terms of Heroes and Tyrants alone. But the most terrifying opponent was always the power behind the throne. Not solely by my prowess did I grow to eclipse you. Behold the architect of your final destruction: the Sorceress Lady Nullity, bane of wonders, end of heroes and all glorious things."
Gisena appraised the situation quickly, and draped herself over Hunger's - Novakhron's - shoulder with a smug smile. "Oh, honey! You shouldn't have. I might actually blush!"
Here comes Gisena, to take her rightful glory...
of course we still haven't shared Aobaru's fate...
"Ahh," the Surgeon chuckled. "Indeed... Tyrants are not born, but made. And there was among you... a Maker worthy of the name. Only now, at the end... do I understand..."
Dien, there has to be a misunderstanding here. You're talking like you're about to die.
We didn't give you permission to die.
Then, of course, came the bright desperate lance of Dien's true and final strike, feinting towards Novakhron's core but targeting Gisena herself. Through corridors of fate it hurled, heedless and howling, a malefic spear of eldritch design. It would strike not through mere traversal, but because it was destined to so land. Dien had spent mightily to overcome the monumental cage of Ruin, and was left utterly bare to Hunger's counterattack. Torn bodily in half, his upper and lower dimensions ripped asunder by the maw and limbs of Novakhron: mind from heart, essence from form, spirit from nature, Title from orc - yet Dien Bravo's was the resolve of a hero, and still his attack flew.
...The bastard... I can't help but admire his resolve, though...
A pulse of Nullity expanded from the Sorceress, stultifying dullness before which Fate was nothing more than a daydream's frivolity: yet Dien Bravo's was the destiny of a hero, and still his attack flew.
..no...
A shield of threaded shadow emerged around the Sorceress, and focused Rank in steep battlements so dense as to be physically shining: yet Dien Bravo's was the strength of a hero, and still his attack flew.
NOOOOOO...
Sheer stillness pervaded the world, freezing solid the spear and the very causal chain it inhabited, an inevitability forever delayed; yet Dien Bravo's was the cleverness of a hero, and somehow still his attack flew.
...This is supposed to be Auspice Temporal's ultimate, right?
ah, I was nearly forgetting!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!
In that liminal, infinitesimal moment, with his own properties spent and overextended, Lord Hunger threw all might remaining into the Ring of Blood, and took a leap of faith.
...ok, we already saw Gisena, Aeira and Letrizia failing to stop this one attack.
What is left?
For Chen Aobaru was the Hero Who Was Chosen, against which no imitation could stand. Kintsugi-forged with light-threads of gold fell the Shogun's Blade; and Dien Bravo, who lacked the nature of a hero, finally found his blow turned aside.
...AOBARU, MY MAN! OUR PRODIGAL CHILD!
see guys, the moral of the story is obviously this:
1) Violence is the answer to all problems. If it didn't solve them, it means you didn't use enough of it
2) Beating your child is a valid method of dealing with their petty tantrums.
...
I can't believe I actually wrote n.2, but in this case it actually WORKED!
By the way, Aobaru recovered pretty quickly. The Gilded Cage is certainly powerful.
As if over-eager to prove his new loyalty, Aobaru launched instantly into an attack: an eyeblink onslaught of blade-strokes that reduced his rival Foremost to nothing more than wind and ash. He followed with a palm-strike that flared into blinding destruction, wedge of annihilating heat that rendered a quarter of the cosmos into flame. This was not butchery but an incineration; every aspect and particle blasted into irrecoverable nothingness, purified by unyielding disorder.
Fire flooded Dien's causal links: every trick, trap, plot and contingency burned into nothingness, the remnants of his actions unable to escape that wildfire blaze. Not even the fractional remnant of the Orc's Foremost Title survived that killing stroke, billowing away into the greater Astral like smoke from a funeral pyre.
It was an execution sudden and total, brutal and utterly uncompromising, as if the Shogun were paying final respects to the comrade and enemy that had accompanied them for eons untold. Against one such as you, I shall spare nothing.
Honor, of a sort, and one that Hunger felt Dien did not deserve. The scale of his atrocities was too stunningly vast, their depth too profound, for so glorious an ending.
...yeah, this way Dien got the glorious ending he wanted. That's not really satisfying to us.
Then again, I'll take it. This should certainly help making Aobaru feel adequate and recover from his past humiliation.
still...kill-stealer!
"Forgive me," said that Shogun, who now lowered their palm. "It was how he had wanted to die, once upon a time."
mh? He changed.
Now to see if we CAN reason with him...
"I'd hoped to capture him, and force him to reverse the wanton carnage of his crimes," Hunger frowned. "It appears you were aware of that, and yet acted anyway."
"I will accept whatever punishment you deem just," Aobaru stated. "My body moved without even thinking... but in the end, I believe it was right. Can our paths diverge, yet our loyalties remain the same?"
...is he talking about Shogun and Dien, or about Aobaru and Hunger?
Or maybe both?
Still, while this is annoying, we can probably do something about Dien's atrocities on our own. We just need time.
Hunger wasn't certain, especially as the restored Aobaru now seemed to integrate the Shogun more wholly. Or was this merely the culmination of a process that had been ongoing unseen? Perhaps it was simply his way of maintaining focus in the face of the fearsome emotions that the Complete Vigorflame stirred within him, passions easily visible to the bearer of the Ring Crimson.
Mastered Legendary True Vigorflame. dangerous stuff to control.
Well, I think we can probably come to an arrangement with the Shogun. He wanted to rule. He now knows, thanks to Aobaru, that we're not here to stay.
And he knows we're stronger.
The logical choice is to support us, so that the realm might survive our curses, and then rule once we're gone.
..Then again, looking for a chance to betray us would ALSO make sense, and we should NEVER forget he might consider it. Apocryphal might boost him again, in the future, which MIGHT give him a chance.
Then again, the beating we gave him will probably make him hesitate to try his luck again. I'm not sure Hunger would forgive him a second time.
"Whoa, what happened to you, Aobaru?!" said Letrizia, bewildered.
"He has awakened to his destiny," Aeira confidently intoned.
"He went through a rebellious period, and was beaten very nearly to death!" Gisena cheerfully deduced, shifting to cross her delicate ankles. "But don't worry, it was just a phase. After all, even a Shogun must find an Emperor to serve!"
...
damn, Gisena. She's really quick on the uptake.
THen again, she IS still FAR beyond us in all mental fields/stats.
and hey, Aeira and Letrizia...
exist, I suppose!
"Yet a hero cannot live under a tyrant, no matter how well-intentioned." Hunger replied, looking intently Aobaru's way. "You would chafe under my restrictions, or simply defy me as you just did. Neither would lead to a peaceable end. If you are to be my lieutenant, it may be that you cannot remain a hero, and vice versa."
"I've thought about that," Aobaru said, "Yet there is still precedent for men and women of great ability to advance the interests of a capable and benevolent ruler. If the yoke of your tyranny is light, and the consequences positive, I can serve as a sort of wandering champion, pursuing our mutual interests even if outside of any formal command structure."
..that's reasonable, and probably the best we can get. A compromise that leaves everyone a bit unsatisfied, as it's normal.
The only problem remains the Chains of Fate enemy, though. We should have FAR outscaled him, so if we can quickly hunt it down, I'd be fine with Leaving Shogunbaru mostly free to do his thing.
"I may permit it," Hunger mused. Exhausted as he was, still the Realm remained easily biddable. "Though we'd have to witness the consequences in action after we bring the Human Sphere to heel. In the interim, defeating you has substantially improved my command over the light, warmth, and positive aspects of the Realm. Adorie is already enjoying the benefits within, but I can manage an adequate projection without. After Dien I believe we all deserve a bit of a respite."
...I actually forgot Adorie is not here!
and yeah, we still don't have free access to the Realm, so we can't go and enjoy the Gilded Cage immediately... It will be nice to see how our companions will react to it.
Letrizia in particular
"The stick and the carrot, huh?" Aobaru grimaced. "Well, Heroes have to rest too."
...heh, we have a
hell of a stick. And our carrot is similarly overwhelming.
"Take care that you do not yourself grow up to become a tyrant," Hunger cautioned. "After I am gone, this universe will likely be your responsibility."
"Yeah, I know." Aobaru answered cheekily. "Why do you think I'm putting up with you?"
"To ogle Gisena," Hunger replied dryly. "And, to survive. Live and grow strong, Chen Aobaru. The day will come when your sun also rises."
---
well, following Hunger DOES come with a LOTS of perks.
some of them have delicate ankles.
...not quite as eye-catching as dainty feet, I know. I suppose Gisena will keep this a Hunger-only perk, to motivate him in the future
still, no hard feelings, surprisingly. I suppose both sides understand why the other one did what they did, and when you TRULY understand the reasoning of each... it's hard to blame them for what they did and thought.
The conquest of the Human Sphere was little more than a formality; with his billion echoes and Novakhron at the ready, no province had the will, much less the ability, to contest his declaration of rule. Attramemnar defied him, of course, and was swiftly cut down, while Letrizia was elevated to Grand Duchess of the former Imperial territories - a role for which her fame, Rank and Element more than compensated for her relative lack of experience.
The remnants of Republic space began a slow process of painful reconstruction, as Gisena and the surviving Shards researched means to restore its once-teeming populace in body and spirit. And the Association, which had most vigorously opposed Hunger's rule, was brutally dismantled, its populace subject to iron restrictions on all scientific endeavors, that the recklessness of its laboratories never again endanger the greater universe.
So the empire wisely accepted (except for the Tyrant armament, but that was expected. Shame we couldn't just bond with it, like we did with the Decimator and Apocryphal armament though), the Republic doesn't really have anyone left to object...
...and the Association decided to be stupid stubborn. Sadly for them we're FAR beyond anything they could do, except maybe that Astral Vacuum thingy, but they don't have an Apocryphal helping things go horribly right for them now!
As for Hunger himself, he reigned, though he had little involvement in the day-to-day affairs of state, with the breadth and power of his extended Rank more than sufficing to enforce his will across the great circumference of the Sphere. He spent much time in the pursuit of advancement in the Praxis, or in further experimentation with the Realm, constantly honing himself for the threat he knew was inevitably on the horizon. Months passed, and no threat materialized, so he tripled his efforts afterwards in preparation for the surely greater dangers to come. He began to neglect even those modest duties appropriate and exclusive to the foremost head of state.
Such a lax approach to rule, over a territory so enormous, surely would have lead to collapse, or at least dissent, without the plethora of powers at his disposal, and the reliable aid of his Companions. At the very least, his populace was assured that their Supreme Commander was doing all in his power to protect their lives, if not their rights or livelihoods.
...yeah, Hunger has so much to worry about that he'd actually make for a VERY bad ruler, if it wasn't for all his supernatural powers.
Still, that's why we got
minions companions! To delegate!!!
It's not like we keep them around for the actual fights after all...
Truth be told, the Human Sphere was almost too small to contain a ruler of his power and ambitions, and at times he felt like a behemoth in a wading pool, more constrained by his territories than succored by them. He regretted that this universe contained no worthy prey for his Decimator's Affliction, and that he was forced to employ the Realm to sate it, diminishing it by minuscule but permanent portion in the process.
Fisher King isn't enough? shame...
Wait, Are you telling me that Hunger decided to sacrifice the realm instead of spending more time over creating adequate "hunger sated" targets? Or was he simply not able to create such at a sufficient rate?
I suppose those are the problems of growing too big for your own universe. If it wasn't for Indenture we could now leave for another dimension, and continue our growth.. but Indenture stops us from doing that.
One day Gisena sidled up to Hunger, while he held court in his extravagantly opulent and excessively immense antechamber, whose balustrades were the Pillars of Creation and ceiling, the night sky.
...What do the
Pillars of Creation actually look like?
"What do you want," grunted Lord Hunger, President and King of the New Republic, Sovereign of the Imperium, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Associated Territories, Lord High Champion of Nilfel, Emperor of the Voyaging, Industrial and Epistolary Realms and Supreme Commander of Mankind.
You know, Super-Tyrant would have worked too!
...on that note, apparently we also conquered the whole Voyaging Realm (or at least enough of it to be able to claim the title), but... what are the Industrial and Epistolary Realms?
are they actual OTHER self-contained universes like the VR? Is it the VR after Shogunbaru got his hands on the admin controls?
"Merely to comfort and abet you, my darling and dutiful King!" Gisena exclaimed happily, eyes lidded as she moulded herself against his side. Only the Princess-Regent and Lady High Administrator of his territories was allowed to be so familiar, and only by virtue of the workload that she voluntarily shouldered.
"Such nonsense," He scoffed, but dismissed the rest of the court.
"Great! Now that we have some privacy..." Gisena slid out of her jeweled heels, propping her feet upon the arch-lazulite throne in order to snuggle closer. Her voice dropped to an innocuous whisper. "It's been quiet for too long. But, I believe interesting times are coming again! Rumor has it that something's cropped up in the Epistolary Realm, a walking blot of disinformation that resists all forms of remote viewing... I dispatched a full legion of your echoes to investigate, but none so far have returned!"
... A small (I'm lying,
it's not small) part of me was hoping that this time Gisena was actually coming on to Hunger for real...
...Should I just give up hope?
"Nine months," Hunger rumbled, his fingers tensing upon the guard of his downthrust Blade. "And all the time we've spent in the Realm besides. A true test is coming. Good. I will regret anticipating it; but I was almost starting to get bored."
---
..yes Hunger, you WILL regret anticipating it.
in hindsight, Boredom will ALWAYS be something you'll miss once you don't have it.
...still, 9 months... Is it too much to hope that a romance developed in the background?
Also, I wonder if Shogunbaru still joined us for our monthly visits to the Evening Realm...
Hunger has acquired [X] Gilded Cage, [X] Fault-Defeating Stance and [X] Imprisoner's Refinement: Flood of Runes from his battles with Aobaru and then Dien, and trained extensively in the interim besides! Hopefully it will be enough to overcome this new escalation, this wandering foe that manifests apparently as a wound in the world...
Hunger also has additional Echoes appropriate to nine trips in the Realm of Evening, plus all the stats from Gilded Cage.
...uh. Not only Gilded and Fault, but also Flood of Runes!
is this another wish, or just the result of praxis training for 9 months?
well, let me search for the blurb again, I don't quite remember it...
Imprisoner's Refinement - 1 + 7 Praxis picks / 25 Arete
Req. Refinement of Purpose, Seal of Ruin, Inherit the World
Absorbs and re-purposes the Outer Shadow by way of the Praxis to more accurately express the Soul Evocation of its present wielder, the Imprisoner. No longer a stained-glass sprawl, now a tide of intricate blue runes, in movement like calligraphy graven across reality's flesh.
Practitioner may permanently inscribe other techniques of the Praxis into the Imprisoner's Shadow, thereby locking them "into place" within conceptual reality; reinforcing their strength and binding them to the practitioner, at some cost in utility and flexibility. Inscription is permanent save for the intercession of highly potent entities, well beyond any natives to this Geas world. There is no practical limit to the number of inscriptions that can be made, but each beyond the first requires a significant investment of effort and time. Mentally-focused techniques are usually less suitable. The mechanical benefits of Inherit the World are still retained.
Examples:
Refinement of Battle: The Best Defense - Increases the offensive multiplier by 70%, but reduces the defensive by 30%. Advantageous for Hunger who possesses the Power of Ruin.
Seal of Ruin: Flood of Runes - Cast time and endurance cost removed. Range reduced to the physical reach of the Imprisoner's Shadow, but can now affect any target it touches at 30% strength without reducing Hunger's Ruin Armor. Can still be used to wholly cocoon a target, thereby applying the full effect.
Refinement of Quickness: Always Forward - Reduces ISH elevation by 30% outside of combat or when fully retreating from conflict, but steadily ramps elevation by up to 2x if necessary to match an opponent still quicker than the Refinement-boosted practitioner.
well, pretty good, I don't really have anything else to add.
Choose one additional Imprisoner's Refinement target:
[ ] Refinement of Battle: The Best Defense - Increases the offensive multiplier by 70%, but reduces the defensive by 30%. Advantageous for Hunger who possesses the Power of Ruin.
oh, we get to choose another one!
well, this is a simple but VERY effective multiplier, especially thanks to our Ruin armor!
[ ] Refinement of Quickness: Always Forward - Reduces ISH elevation by 30% outside of combat or when fully retreating from conflict, but steadily ramps elevation by up to 2x if necessary to match an opponent still quicker than the Refinement-boosted practitioner.
...then again, this is basically an ISH boost to speed, which is obviously a good choice
[ ] Refinement of War: The Iron Fist - Causes the technique to become permanently active, at the cost of a permanent 90% investment of the character's present and future Praxis Endurance, and one half-stage reduction of his mitigation of the Tyrant's Doom. This may cause behavioral changes beyond that of an unmitigated Doom.
...the bonus is obviously the greatest one by far, but the costs are INCREDIBLY high.
... I don't know, really. I think I'd go for speed, because I'm a bit scared at the idea of a Hunger at >100% Tyrant's Doom. Then again, the immense power boost might actually be worth it...
well, let's see what domains we're offered now! 9 months means we're still in the first year of Fault-defeating stance, but also that we advanced as if we trained for... well, 900 months, plus the time in the RoE (which should be, I think, 3 weeks per month, or 3*9=27 extra weeks, or basically a little more than an extra 6 (x100) months.
Choose Hunger's Soul Evocation focus:
[ ] The Imprisoner True - The domains of Space and Law hold a special affinity for Hunger, and with their combined powers he has accessed many of the grandest applications of the Seven Seals, alongside universe-spanning control over distance, direction, location, and size. It is child's play for Hunger to reflexively reflect the attacks of his enemies, turn them inside-out, trap them within an infinite oubliette or shrink them to the size of a gluon. Creating pocket dimensions, bestriding the various Realms, harnessing resources from every corner of the universe seen and unseen - and applying his universal dominion throughout. Naturally, the space around Hunger's own person, his place of uttermost power, has become a sanctum nigh-unassailable whose very metaphysics exalt his every effort and oppress those of his enemies. Has great synergy with Adorie, who derives sympathetic potency from her mythic role as the Princess in the Tower. ++Adorie.
Space and Law, ++ Adorie... you know, I still find it sad that while both Accretion and Seven Seals/Soul Evocation got their chance to shine, we never even got to see Battle Magic.
It also seems like it was the odd one out. We met plenty of soul evocators in the temple, and Accretion is basically what the Armaments (but also some temple and Nilfel fighters) use, as do the various Shards... but we never met a user of Battle Magic.
In any case, this is a pretty simple combo, but an obviously good one. Still, I find myself not completely convinced.
It seems too straightforward, too easy. Let's see the next one!
[ ] The Tree of Liberty - Having been watered with blood aplenty, must now begin the process of healing. Hunger will focus his efforts on the domains of Life and Spirit, allowing him to fully restore the population of the Republic as well as infuse himself with illimitable might and vigor. Conceptual, adaptive, permanently empowering regeneration of the body and soul that makes even the Ring of Blood look laughable; modification and augmentation of the populace to apply Advanced Sublime Fulcrum templates without cost; elevation of existing Armaments to Novakhron's level; replicating and exceeding Dien's array of effects, and more. +Popularity, ++Echo Potency, +Letrizia. Upgrading Versch would give more +Letrizia but restoring the Republic cancels that.
...I find myself disappointed in Letrizia here.
In any case, this is the "help the common people" option. We're making everyone superhuman, which OBVIOUSLY makes us more popular. We're restoring what Dien corrupted. We're taking his powers for our own, and I imagine there's a decent chance of this also empowering Gisena by raising ambient Findross levels for her to drain.
An all around decent feel-good option., though even the super regeneration and boost it gives sounds much less useful than the Law-Space effects.
It would speak well of Hunger's character though, as it would show him actually doing good by his people.
[ ] The Master of Myths - Focus on broad-spectrum control over reality by improving the domains of Magic and Essence directly. Alongside a comprehensive suite of metamagic effects allowing him to heighten, co-opt, modify or nullify the magics of himself and others, Hunger will also be able to generally empower his other spells to reach a serviceable level of versatility in any Domain. Of course his efficacy in any Domain besides metamagic will be pathetic compared to the focused options here, but nonetheless overwhelming compared to a normal archmage. Also greatly strengthens the Power of Ruin. Synergizes well with the all-domain skill bonus granted by Gisena, and complements Gisena's abilities and identity in general. ++Gisena.
Basically a generalist approach, cheating the stance forcing you to focus on only two domains by improving the "improve everything" domains.
Utility, at the cost of power.
The fact we get to empower our allies AGAIN is also tempting. The templates are basically negligible anyway, unless we're going to apply a Legendary on GIsena (if we even can), while empowering Sharpbright, Vigorflame or Gisena's powers is obviously better.
Obviously doesn't do much for Adorie though.
I'll admit I'm tempted by Gisena's ++, and by being basically able to go for everything...but I'm again not fully convinced
I expect the next threat to possibly be the last one, so We might never get to choose a second combo. This one is important
(I notice I've been saying that "we're close to the end" quite often... but Hunger is simply becoming so strong that I have troubles imagining there are that many interesting challenges left that would actually make sense before the ISH grows too high.
Rihaku likes to say that you really can't write interesting stories about >4 ISH characters (or was it 5?), but I think the limit might actually even be a bit lower than that, unless you introduce some heavy limitations).
[ ] The Unending Hunger - A Cursebearer has one primary task: the mitigation of his shouldered burdens. Use the domains of Union and Artifice to manifest an even more outrageous version of I'll Form The Head; fusing with Gisena, Verschlengorge, the Forebear's Blade and an upgraded Novakhron to temporarily become a being capable of achieving an additional half-stage of Mitigation to all standard Curses, and an additional quarter-stage to the Apocryphal Curse. This combination of domains also grants the 'Compression' portion of Signature Compression Schema for free, allowing Novakhron to be used as human-sized armor, though without granting it enhanced Attributes in its full-sized incarnation. Hunger may optionally fuse Verschlengorge with Novakhron permanently to gain an even more powerful Implement. +1 Accursed Favor.
fusing with Gisena
fusing with Gisena! (And Verschle and Nova and our Blade!)
...lewd
[x] The Unending Hunger
well, an extra step of mitigation would mean the next proc should be that much weaker, while we also get the benefits of Nova's armor while human-sized.
...I think Letrizia might take Verschle being fused to Nova a bit badly though.
You see, THIS is why we should have captured the Tyrant Armament and used THAT ONE instead!
...by the way, in the end we never heard of an Indenture Armament. I suppose it wisely left this universe before we were sent here
2052 words
Incidentally, if you want to use the marks to spell something out, I'll note that if you want something potentially fitting for a Greedy Arcane Knight, I think you have enough entries to spell out GALAHAD⚔TEMPTED.