[X] Vendetta
[X] An Ending True [20 + X Arete]
Not only is An Ending True's an option that we can afford with our present Arete total, it provides the best odds of victory in exchange for expending that stockpile, complete with a mechanism for funneling more in. That level of granularity's rare and well-worth capitalizing on, because this isn't a moment to hold anything in reserve for future purchases. It's a full thirty Arete more efficient than its nearest equivalent! It also comes with Task Leeway; Hunger won't instantly lose via failing Indenture if the Human Sphere is destroyed, currently one of the Maiden's greatest advantages. The Arcanist's expertise with Foremost Runes is also an immense advantage against the Maiden, who's prohibited from employing them by Equinox Lacing's drawback.
But to speak solely of strategy does this option a disservice, given the enormity of what it entails. The sacrifice of a companion - not her life, but her very identity - on the altar of victory, paralleling the moment of Hunger's greatest loss and triumph. He would never choose An Ending True himself. But Hunger's not the one choosing what level of Vendetta to execute, if Gisena's past behavior's anything to go by. This is the woman who could've gone Broken Kaleidoscope without consulting anyone, who sacrificed the Ring of Truth to awaken Hunger's Soul Evocation, who would've let Nilfel burn to improve his odds against Procyon, who unlike her alternate-universe counterpart had the presence of mind to employ her Final Grace against Jotarun of Yor.
Holding information in reserve, deciding to implement a self-sacrificial gambit on her own initiative... it's all quite in-character. An Ending True is her choice, not Hunger's. When all hope seems lost and even our hero's inexorable determination is insufficient, of course Gisena Allria would swoop in at the last picosecond, smugly proclaiming a solution to Hunger's problems. The cost to herself, irrelevant given the stakes; the poignance and similarities to what's come before, merely data points in her calculations. To deny her this is an affront to her self-determination. And would a genius choose anything other than the option that provides the best odds of victory?
[X] An Ending True [20 + X Arete]
Not only is An Ending True's an option that we can afford with our present Arete total, it provides the best odds of victory in exchange for expending that stockpile, complete with a mechanism for funneling more in. That level of granularity's rare and well-worth capitalizing on, because this isn't a moment to hold anything in reserve for future purchases. It's a full thirty Arete more efficient than its nearest equivalent! It also comes with Task Leeway; Hunger won't instantly lose via failing Indenture if the Human Sphere is destroyed, currently one of the Maiden's greatest advantages. The Arcanist's expertise with Foremost Runes is also an immense advantage against the Maiden, who's prohibited from employing them by Equinox Lacing's drawback.
But to speak solely of strategy does this option a disservice, given the enormity of what it entails. The sacrifice of a companion - not her life, but her very identity - on the altar of victory, paralleling the moment of Hunger's greatest loss and triumph. He would never choose An Ending True himself. But Hunger's not the one choosing what level of Vendetta to execute, if Gisena's past behavior's anything to go by. This is the woman who could've gone Broken Kaleidoscope without consulting anyone, who sacrificed the Ring of Truth to awaken Hunger's Soul Evocation, who would've let Nilfel burn to improve his odds against Procyon, who unlike her alternate-universe counterpart had the presence of mind to employ her Final Grace against Jotarun of Yor.
Holding information in reserve, deciding to implement a self-sacrificial gambit on her own initiative... it's all quite in-character. An Ending True is her choice, not Hunger's. When all hope seems lost and even our hero's inexorable determination is insufficient, of course Gisena Allria would swoop in at the last picosecond, smugly proclaiming a solution to Hunger's problems. The cost to herself, irrelevant given the stakes; the poignance and similarities to what's come before, merely data points in her calculations. To deny her this is an affront to her self-determination. And would a genius choose anything other than the option that provides the best odds of victory?
