Well, Haeliel is an interesting enough character that... spending... 50 Arete on her isn't as painful anymore. The last part of the update is especially uplifting, as it seems to have infused Hunger with that ephemeral and fleeting feeling called hope. It's an acknowledgement and affirmation from a literal embodiment of Heroism and Justice (at last! too bad she didn't give us a Hand, but an eye, liver and lung are fine too), which likely means a lot to someone who was betrayed by the very people he tried to save after he sacrificed everything for it. To me this is the best part of choosing Haeliel as a contact and it made me much less worried about Hunger's mental stability, so picking her is probably a positive on the whole. Just ought to avoid thinking about all the other nice things we could have bought for that Arete.
So what to pick here? Or better asked, what are my priorities? I don't want Hunger to die, and seeing how the Accursed himself thought we wouldn't survive without this intervention, we should pick something that ensures our safety come next Apocryphal proc. I want to revive Catherine sometime before the epilogue, as I think getting her back is pretty important to Hunger, and this seems like the only option that would allow it. I want Haeliel to be a recurring character, since she is pretty fun and should offer good advice more often than not.
It would be nice to exalt Aobaru, but the option says it improves his potential, not his immediate power, so it's a longer-term thing. The Favor is a stupid amount of power and potential in one package for Hunger, but there is no room for yet another princess in this relationship chart picking it only leaves room for one other wish, and I'm quite hard-pressed to choose between them. Still tempted due to the potential 'Holy Shit, he's her protege' moments and the OaF booster, but no, I'll wait for something else to fill this Artifact slot. The dream of the Rod of Ages isn't dead yet, after all!
[X] "I wish my reprieve be deferred."
[X] "I wish for the Seraph's grace."
[X] "I wish for the Seraph's guidance."
So make a wish on a star, Hunger, and hope it will be enough.
Speaking of stars, we're getting an Evening Sky bonus after all, I see! I don't think I'm ambitious enough to pursue Night's Ambition in the face of our current challenges, though it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. The Evening Sky Signs provided so far have been pretty comprehensive, offering teleportation, offense, defense and utility. It's not impossible that the following ES Signs will fill other important holes in our arsenal, so we could ostensibly get a better set bonus... yet we wouldn't have it available during the next Apocryphal proc, and we would be more constrained in our choice of Signs. The first might not be as critical if we're using the Grace on the proc in our typically profligate way, and we could make up for the second in other ways, but I'm still hesitant to commit to this path.
Of the other three set bonuses, I'm least interested in Stars Align. The next Apo proc sounds like a threat to our life, thus I'm reluctant to expand our utility. And between attack and defense I admittedly favor the former. Yet the latter would allow us to be more reckless and to recover better, which is important if we're forced to deal with something else immediately afterwards.
Well, in the end I think the idea of telling our enemies that no, this isn't moonlight that's about to hit them, is pretty funny, so
[X] Moonlight Delusion
it is. Man, we are literally punishing people in the name of the Moon as a Pretty Soldier of Justice now, aren't we? All that's missing is a sailor suit...
