From: inthecards@l-net.grm
Subject: Tome-toting Potential Squire

Hey. We met outside the ASAGO building the other day. I told you I'd post something if my boyfriend needed a squire, and he said he wants to meet you before he makes any decisions. Feel free to stop by the Hallowbrook House in Oniga at your earliest convenience.

(( OOC note: can contact me on discord to set up timing! I'm SyntheticRose on the SL2 Discord channel. ))

I've been trying to this for all day. Once I happen to connect to Sigrogana. It remains on for only 5 ~ 10 seconds before disconnecting me and repeats the cycle. As you can see here.



And still on going. Fortunately it stops after five to seven disconnections. But once I finally click on the screen? Game crashes upon trying to load my character selection tab. And then I have to go again through the horror.

This isn't the first time I've had this. It doesn't happen frequently but it happened a lot to me. I'm going to list some stuff here just in case you need them.

Operating System: Windows 8.1
Internet Type: (I tried both a Wifi Adapter and an Ethernet Cable.)
Bandwidth Speed: 2 Megabit/s

A lone document lost in the Alstalsian forests, carried by the winds far from its home...
Report from Scout █████(MM-02-29007)
The monsters were well prepared to deal with the Grimalkin, if only due to their resistance to dark magic, judging by how little they seemed to be affected when struck with it. Few were capable of utilizing other magics, but, it was enough to save at least some lives. By the time my unit arrived, they had already reached the first floor, but were pushed back with the combined efforts of the already stationed guards and citizens. Casualties on the first floor were few, and we proceeded downwards, the guard tending to those wounded.

I am unsure if the blood on the steps were simply from the monsters that made it up, or from those who tried to escape. I paid it little heed as I refocused my attention upwards, the pathway was clear, though the sound of battle still rang out from within the caverns. We slowly proceeded, breaching each room as we passed, even if no noise could be heard.

The first room, we were met with terrified faces. At least eight citizens had constructed a barricade--that was now flattened--in there. They were escorted to the first floor by a fraction of my unit. As they left, one of the monsters burst from the third room, covered in blood, carrying two corpses on it. One on a hand, the other in its gaping maw. I did not hesitate to open fire on the monster’s head, which was quickly repeated by the majority of my remaining unit.

Riddled with bullets, the monster had only managed to leap forward in its death throes, barely scratching one of my unit with the claw that carried a body, falling lifeless afterwards. Upon inspection, it was not a corpse. They were alive, barely. My unit simply stared, the citizen stared back. I took it upon myself to raise my weapon, and fire at the citizen’s head. We could not afford to hesitate in our duty, and I made this clear to my unit.

We regrouped with the rest of my unit, and proceeded to breach the second room. A single citizen and her children were found hiding in a bed, and were escorted back by two of my unit--we proceeded onwards to check the third room while they did this.

The third, fourth, and fifth rooms were all vacated. Signs of battle were obviously apparent in them. Likely where the monsters who breached the first floor were prior. The exact details will be attached at the end of this report.

The final, sixth living quarters was breached without issue. Unlike the others, there were no signs of battle. The room must’ve been vacated before the fighting started. With all the civilian quarters checked, we proceeded toward the courtyard, which happened to be where most of the noise had been coming from.

Screams of various tones filled the air, deafening as we descended the steps down into the courtyard proper. The enemy was abundant here, orders did not need be spoken, they were felt. Within seconds our unit had downed one of the monsters in a hail of gunfire. I yelled our next priority target’s direction, and the process continued.

Chaos acted as our shield for some time as we began to whittle at their numbers ever so slightly. One of my unit yelled out, seeing a monster that looked different. ██████████████. We didn’t have time to focus our attention on it, as the monsters had realized we were here, and began to strike back.

A healthy monster was much more threatening than an injured one, like the first we’d encountered. I saw a shadow descend nearby, and resounding thud followed by scraping, drawing my attention to the source--one of the monsters had pinned one of my unit mere inches from me. Quickly afterwards, the monster’s neck was carved into by the downed unit. I fired a single shot into the monster’s head before looking away, yelling new orders to my unit.

We were still missing those who had escorted the civilians of room two, we could only pray they were returning with reinforcements. What remained of my unit began to move around the outskirts of the courtyard, in an attempt to group with what fighters still remained in battle with the monsters. One of my unit stated they saw some civilians in the center, thus, we turned and made our way there.

Many monsters stood between us and the center. I counted at least five--considering their size, it could’ve proved hazardous to our unit of now seven. I took aim, ordering our unit to split into pairs--leaving myself alone, and opened fire on the closest monster.

Luckily whoever was fighting in the center had attracted many of the monster’s attention, allowing us to injure if not down several of the monsters before they could react. When they did, our unit had to split further apart once the remaining monsters approached.

One monster who turned to face us--me, specifically, lurched only a few inches before stopping. A spear piercing its mouth from behind. The weapon was twisted several times before vanishing behind the creature before it fell over, presumably dead. My rifle was raised at it already, though this prepared me for what it would reveal.

The monster’s killer was █████████████████. I caught a glimpse of what I presume was her daughter, and another monster. Her attention quickly turned back that way, my vision of the other civilian obstructed by her. I lifted my rifle upwards at what I could still see--the monster’s head, and fired several times.

It fell backwards from the assault of both myself and ███████, though I could not clearly see what she was doing. As I went to approach, the ███████ monster intercepted me, appearing behind ███████, between myself and her. By the time my weapon was raised, ███████ was likely attacked.

A bolt of lightning flew over my head and at the ██████ monster, causing it to jerk upright in pain and lose its hold on ███████. I wasted no time opening fire on it, though it quickly retreated, taking several of my shots into its back with seemingly little effect.

I looked around myself, the room slowly growing silent. The monsters were all fleeing, the screams dying down to whines. I took this time to look behind myself. The ███████ had arrived with the remainder of my unit, and several more guardsman. He quickly ordered them to gather ███████ before walking forward himself.

From there we gathered the dead and wounded, as the guardsman took watch of the courtyard.

NOTES:

Room One - Fortified shelter, minimal damage aside from the broken door. Upon later inspection, the door appears to have been damaged prior to the breach, faint traces of blood present on the front.
*The paper appears to be torn here, whatever was below this point is gone.*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9opZi6PluKI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mpkXRgT7os

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am4qQ9jB4xQ

Unlike the Charge weapon skill which resets/increases the charge statuses duration, conversion gloves doesn't reset or increase the duration of the status.

With a shock collar and conversion gloves, you cannot reach charge rank 3, it expires at the end of the round when you get shocked.

The status is bumped up to rank 3 then expires immediately.

I made this thread because it was too dumb not to. I noticed hidden cut wasn't working - because I didn't have it equipped! And I was balls deep in testing and posting a Bug Report before I realized WHY it wasn't working. The fault is twofold; one because I'm used to having it equipped but no longer had the skill slots for it due to an LE, and also because I've been awake for barely a half hour after some very trippy dreams and only getting like 4 hours of sleep. So basically, it's all on me, and I deserve to be laughed at.

So here is the bug report in it's entirety of what I already had done. Enjoy.


Title: Hidden What [Kensei]


Hidden cut seems to not be triggering.

Details of the test:
Equipment: Cursed Katana + Sayakensa
Rank 1 Sheath Sword. Rank 5 Hidden Cut.
Rank 5 Kagekiri


TEST ONE: KAGEKIRI WITH SAYAKENSA:

[REDACTED]'s turn.
M.TYPE - STANDARD Arena Combatant takes 77 Darkness damage. [i]

A flyer is passed to you.

It has colorful decorations, speaking of a wonderful circus in the desert of Gold. Entertainment abound, wonderful songs, performances by the weird and different acts put on by unique people. The person handing out flyers, a jester dressed in purple, red, and blue, grins at you in a silly, yet friendly manner.

“Drop by and see us!” He speaks, spinning around on the ball he rides, before bouncing away,”Drop by and see us!”

You contemplate going for a few moments, staring down at the flyer, before pocketing it.

It couldn’t hurt to go, would it?

----

The desert’s sand is surprisingly soft as you step through it. You read the poster some more, and it said to come at evening time, in order for the effects to be even more spectacular. Several others seem to be following you, curiousity having gotten the best of them, as it did you. The night sky is pretty, clear without a single cloud in the sky.

In the distance you see a tent nearby a small oasis of sorts. The tent is large. It reminds you of the Badlands Arena, actually. Lights surround the large tent, and people are crowding around. The smell of popped corn kernels wafts towards your nostrils, as well. It really is a circus, through and through.

You step inside, glancing around. The tent inside has several stands nearby the entrance, with seats everywhere around a large circle, strangely there is a fence between the seats and the stage. Probably for the animals, you think. Vendors sell their wares, and you get yourself some food before sitting down.

You’re chewing on your popcorn when you hear a gasp. Several gasps, in fact. Turning your head, you catch sight of something quite strange making its way behind curtains in the stage. Squinting, you catch it before the drapes close completely.

Strange. You swear you saw someone with two heads. Maybe something is in the popcorn.

It takes some time for the show to start, and soon the seats are filled. You relax in your chair and wait, sipping on some fresh, albeit warm, water.

The lights around the area dim, probably through magic of some sort. It focuses upon the stage, behind the fence that resembles a cage, and you watch, entranced.

A girl flutters down, then, towards the middle of the large stage. She looks young, with long red hair and piercing red eyes. She looks like a Hyattr, judging by the wings. You suppose she’s the host.

“Welcome~” She cheerfully calls out towards everyone, shouting as loud as she can. “Thank you for coming to the Sandy Eye’d Circus. We have many treats for you today! Wondrous creatures like you’ve never seen, daring acts that no sane person would do!” She flaps her wings, flying upwards once more and twirling around in the air.

People clap, and you think it’s automatic, as you find yourself doing it, too.

“First!” The girl shouts,”My name is Nora! Pleasure to meet you all! For our first act, we shall show you an -interesting- creature today. Such is a thing of deformity, it’s disgusting and yet so intriguing! Welcome our ‘performer’, The Alex and Alex!”

You look towards the entrance to the stage, and the lights also focus on it. The curtains spread, and out steps… Something. Many people gasp and point in either amazement or confusion. You stare.

What stands there is a person, with two heads. One looks very clearly feminine, with her hair tied up neatly and with a white bow. Then the other is masculine, hair combed through neatly. Despite this, they wear make-up,similar to a clown, and even sport pointed shoes, and the frilly collar. The… person, makes their way forward, stumbling as if on feet that they don’t know how to use.

They fall before even getting to the center, and the host laughs. The audience simply laughs along as well.

Both heads let out a groan, before they stand once more. They throw their hands upwards, seeming to wait for something. There’s silence for a second, before a whistle sounds out.

Immediately, The Alexes begin to jump to and fro, agile despite having two heads and a wider body. From the curtains comes what appears to be a wolf of sorts. It looks starved, but you pay that no mind. The wolf darts towards the two-headed creature, and they seem to dodge around easily, seeming to be focused entirely on it, in fact.

You watch in awe, wondering how they move so easily. That is until they end up tripping, twisting their ankle and falling. The female head lets out a gasp, staring at the wolf. One of their hands reaches out to try and crawl away.

The wolf tears into the male’s neck before they can get away.

Gasps and cries of concern surround you, but the host simply laughs, going to flap her wings and swoop down, kicking at the wolf. She holds out a slab of meat, tossing it into the entryway. The wolf quickly follows.

“Oops~” Nora calls,”Seems they didn’t do that well. Don’t worry, this won’t be going to waste. And no worries about them! They’ll be fine!” Despite what the host says, you seem unsettled about it. Yet the people around you seem to calm down at that, some even clapping at the act.

“The next one is a beast very terrible! Monstrous even! He eats things that are both warm and cold… Why don’t we demonstrate?” She grins brightly, showing sharp teeth, before flying back upwards.

The sound of chains, jingling and dragging. From the stage entrance, a being with black unruly hair, and sunken deep red eyes, steps forward. Wrapped in a straight jacket and chains, the creature just steps towards the twitching Alexes. Upon getting there, without even waiting, the creature in humanoid form crouches down and begins to tear into the clown-dressed, two-headed person.

“No person was harmed during this,”Nora reminds the crowd, and people around you actually begin cheering. “We call this one Sora. He’s a terrifying creature, isn’t he? Only craves certain meats!”

You don’t know how to take this, other than to see these ‘Performers’ as animals more than people, as that’s what they are. Besides, this place is near Law’s End, it’s alright to indulge, isn’t it?

So you clap along, watching the creature known as Sora devour The Alexes in a messy, bloody manner.

Someone is daring, and, through the fence, they throw a meatball of sorts through the holes. It hits Sora on the head.

The creature stops eating, and stares at the person who threw it. It then suddenly charges straight at them, snapping and growling, chewing at the fence and trying to break free. Claws of carapace tear through the straight jacket, and at this point, it’s only the chains that hold him back.

“Oh my! Guess we’ve a small problem! Please don’t throw food at our performers, it makes them distracted!” Nora cheerfully says, flying down and striking at the creature’s head. A snapping sound, and the creature is on the ground, twitching. “We’ll take a small break~”

The lights fade, and soon they go back to normal, how things were before the beginning of the show. People stand up and begin to mill about. You stare as ‘Sora’ is dragged back into the curtains, along with what remains of the two-headed monstrosity.

You stand, curiously walking around towards where they disappeared. No one seems to notice or pay mind to you, and soon enough you find yourself outside. No one else is out here. You meander towards where the extra part of the tent is, supposedly where the performers are. Squinting, you hear something, and… You see a hole in the tent.

You squint, leaning forward to stare inside.

“H-h-he...Help…,”Gurghled a female voice, and you see The Alexes, lying there and bleeding out. Sora looks like he wants to lash out and finish them up.

“No no no, you -failed-, you’re not getting fixed up at all. Look, your brother’s all dead and stuff.” Nora pouts, crossing her arms. She turns her head, petting Sora on the head,”There there, you’ll get food soon.”

Someone else steps forward, and speaks in a quiet voice,”...I’m ready.” You turn your eye, and see another deformity before you.

Standing there appears to be a woman with multiple arms, two holding an instrument, a mandolin. She also has the bottom of a donkey, it seems. What sort of monstrosity is this, you wonder? But at the same time, you sort of feel bad for her.

“Good. I’ll go cheer the crowd up, you better not mess up like the others.” Nora scoffed, before leaving.

Silence follows, before the woman with white hair turns and stares at The Alexes. She has a smile plastered on her face, but she looks sad at the same time. Reaching a hand forward, she gently strokes at the female’s hair.

“I’m sorry…” She murmurs, looking like she might cry.

You take a step back, eyes widening. That scene is sobering to you. These aren’t monsters. These are people. These are people and you watched them in their mutilated forms.

“What are you doing here?”

You feel something hit your head, and you fall unconscious.

“...Ah, oh well~ Another performer for the bunch!”

Occasionally, a player's Marching Band song seems to be considered as 'default music' as it pertains to the Preferences setting 'Music: Custom Only.' By which I mean, even when set to 'Custom Only,' many battles are devoid of any music whatsoever. Over 50% of them, in fact, even while partying with a player who has set their marching band to Override On.

Being treated as a status effect, Skip doesn't have its duration lowered between Round 0 (back-attack) and Round 1. Additionally, skills that increase the duration of a positive status effect (like Meditation) affect Skip as well, generally leading to being forced to skip two rounds in a row (which isn't really an ideal situation most of the time).

Sigrogana, the Promised Land. It’s said that this is one of the continents not cursed by a god, not plagued by corruption. Pure. Yet there are ways that it keeps itself like this.

Every fifty years, there must be a ‘savior’ that goes to the Temple of Acceptance. The reason for this, is that the Savior must plead to the gods, for the world to remain prosperous, lush, and rich with life. Should the Savior fail, then the world would come to ruin, for that meant that the people of the land were selfish, despite the gods giving their wonders to them.

The Temple of Acceptance is found in the ruins past the God Grave of Charachin. The temple leads underground, and only the Savior has the ability to open the Temple.

They then must first travel through and obtain all nine Blessings of the Gods, so that they are prepared for the speaking with the Gods. These Blessings are said to be wondrous, powerful, and strong.

Once again, it is time for the Savior to appear, and to complete the ritual as all Saviors have done, where they ascend to be a servant of the Gods.

Yet they are not alone this time.

-----

He had this strange way of his, that he’d make the weirdest friends, and at times, he even managed to make people become friends with others that they didn’t even know they could get along with. The kid was pretty normal otherwise, aside from being artificially made from a tree and all.

His name was Daniel Cuno. He was approximately ‘16’. At least, that’s what he said his age was. He was a simple delivery boy for his mother. He made many friends on his travels, however. Some he accidentally befriended, but nonetheless, some were bitter, others were downright rude, some were a bit goofy, and even then, he didn’t mind. They were all friends.

One of them was named Kevin. He was also a bit of a simple fellow, a Glykin who ran a shop. He was kind and about as goofy as Daniel himself was. He was always up for chatting, and was often seen as a laid-back type of person. Despite his occupation, he was quite a strong person when it came to fighting, as well. Daniel began their friendship upon delivering something to his shop, and they began talking, and almost never stopped!

Another person was named Delphia. She was a strange one, really. Some people could see her as random or queer. Yet she often times didn’t let people bring her down. She was a very strong woman, wielding a sword made of crystal. Daniel and Delphia bonded through their shared heritage-being Mechanations. Although Daniel didn’t share her dislike for humans, indeed he treasured his mother, he understood why.

The next person that he met was someone named Tobias. Tobias was a very kind man. He was a man of the church, a priest of Mercala herself. He followed the tenets closely, and was always willing to open his arms and give an open ear. Daniel naturally befriended him simply by sitting down nearby and beginning to speak. Such friendships really are simple like that, believe it or not.

He met Ess along with Tobias, actually. Ess was an elf, and also a priest. He was good friends with Tobias, but took things in a different light. Ess found that even the damned should be given a chance. Remnants and Manes together, they deserved a decision to be cleansed or released into the next life. Daniel had quite a few questions for the elf, and he would gladly answer, if only to educate the other about such things.

York was a strange person, even to Daniel. He was a smoker, and Daniel always coughed whenever the smoke got too close. Many would see the man as rude and too blunt. Daniel thought of him as a cool weirdo. It was strange that they became friends, but the mechanation was quite sure that they could be, eventually York just let up. Still guarded, but they could be friends for now. Maybe even the others too, as long as the Priests and the Monk stayed quiet about the damn gods and goddesses.

She was originally called ‘Bitch’, though Daniel really did hate calling her that. Eventually he learned her name, her ‘real’ name, being Lyra. She often was found talking or fighting-dancing-with York. That was how Daniel met her. She was similar to the man, which she loved to walk everywhere, but she was more outwardly hostile. That didn’t stop him from trying to befriend her, however. She relented, but she swore it was only so he would stop trying to hug her.

Jim Jones Jr. That was the full name of the guard that Daniel befriended. He was a bit silly, too. Reading comics constantly, even while on duty, he often gushed about the contents when he could. Daniel was curious about such things, so he was always willing to lend an open ear to the young guard. They met more by chance than anything. If Daniel had to say, he really did enjoy his time with Jim. Eventually he even introduced the guy to his other friends, allowing the gushing to continue.

Windfather was a cool person! Literally, actually. He was someone that Daniel always loved listening to, because he was full of passion about what he believed in, Mother Gaia and such. Daniel was tempted to join in the religion, too! Too bad his mother didn’t let him. That said, he allowed the mechanation to befriend him and the others at the temple. Windfather was kind, so long as his passions didn’t get in the way of things.

Finally, there was Sol. Sol was a very kind person, too! Like his name, he could be sunny. At the same, he could burn those that he saw deserved it. Daniel grinned whenever he saw the happy man, because he knew that happy times were to come. Such a strong man, too, for a simple tea-maker. If Daniel had to describe Sol as one thing, he would have to say it was ‘Terrifyingly Kind’. Ah, that’s two words.

All of these people, Daniel loved talking to each of them for different reasons. At the same time, he tried his best to get them to socialize with each other. It was hard at first, but eventually he managed. They all came together sometimes just to chat. Sometimes fight, sometimes play ‘games’. Juvenile things, really, but Daniel was happy with how things were. It was simple, clean, and innocent, the way he viewed them.

Things changed upon an Oracle coming to Daniel, one day. Now, he’d heard of the legend of a Savior needing to go to that Temple of Whatever, but he never expected… Well, -himself- to be chosen. The Oracle spoke.

“You are the chosen Savior. You must do as you are meant to. There’s no going against it.”

He thought it a joke at first, but the Oracle looked so serious about it. Upon speaking to his mother, Mariah, she confirmed it. That he was meant to be a servant to gods, even though he was so artificial.

The thought scared him.

So when he brought the subject to his group of friends, they all stared, before beginning to speak, some in encouragement, some in a cynical manner, some in an unsure manner.

“It’s an honor! Think I could help?” questioned Tobias, smile as innocent as usual.

“It’s a large duty, but you’re strong, I trust you can do it,”Ess nodded with a friendly grin, reassuring the mechanation.

“Uh, wow! Who would’ve thought? Must be nerve wracking,”Commented Kevin, scratching at his cheek.

“... Will you be alright?” asked Delphia, frowning a little bit.

“Feh, Gods and their damn things. Shame they have to force this shit onto you,”York simply said, smug look staying, but he seemed disinterested.

“Can you decide to say ‘Fuck them’, by chance?” Lyra questioned, raising a brow, about as interested as her fellow Shaitan.

“This sounds exactly like something I read,”Jim let out a small laugh,”Good luck!”

“You’ll be able to speak to Gaia! You’re going to be blessed with such things, be proud, be so glad!” Windfather cheered, grinning as he always did.

“Ah… That’s a shame, isn’t it?” Sol kept his serene smile, but he seemed like he’d been thinking about other things.

Daniel just gave a smile towards them all, before lowering his head. He was nervous about it, becoming the servant to gods, that sounded hard!

“...Hey,”Delphia began,”Think...Think maybe we can follow you there? You know, to cheer you on.” She put on a smile afterwards, her blue eyes scanning the others for their reaction. It seemed that they were quiet, before looking back at Daniel.

“Uhm… Hm. Well!”The younger mech began,”I think that would be cool! That way you can cheer me on the quest and you can maybe help me get there in the first place, cause I’m not the strongest and you know, it’d be good that I can get there in the first place and stuff because if I didn’t then it’d be a shame and-”

“Then it’s settled,”Sol interrupted with a chortle,”Let’s head off with you. After all, your joys and pains should be shared. I’m curious to see.”

It didn’t take too long for them to become prepared, as it was a journey to the Jammer Caverns, deep underground. Daniel never knew the directions to the Temple, but he was given a map, while the others were preparing. He thanked the Oracle, bid his mother goodbye.

Then he and his nine friends left.

The trek out towards the temple took several days, as it was much deeper than he assumed it would be. When they got there, he couldn’t help but gawk up at the structure that was there.

The temple itself was more like a tower than anything else, with its base being the largest, and it becoming thinner near the top. Staring upwards, he could even see the sky, as there was a hole in the ceiling of the caverns. It was so high up, though. The sun bore down upon the wondrous stone temple. He simply turned towards his friends, punching at the air in enthusiasm. Now all that was left was the blessings, and then… Then everything would be complete.

Placing his hand upon the door, it began to glow, as if sensing that he was the supposed Savior. It swung its old doors open, revealing the main entryway.

There were several doors, and a spiral staircase leading to more doors. Nine in total. Daniel stared in awe, and several of his friends commented.

“Pretty decent place for never being fucking used…,”Lyra grumbled, her clawed hands still stuffed in her pockets.

Daniel glanced back down at the pamphlet in his hand,”Well, the first blessing should be on the first floor. Called…’The Blooming Wave’.”

As he spoke, the very first door, off to their left, began to glow a great blue color. He turned towards it curiously, before smiling and walking forward.

“Hey,”Kevin called out,”Can I come watch?” He stepped forward as he questioned. Daniel glanced towards the green-haired man, and nodded. The double doors opened up, and they both stepped inside.

There was a pedestal there, housing a large rune. It was glowing a blue, and seemed to emulate the great crashing of waters’ waves.

“So this is the blessing,”Daniel commented, reaching a hand forward,”Alright! First one down~”

He wasn’t expecting someone to suddenly grab him by the collar of his shirt and toss him backwards with a great amount of force. He let out a squawk, rolling around and out of the room.

“First one, and it’s mine,”Kevin suddenly said, an uncharacteristic grin overtaking his face. He glanced back, before reaching to grab at the rune himself. Just then, blue light enveloped the room, and the doors slammed shut.

Daniel sat up, eyes wide. He stared around in confusion, before turning towards the others.

“What just happened?” He asked.

Lyra snorted, before looking to the side,”Come on, you really thought that we’d come here for nothing? Blessing of the god or not, they’re strength. I’m getting some of that shit,”She stepped towards one of the doors, just as it began to glow red. Shoving it open, she bore witness to a great orange rune, flames licking its lines. She glanced backwards, eyeing York, before the room was shut off.

“W-wait! I need the blessings!” Daniel called out, standing up. Only for Ess to shove him down.

“I’ll obtain the power of the sun myself. You’re too weak for this,”He simply scolded, before hurrying towards another door. It swung open, and he took a step inside. A rune that looked like a signature of the sun shown brightly, before that room, too, was closed off.

“Ess!”Called out Tobias, looking irritated. He growled, before turning and running towards the stairs, a dark purple coming from the door ahead. He ran straight in, and Daniel couldn’t see anything but darkness before it slammed shut.

“Guys, please stop!” Daniel cried out, standing up to his feet once more, yet by that time, everyone had scattered. Everyone ran, to gain the glory that Daniel was supposed to receive.

“This is… just like the comics. I’ll become strong!” The young guard called out, reaching for another door. Shoving it open, he could see a rune, glowing a golden yellow, rocks tumbling down, the element of Earth.

That door shut rapidly.

Delphia herself had hurried up the stairs, electricity colored blue at her heels. She stared down at Daniel, scowling,”I’ll become stronger than anyone,”She scoffed, turning her nose upwards, before entering another room. This one also had a rune that was colored yellow, electricity and bolts of lightning being shown upon the rune, before it was closed off.

“I’ll be closer to Gaia… Just watch!” Windfather cheered, leaping upwards and into one of the rooms. Strong gusts collected in the room, and a green rune appeared, with billowing winds being its symbol. The room shut slower this time, but Daniel was still too slow to stop him.

Only two more blessings left. York had made his merry way, strolling over towards the door with a bright white. He kicked it open, before stepping inside, glancing around. Inside was a rune, colored a bright blue, a cold chill coming off. The shaitan turned his head, giving a two-fingered salute towards the remainders,”Fuck the gods’ choices.” He simply said, before the doors shut.

It was only Daniel and Sol left, after that. Only one blessing left. Sol gave a gentle smile towards the young mechanation, gently petting his head in reassurance.

Before blasting him back with wind, of course.

Sol ran into the final door, the rune hot red, with rolling waves of magma signifying its ties to nairyf. He lifted his hand, before giving a smirk towards Daniel. He said nothing as the door came shut.

Daniel sat there, all the blessings taken. His brown eyes were wide with shock, and then he simply slumped down where he was. Had greed really changed his friends like so? He let out a quiet sob, feeling betrayed.

Thunk.

The boy jolted, looking upwards. From where he sat, he could see something at the top. Sniffing quietly, he simply stood up, going to begin to walk up the stairs. He failed his quest, what more was there to it? He’d apologize, at the very least…

Upon reaching the top, he squinted as sunlight bore down.

He was at the top of the very tall temple. Staring downwards, he just stepped forward, not seeming to take note of the altar with a singular torch, unlit, seeming to be there. Several more statues holding candles surrounded the round roof.

Daniel remained silent, before hearing something… His eyes widened.

“The blessing-” The first voice, light and motherly, spoke.

“The atonement-” The second voice, dark and grumbling, growled.

“Meant for the Savior.”

“Meant for the Lamb.”

“Nine sacrifices were instead given.” They spoke together, in unison.

The mechanation stared upwards, Focus began to flow everywhere. Each candle was lit in a different color. Blue, Orange, Bright yellow, Golden Yellow, Electric Yellow, Mint Green, Icy Blue, and Ruby Red.

He suddenly collapsed down to his knees, realization taking over his mind. His friends hadn’t taken the blessings from him at all.

They’d saved him.

‘The Shopkeeper, Drowned in the Blooming Waves’
‘The Clawed Fighter, trapped within the Fire Banquet’
‘The Elven Priest, brought to his knees by the drought of the Grace of Sunlight’
‘The Umbral Priest, forever surrounded by the Peaceful Darkness’
‘The Humble Guard, crushed by the Trembling Ground’
‘The Blue Joker, forever electrocuted by the Rumbling Lightning’
‘The Windfather, torn apart by the Rondo of Whirlwinds’
‘The Clawed Smoker, frozen to his soul by the Garden of Silver Snow’
‘The Smiling Tea-maker, forever made to crawl through the Magma’s Gate’

Daniel laughed quietly, stepping forward. He wobbled, before staring at the altar with the unlit torch.

He reached his hand forward.

-----------------

((This story is based off of the song ‘Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI’))