⬣//SPREAD, CONTAMINATE, ERADICATE

[cccorp]

>>Famine // >>Death // >>War // >>Conquest

⬣//AN ILL OMEN

You've had a chance to adapt to your new circumstances and make peace with what your life has become… hopefully. If you haven't, don't expect life to get any easier.

A few things have changed in recent days. Healing no longer works as effectively as it did in the past. If you're in the habit of behaving recklessly, don't expect one of Fragment's few healers to pick up the slack. Broken bones will now remain broken no matter how many healing spells are cast on your shattered limbs. Damage to organs can't be repaired with the wave of a wand.

What's more, HP and SP restoring items have gotten harder and harder to come by. Potions are no longer available for purchase at generic NPC shops and gatherable items needed for crafting have become fewer and fewer in number, limiting your item making options. If you've gotten into the bad habit of injuring yourself heedless of the consequences, it's time to rethink your lifestyle. Playtime is over.

⬣//PAY IT NO MIND

Think of the three core memories that have formed and shaped the person you are today. Some will think back fondly on family and friends while others have been jaded by the ill treatment they've received from important figures in their lives. In any case, it's of little concern to you now. One of those three precious memories has vacated your mind, taking with it a vital piece of you that you can no longer get back.

You may choose one of the three key memories listed on your application to be taken away from your character. Choices are limited to the memories supplied in your application and additional memories submitted for the previous memshare event or not eligible for convenient plot-induced memory loss. Choose wisely, because you aren't getting it back.

⬣//GHOSTS AND GOBLINS

And Sky Fish, and Disco Knives, and Evil Armors…

Has anyone noticed the monsters around town lately? Which town, you may ask? The answer is all of them.

Monsters have invaded Root Towns in large waves, attacking anything and everything in sight. Any lovingly crafted signs or other furnishings you've erected around town are easily torn to shreds and destroyed by the monsters who have come to roost in your once safe Root Towns. On the plus side, PvE and PvP has now been enabled in all Root Towns, which is excellent news for those who wish to combat the monster invasion and those who can't seem to help hurting themselves and others.

These monsters range in level from 50 to 75, and while many of them can be defeated with a bit of ingenuity and teamwork, some of them boast impenetrable shields that no regular attacks or spells can break through. They are also immune to status/potion/armor effects.

When in doubt, turn to your fellow players for support. There may be some among you who know how to deal with these impossibly strong monsters, but there's no guarantee that they'll want to help you.

⬣//WHISPERS ON THE WIND

A lilting, boyish voice sings to you in your sleep. His voice sounds familiar to you, tickling your heart like a call from an old friend, but this is no friend of yours.

"You had every chance to abandon this world and return to your own. What stopped you? Was it ego? Hubris? In any case, it's too late for regrets now.

They say the world is what you make of it. Doesn't the same hold true for reality?"

The voice will periodically visit you and your sleep, but the moral of his message never changes: you did this to yourself. You were trapped here because you chose to look the other way. If anyone is to blame for the current situation, it's you and you alone, but there is a̸̬̲͔̘͈͚̠̫̘̬̗̖̋͑̉̓̿͛̈́̋͐̃̾̈̕̕ͅń̵̩̱̠̫̖̬̲̻͉̝̈́̀̀̚͜͜o̴͍͎̣͔̤̝̲͍̺̿̒t̴̨͚͓͍̜̮̥͊͑̿̈́̉̂̐͜͠͝h̷̨̨̦͕͖̙̞͙̗̗͎̬͛̂̾̋̅͜͜͝ȩ̸͎̭̙̜̯͎̯̳̮̘̲͒ȑ̸̡̧̢͓̠̦͙͇͍͎̭͑̈́̓̿̓̅̑̅̌͑̈́̕͝͝ ̴̧̼͕̟̬̰̞̮̗͔͈̬̙͍̈́̀w̵̗̖̩̘͇͖̲̩̫̣̗̙̲̌͜a̷̛͎͋͑̃͛̆̈̋̑̋͠y̴̡̬͕͈̗̫̯̟̯͊͐̌̀̐͑͘͝͝.

Another h̶̦̘̤̘͐͑̿̂̏̎͋͝o̴̧͖͚̖̜͓͂̏́͒̑̈́͝͝p̶̡͙̏̉̿̎̀̑́̈̆͌̉e̷̡̡̦̣̯̘̺͍̟̰͍̤͛̀́̚͝͠. Will you heed that voice and call to it?

>>Navigation

Comments

[glassbell]

[ Wheeze. ]

Probably. If your healing can still give me a blood transfusion, I think it'll be weird for a while.

[ What's he gonna do about it? Hit him with his magic or his staff— Wait shit PVP is enabled, fuck. ]

Mm-hm. I'm surprised you didn't just leave me. I couldn't even blame you when supplies are limited and you look like... You've seen better days.

[selfconcept]

[ He is a DPS Harvest Cleric. Try him. ]

I am the Head Administrator.

[ For once, he'll speak with authority with the title. ]

Limited supplies means nothing to me. I don't know if I've seen better days. Can't remember jack shit.

[ Furin can probably just hear the scowl behind the bandages. ]

You're important to someone. You mean something to someone, so I won't let you die like that.

[ Hien feels like he can finally admit something like that. It feels freeing. Even though Furin's HP is topped off, Hien casts another 100% HP healing spell. ]

[glassbell]

...

[ DPS him back to 1 HP then, Furin's going to get up from the tarp and give Hien a hug. ]

Okay. Thanks.

[selfconcept]

Wait--

[ Ugh! He's being hugged!!

...

Hien is a little huffy at that, but he sighs and pats his back, gently putting him back down on the tarp. ]

Get back down. You're still recovering.

[glassbell]

[ He was expecting worse but does not mind the response beyond a small oof when he's put back lying down. ]

I feel fine.

[selfconcept]

No combat for two days.

[ aka he's not having it, Furin! ]

If you try giving me another hug, it'll be three.

[glassbell]

Got it.

[ He will take that seriously, at least. ]

Have any ideas what to do instead?

[selfconcept]

How good are you at strategizing? You can come up with a plan for your friends to make it efficient. I know you have several in the group of beta testers.

[ But whether they're Furin's friends, he doesn't know that. ]

[glassbell]

Not very.

[ Honesty... ]

But that makes sense. I should also get some levels and new gear. The other way.

[ Shopping time. ]

[selfconcept]

[ It's the safest option, so it's not like Hien will go against that. Shopping, it is. ]

Have you been using the level cap gear that they give you?

[glassbell]

I don't have the level cap gear for 50 or 75.

[ Level 45... Unfortunate. ]

Weren't they kind of strange as level cap gear...?

[ He thinks someone mentioned theirs as being less than ideal with the big death penalty, but his head has been diagnosed by Dr. Hien as "not fully recovered". ]

[selfconcept]

... That's because level cap gears weren't supposed to exist in the first place. Someone else made them, and you shouldn't get close to them. Ever.

[ He may have a mummyhead, but he's staring at Furin very, very strongly. ]

Do you understand?

[glassbell]

[ A chill runs down his spine. ]

...Understood. Should we get rid of them?

[selfconcept]

... I meant to its creator. I don't have any of the gear myself, but I can't doubt their usefulness.

[ Their stats are also the highest for that level cap, so Hien isn't gonna say no... ]

[glassbell]

[ The most concerned, then guilty look on Fuurin's face. ]

I'll keep that in mind from now on.

[selfconcept]

[ ... ... ...

As far as Hien knows, he shouldn't have interacted with Lily, so his eyes narrow a little. ]

... Did you talk to him?

[glassbell]

[ A nod. ]

He's that voice, isn't he.

[selfconcept]

Yes.

[ Hien continues to stare at him, waiting. Continue. Or else. :catgun: ]

cw: mentions of self-harm

[glassbell]

You found me right after we talked.

[ Stare long enough, and Hien will see how dull those eyes are. They not dead, just tired as hell, even if he genuinely appreciates now getting saved. ]

I gave up one of my memories because he was unsure about saving a man who'd just given up on trying to survive.

cw suicidal ideation

[selfconcept]

[ Honestly, Hien would think the same. If someone wants to die, they can die. Dying would be so easy and perhaps Hien would have preferred that, but his survival instincts vastly win out. He chooses to continue living out of spite, though he also feels... if he died right now, he could still choose to die as himself. Would that be better? But he wants to live.

Dilemma. ]

And why would you think that? Don't you have friends here who would be sad to see you die?

cw more suicidal ideation

[glassbell]

[ He wouldn't blame that thinking at all. It's why his response to being saved by the guy noone trusts to heal them was...

Genuine surprise and guilt first, gratitude second. ]

Why...? The more my memories were unraveled, the more I became my old self who considered that option a little too easily. I don't have the memory anymore to know why I was like that, but it did numb me to where I didn't notice I was losing that much blood.

[ He clutches the torn up side where the wound was with his opposite hand. The fabric is still tattered, but any injury long gone with all that healing. He might just get out of this with a scar or something. ]

I didn't want that side of me to show through to people I care about. I was too preoccupied with that worry to think they'd be upset when I died. Being suicidal makes you terrible.

[selfconcept]

Do you still feel that way, even with the memory taken away? Do you regret it?

[ He feels like this guy has no spiteful bone in his body (yet), so that's why Hien can't suggest his own way of thinking. ]

[glassbell]

It's less... there, so for now, I can't really regret it.

[ One wonders what a spiteful guy like Hien would offer as insight... But yes, Fuurin isn't as spiteful. ]

I owe someone my life too, I can't go and waste that.

[selfconcept]

[ Hien supposes the deed has already been done and the situational mindset has changed, so there's nothing he can do. ]

Alright. Then rest up for a couple days and you can get back to doing whatever it is that you usually do. As long as that "someone" isn't Lily, I'm fine with it.

[ If it was Lily, on the other hand... well, it's fine. Don't worry about it. ]

[glassbell]

[ Stares. He doesn't have that power to look at someone like he's digging into their soul... But. Sir. You gave him two fulls heals and an appropriate scolding. ]

It's not.

[ He says it so flatly, but he smiles, they both have things to do. If he knew better, he'd annoy Fandaniel on Hien's behalf. ]