A quaint, grassy meadow stretches before them, but there's no time smell the roses. The Phantom Operatives are here to sweep the dungeon of its treasures. Materials are getting harder to come by, so every drop is valuable. ]
Is everyone ready? Let's proceed with caution and watch out for each other. [ Because it's a matter of life and death. She trusts them, they're a team. ] Also, keep an eye out for a gold bird.
[ It's materials farming time. Let's get this bread! ]
[ Thanks to Haru and Sinclair, food and drinks have been prepared for the guild. They're small enough to where they'll all have enough to consume, at least, but Noé himself doesn't seem too hungry. He seems thoughtful about something.
And that something will come to light, when there's a moment where everyone's gathered. ]
I don't mean to dampen the mood...but I just wanted to see how we're all doing. If there's anything we should discuss on how to move forward as a guild, now would be a good time. And keep it civil, please.
[ As tempted as he was to throw hands at the meeting, he held back. He can do so now, with his fellow Operatives. ]
There's something I'd like to discuss with everyone. When we began the guild, we wanted to help players and make the game a better place.
[ It's not just a game anymore. The stakes are much higher, the risks real. Players can't agree on the best way forward. ]
I know things have changed, but I want to preserve the spirit of our guild. We should still lend a hand to those in need and look for a way for everyone to go home. What do you think?
[Get ready for this ICly compiled report. Sinclair is getting better at writing them in a formal and objective way :') Kinda. He's putting his work experience to good use.
Put together and submitted after Hani's heart returned, updated throughout the week as he learns more]
Edited (im so sorry for the inbox damage) 2023-10-24 08:53 (UTC)
Ongoing Report on Cubia, his mission and his followers:
Cubia - or Lily, as he had been renamed by Mr Misteaks - is Zelkova's "brother". Both seem to consider Emma Wielant and Harald Hoerwick (HH) to be their parents, but from what Mithrun said, Cubia's resentment seems to be directed at HH entirely, not Emma. Emma "creator of legends" appears to have died before the creation of Fragment, but her memory was embedded in Fragment through the Poem. Zelkova told me Cubia was abandoned by their father, and that he tried to find Cuba in the place all AIs go - the Netslum.
But he couldn't find Cubia at all. Zelkova said he'll get together some information in a week and get back to us [lol ]
Anyway, Lily is a mere 'shadow' and needs humans to choose him, so he can be more than a shadow. In this world, that he'll take from CCCorp, he'll make it so humans are free to pursue everlasting happiness Suffering and despair elates him - and he wants us all to feel this way. That’s his happiness.
Hani thanks we shouldn't approach Cubia with aggression but honestly when I think about what he's done already I
Lily said this: “There's nothing within me that hasn't been placed there by others...It wasn't until you all came into this world that I begun to take shape.”
If he's a shadow, who does he belong to? Us? Or Fragment?
Lily's Followers
As we saw at the meeting, most of the people who followed Lily did not take well to us implying Lily was bad. With Swallow, we tried experimenting to see if she would also get mad if I insulted Zelkova, but it didn't work. Maybe I'm just bad at that? Anyway
Mr. Misteaks (Barrett):He named Lily after his dead sister. He was promised that his sister would be revived here in Fragment. I don't want to get into the details, but this is wrong. He was very defensive of Lily, but he seemed to swing back and forth for a bit over my conversation with him over inboxes before he decided he wanted me angry and hateful. And he needed that reaction from me to study.
A confirmed data drainer.
Leviathan: He was angry with us too for criticising Lily. But he didn't seem as invested as Mr. Misteaks. I'm not sure what happened to him or if he's just following his brother. He seems really nervous but he was glaring at me that whole meeting? And he fought with 0koto? [edited 2 weeks later]: i saw him use data draining.
0koto: He knows a lot, but I'm unsure how to approach him. Oria said he made some sort of business deal with Lily, but seems to be controlled forcefully now? He fought with Leviathan and Mithrun at the meeting.
Uta: She's still nice, but she also thinks Lily just wants to be her friend and offer people salvation in a good way. Confirmed data drainer.
fandaniel: Spiderlily. Another person I'm not sure how to approach. Hani knows him well though...he didn't go to the meeting, but I think he was the one who tried to bring Hien to Cubia as the sixth person.
There are two others unaccounted for: Sunflower and Lotus.
Lily's Mission: He will use the Wave to his advantaged, as it was pre-programmed into the game. He called it a prophecy. He said that when the Wave reaches a crescendo, everyone still there to witness it will know true happiness. So, for him, it's a means, a path.
What did Emma Wielant intend with the poem? And why did Harald Hoerwick place it here?
I trust zelkova a lot, but he's difficult to get information from sometimes. Am I not asking the right questions? I don't think he's trying to be difficult on purpose. But I guess he is an AI even if he feels real...
These are people who can probably be trusted though as they're all data drainers given a core by Zelkova:
Swallow Hector Ganymede KaraBear FlameMane
Of those five, Swallow feels like the easiest to talk to. She knew about the log out error from the beginning and tried warning all of us as best she could...
Swallow was worried anyone with a core might be singlemindedly focused on defending Zelkova like the others defended Lily but it seems like she's not bothered if you insult Zelkova. I've asked Oriade to insult Zelkova to people though. He's better at that stuff than I am
I've done some dungeon runs with FlameMane too. She's also pretty reliable. I don't know the others too well though...I did meet Hector in that weird dungeon quest. I don't really like remembering it though.
Cursed Individuals: Hien: he's losing his sense of 'self'. He's trying to hold himself together but it seems to be inevitable. He's how I learned what Cubia looked like...Winter helped me recrate Hien's drawing. I think we need to keep talking to Hien as much as possible. I don't want him to lose himself.
He told me to remember my name and who I am: Emil Sinclair.
I wish I could help him more
Mr. Misteaks: He kept talking about how he needed me to be angry and hate so he could learn from me. He doesn't seem to remember anything clearly anymore. EDIT: He has been renamed Tarvos.
EDIT #2:
Swallow told me Tarvos could teleport directly to Lily's side. Is this the same for all the core holders?
Also the way Lily sped up Barrett's transformation into Tarvos seemed to be an act of cruelty: he created Barrett's sister and Barrett killed her with his own hands.
I wonder if this is what happened in the dungeon i went through with Winter.
Mithrun: He's the worst affected. I'm trying to remind him he's real. But he thinks he's a program now, that exists only in Fragment. We need to keep reminding him he's human. EDIT: He's been renamed Macha.
Nanashi: He seems okay now but he had all his memories replaced at some point. We should make sure he's okay. (I also invited him to join our guild, I hope wasn't overstepping)
The Cursed Wave:
Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born. After the stars doth cross the heavens. The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning. From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes.
Riding the wake is Skeith, the Shadow of Death, to drown all that stands. Mirage of Deceit, Innis, Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave. And by the Power of Magus a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens, and creates a new Wave. With the Wave, Fidchell, the power to tell the dark future, hope darkens, sadness and despair rule.
Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave. Macha seduces with the sweet trap. Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy. And with the turbulent destruction after the Wave. Only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Corbenik.
Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well.
EDIT:
When the Wave reaches a crescendo...true happiness will be achieved. Lily can only use the tools he has at his disposal in this program. What does this mean for us?
If even Fidchell believes the Wave is doomed to fail, what does Cubia gain from this? What is he using this data for?
Mithrun... - is directly working under lily - thinks he's a program - says he was created for lily ("all of us were") - is collecting information on how people feel when they're rejected romantically because he feels that it's his purpose (one-sided feelings) - said that he doesn't have enough time to collect data so he tried more "aggressive methods" (see twilight shore) - wants to stay behind because he doesn't want to leave Barrett (Misteaks) behind. Said he promised. - says that Misteaks is already "like him" and collects data on hate - can no longer walk - no longer has internal organs like a regular person does
Misc: - stepping into Twilight Shore makes you feel like you're in love with Mithrun romantically, in which Mithrun rejects you no matter what - the field effect is intentional by mithrun ("i forced you to confess [your love for me]") - felt extremely disgusting when the effect wore off - attempting to kill mithrun ejects you out of the area
Netslum: - a place where AIs go to - it's currently the safest place in Fragment EDIT - Hani received a request from Zelkova to set up Netslum for our battles against the Waves. - Hani, Haru and I worked on setting it up to be as comfortable as possible if you need a break from the root towns. Let us know if you have any ideas on how to make it better ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )
I'm going to try looking for Zelkova here with Tabibito.
Cores:
We all should have a core now.
There are three types: Damage, Heal, Armor. It seems like damage is very important to have on any group that faces against a Wave Phase
-He believes the terminal point of all love is unrequited. -He says he can't be anything else than a helper program for Lily, but he does want. -He also wants to be loved back. -He doesn't dislike company. -He will let me return to see him without being charmed -He feels he doesn't understand human emotions, or emote as much as humans, which makes him think he couldn't have been human. -He said Lily has to make us hurt enough before we can feel better afterwards ("happy") -He doesn't think Lily can change his methods even if he wants to, because it's part of his programming. -When I told him humans could overcome programs because they can operate with more flexibility, he changed subjects. He said I'd get myself killed thinking I could resolve the program's issues as if they were human... -So then he charmed me and drowned me for a while. I lost consciousness and woke up back in Mac Anu, and I couldn't reenter the field for a few hours. When I returned after a while, he acted like nothing had happened before, but I still wasn't charmed on entry.
[Sorry Phantom Operatives, your conspiracy board is now Sinclair's thinking board. It's okay! Added on the 27th October]
Hien's gotten worse. He has this smoky halo he can't even see, let alone inspect.
He told me to think about this:
Why else would Lily use Mithrun like a tool? A tool has use. The wielder needs the tool for a purpose. Without the tool, they can no longer fulfill that purpose.
What is Lily gaining from this?
Then he told me this:
The players need to fend off the cursed wave.
"No matter who is infected, you must defeat them at all costs. Let even one slip, and you'll never be able to return."
Hien thinks the only way to free them is to kill them. That, anything left over is a program, data made to resemble the people we once knew.
I think it happened when Lily first spoke to everyone. He's researching cruelty of humans. His behaviour had been odd since the meeting, and Lily spoke to him before then. But it wasn't until two weeks ago that he started behaving especially strangely. He was more aggressive, and short tempered with people.
he asked me to
He is located at Heartless Snaring Cathedral.
--
Uta is Corbenik. It's unknown when this happened. But she's a bracelet holder, so we'll have to be extra careful I think. She's been a supporter of Lily from the beginning, and it seems like no one has noticed her change. She spoke about "rebirth" and "death" - maybe Corbenik could only take over after Mithrun and Barrett were 'reborn'?
She told people to meet her at the Hidden Forbidden Deadwood but no one is there yet...
After the Wave Phase:
Speaking of both Mithrun and Barrett look like how they look in person, rather than their in game avatars. All of Mithrun's memories are intact, unlike ours. It's weird.
Some of us answered CC Corp's mail on 10/29, but the call may not have come from the company. We loaded into a distorted version of Twilight Shore, Cruel Vindictive Scars. There, Mithrun - Macha, and Barrett - Tarvos were expecting us. Their forms had been warped and they no longer knew who they were. To the best of my memory:
Tarvos - His phase form had bug-like wings and shell-like armor. He was twice our height and fought with a spear, using moves of a Lord Partizan. - Tarvos' love for Mithrun granted Macha a Well-Loved buff, and under its protection, Macha was invulnerable to all attack. - Tarvos himself was protected by a green shield that could be broken by data drain. It was essential to use the cores we were given to fight him. - Once, he struck us with a condition that made us feel hungry, fearful, and hopeless, but we were able to break out of it together. - When he grew desperate, he began to use data drain. It's extremely dangerous and inflicts critical damage and multiple debuffs. Anyone drained must receive healing immediately. - He would lose control at times and rampage blindly, missing his attacks. Tarvos seemed lost and terribly angry. I think most of all at himself.
Macha - He appeared as he once did on Twilight Shore, but soon took on his phase form and summoned a glass ball to ride on. - He couldn't be hurt by anyone while protected by the Well-Loved buff, with the exception of Tarvos. - From his hollow chest he would sing a melody that inflicted charm on us. I was struck several times, and he compelled me to bring Winter to him. I'm grateful to everyone who stopped me. - At one point, those of us controlled had halos on our heads. The halos resemble the one I saw on Admin Hien not too long ago. I fear he might already be The halos broke when our charm broke. - He could cast lightning and strike with a watery sword, but mostly relied on charm to fight. - Macha was confused about love. I think he yearned for it, but never realized that he, that Mithrun, was loved all along.
The way to defeat them is to break their shields, bring their HP down, and data drain them. It took over a dozen of us to manage it.
Be very careful and bring healing. It's likely the rest of the phases are capable of data drain and possess abilities to manipulate our feelings against us. The phases are not immune to emotions themselves. I believe their real selves were inside them all along.
Once Macha and Tarvos were defeated, Mithrun and Barrett returned to us. We have to help the others. I'm hopeful we can stop the Waves and return home together.
[ Feast your eyes on this description of it all, drawn with great detail and basically appear to look like the following:
The room is filled with patches that have fallen from walls, and in their place are static spots. The 'eye' or 'eyes' that appear in these static spots are noted in neat handwriting to, 'Come and go as they please. Appearing one second, and then disappearing the next.'
The holes naturally present in the room are drawn as deeper craters, and notated to have been a change in size from their previous smaller one.
This area also has a very high ceiling, of which these patches are mostly centralized around.
Also, the 'patch' where the eye or eyes are located basically are exemplified in this image to get an idea of how big the eye(s) so happen(s) to be. How comforting!
He notes they normally look black like Hien's eyes, but can change to have the sclera dyed to an abyssal black color. ]
As a note, at the time items and skills are inaccessible in the area. Hopefully that may change, but if it doesn't, that can be a problem for us later.
Edited 2023-11-04 12:21 (UTC)
Gorre Report (Written up and posted a few days after)
The Battle with Gorre: The Hulle Granz Cathedral was Gorre's stage. It's oddly fitting, isn't it? You confess your sins at churches. It was a very dark place, with countless of candles and doors. Twenty one with handles, and others without.
Unlike Tarvos and Macha, Gorre's area seemed more interested in getting us to engage with the elements he set up around us, rather than attack him directly. He had two forms:
Corporeal Armor Knight:
- In this form, Gorre was almost completely invulnerable. Very few attacks did much damage; his HP and DEF were ridiculously strong in this form. It was pointless trying to attack him then. - He had complete immunity to thunder damage.
Armored Wraith: - This was activated when he used Whispers of the Witch: in this form, he opened up some doors that were tethered to people and used that to restore his health. - These doors linked to 'cruel' memories of our past. It was...very painful to relive them. -The candles changed colour according to our elements and had arrows to show it was a buff for that element. If Gorre was hit with that buffed elemental attack (except for Thunder), the damage was significantly magnified. -In this form he was like a black ghostly knight. In some ways it was even harder to hit him, but if you did, it was easy to whittle him down
-There was a key to the doors: if we opened our own doors willingly, our painful memories hurt less. When Owen and I opened our doors, we were able to withstand the pain, but the drain on each of us was significantly less. It seemed that Michel? wanted us to confront our painful memories, and give them back to us as he did with the letters. But if someone else opened our door by force, the pain was doubled.
- There were twenty one doors and twenty of us.
- Gorre or Michel had added an extra door for Michel himself. I think this was a sign Michel was trying to fight back in whatever way we could.
- Opening Michel's door against his wishes was the wrong move - I realised this too late to stop Ganymede. Michel was screaming and Gorre seemed to lose control and now, Fai and Yael are..
We're lucky they're alive.
- It's something to consider: if someone of Michel's background and talents was able to influence Gorre's creation of his field, could other players of similar backgrounds and talents do the same?
Michel:
- When Michel returned, he seemed to be fine. He looked a little different, but not very. The company I was part of in the other world - Limbus Co. - must have gotten to him in time.
[ Memoir reads all of this and...wow. Just...wow. ]
Uta...why...?
[ Said under his breath, but back to the matter at hand. ]
I'll keep talking to Hien. I've been making him food here and there, and I'll keep bothering him so he doesn't lose himself. As for the Cursed Wave, do we only know who Macha is? I encountered him myself, and I can confirm that a lot of what Oriade's saying is accurate.
[ Over the last weeks, we have had Tylor, Nanashi, Miharu, Albedo, and Deto join us. Welcome! Feel free to assume Haru's shown them around. The guild is yours to make home now. Masked Grunty will try to take newbies under his wing (nevermind that everyone is pretty much level 100, it's in his programming) and is still reminding everyone to get sleep.
Now onto the guild huddle. Haru looks exhausted despite sleeping the morning away, but once she's up she goes about checking in with everyone. In the afternoon, a meeting is called in the guild's secret base. There is coffee (or tea if that's your preference) and snacks, and couches pushed in a circle to lounge on. At the center, we have our conspiracy board. Haru will start the meeting by recounting the battle for members not present. ]
...and that's what happened. There will be more Waves coming, but we have some idea of what we're facing now. The good news is if we stop them, we can save everyone affected.
'As much energy that I could spend being upset about something, I rather spend that focusing on what good that could come out of a situation.'
It's strange. He never spoke to Uta much; far less than any of the people who must be grieving her loss now. But, he remembers keenly that kind of optimism; it sticks with you.
It makes him in turn consider other matters, but those seem to pale in comparison to the fact that the other he sees is wallowing in its wake. Albedo steps closer and raises a hand, letting it land on the other male's shoulder, before pulling him into an embrace wordlessly. ]
...I am here. Whatever you need, I will endeavor to provide it.
[ He's sitting in the opposite corner from Memoir, staring at the floor.
It might actually take a couple of attempts to make him respond, but he will answer all questions about the battle against Corbenik if there are any. ]
[ That's fine. Sinclair will bring over a tray of creamy herbal tea and snacks and set it down within reach. He's not sure if he's becoming Haru or Justy with this but they were both significantly better with people than him. He would like to try to emulate them.
He sits down next to Punisher, wincing when that jars his own injuries, reaching for the right thing to say]
Hien gave me the warning that Skeith is looking for emotional reactions to death, it might be frustrated with the sample if it doesn't show as much emotion in general, much less in reaction to death.
If Hien's admin skills are still in tact once he becomes Skeith...we'll be in for a difficult battle.
[In case people want to add to the memorial for Hien, Nanase is here with crafting materials and journals - the volumes making up Hien's log of his life.]
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DUNGEON RUNS
Noir, Memoir, Furin
A quaint, grassy meadow stretches before them, but there's no time smell the roses. The Phantom Operatives are here to sweep the dungeon of its treasures. Materials are getting harder to come by, so every drop is valuable. ]
Is everyone ready? Let's proceed with caution and watch out for each other. [ Because it's a matter of life and death. She trusts them, they're a team. ] Also, keep an eye out for a gold bird.
[ It's materials farming time. Let's get this bread! ]
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Noir, Punisher, Vogel
An icy chill greets the team when they enter the dungeon. Noir tries to stand tall, boots sinking into the snow and shivering— ]
I'll brew everyone a hot cup of coffee after this. Now if everyone's ready, shall we collect what we came for?
[ Materials, loot, levels. The game's taken a turn for the dangerous, they have to be prepared if they're to keep each other and Fragment safe. ]
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How are we doing?: The Top Level
And that something will come to light, when there's a moment where everyone's gathered. ]
I don't mean to dampen the mood...but I just wanted to see how we're all doing. If there's anything we should discuss on how to move forward as a guild, now would be a good time. And keep it civil, please.
[ As tempted as he was to throw hands at the meeting, he held back. He can do so now, with his fellow Operatives. ]
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Where does he begin?]
...we should discuss what happened at the meeting. Summarise what we know to be true and what is speculation.
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question to all re: the guild's mission
[ It's not just a game anymore. The stakes are much higher, the risks real. Players can't agree on the best way forward. ]
I know things have changed, but I want to preserve the spirit of our guild. We should still lend a hand to those in need and look for a way for everyone to go home. What do you think?
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Phantom Operatives Report (Zelkova and Cubia)
Put together and submitted after Hani's heart returned, updated throughout the week as he learns more]
Re: Phantom Operatives Report (Zelkova and Cubia)
Cubia - or Lily, as he had been renamed by Mr Misteaks - is Zelkova's "brother". Both seem to consider Emma Wielant and Harald Hoerwick (HH) to be their parents, but from what Mithrun said, Cubia's resentment seems to be directed at HH entirely, not Emma. Emma "creator of legends" appears to have died before the creation of Fragment, but her memory was embedded in Fragment through the Poem. Zelkova told me Cubia was abandoned by their father, and that he tried to find Cuba in the place all AIs go - the Netslum.
But he couldn't find Cubia at all. Zelkova said he'll get together some information in a week and get back to us [lol ]
Anyway, Lily is a mere 'shadow' and needs humans to choose him, so he can be more than a shadow. In this world, that he'll take from CCCorp, he'll make it so humans are free to pursue everlasting happiness Suffering and despair elates him - and he wants us all to feel this way. That’s his happiness.
Hani thanks we shouldn't approach Cubia with aggression but honestly when I think about what he's done already ILily said this: “There's nothing within me that hasn't been placed there by others...It wasn't until you all came into this world that I begun to take shape.”
If he's a shadow, who does he belong to? Us? Or Fragment?
Lily's Followers
As we saw at the meeting, most of the people who followed Lily did not take well to us implying Lily was bad. With Swallow, we tried experimenting to see if she would also get mad if I insulted Zelkova, but it didn't work. Maybe I'm just bad at that? Anyway
Mr. Misteaks (Barrett):He named Lily after his dead sister. He was promised that his sister would be revived here in Fragment. I don't want to get into the details, but this is wrong. He was very defensive of Lily, but he seemed to swing back and forth for a bit over my conversation with him over inboxes before he decided he wanted me angry and hateful. And he needed that reaction from me to study.
A confirmed data drainer.
Leviathan: He was angry with us too for criticising Lily. But he didn't seem as invested as Mr. Misteaks. I'm not sure what happened to him or if he's just following his brother. He seems really nervous but he was glaring at me that whole meeting? And he fought with 0koto? [edited 2 weeks later]: i saw him use data draining.
0koto: He knows a lot, but I'm unsure how to approach him. Oria said he made some sort of business deal with Lily, but seems to be controlled forcefully now? He fought with Leviathan and Mithrun at the meeting.
Uta: She's still nice, but she also thinks Lily just wants to be her friend and offer people salvation in a good way. Confirmed data drainer.
fandaniel: Spiderlily. Another person I'm not sure how to approach. Hani knows him well though...he didn't go to the meeting, but I think he was the one who tried to bring Hien to Cubia as the sixth person.
There are two others unaccounted for: Sunflower and Lotus.
Lily's Mission:
He will use the Wave to his advantaged, as it was pre-programmed into the game. He called it a prophecy. He said that when the Wave reaches a crescendo, everyone still there to witness it will know true happiness. So, for him, it's a means, a path.
What did Emma Wielant intend with the poem? And why did Harald Hoerwick place it here?
zelkova's data drainers
These are people who can probably be trusted though as they're all data drainers given a core by Zelkova:
Swallow
Hector
Ganymede
KaraBear
FlameMane
Of those five, Swallow feels like the easiest to talk to. She knew about the log out error from the beginning and tried warning all of us as best she could...
Swallow was worried anyone with a core might be singlemindedly focused on defending Zelkova like the others defended Lily but it seems like she's not bothered if you insult Zelkova. I've asked Oriade to insult Zelkova to people though. He's better at that stuff than I am
I've done some dungeon runs with FlameMane too. She's also pretty reliable. I don't know the others too well though...I did meet Hector in that weird dungeon quest. I don't really like remembering it though.
[update]: Zelkova is gone. I'm worried.
Cursed Individuals and the Cursed Wave
Cursed Individuals:
Hien: he's losing his sense of 'self'. He's trying to hold himself together but it seems to be inevitable. He's how I learned what Cubia looked like...Winter helped me recrate Hien's drawing. I think we need to keep talking to Hien as much as possible. I don't want him to lose himself.
He told me to remember my name and who I am: Emil Sinclair.
I wish I could help him more
Mr. Misteaks: He kept talking about how he needed me to be angry and hate so he could learn from me. He doesn't seem to remember anything clearly anymore. EDIT: He has been renamed Tarvos.
EDIT #2:
Swallow told me Tarvos could teleport directly to Lily's side. Is this the same for all the core holders?
Also the way Lily sped up Barrett's transformation into Tarvos seemed to be an act of cruelty: he created Barrett's sister and Barrett killed her with his own hands.
I wonder if this is what happened in the dungeon i went through with Winter.
Mithrun: He's the worst affected. I'm trying to remind him he's real. But he thinks he's a program now, that exists only in Fragment. We need to keep reminding him he's human. EDIT: He's been renamed Macha.
Nanashi: He seems okay now but he had all his memories replaced at some point. We should make sure he's okay.
(I also invited him to join our guild, I hope wasn't overstepping)
The Cursed Wave:
Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born.
After the stars doth cross the heavens.
The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning.
From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes.
Riding the wake is Skeith, the Shadow of Death, to drown all that stands.
Mirage of Deceit, Innis, Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave.
And by the Power of Magus a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens, and creates a new Wave.
With the Wave, Fidchell, the power to tell the dark future, hope darkens, sadness and despair rule.
Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave.
Macha seduces with the sweet trap.
Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy.
And with the turbulent destruction after the Wave. Only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Corbenik.
Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well.
EDIT:
When the Wave reaches a crescendo...true happiness will be achieved. Lily can only use the tools he has at his disposal in this program. What does this mean for us?
If even Fidchell believes the Wave is doomed to fail, what does Cubia gain from this? What is he using this data for?
Mithrun Report (Macha)
Mithrun...
- is directly working under lily
- thinks he's a program
- says he was created for lily ("all of us were")
- is collecting information on how people feel when they're rejected romantically because he feels that it's his purpose (one-sided feelings)
- said that he doesn't have enough time to collect data so he tried more "aggressive methods" (see twilight shore)
- wants to stay behind because he doesn't want to leave Barrett (Misteaks) behind. Said he promised.
- says that Misteaks is already "like him" and collects data on hate
- can no longer walk
- no longer has internal organs like a regular person does
Misc:
- stepping into Twilight Shore makes you feel like you're in love with Mithrun romantically, in which Mithrun rejects you no matter what
- the field effect is intentional by mithrun ("i forced you to confess [your love for me]")
- felt extremely disgusting when the effect wore off
- attempting to kill mithrun ejects you out of the area
Zelkova Investigation
- a place where AIs go to
- it's currently the safest place in Fragment
EDIT
- Hani received a request from Zelkova to set up Netslum for our battles against the Waves.
- Hani, Haru and I worked on setting it up to be as comfortable as possible if you need a break from the root towns. Let us know if you have any ideas on how to make it better ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )
I'm going to try looking for Zelkova here with Tabibito.Cores:
We all should have a core now.
There are three types: Damage, Heal, Armor. It seems like damage is very important to have on any group that faces against a Wave Phase
Nanashi's Report (Macha)
-He says he can't be anything else than a helper program for Lily, but he does want.
-He also wants to be loved back.
-He doesn't dislike company.
-He will let me return to see him without being charmed
-He feels he doesn't understand human emotions, or emote as much as humans, which makes him think he couldn't have been human.
-He said Lily has to make us hurt enough before we can feel better afterwards ("happy")
-He doesn't think Lily can change his methods even if he wants to, because it's part of his programming.
-When I told him humans could overcome programs because they can operate with more flexibility, he changed subjects. He said I'd get myself killed thinking I could resolve the program's issues as if they were human...
-So then he charmed me and drowned me for a while. I lost consciousness and woke up back in Mac Anu, and I couldn't reenter the field for a few hours. When I returned after a while, he acted like nothing had happened before, but I still wasn't charmed on entry.
not here
HIEN
Hien's gotten worse. He has this smoky halo he can't even see, let alone inspect.
He told me to think about this:
Why else would Lily use Mithrun like a tool? A tool has use. The wielder needs the tool for a purpose. Without the tool, they can no longer fulfill that purpose.
What is Lily gaining from this?
Then he told me this:
The players need to fend off the cursed wave.
"No matter who is infected, you must defeat them at all costs. Let even one slip, and you'll never be able to return."
Hien thinks the only way to free them is to kill them. That, anything left over is a program, data made to resemble the people we once knew.
EDIT
I remembered a question he asked:
What happens if we use data drain on Lily?
EDIT EDIT
Hien has been given the name of Skeith.
30th Oct: Winter and Uta
Winter is Gorre.
I think it happened when Lily first spoke to everyone. He's researching cruelty of humans. His behaviour had been odd since the meeting, and Lily spoke to him before then. But it wasn't until two weeks ago that he started behaving especially strangely. He was more aggressive, and short tempered with people.
he asked me toHe is located at Heartless Snaring Cathedral.
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Uta is Corbenik. It's unknown when this happened. But she's a bracelet holder, so we'll have to be extra careful I think. She's been a supporter of Lily from the beginning, and it seems like no one has noticed her change. She spoke about "rebirth" and "death" - maybe Corbenik could only take over after Mithrun and Barrett were 'reborn'?
She told people to meet her at the Hidden Forbidden Deadwood but no one is there yet...
After the Wave Phase:
Speaking of both Mithrun and Barrett look like how they look in person, rather than their in game avatars. All of Mithrun's memories are intact, unlike ours. It's weird.
The First Wave
Tarvos
- His phase form had bug-like wings and shell-like armor. He was twice our height and fought with a spear, using moves of a Lord Partizan.
- Tarvos' love for Mithrun granted Macha a Well-Loved buff, and under its protection, Macha was invulnerable to all attack.
- Tarvos himself was protected by a green shield that could be broken by data drain. It was essential to use the cores we were given to fight him.
- Once, he struck us with a condition that made us feel hungry, fearful, and hopeless, but we were able to break out of it together.
- When he grew desperate, he began to use data drain. It's extremely dangerous and inflicts critical damage and multiple debuffs. Anyone drained must receive healing immediately.
- He would lose control at times and rampage blindly, missing his attacks. Tarvos seemed lost and terribly angry. I think most of all at himself.
Macha
- He appeared as he once did on Twilight Shore, but soon took on his phase form and summoned a glass ball to ride on.
- He couldn't be hurt by anyone while protected by the Well-Loved buff, with the exception of Tarvos.
- From his hollow chest he would sing a melody that inflicted charm on us. I was struck several times, and he compelled me to bring Winter to him. I'm grateful to everyone who stopped me.
- At one point, those of us controlled had halos on our heads. The halos resemble the one I saw on Admin Hien not too long ago.
I fear he might already beThe halos broke when our charm broke.- He could cast lightning and strike with a watery sword, but mostly relied on charm to fight.
- Macha was confused about love. I think he yearned for it, but never realized that he, that Mithrun, was loved all along.
The way to defeat them is to break their shields, bring their HP down, and data drain them. It took over a dozen of us to manage it.
Be very careful and bring healing. It's likely the rest of the phases are capable of data drain and possess abilities to manipulate our feelings against us. The phases are not immune to emotions themselves. I believe their real selves were inside them all along.
Once Macha and Tarvos were defeated, Mithrun and Barrett returned to us. We have to help the others. I'm hopeful we can stop the Waves and return home together.
THE STATE OF HIEN'S ADMINISTRATOR AREA
[ Feast your eyes on this description of it all, drawn with great detail and basically appear to look like the following:
The room is filled with patches that have fallen from walls, and in their place are static spots. The 'eye' or 'eyes' that appear in these static spots are noted in neat handwriting to, 'Come and go as they please. Appearing one second, and then disappearing the next.'
The holes naturally present in the room are drawn as deeper craters, and notated to have been a change in size from their previous smaller one.
This area also has a very high ceiling, of which these patches are mostly centralized around.
Also, the 'patch' where the eye or eyes are located basically are exemplified in this image to get an idea of how big the eye(s) so happen(s) to be. How comforting!
He notes they normally look black like Hien's eyes, but can change to have the sclera dyed to an abyssal black color. ]
As a note, at the time items and skills are inaccessible in the area. Hopefully that may change, but if it doesn't, that can be a problem for us later.
Gorre Report (Written up and posted a few days after)
The Hulle Granz Cathedral was Gorre's stage. It's oddly fitting, isn't it? You confess your sins at churches. It was a very dark place, with countless of candles and doors. Twenty one with handles, and others without.
Unlike Tarvos and Macha, Gorre's area seemed more interested in getting us to engage with the elements he set up around us, rather than attack him directly. He had two forms:
Corporeal Armor Knight:
- In this form, Gorre was almost completely invulnerable. Very few attacks did much damage; his HP and DEF were ridiculously strong in this form. It was pointless trying to attack him then.
- He had complete immunity to thunder damage.
Armored Wraith:
- This was activated when he used Whispers of the Witch: in this form, he opened up some doors that were tethered to people and used that to restore his health.
- These doors linked to 'cruel' memories of our past. It was...very painful to relive them.
-The candles changed colour according to our elements and had arrows to show it was a buff for that element. If Gorre was hit with that buffed elemental attack (except for Thunder), the damage was significantly magnified.
-In this form he was like a black ghostly knight. In some ways it was even harder to hit him, but if you did, it was easy to whittle him down
-There was a key to the doors: if we opened our own doors willingly, our painful memories hurt less. When Owen and I opened our doors, we were able to withstand the pain, but the drain on each of us was significantly less. It seemed that Michel? wanted us to confront our painful memories, and give them back to us as he did with the letters. But if someone else opened our door by force, the pain was doubled.
- There were twenty one doors and twenty of us.
- Gorre or Michel had added an extra door for Michel himself. I think this was a sign Michel was trying to fight back in whatever way we could.
- Opening Michel's door against his wishes was the wrong move - I realised this too late to stop Ganymede. Michel was screaming and Gorre seemed to lose control and now, Fai and Yael are..
We're lucky they're alive.
- It's something to consider: if someone of Michel's background and talents was able to influence Gorre's creation of his field, could other players of similar backgrounds and talents do the same?
Michel:
- When Michel returned, he seemed to be fine. He looked a little different, but not very. The company I was part of in the other world - Limbus Co. - must have gotten to him in time.
Corbenik Report (Sealed; Kept in files rather than with the main stack)
SECRET ROOM
Fidchell (Fandaniel), Skeith (Hien), Magus (Makoto) and ?????
Cores and Bracelets
CORES AND DATA DRAIN
Magus, Skeith, Fidchell
POST INNIS BATTLE WRITE UP
FIDCHELL - A NOTE
sinclair report saga discussion
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Uta...why...?
[ Said under his breath, but back to the matter at hand. ]
I'll keep talking to Hien. I've been making him food here and there, and I'll keep bothering him so he doesn't lose himself. As for the Cursed Wave, do we only know who Macha is? I encountered him myself, and I can confirm that a lot of what Oriade's saying is accurate.
assume this is a secondary meeting lmasoao
NODS FAST!!!
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30th oct - come hassle him fellow operatives
He's staring at the board a little aimlessly without thinking, wondering what else he should add.
He's tired.]
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He's like, sweeping up the place. ]
Should I get Noir?
[ This might be a threat but it's also a genuine "should you be here like that?" Buddy you look terrible. ]
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10/30 guild huddle
Now onto the guild huddle. Haru looks exhausted despite sleeping the morning away, but once she's up she goes about checking in with everyone. In the afternoon, a meeting is called in the guild's secret base. There is coffee (or tea if that's your preference) and snacks, and couches pushed in a circle to lounge on. At the center, we have our conspiracy board. Haru will start the meeting by recounting the battle for members not present. ]
...and that's what happened. There will be more Waves coming, but we have some idea of what we're facing now. The good news is if we stop them, we can save everyone affected.
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I'll try to help with them as much as I can.
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cw: suicide discussion
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11/6 post corbenik
His head is in his heads.
He doesn't seem to notice anyone who may just be passing by.
Feel free to ask him about the fight. (Or Punisher?? Live your life.) ]
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'As much energy that I could spend being upset about something, I rather spend that focusing on what good that could come out of a situation.'
It's strange. He never spoke to Uta much; far less than any of the people who must be grieving her loss now. But, he remembers keenly that kind of optimism; it sticks with you.
It makes him in turn consider other matters, but those seem to pale in comparison to the fact that the other he sees is wallowing in its wake. Albedo steps closer and raises a hand, letting it land on the other male's shoulder, before pulling him into an embrace wordlessly. ]
...I am here. Whatever you need, I will endeavor to provide it.
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11/6 post corbenik (punisher flavor)
It might actually take a couple of attempts to make him respond, but he will answer all questions about the battle against Corbenik if there are any. ]
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He sits down next to Punisher, wincing when that jars his own injuries, reaching for the right thing to say]
...I heard from Oriade. How are you holding up?
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Post Innis Battle Discussion
It seems like there's a pattern with some of these phases. Not all of them can be dealt with by direct attacks.
Skeith and Fidchell Battle Preparations
If Hien's admin skills are still in tact once he becomes Skeith...we'll be in for a difficult battle.
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Post Magus Battle Discussion
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Memorial Making
Something small... maybe like a roadside shrine?
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A roadside shrine?
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