>>20215550
Who needs hope when you have the void in your eyes.

File: 1344312273100.jpg-(1.75 MB, 3032x1888, 1340113762300.jpg)

>oh god I had 6000 letters typed out and posting the thread deleted it all why the fuck would you do that

So, first I think I should apologize for having been absent from 4chan for so long, and leaving the quest. It was, however, not my own choice. I'm currently abroad here in Pakistan, or has I have taken to calling it, the greatest shithole that ever stunk up the world. It has meant
1) No internet for the last month
2) No electricity for large parts of it either
As a result, I haven't been able to do much of anything, especially not image editing of any quantity (or quality), and certainly not quest running.
Also, my internet is still shit, in terms of stability and speed, so expect turbulence.

I'm back, however, if anyone wants to play again.

>And the part you care about:
I've been deliberately cryptic up 'till this part, but seeing as this is after such a long break, I'll be happy to answer any questions about anything in the setting. I'll fill you up on mostly the things that have already been revealed to you, in case you don't feel like reading the archived threads (which you should, since it'll give you a better insight, but still).

Here's the image that started it all, made by some anon in a choice picture compilation thread, in case anyone doesn't know the powers.

>And with that out of the way, let the fifth installment of Mage War Quest begin! (If anyone wants to play, obviously)

File: 1344313214604.jpg-(142 KB, 576x766, Ars Goetia.jpg)

Recent events go through your mind as motes of dust caught in a whirlwind. The torrent of thoughts takes you aback as you almost stumble over your own feet, struggling to adapt to your new perspective.
You drag yourself sluggishly towards the bed in which you've spent the majority of the last week. Kaoru walks, perhaps for the first time since you've met him.
"The next seal. I need Seere's seal."
He does not say the words, yet you hear them repeat before your inner ear.
The seals.
These symbols, evidently able to command these infernal beasts, these demons, that only you have knowledge of.
At least, that's the only reason you could think for Kaoru to ask you about the ones that have come up thus far.
Kaoru, he who knows all. You remember Anton mentioning how his nigh-omniscient insight was key to the war effort.
Well, the war's only just begun, and it doesn't seem like Kaoru's in any better shape than any of you.

You think for a moment, capturing your evanescent thoughts, attempting to analyze them.

You remember the ease with which you were defeated in your battle of wills against Dantalion.
Two demons defeated.
Andromalius, who was sealed away by Kaoru while you were still in your torpor, encased in your plated hull.
Dantalion, who carved his seal into the metal, the bane of your eyes. Is he truly defeated?

You slowly, agonizingly grab your head.
How could you have forgotten.
Dantalion.
He took them with him.

File: 1344313253264.png-(151 KB, 250x380, The Rip.png)

You remember so clearly now. The clarity is unsettling, for it brings back things that your mind would do better to forget.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0ds5u3sDfDy
The booming, inhuman voice of Dantalion rings within your head.
He has them.
He took them.

Your newfound ability to utilize the Void came at the cost of your eyesight, yet the others, the 20 Void Magi utilized a different means of access to the Void. Only one of them, Agent Maha, was able to open up to the Void.

And that's where Dantalion took them.

A wrenching pain hits your gut.
Fear?
Regret?

Kaoru patiently stands beside you as you collect your stray thoughts, sitting on the bed on which you've spent so much time yet accomplished so little.

Your brother, meanwhile, has achieved a level of expertise allowing him to destroy entire armies.
Yeah, of course he has.
How could he not, that prodigious mind.
Bah.

The agonizing introspection does not come from your own thoughts. Not entirely, at least.
The doubt that the Void so fills you with might become more permanent than you'd like.

You have questions beyond counting, things you need to do.
The seal.
The Void Magi.
The war.
Anton.
To think, even a man as Anton, a man who instilled within you such fear as you'd never have thought possible. To think even he would run as a dog with its tail between its legs upon the mention of the advancing legio-

Right.
The demons are still coming.

So many things to do. So many things to say.
The question is:
What -do- you do?

>>20215937
>>20215927
Aad we're off.
Even if it's just you, singular Anon, I'll be happy to play.

What is this seal Kaoru is asking for? Do we have it?

>>20215937
Talk to Kaoru.

Ask what happened to the twenty other Void Magi stuck in the void.

Ask how we're supposed to get him Seere's seal and when he needs it.

File: 1344314103363.jpg-(131 KB, 500x500, The Third Seal.jpg)

>>20215977
>>20215992
Your mind perhaps irreparably damaged by Dantalion's assault, you are about to ask Kaoru about the seal. Seere's seal. The third seal.
Your mind drifts off into the past, as your temples begin to hum.

Slowly, spikes erupt.
How embarrassing indeed, that they would grow from your head at such an inopportune time. The paralyzing pain of keratin protrusions sprouting from your head is second only to the pain of doing something so wildly inappropriate in front of your mentor, whatever would he think?

Blinking, you look upon yourself, seeing the illusion for what it is.
And then, the seal appears above your head.
Seere's seal.

Your mind struggles to take in the circle. A circle, existing in a world of toruses and squares. Yet the seal itself is clearer than the memory of your first love, the feeling of ecstacy after a new discovery.
It's almost palpable.

You snap out of it in time to meekly raise your hand, pointing towards a piece of paper.
"I can draw the seal, Kaoru. But, what happened to the others?"

"They're still within the Void. Unfortunately, so is Seere. And he's broken free, if you have the seal.
I can keep him from killing Azrail for long enough that you might rescue them.
Their survival hinges on your ability to use what I have taught you.
I could, if you do not feel ready, attempt to do so myself. Their chance of survival is negligible in that event, however."

They..they're still alive?

>What do you do/say?

>>20215977
Thus far, all you really know is that the seals are needed for defeating the demons. How they're used, or what they are, or why you're the only one (that you know of) who can see them, you're not sure.
The one person you've asked, Anton, didn't know either.
At least, he said he didn't know.

His job was covering up the existence of the Magi in India, after all. Takes a lot of subterfuge to pull that off.

>>20216155

We'll have to be the one to do this, it sounds like. Do we have the vaguest idea of how to begin going about this rescue? From the description, we sound like we're a bit on the young side to simply teleport 20 people from the space between spaces to here.

>>20216155

We'll have to be the one to do this, it sounds like. Do we have the vaguest idea of how to begin going about this rescue? From the description, we sound like we're a bit on the young side to simply teleport 20 people from the space between spaces to here

>>20216277

So many post errors and connection fails. God dammit.

>>20216155
I have to try, though I'd like you assistance in rescuing them if at all possible.

What do I have to do?

File: 1344315151766.png-(74 KB, 222x369, Dantalion.png)

"We'll have to be the one to do this, it sounds like. Do we have the vaguest idea of how to begin going about this rescue? From the description, we sound like we're a bit on the young side to simply teleport 20 people from the space between spaces to here."

In his usual emotionless manner, and in a motion almost humanlike, he hands you the paper and pencil you left on your nightstand, upon which you draw the seal Kaoru so desperately needs.

Kaoru speaks something you find familiar:
"The Seventy-first demon is Dantalion. He is a Duke Great and Mighty, appearing in the Form of a Man with many Countenances, all Men's and Women's Faces; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one; for he knoweth the Thoughts of all Men and Women, and can change them at his Will."
Subconsciously, your mind fills out the blanks. Yes. You remember.
"Your lips and your tongue sheepishly recount the rest of what you know Kaoru will speak, as if they possessed autonomy of their own:
He can cause Love, and show the Similitude of any person, and show the same by a Vision, let them be in what part of the World they Will."

In a staggering feat of human emotion unlike any he has ever shown before, he lifts an eyebrow.
"Yes.
The agents of Azrail are all trained enough to return on their own. However, Dantalion has trapped them within their own illusions.
You merely have to bring them out of them.
Are you ready?"

Sorry, I typed out all that and then it got deleted and I had to retype it. The quotation marks are supposed to be after "autonomy of their own", not after.

My computer is fucking with me thoroughly, so going to try and move my drafts to Word.

>Any more questions before you head off on your quest to say Azrail (and Anton) from Dantalion's illusions (or die trying)?

>>20216401
I don't know if I'm ready but I'm going to try.

Do you have any helpful advice for this endeavor?

File: 1344316368599.png-(421 KB, 3000x2000, First try.png)

>>20216450
“I don't know if I'm ready but I'm going to try.

Do you have any helpful advice for this endeavor?”
As Kaoru’s unsettling Cheshire grin gives way to an unsettling guffaw and a gust of air blowing away the skin from your bones, you regain your composure for long enough to hear his words and shed the mirage from your conscious mind.

“Dantalion’s tainted you. Hopefully, temporarily, but perhaps not. It is linked to the Void.
Be wary, for your path is beset on all sides by illusions, fabrications, and it will only grow stronger as you link yourself to the emptiness between the worlds. You’re not yet ready to remain there for long. Be swift, or you will surely perish.”

Rarely has Kaoru ever been so melodramatic, but perhaps then it is all the more imperative that his advice be heeded.

“I will release Seere into the world as soon as you’re finished. The longer you tarry, the more dangerous he might become. When you rematerialize on Earth, do so at Gyatso’s temple. We’ll need Sam to seal away Seere.”

Sam.
Why can’t you let go of this hatred you feel towards your brother.

Why, when he loves you so much must you continually push him away?

You quickly empty your mind, remembering Kaoru’s advice. No enmity, no cloud of emotions to obscure your vision.

Your mind must remain stark.

You prepare to enter the Void on your own for
the very first time.

You already feel sick to your gut.

>(Cont..)

File: 1344316417425.png-(553 KB, 950x680, The Sea of Blissful Aware(...).png)

You find yourself upon a blissfully gentle wave.
Peacefully, you drift onto the shore, sand stretching beyond your sight.
You raise both your arms above your head and yawn, knowing that you are home.

You see five figures standing upon the seashore, each caught up in their own doings.
From the aged, wise and slightly hateful face, you recognize the Monk Gyatso, master of inner magic, mentor of your brother.
From the stoic, ageless face of your own mentor, you recognize Kaoru.

As the hot sands underneath your bare feet are displaced by your own movements, you look up to find the source of the clear, summer day, finding, not the sun, as you would expect, but a starry night, illuminating the sky with their own, distinct incandescence. Each and every dot in the blackness a unique shine, giving the day a multifaceted nature, yet none of it reaching anything else but the (comparatively) infinitely small area upon which you, and these three strangers and two wise men stand.

You look at the other three figures, each a silhouette.

In a moment of clarity, you remember your purpose. To find Maha and other Void Magi, and to find Anton, yet the glow of the uncountable suns give a warmth comparable to that of love.

Perhaps you do not theirs, so long as you have that of this place?

In the distance, you see a mirage of a circle of twenty stone gateways, yet clearly they are nothing but an illusion, for here is nothing but sand.

These sands of forgotten eras.

>What do?

>>20216713
Head towards the twenty stone gateways and be quick about it. This looks to be where those we came to rescue are, we must hurry.

File: 1344317780442.jpg-(699 KB, 997x738, The First Door.jpg)

>>20216765
"Hurry!" a voice within your mind says.
How droll.
You don't want to leave this place. Now while the whole world is at your fingertips.
But what, then, of those live within it?

A sense of responsibility for the events that have unfolded haunts you.
You're the reason any of this happened.
You have to set it right.
Dave.
Set it right Dave.
Will you let them die?
Don't let them die Dave.
Why will you let them die, Dave?

You lift yourself from the sands, running with all the effort you can muster.
The grains flow to the sides, in deference to your authority.

You stand before twenty doors.
The lonely door that stands in this barren place is all there is in this place, void of humanity.

All there is in this empty place, without the pleasure of the world, is a sandy plaque, on which the following is inscribed:

"In a small town long ago, this story was told: It was a hot summer Sunday. The squire and his wife were in church when the squire fell asleep. He dreamed he was a nobleman at the time of a Revolution. He had been condemned to death, and he was waiting on the scaffold for the guillotine to fall. Just then his wife, noticing that he was asleep, tapped him sharply on the back of his neck with her fan. The shock was so great--in view of what he was dreaming--that the squire immediately slumped over, dead.

Why is there no absolute truth in the world?"

>Will you answer? Will you flee? Will you turn back to where you came from and let them face their fates?

>>20217034
My net is being so slow that I've literally been trying to post that one thing for ten minutes.
My apologies.

>>20217034
We will answer.

There is no absolute truth because there can not be any. Such a thing is an impossibility.

Anything can be seen as true or false depending of your point of view. For the squire while many would claim his dream false he saw it as just as true as that which we consider real.

File: 1344319286632.jpg-(184 KB, 533x445, Agent Maha.jpg)

>>20217117
"There is no absolute truth because there can not be any. Such a thing is an impossibility.

Anything can be seen as true or false depending of your point of view. For the squire while many would claim his dream false he saw it as just as true as that which we consider real."

The words are inscribed unto the plaque as surely as the words you read were, and it disappears to return that door, through which you pass unhindered.

You see a small child, laughing with her father, yet you do not see anything except that which you've already seen.

Maha.

Again, you see the child, this time in tears.
Standing above her bullet-riddled father, the aftermath of what you recognize to be a lethal shootout with the police.

You see the child rejecting what comes next. She ignores the truth, reveling in the happiness of the past.

She does not pay heed to how she is taken under the tutelage of the ruthless mob for which her father worked. She does not see how her father had killed countless people before his own untimely death.

She does not see. For her, there was only one truth.
Her father had died.
And with him, her innocence.
All she could think of was revenge.
Revenge against the system which let her loving father die.
Revenge against her friends who left her once she was taken under the wing of the crime lords of the city.
Revenge against the world for creating a world where a child was deprived of her only joy in life.

Ultimately, she had her revenge.
In a way.
>cont

File: 1344319360334.jpg-(128 KB, 338x506, quite androgynous.jpg)

They were dead at her hands.
The ones who had wronged her father.
The ones who had wronged her.

She found out who led the SWAT that was responsible for the end of her father's career as a criminal, and she killed him in cold blood.
Thus was she taught. Thus, she would've perished, had the world had any kind of justice.

But the Void reminds you that justice is just another truth, and truth holds no more meaning than a lie when it is used to move the world.

Kaoru found her very easily. He changed her, taught her how to be a force for the Magi instead of another casualty in the war for mortal dominion.
He needed her capabilities.
She is still a child, Dave.
She will live forever in happiness.
She will never see the horror of her later life.
The abuse.
The pain.

Would you take that away from her?

The child sees you.

"Who are you?" she asks, eyes filled with the merry wonder that innocence provides.

The falling autumn leaves cease to fall. The breeze turns to nothing, as time stands still.

Only you and her now.
>What do you do?

Since you seem to be the only guy here, feel free to post any questions, comments, critique etc., since I'll have plenty of time to answer it.

(Although, you probably don't care about that, heh).

>>20217395
It's Dave, we've met before Maha.

I've come to take you home, take my hand. It'll all be okay, just take my hand.

>>20217438
"It's Dave, we've met before Maha.

I've come to take you home, take my hand. It'll all be okay, just take my hand."

"F-father says not to talk to strangers."

Her fear is insincere.
Her voice belies an understanding of what is happening.

You stretch out your hand to the little child, tears streaming down her face, so silent, the voice of a mute might be heard.

She looks at you, eyes as watery as a river, with but one question on her lips.

"Why?"

Her innocence lost, she reluctantly takes your hand, metamorphosing from the uncorrupted to the world-weary.

Before you stands not the child she wishes she were.
Maha stands as a result of failure.
You stand upon a mountain, consisting entirely of single grains of sand, each a failure upon which you've built your life.
Holding Maha in one hand, you drop a single grain onto the monolith before leaving the reality that existed for Maha.

"I...
I was happy there, y'know?"
She looks to the ground in melancholy, before she suddenly realises her truthfulness and the uncomfortable intimacy with which she's revealed her life.

"Dave? How the hell are you still alive? Where am I?"

Two doors stand before you.

>What do you do/say?

>>20217600
Yes it's Dave, and I'm sorry for doing that to you but I couldn't leave you there.

I'm still alive due to no small amount of luck and some other stuff I do not understand fully.

Currently we're in the Void, one of the Demons trapped you and all the rest of the void mages here in illusions. I'm busting them out.

Take a look at the two doors, does anything set them apart from each other?

File: 1344320562543.jpg-(272 KB, 900x400, The Paired Doors.jpg)

>>20217600
>fuck you internet let me post pictures

>>20217635
>>20217625
Okay, let's start by heading through the left one. Stick together though, don't split the party yet.

>>20217625
"Yes it's Dave, and I'm sorry for doing that to you but I couldn't leave you there.

I'm still alive due to no small amount of luck and some other stuff I do not understand fully.

Currently we're in the Void, one of the Demons trapped you and all the rest of the void mages here in illusions. I'm busting them out.

Take a look at the two doors, does anything set them apart from each other?"

She looks at you incredulously before pinching her nose and closing her eyes in irritation.
"Slow down, Dave. I need to process what you're saying.
So what you're saying is that you, a person who should by all rational means be dead, is in fact here in the Void with me, and I'm trapped in an illusion?
You don't see the problem with a person who should be dead telling me that everything I know is an illusion and I should just trust him blindly? Besides, I don't see any doors, just this one cobblestone passageway."

Huh.

>>20217729
Maha, I couldn't have died. I'm far too pretty to die. Rationality has little basis here. And as for why I see doors and you don't the reason has been stated, Illusion.

>>20217769
"I guess the passageway could be called a door, but I don't see any hinges or anything. Also, don't flatter yourself Dave. I've seen better die to worse.

So, when you say all the other Void Magi are trapped here, do you mean just those from Azrail, or all of them? And how do you propose that we get them out?
And how did you even know what to do?

The more you speak, the more suspicious you're getting y'know."

>>20217802
Just the ones from Azrail. There's 20 of you.

I'm half trying to follow Kaoru's instructions and the rest I'm just going by the flow. First I break the illusions that are keeping you here and then I find some way to get you back home.

What can I do to prove that I'm me and here to help?

File: 1344321880843.png-(434 KB, 1600x819, Chain of command.png)

>>20217844
"Just the ones from Azrail. There's 20 of you.

I'm half trying to follow Kaoru's instructions and the rest I'm just going by the flow. First I break the illusions that are keeping you here and then I find some way to get you back home.

What can I do to prove that I'm me and here to help?"

"Well... you say you can see a passage that I can't, right?
I'll go through the one I can see, you go through the other, I'll try to free whoever is in there, you do the same with the other. "

You realize this means she won't actually need to trust you at any point, since you'll never be able to do anything against her, and you won't be able to identify any of the other Magi, since you haven't actually met them, yet it should also speed up the operation significantly. Quadratically, in fact, if your high school mathematics classes haven't faded away completely.

Then again, while this hasn't been dangerous thus far, it might become so.

>The choice is yours.

>>20217911
Okay, take care of yourself Maha. Remember that this place is full of illusions and if anyone calls out to you it's probably a trap. Try to bring people out of the illusion.

To prove it's me next time we talk we should set up a simple call and response. Something like Sparrow/Blackbeard. It doesn't have to make sense.

>>20217945
"Right. Codenames.
I seriously never thought the NPU would devolve to this.
Regardless, I'll see what I can do, Dave.
If it really is you, don't die on us.
We're going to need everything we have in the war, and you're the only one who can do what you can do."

Not sure whether she was being kind, or simply utilitarian, you simply nod in affirmation as she disappears into the left door.

Before you is a stone door.

There is absolutely nothing except a stone tablet in front of you, with the following words:

"We slowly strive, knowing no haste,
And yet we look away
from answers, and perfection too,
For our own sanity.

WHY DO YOU PUSH THEM AWAY?"

The voice of the guardian echoes in the empty hall within which you stand, only you, and him.

>Why do you push them away, Dave?

Okay we need knives
Not many five ten is enought
We will becapable of controling time to some extand later yes?

>>20218058
If you survive, then maybe.

Chances that you survive are slim, though. Dave has a history of getting his shit kicked out of him.

>>20218055
I push them away because that is not the path I have chosen. I push them away because if I accepted them I would not be Dave.

File: 1344324444783.jpg-(1.9 MB, 1346x2334, a7138f98620763a4781166ea1(...).jpg)

>>20218113
"WHY IS THIS YOUR PATH? WHAT MAKES YOU DAVE?"
You don't dignify the voices in your head with an answer, because yours is a path you walk alone.

The stone door opens itself to you, as you enter a far more mundane locale.

A city like countless you've seen before, yet this one is in some way unique. Just like every other place.

It's ceased to mean anything to you.

Arkady Golubov.
You know the man's name instinctively. After all, you are intruding on his reality.

Arkady Golubov.
You don't see a remarkable childhood. Nothing happened in his childhood.

However neutral that might sound, for the young Arkady, it was nothing short of an existential nightmare.

His school days were spent, not listening to the teacher, nor mingling with the cliques.
He would scurry off to a corner of the playground when forced outside, running at the mere sight of another child approaching.

A dog knows to keep its nose away from that which hurts it.

As he grew, he found himself without the qualities that society praised.
He was the embodiment of patheticness.
Weak.
Uncivilized.
Stunted.
In the eyes of his peers, he was made worthless.

Perhaps, then, this led to his inability to cope with society's demands.

As an adult, Arkady found that he had none to rely on. His parents, apathetic, his friends, nonexistent, his guidance, defunct.

He turned to the only thing he could find solace in.
And thus Arkady ceased to exist, and in his place arose Arcade.

>(cont...)

File: 1344325000462.jpg-(815 KB, 1024x768, The Language of the Machines.jpg)

Arcade directed the machines. He wrote his wish, and had he formulated it correctly, it was granted.

For the first time in his miserable life, Arcade found someone in whom he could place his trust.

Arcade found solace in his newfound ability to finally command respect. To have authority.

Yet, authority begets power, and power must be tempered with restraint, lest it be misused.

What differentiates a child from a man, when the man has learned nothing more of the world than the infant? When his entire existence has been plagued with isolation and ignorance for the sake of self-preservation?

For Arcade, it was simple.
He had power now. Power to change.
Others did not.

Thus did Arcade begin to sink deeper within the world of his own creation, manipulating events behind cathode tubes and a keyboard, pushing everything else far away. He was content to live as nothing more than words on a screen.

Until finally, that screen broke down.
Until reality came crashing in his door, attempting to arrest him for his crimes.

Even a child will fight, tooth and nail once its life is in danger.

And for Arcade, everything was a potential danger.

He fled from his home, evading the law enforcement for months, until he grew weary.

He has nothing left.
Rather;
He has no one left.

These are the moments he relives.

The pain of knowing he's alone.

The regret that fills him.

The hatred that envelops him.

This is what binds him.

>Can you free his bindings, Dave?

>>20218383
Yes I can.

Tell Arkady that he isn't alone anymore, he is part of a brotherhood of Void Magi. We support him, aid each other. We have come to the Void to rescue him as he is one of us and we do not abandon our own. He is not alone, his regrets are in the past and there are greater things than himself to hate, things that we need him with us to fight.

Dave can free his bindings, they are false, they are wrong.

File: 1344326301320.jpg-(481 KB, 800x605, A Single Failure on a Mou(...).jpg)

>>20218420
>You push them away, yet urge them to unite? Interesting....

You look at Arcade, sensing his despair, and it fills you with a sense of familiarity. You remember feeling much this way during a visit to the Void.

Couldn't have been that long ago, you muse, considering how recent its existence was revealed to you.

"You aren't alone any more."

Your voice cuts the air as if it were a blade cutting flesh.
Messy.
Bloody.
Bound to result in screams.

"Hu-WHA? Who said that?!"

"You are part of the brotherhood of Void Magi. We support you, we aid each other. We've come to the Void itself to rescue you.
You're one of us.
We won't abandon you.
You are not alone."

Arcade looks dumbfounded as the world collapses around him. As existence itself unravels at the seams.
You reach out for his hand, and for the first time, and hesitantly, he grasps it.
As the last of the veneer of civilization destroys itself and you stand once again on the mountain of failures, you let a single grain drop onto it, a single sand.

Every one of them carries you. They support you.

Yet not one of them is yours.

You take Arcade with you as you leave to meet Maha in what is ostensibly 'outside', though this being the Void, it's likely no more true than what everything else is.

As she talks, explaining the situation to the person she's rescued from the illusion, you can't help but smile at how easy this has been thus far.

"Sparrow."
She turns to face you and breathes a sigh of relief
"Blackbeard."

>I hope you don't mind if I take a small break, one kind Anon who's here. As you might've noticed, my post updates are getting rather slow, so I'm going to try and get the more intimate details hammered out, since this is probably just going to be a very long exposition session, and it wouldn't be fair to you to make you respond to everything and wait. I'll write out the most obvious things so updates will take less time.

Fuck yeah, I've been waiting for this quest.

>>20218569
So, uh.
When are you coming back?

Aw shit, I fell asleep.
Which kinda makes sense since it's 3 PM and I hadn't slept before I took a break, but still.

In any event,

>What do you do?

>>20219553
Okay, see if Maha got anything from her search.

Then look for a path or doorway that will lead us to another captive. Split up again, cover more ground, Kaoru said we should get this done quick.

>>20219619
uh
You did notice the guy she's talking to, right?

>>20219626
Right, I'm a tad tired. Talk to her, tell her that we got Arkady out, ask who she got. Share information then split up again. Set up a call and response for everyone. We're Sparrow, she's Blackbeard, Arkady can be Bubbles and the one we don't know can be Dutchman.

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>>20219645
The awkward silence after recognizing one another fills the air, somehow.
"So, I managed to get Arkady out of his illusion. You?"
"How would you know if I told you?"
"Touché."

Looking around, you notice only one door.
"That's strange."
Maha nods at Arcade as if to confirm an order before turning to you.
"What is it?"

"Well, I can only see one door. More like a wall with a huge boulder in it that seems removable, though. We'll need to split up. It's faster that way, any way. We'll have time for formal introductions later, but for now, Arcade's callsign is Bubbles, that other guy-"
"Savoy." he says, interrupting you.
"..Savoy, can be Dutchman."
He looks slightly annoyed by this, but nods.

"So, let's get to it. Good luck, people."

You turn to the third passage, which isn't there, but there's a floating string of text.

“Like Gilgamesh you’ve sought
For immortality you’ve fought
Utnapishtim you’ve not become
You shall perish when the time has come
And all your efforts will have been for naught.
So why, then, do you persist?“

>Why, Dave?

>>20219700
I persist because it is the right thing to do. It is the only thing left for me to do, it is the only thing left to do. I refuse to give in and to accept futility.

>>20219717
I repeated myself, rewording quickly.


I persist because it is the right thing to do. It is the only thing left for me to do, it is the only thing I can do when faced with what we're up against. I refuse to give in and to accept futility.

Perhaps my efforts will be for naught, perhaps they shall succeed and the world will live for longer, I will not know until I try.

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>>20219734
"I persist because it is the right thing to do. It is the only thing left for me to do, it is the only thing I can do when faced with what we're up against. I refuse to give in and to accept futility.

Perhaps my efforts will be for naught, perhaps they shall succeed and the world will live for longer, I will not know until I try."

The wall crumbles before your certainty, as you gaze into the third mind.
The subdued smell of foliage and the local fauna is overshadowed completely by the deadening stench of napalm and death.

Like thunder, the cacophony of bullets, artillery, explosions and murder overload your hearing, to the point where all that is left is noise.

A great background noise, showcasing the brilliance of the senseless destruction.

Even here, in the midst of the most soulless, debauched event in modern history, however, each man, each woman has a story.

And you can tell, this woman, Collares. Paine Collares.
Her story is what you must understand.
It begins not unlike many stories, in adolescence. Paine's childhood, while certainly affected by her towering countenance, was not as important for Paine's development as these years when the identity begins to establish itself.
See, Paine, while certainly not dumb by any metric, was never considered smart. Nor in any way, shape or form, attractive. She was the big girl, the one you didn't want to talk to, in fear of a violent outburst ending your spine like so many garbage cans taken out by fireworks.

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Now, Paine had no problems per se. She grew up in a physically and mentally stimulating environment.
All the more capable as a soldier, when she finally enrolled, believing it to be the only thing she was truly good at.

Paine didn't necessarily believe in the causes for which she fought. She believed in camaraderie. She believed in loyalty.
So she killed. She didn't think twice about it.

She cared about the glory.

One day, however, she thought.

What if I am left dead upon the battlefield, one more carcass for the vultures to strip?

Mortality is an ever present fear, and no less so for Paine, once she'd seen the horrors in which you now stand.

Paine fought, but each battle left her psyche scarred. Every day was a struggle to get out of bed, for fear of a stay gunshot ending her existence in that very second.

This culminated then, on this fateful day,.

For she stands alone, surrounded by the corpses of those she considered her closest friends, the last survivor of a battle that had no mercy nor regard for the sanctity of life.

And for the first time in her life, Paine was truly, utterly horrified.

Crying, at the knowledge of how even her, one day, would die. How the cessation of her existence would mean the end of everything she's ever done.

She sits there, moving only erratically, fearful of the dangers that might arise should she ever attempt to move.

She wanted immortality, to serve her nation.
She found nothing but death, pain and hardship.
>What do you do?

>>20219837
Collares, you have to move. You have to get up, if you move you may die but if you stay there you will definitely die.

Get up Paine Collares, your comrades need you, if you don't want this to happen again you have to get up and take my hand.

We will all die, but if you stand up then your efforts won't be for naught, if you stand up you'll be remembered and what you have done, what you have sacrificed will not be in vain.

Take my hand, we all need you to stand up straight and leave this place.

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>>20219837

"Collares, you have to move. You have to get up, if you move you may die but if you stay there you will definitely die.

Get up Paine Collares, your comrades need you, if you don't want this to happen again you have to get up and take my hand.

We will all die, but if you stand up then your efforts won't be for naught, if you stand up you'll be remembered and what you have done, what you have sacrificed will not be in vain.

Take my hand, we all need you to stand up straight and leave this place."

Paine looks at you.
"What's the point? I'm going to die. I'm going to die in this hellhole, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm the only one who can help you, Paine."

She widens her eyes and stops rocking back and forth, then shaking her head.

"Why would you help me?"

"Because you're one of us."

You reach out for her, and Paine grabs our arm with surprising strength, nearly knocking you off balance as the fiery woods behind you fade into the Void.

Once again, you stand atop the inadequacies of humanity, expanding platform by the most miniscule of amounts, yet it has grown to be as strong as any monument, as large as any architecture.

You exit to find Maha explaining to three new people, as well as a what looks like the outline of the fourth door.

"Sparrow."

"Blackbeard. Looks like we're just about done here, really. With the next iteration, I'll be able to send a detachment after Anton, and we can be on our merry way."
>Well?

>>20219950
So we're up to eight. Good.

Everyone come up with a callsign and tell everyone it so we can be more sure that it isn't an illusion when we talk to you later. If you don't come up with one quickly I'll name you something like Fluffy or Generalisimo.

Everyone knows the situation, there's 12 of us left to rescue and we ought to be able to get 8 more this run. This'll leave us with 16, for this one we'll pair up, send 4 pairs after the remaining 4 if possible and group the rest of us to get Anton.

Any questions?

>>20219971
I mean once we get 16 we'll have people pair up just to make sure nothing goes wrong on the last one.

Anton isn't counted in the 20 right?

>>20219986
No, he is not.

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>>20219971
"So we're up to eight. Good.

Everyone come up with a callsign and tell everyone it so we can be more sure that it isn't an illusion when we talk to you later. If you don't come up with one quickly I'll name you something like Fluffy or Generalisimo.

Everyone knows the situation, there's 12 of us left to rescue and we ought to be able to get 8 more this run. This'll leave us with 16, for this one we'll pair up, send 4 pairs after the remaining 4 if possible and group the rest of us to get Anton.

Any questions?"

One of the younger ones raises his hand, with a smile as wide and smug as a genuine Gary Oak.

"Yeah, uh Mr. 'I got beat up by an overgrown dog', who died and made -you- king of the world? Or commander of the NPU for that matter?"

Most of Azrail lets out a light chuckle.

"Right, your new callsign for this mission is Pumpkin.", Paine says.
"Oh come on, you can't be serious! Jackie D. would never make up this bull-"
"Are you disobeying a senior officer in the field, Pumpkin?"
At this, even Maha has to let a smile cross her lips.
"N-no m'am. P-pumpkin reporting for duty, m'am."
"Good. Now, Dan, right?"
"Dave."
"Yeah, we're going to need to... actually, on second though, never mind. You don't need to know that. I'm going to get debriefed by Maha and head out."
"Right."

The fourth door appears.

And again with the text.

“The most virtuous of deeds is often said to be forgiveness.
Yet you let yourself be consumed by revenge.
Why do you not relent?”

>>20220026
There are some things that can not be forgiven, trying to destroy the world is among them.

I can forgive a lot, I probably should forgive my brother, he's done nothing wrong to me.

But I will still not relent, there are things that I can not forgive and thus I must take revenge upon them. To relent would be to fail myself and the world.

>>20220070
First of all, I'd really like to thank you for playing in the quest for so long.

With that said, I am literally switching eyes right now, since I'm so incredibly sleepy (it is 5 PM and I've slept 2 very, very disturbed hours. The ones where I was just going to take a break). Also, there's going to be even more character introductions/development, and not a whole lot of plot progression, and I don't want to bore you to tears by making it even more droll than it needs to be.

Most of all, I need some sleep before I kill myself.

If the thread is still up when I wake up, I'll definitely continue it, though.

(Any criticism would also be very, very appreciated).

>>20220124
That's convenient as I am rather tired myself.

I don't really have anything in the way of criticism, your writing is extremely good, in large chunks and remarkably fast. All of the characters, even the ones who would be considered side characters are interesting and engaging. You add creative things through images or audio clips, it's clear you put a lot of effort into this.

I'm sure your player base will come back when you run it again, the hiatus just threw them off and you didn't run it at the best time. It's good to see you back.

Sleep well.

Shit yes I was wondering where this quest had gone.

we have void eyes now
awesome

Damn it, why is the quest always over by the time I get here.

Wake up, OP. I want more terrible things to happen to Dave.

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So, OP, I'd like some answers to a few questions, please.

What the fuck is going on