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‘’Siegfried...’’

Two syllables came out in a choked, exhausted tone as a sharp intake of breath interrupted the girl mid speech, as if heralding the very end of her own personal struggle she pleaded for the suffering young man in silence; his bloodied form must have died tens of time, kept in a stasis of raw pain strong enough to erode anyone sanity within moments, yet he clung to his belief and never allowed the enemy to steal precious memory to consume as its own. Bloods pouring down his eyes had likely rendered him blind, the same liquid falling down his nose, mouths and ears warped the handsome young man face in a terrible mockery of bloodlust as the foe continued on, imposing pain, jolts and deaths after deaths, enough to kill his very soul; his precious litany had finally fallen in a gargled mess of sounds yet the crystals still, somehow, protected her.

Loud, loud animalistic growls came from the darkness close enough to cause the crippled entity a brief pause in its torture, the lampposts would briefly see a small running shade zipping past, traveling the length of the serpentine, damaged and warped bridge oftentimes causing wet echoes while breathless grunts heralded an incredibly fast charge stopping a breath short of the last lamps before the end of the bridge.

Thus the Nightmare liberated Siegfried, his body fell on his knees and, with one last touch as taunt, the entity sent him slamming forward, his thoroughly bloodied face coating the dark fleshy ground in blood as his dull lifeless eyes stared on, body and mind thoroughly overloaded by pain and deaths, yet his body already wiggled some as his crystal hand tightened around his human fist – again- while protecting the golden ring, already crawling his arm toward his stomach.

‘’…Sieg…’’

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Athena had been watching him from the very moment he had awakened inside this ‘’distance between souls’’ that was their environment, dark emotions had swirled incessantly like some kind of disease, the young girl she saw witnessing the murder of her mother wasn’t this indecisive, this weak; could she… never get herself to love someone without imposing some kind of trials of faith? Is this the woman Athena Pàla is supposed to be?

A bloodcurdling snarls resonated on the open path as a large quadruped finally stepped into the light, some kind of wolfish entity with a long, elongated triangular jaw full of oversized teeth barked at its foggy foe, each strand of fur gleaming in a metallic black revealing pointed blades while a giant tongue spilled out of this murderous jaw onto the ground, oil-like substance spilling out slowly onto the ground; no eyes to be seen, yet all the blades of its furs stuck out, rattling against one another in an all too familiar sound as its heavy paws dug into the fleshy soil.

So is this how this great finale will be? A duel between horrors? Whoever wins gains a most delectable meal and that’s how everything ends, without even the possibility of saying a last goodbye?

‘’Why did I…’’

Her small voice couldn’t say the last word, with a whimper the ring around the recovering Siegfried cracked with tiny sound of broken glass, one last manifestation from the wife-to-be toward the husband she –should- love ought to be enough, if she can’t convince herself, then Athena will force herself to believe the obvious.

--

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The first intake of breath felt like a perverse reverse of a death rattle as you choked on a squishy piece of meat in your throat, immediately forcing it out in a gargling cough followed by blood; a resurgence of strength and energy nearly sprang you to your feet while all the fluids congesting your face nearly incited a gagging reflex but you held strong while retreating toward the broken wall in a backward crawl, finally allowing the crystal arm to free your battered human hand, only to feel the warmth of the ring absent without golden glower, it was still thankfully wrapped around your finger but a distinctive crack on its upper part was undoubtedly a cause for great concern; if this ring is Athena soul, this wound…

You haven’t recovered in a ‘’usual’’ way that much is certain, usually you’d feel the pain of your wounds and deaths traveling into your soul and mark it with enough potency to wish for a quick ending; the only reason why you’ve been able to endure was because your mind retreated into the memories of that sleepover. A glimpse of white came into view as your vision finally cleared, two entity were facing one another, yet none moved or made any sound as if completely forgetting themselves, the long smoky dark body of the Nightmare saw many tendrils exits its phantasmal torso to crawl along the floor while the single remaining lamp had somehow been thrown to the ground, thankfully the light of the fire was enough to provide proper illumination, however an unusual projection from the west tickled the side of your vision, a rare gold that had nothing in common with the precious ring around your finger.

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Bristling with colors foreign to this dark world a third party had somehow invaded this sanctum. A familiar woman was floating in the oily ocean, parting the thick waves of resistance with gold, magnificent, pure, gold spreading outward from the halo resting atop her head, its very own nexus of splendid aureate grace. Long elegant wings cradled her body, two of them spreading upward from behind her shoulders with the second pairs floating all the way behind the armor-clad legs while taking roots at her hips, they sported a most unusual colors mixing pale mauve with white and tint of blue while the feathers appeared tiny enough to be comparable to furs, even swaying slightly in redundant current of the World of Soul. A large halberd was held firmly in her right hand, the polearm long enough to rival the height of the wings as it stood like a barrier to the oily water, blade shining from its own pearly light; a heavenly maiden had somehow stepped into this place and interrupted two horrors.

Could they be staring in awe? As if awakening from a long, long slumber the eyes of the faraway angel opened as her floating body jerked in movement, the metal-covered fingers of the gauntlet reached and grasped for the staff; next her arm bent sluggishly as if fighting currents and some kind of ailment yet carried the heavy weapon without strain, stopping once the brilliant tip settled toward the horrors, provoking a simultaneous jolt as the wolf growls grew succinct as it took two steps backward; this interruption had given you more than enough time to rise to your feet, the crystallised hand still clutched your fist despite the broken ring, you still have remnants of this memory, despite it all you were still reluctant to let go of everything, to consume and lose a part of yourself was a frightening prospect but now… You don’t have any hesitations anymore.

Do you fight or flee, mister Shieffer?

>>31764124
I'll vote [x] Flee

>>31764124
>Flee

We fucked up a lot last thread

>>31764124
I'll vote flee too, Siggy is in no shape to fight the poor guy.

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Bad, bad /tg/ leaving the angel to her fate!

>>31764397
You got to be kidding me....

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>>31764594
It's a joke

>>31764124
I vote for using that memory and fighting but it looks like the ship has sailed.

>>31764124
Fight. To the last memory fragment, to the last waifu!

>>31764124
Well this is a difficult decision, given the nature of the nightmare. Technically everyone here has a common enemy in it but unfortunately a three vs. one situation may be exactly what it wants given its nature. If that nature even still applies here.

I say eat another memory and curbstomp the bitch in one quick moment before either of them can interfere. Athena's dying out there and we simply don't have the time for a prolonged engagement.

Rolled 3, 19, 8 = 30

>>31765459
...Oh shit, I forgot about that

>>31765386
>>31765459
But right now we should be getting to our own soul in order to get more power/stave off what's happening. All of the problems last thread were from not immediately getting to our soul.

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Hmm I've already written with the flee option in mind but I could warp it to try and fight, it'd take some time.

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>>31765579

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I'll have to entirely rewrite my entire update if you guys want to do something else, so I'll continue working on it and see what the popular opinion is in a few minute.

>>31765696
All of our choices last thread of not going towards our soul were wrong, and we got a hint that going to our soul will salvage something from this situation.
What is your basis that we will even be able to win?

>>31765579
That is a good point. I suppose fleeing is in our best interests then. No way the beast will lose to the nightmare after all.

I'd like to think the guy's oddly possessive of us, like he's the only one allowed to kill Siggy and anybody else who tries dies.

>>31765696
We are badly wounded from just turning around and confronting the nightmare, how much of a chance can we put up against not only the nightmare but also the beast that's been living inside Siggy?

>>31765811
>guy's oddly possessive of us
No, it's just pure practicality. If anyone else kills Siegfried, then the Beast dies with him.
No one else but the Beast can kill Siegfried because otherwise our fates are still intertwined.

>>31765844
The Angel, which is probably Radiance, is buying us time. We need to use it as best we can by getting to our soul and seeing if we can power up.

Yes, we're on a timer, but we need to not make a mistake in our haste.

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You feel compelled, motivated, enraged; all the pain you’ve been put through has fueled a cold, cold anger tapping into your fear, you’ve long been the kind of man that’d seek to destroy what make him afraid and you have every right to be scared of that damnable floating face whose body cannot be seen or described, it’s a mere illusion of fog, unfortunately….

It may have taken you a while to deduce the purpose of that –now broken- ring around your finger but its current state is enough to warm your growing homicidal ambition; you have no idea how, when or even why this… physical representation of Athena soul would break like this, a simple crack separating the golden circle from linking forever shouldn’t manifest in this place and the inherent warmth of the object was gone.

Damn these monsters!

‘’If you did anything, anything at all….’’

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Your own low pitched growling menace seemed to break awe induced stupor brought by the invading angel, you felt yourself embrace Focus, allowing the cascade of crystal to spread throughout your veins, restoring your arm and hand to their proper humanoid state while the tall floating creature turned its attention back to you, tendrils crawling in your direction while a few others jabbed toward your torso, you unleashed a crude backward projection while jumping back off the bridge, spending every last ounces of remaining power from the consumed memory pinched your heart in unusual longing until your back smacked –painfully- on a bluish translucid ground. A desperate gambit, you cradled the ring around your finger despite the futility while crawling backward as the Nightmare turned toward the Beast, the entity had jumped during the confusion but seemed to have become embroiled in its psychosis-inducing membranes as the large dog slammed loudly on the ground, one phantom digit squeezing itself in its oversized red eye… yet it wasn’t about to give ground as it giant triangular maw opened ominously dark bubbly liquid spitting toward its foe, but interruption came with the force of a mace.

Your little crystal walkway seemed to sprout corner of its own volition as force; pure simple force that could have been wind –slammed- in front of your, sending you sliding up the slick material as your eardrums ringed from a strange, unknown ‘’crack’’, as if some kind of sonic force met and exploded with whatever flimsy law of reality held the gravity of this world, your ears ringed and your vision swirled. Beast and Nightmare seemed to have been a little too preoccupied with one another as the intruding angel imposed her own little vision of ‘’dynamic entry’’. When you could settle your vision and nausea, you could scarcely believe your eyes.

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The maiden you came to know as the Embodiment of Faith had come between the two horrors having somehow stopped at the perfect angle to jam her left arm directly in the inhuman face of the nightmare, breaking its crystals weakness from your half-missed shot, she seemed to be searching and wiggling for something as the non-body of the entity broke, its ephemeral foggy projection battled with the light of the halo for a few seconds until murky, milky tiny tendrils sprouted from its dark ether, hundreds of tiny worms shot directly toward Radiance, filtering through the blue plate effortlessly and touching her skin, causing an immediate gurgle and cough of blood while her eyes cried white-golden blood… even so the Embodiment appeared undeterred, her second hand held her halberd firmly and she had somehow managed to pierce the upper part of the hellhound snout, drawing sticky acidic blood while the pearl colored blade of the halberd shone in defiance, the Beast vomited its charged cargo, a flood of sticky burning oil came out of its mouth, fortunately Lysta raised a few potent golden shields on her flanks, splashing the entity of the liquid which already started to eat through the magical barrier as she, somehow, managed to keep her mind whole while willing her hand down the broken head of the Nightmare despite its resistance, the beautiful face of the Embodiment had already by blood –now flowing freely from her eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

‘’Go!’’

She suddenly barked, whipping her head in your direction, pale blue eyes clinging to her face to the blood.

‘’I’ll rejoin you shortly!’’

She look like she could use the help, however, you have a clear shot to your soul thank to the walkway.

What do you do?

>>31766381
Get to the soul!

We've wasted too much time as it is.

>>31766381
Follow her orders and go, lets trust her.

>>31766381
She seems to know what she's doing, so do as she asks for now.

Sounds like she's had experience entering other people's souls.

Rolled 11, 18, 11 = 40

>>31766381
>Do what the lady says

>>31766381
Was this action for fleeing, or for fighting? Because it looks like we used up the last of our memory sacrifice in an attack, and it missed again.

>>31766505
You used the last of that memory to create a apth to your soul, it was fleeing

>>31766381
>‘’I’ll rejoin you shortly!’’
Gee, hoist that death flag higher, will you?

>>31766910
Isn't she already dead?

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>>31766910

How many death flags have been raised in this quest so far?

>>31766381
>inb4 we lose Leila's Radiance powerup

>>31767008

Have faith!

>>31767084
Poor little Leila has none now that she's living with horrible monsters.

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>>31766961
A very good amount for Siggy. I can't remember how many for the others but it's safe to assume they've said or done at least one dumb thing or another that'd raise one.

It is no matter though, everyone's fucked, just a matter of time before they all die either to weapons or become terminally corrupted and are fucked in a much different way but still quite dead from my perspective.

>>31766961
You have a very good point.

In fact with how much shit we've done we should be well past death flags and be hitting a dead end about now.

>>31766956
Not as dead as Avina yet, so there's room for improvement.

>>31767372
Too bad she's currently fighting something that eats souls.

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‘’Raaaaah!!’’

Her scream force you out of your deadlock as her entire arm plunge all the way to her shoulder, the nightmare seem to try and wiggle itself out somehow but a sickening wet crunch seems to keep it in place while the Beast manage to pull itself out of the halberd blade thank to the attention required by the first entity; you turn around in regret, even if her confidence was enough to instill optimist you have none to spare anymore.

The pathway you created was a crude one, sharp crystals jutted around the smooth surface and side barriers, you could see all the way down the sea of dark thank to the transparencies of your crystal, even so it lead upward toward the flame, a small kindling ember somehow kept alive through sheer stubbornness; you can’t spare a glance behind as you run upward, clutching the broken ring; you haven’t so much as felt a single spec of life from Athena anymore. Behind you, the sound of battle raged, disgusting wet sound of slashing, gurgled screams, sizzling of acidic substance… even the smell of blood wafted to your nostrils, but you didn’t turn back, you believed in the heavenly maiden right up until you reached your destination. A small white flame burned in front of you’re a few centimeters away from your crystals pathway and, before you could hear another scream from Radiance, you reached forward to grasp it…

And just like that, the entire scenery changed from dark to white, one sea of eternity for another with, at the very least, the luxury of a hard floor. No cardinal point, the only ‘’up’’ you could guess was the one you could put to thank to gravity yet you could gaze down perfectly without obstruction, a very, very similar situation to the last one, at least you didn’t need a torch…

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You’ve undoubtedly stepped into your soul, at least a part yet to be stained by the Beast. Knowledge seem to flow directly in your head as you face behind you, as if directions mattered, the ‘’world’’ you came from wasn’t one you had any authority over, thus you subconsciously raised impenetrable defense to isolate yourself, a natural reflex that’d make any invasion (save for the Beast, unfortunately) impossible.

However… Radiance is still out there, the only way to welcome her to safety would be to lower these resistances and potentially allow the Nightmare to follow.

Do you have faith that the Embodiment would make it back first, mister Shieffer? Or will you leave her behind? You’ve already welcomed whatever remains of Athena soul, she’s fine.

>>31767646
Can we use Athena's soul to help us lower the resistances only to let our angel in and keep the nightmare out?

>>31767646
Lower the resistance, bring the Embodiment in. We will need her to destroy the Nightmare.

All of our successes during this ordeal have been when we took action, and forced others to respond to our actions.

>>31767750

No, the soul is completely and totally unresponsive, it isn't even warm.

>>31767767
>>31767646
Since we're on our home turf now are we able to heal and power back up really quickly so we're back at full strength?

Rolled 17, 10 = 27

>>31767820

Sort of, but you need to keep in mind that creature eat souls, having it inside your own isn't exactly going to be a very fun time.

Consensus is to take actions it seems.

>>31767646
>Do you have faith that the Embodiment would make it back first.

Yes.

Wasn't it said that Radiance was where Hadraniel got her pro flying skills from?

>>31767904

Radiance got 4 wings instead of two.

> EX Flying

The choice has been made it seem, I'll start writing

Somehow having faith in the Embodiment of Faith just feels like the right thing to do.

>>31768679
We know what siggy will say if anyone asks.

>>31768807
"I just want to touch some fluffy tails"?

>>31768860
I meant >>31768679

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To ‘’lower’’ these defenses requires a process similar to casting; you thus embrace Focus out of sheer familiarity as the wall behind you dulls slightly, the sharp white growing murkier, allowing small holes of dark to seep into the solid blanket. You –feel- something before the barrier yield to the onslaught, a brightly colored form break through the walls like glasses, sending shards and ripple everywhere with enough forces to crackles the entire near infinite wall of your soul you’ve willingly sabotaged, she came with such speed that she already zipped past, flying ten, twenty, thirty, sixty... meters away, blood raining down her face, coloring and staining the bright blue armor, even so she somehow kept to her senses and projected her magic, piling golden shields on a few of the bigger holes as you worked to repair and raise the defenses again.

The dull appearance of the Nightmare came floating toward the largest opening, the dark fumes of its forms leaving stains on the white walls, with half of its face missing and whatever remained of its forehead pierced the entity looked well on its way to die, yet the innumerable tendrils spewed out from a thin column shaped body wormed themselves inside your inner sanctum, melting through the regenerating white barrier as the creature slowly inched its way forward despite the angel charging back, blood coloring the ground from her agile flying, she zigzagged forward with impressive momentum while casting shields after shields, containing the tendrils with her magic.
It’d seem you’ll need to prepare for the wo-

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>’’Let me eat it!’’

The beast suddenly talked, its voice warped by anger and excitation the foe that impeded your progress during your first arrival seems ready for a ceasefire.

>’’You won’t have to sacrifice anything!’’

You couldn’t senses any traces of your stubborn squatter, however Radiance is only able to provide you with a precious few seconds with her shields and asking her would obviously rob you of any opportunity for a first strike, the Nightmare is already inviting itself.

Do you…

>Allow the Beast its meal

>Take the fight to the Nightmare

> I'll be back in around 20 minutes, I'm very tired today but I'll continue to do my best

>>31768959
Let the beast fight it but try to do as much damage to it at the same time so the beast dosen't get all of it

>>31768959
>[x] Take the fight to the Nightmare

I don't trust either the beast or the Nightmare

So let's just fight.

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>>31768959
This is an interesting, tough choice. If we allow the beast to chow down he'll recoup his own losses from fighting us but we won't have to sacrifice anything else.

If we do choose to fight the thing we'll have to sacrifice another memory to end this fast enough to save Athena.

So what's it gonna be?

>>31768959
>Take the fight to the Nightmare
Allowing the Beast to eat it will give it a big power boost. Either we sacrifice a memory now to put down the Nightmare, or we end up fighting a more powerful Beast later, and sacrifice more to defeat it.

Either way we're going to end up sacrificing a memory.

The question we should really ask ourselves is, which option will defeat the Nightmare faster?

I think we should take the fight to the Nightmare; if both Siegfried and the Beast are competing with each to defeat the Nightmare before the other (since if the Beast defeats the Nightmare it will be able to eat it), then the Nightmare will fall faster under a two-pronged assault.

>>31769168
The whole sacrificing a memory part is a red herring.
We'll need to sacrifice part of our soul regardless; the only difference is now or later.

The real question is: which choice ends this fight faster?

While I'm tempted to simply say "Feast", I'll suggest that we don't respond to the beast and take the fight to the Nightmare.

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>>31768959
I vote for taking the fight to the nightmare, time for personal sacrifice to end it here and now. The beast is our final boss - we can't afford to give him any power ups like this. It's going to be Rejoicing but our end goal remains cutting off the beast from power while strengthening our soul links and memories to fight him.

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Seem like we came to a conclusion without deadlock, good.

You’ve never been able to hide secrets from him; the Beast pick up on your intention, its defiant snarl came loud enough to echoes inside the large white chamber, something that give Radiance a brief pause as she readjust her flight, zipping upward to come at the same level of the Nightmare.

Something unexpected throw your aim off as you were starting weight your memories; a single minded charged of an unholy beast squeeze the tall, flexible body of the Nightmare through the ever decreasing hole, both entities fully falling through onto the white world; the bladed furs of the hellhound stand rigid and covered in a mixture of oily dark and brilliant white-gold while a strong sizzling sound accompanies the smokes exiting its body, as if the very air attacked its body bloods erupted in disgusting squish yet the dog huge triangular jaw closed around the mask, the first few spikes you launched in immediate reactions bounced uselessly on its thick hide.

Right as you were about to consume something you’d regret, Radiance thick halberd pierced the huge wolf midflight before it landed atop its meal, going right through its back the holy weapon had been stabbed with enough force to cut into the Night body; the angel then too the sky, harpooning the corrupted animal as her wings flapped, created a potent ‘’crack’’ in the very wind while starting a dizzying spiral, gaining absolutely insane momentum as the Beast blood ate through the pearly material of the polearm; the Beast was sent flying upward, ascending onto the white world that ate at its very body and soul, completely and utterly unable to regain any control of its situation, unless of course, a sacrifice was made…

For your part, the wounded Nightmare went flat on the ground of –your- soul and you felt a jolt, soon followed by a sentiment of total disgusts as tendrils like worms shed themselves from fogyish white nexus, the air of the creature staining the soil and walls of –your- white soul, it still managed to face you emotionlessly, already sending a few of its tentacles crawling forward.

As you tapped into the unending hunger of pure, raw ‘’power’’ you realize something.

You imagined four lines – Green – Gold- Black- Gray-.

Each brought stability and memories as your own soul felt like a spinning, out of control debris falling in an unending abyss.

Do you consume something? If so…

>Sacrifice something of worth; take out your enemy through superior firepower [Heavy]

>Sacrifice something mild, try to outthink it. [Mild]

>[You can also choose a memory, but given the large amount of possibility I’ll choose one for myself if a deadlock happen.]

>>31770289
How powerful is a memory compared to to the first two options?

>>31770342
That'll depend on what it is. The better or more important the memory, the more juice we'll get out of it.

>>31770342
The more precious it is, the most power you'll gain, it's that simple really.

Something like what you ate for dinner last night will bring nothing, Athena first kiss is very teasured for example and would give a large power boost, while consuming the ''morning after'' your first night with Tsukiyomi is what I'd consider mild. A very, very pleasant experience but not quire ''pwerful''

>>31770289
>>31770432
First time you made love with your bodyguard and the awkwardness after with your mother

>>31770432
>>31770405
What about our memory of that time in the swamps when we had a crisis situation with those red skelingtons? That was a really bad situation so it should have plenty of weight with it but it probably isn't very vital to our continued Siggy-ing.

>>31770502

That's a ''Mid-low''

>>31770498

This one is very precious, are you sure you wish to do this?

>>31770432
We do not have the luxury of trying to outthink it because of all of the mistakes made last time.

But...it sounded like the Beast is going to try to sacrifice a memory/part of its soul as well to stay here. Probably as a gambit to get to the Nightmare before we can destroy it.

How much power for the Memory of our confession to Athena?

>>31770498
I'm okay with using this.

It will make the Rejoicing so much better when we finally read that journal she gave us.

>>31770538
>are you sure you wish to do this?
What about the memory from here >>31770588
?

>>31770588

That's a ''strong'' memory for sure.

>>31770638
So we have two memories:
1. confessing our love to Athena
2. first time we slept with Mylen

Which one is the stronger, and by how much?
Like, would one leave some power behind after we destroy the Nightmare, in case the Beast wants a Round 2?

>>31770672

The strongest one is Mylen memory by quite a margin, the confession certainly marked Siegfried, but not at the same level since it actually led to more importants events, but Siegfried will forget all about the heartache Athena and Sylphis gave him.

>>31770672
As for leaving power, I'm not going to say yes or no, you have to make the judgement.

>>31770732
Maybe the Memory of the ruby we gave to Athena as a memento that we would return to her?

>>31770818

That's another treasured memory, definetly in the ''precious'' category.

I say we use the one where we had a group hug after we nearly died eating the flesh off a certain succubutt.

I think our best bet is the Mylen memory since it seems to be the most potent and will give us the best chance to have leftover power to deal with the beast if it wants to go another round with us.

>>31770877
Oh, that might have some power to it.
But we do need to use a strong memory, something that we can be sure will kill the Nightmare so we can get out of here and save Athena.

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Look like the popular choice is a strong one, I'll make my choice soon if we don't come to a general agreement.

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>>31770498
>>31770590
>>31770932
>Mylen getting the shaft again.

Being hot female Guts is suffering.

>>31771038
I hate to hurt one love in order to save another, but using Mylen's memory is the only one I can see being a great enough sacrifice to ensure that the Nightmare is destroyed and that we get out of here as quickly as possible.

....you won't make us roll and then let the Nightmare get a crit again, will you?

>>31771040
I hate it too but all the other memories are also important.

Also we still remember loving her still right?

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THE CHOICE IS MADE NO MORE SECOND GUESS.

>>31771191

[spiler] Siggy is likely to feel less strongly about her[/spoiler]

>>31771285
Well shit. I feel like an asshole but what can we do?

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>>31771191
Well yeah, we'll remember loving her. We still have plenty of other times we remember loving her. For instance all of our escapades in the church camp have ridiculous memories with Mylen. ... That torture session should be ridiculously strong.

Pic is my reaction to just remembering that shit.

>>31771320
We'll use the torture session to kill the angel BBEG.

>>31771362
Why not memories of Mother?

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Hmm thi's ll be fun but I'll try to keep it short...

>>31771476
We already burned a memory of her. Let's try and spread the Rejoicing instead of only disowning one person.

>>31771538
Don't keep it short, milk the lewd for all it's worth

>>31771538
Make it hurt.

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>>31771285
At least this will result in Siggy becoming aware of what is sacrificed each time he decides to pull bullshit very quickly. The journal is sure to mention it, meaning when he tries to remember it and draws a blank he will immediately put it together because he isn't dense or stupid.

Then the question will be if we reveal that information to the girls or just try and act like we remember things and hide it all from them.

Goddamn we're gonna be an empty shell by the end of all this.

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I'll end it after my next update for certain, but I want to continue this tomorrow, just putting that out there, I might take some time given that I'm pretty tired.

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>>31772074
Your efforts are appreciated.

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>>31771740
I just thought of something. If we tell the girls, then part of our strategy session before the big missions will be who is willing to have Siggy sacrifice memories of them for power if necessary. They could even work out an order to evenly spread the suffering amongst all of them.

They do love him, and they love that he returns their feelings, but it doesn't matter if they're dead and magical BS is something that may just get everyone out of a bad situation alive and well.

At the cost of Siggy feeling less strongly for them and forgetting the times they enjoyed together. But such things can be rebuilt, with time. Though the pain of knowing he'll never remember things like first times or that sleepover will haunt everyone forever.

>>31772393
I like this idea. Could prevent a lot of problems.

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>>31772393

This train won't be having any break won't it?

>>31772833
Part of the reason I brought up Mylen's first time with Siggy in bed was because usually those are the one that are most uncomfortable.

Didn't think it will be worth much since it was lewd. Also I think Mylen had the most out of Siggy compared to the other girls

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>>31772833
Nope, but you like that fact. You enjoy suffering, just like a certain good priest.

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>>31772883

It was incredibly precious for the resounding surrounding the act itself, it was a nere tryst of passion.

You've paid quite the price, gentlemen.

>>31772981
>resounding surrounding

What the hell did I just write? I meant reasons, not resounding

>>31772981
Well it will be nice to finally see the detail surronding that incident.

Still feel like a dick for suggesting it

>>31772981
I just hope we still love her after this. There had to be other times after that where he remembers the strength of his feelings for her. Like when she begged him to stop killing monstergirls, or the after effects of the torture session. You don't break down like that for someone you merely "like" people.

Once he becomes aware of it he'll have a very interesting dilemma on his hands as he'll know what's happening to him. For example, if we eat enough memories he may feel confused about why the girls care so much for him, but would know that he must have done something good else they wouldn't feel that way. It would be a very complicated situation.

>>31773182
>Like when she begged him to stop killing monstergirls, or the after effects of the torture session. You don't break down like that for someone you merely "like" people.

Boys do I have news for you...

>>31773262
Awww. Shit what did I do!

Mylen is my favorite character. Did I fuck something up?

>>31773288
>Boys do I have news for you...

I have a bad feeling that we forget that part too now....

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>>31773262
WE SACRIFICED THAT ONE?!!!!!

Oh fucking hell. Goddamnit, played right into your hands again.

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>>31773369

You'll see soon

It's probably not as bad as we think.

>>31773449
Don't forget who you're talking to. This man loves to rejoice.

>>31773496
He also a loves to terrorize us over absolutely nothing.

...hmmm 666 is in the captcha... I'm scared

>>31773262
Seems like this weekend has just been full of fuck ups then.

>>31773663

If oy uthink I'll hand yo ua good end on a silver platter, yo ua re sorely mistaken.

Update incoming, I had to cut it because I'm too tired.

>>31773812
Where in that statement did I say I expected it to be handed to us on a silver platter?

Rolled 20

>>31773812
So we're not going to get the good end anymore?

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Four colored strings holding your emotions, memories after memories spin inside your mind as you slowly steer away from the colors of the longs lines, your past seem to replay incessantly, you almost grasp something physical, but your eyes settle on a image far, far different than the wiggling-wormlike entrails of the Nightmare trying to piece itself together as the angel renewed her assault, you felt a nostalgic sensation tickling your fingers as you remembered the image of the first woman you’ve loved, a long, dark haired maiden who somehow managed to sneak herself past the barrier you’ve constructed following the bitter events of the colleges.

You certainly remember her smell, the way her skin feel, the sound of her voice as it came out in sharp passionate gaps, the taste of her kisses it never daw-…

--

‘’What did he make you do?’’

Back then she was taller then you were, you were imprisoned in your own quarters by this angry bodyguard who fancied herself a big sister, the cold torturous winter of the early Purge had most of your unit in refuge with the gracious hospitality of the noble family reigning the county, yes that’s how it went… you were sixteen back then. She was… she was?

(Didn’t she… didn’t she make a promise?)

--

’I care because I love you, you little runt! I’m not going to let you pile on miseries! Don’t you know you’ve got people that actually –do- give two minds about your wellbeing? Did you seriously think I wouldn’t see you puke? That your gloves hide the trembling of your shoulders?’’

(Yes, back then she was facing you, pushing you on the bed, propping herself upward while looking down, her bright brilliant blue eyes seed to shine, the smell of forest wafting from her long hair was intoxicating; this vision right there, this memory, this image forever imprinted itself in your mind. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman you ever saw.)

>>31773934
That's unknown until we get back to the real world and see if Athena can be salvaged. If she can't be then in the least we won't get the full harem best end.

>>31773934
That was decided as a no a long time back in some ways depending on what you consider the good end.

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--

‘’Oi, I just confessed, don’t go making excuses. Love goes beyond any promises of secrecy right? Come on, little Shieffer… Mmmehehe…’’
For some reason she rubbed her nose against yours while nuzzling her body closer, you remember very well your emotions and –physical- manifestation of having a tall, strong maiden being so… so… so overwhelmingly adorably close and- and and….

‘’You don’t have any duties tonight, not tomorrow as well… sssh, come on…’’

--

‘’No, no it’s alright it’s…’’

For some reasons tears trickled down her face and she explained why, the beating of her heart was erratic, her cheek were flushed red, her hair feel down her naked body with such grace you’d almost forget your passion.

‘’You don’t have to tell me anything, alright? You’re too… too vulnerable, I’m sorry, I just… I’m’’

(What…happened afterward? How did you manage to recover so fast from your acts surrounding that lamia?)

--

An overwhelming warmth blossomed around your heart, a strange cold passion sent an increased beating as you finally opened your eyes again, tears freely flowing down, slightly impairing your vision as rage; pure raw unadulterated rage, settled on one dark enemy staining the white of your soul. You don’t know what you’ve lost, only its absence, a hollow wound throbbed constantly, fueled a single primal need; revenge.

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Arms, legs, torso, neck; all these limbs had warped in crystals, skin turned a mineral blue reflecting the projected white of the walls, pointed tips protruded here and there from uneven part of your body, each steps forward caused a small conglomeration of translucid crystals to sprout like wild herbs, the long thin, diseased body of the Nightmare looked taken aback, if not fearful; tendrils hovered in the air above and beside its position, its dull broken face staring with one eye, unable to form coherent expression. Its defenses were raised, waiting for a counter attack yet the very environment around it changed.

Crystallised dusts floated, spiraling around its entire organic arsenal, cutting right into the forward psychosis-inducing membranes acting as forward barriers. You felt your rigid arms move forward, some more dusts escaping your limps as you balled the clawed fingers in fists, feelings a few crackles causing some tiny bits of crystals to fall on the ground as a murderous spiked circles spread from under the Nightmare whom immediately start levitating upward; the potent feeling of omnipotence is back, you are within you very soul where YOUR will should be, beyond any shadow of doubt, supreme and now you have a stain to clean.

>Obliterate it completely, utterly.

>Find its weakness and be done with it.

>[Free]

>End for tonight, I’ll pick this thread up tomorrow again hopefully; we have Athena to think about too.

Rolled 6

>>31774058
Dammit.....

Now I want a full lewd version of this.

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>>31773863

Well then allow me to reiterate. There wasn’t any fuck ups in this thread, or Friday, making your statement untrue by the majority of successes.

>>31774058
FUCK IT UP!

>>31774058
Did we ever get a reason to not just obliterate it? I can't think of any downsides to that considering anything but obliterating it would just result in it coming back.

>>31774058
>>Find its weakness and be done with it.

>>31774108
INH, What do we have to do for the full version of this. WIll it be like the onsen with the kitsunes?

I don't mind but...I really want to see more of this

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>>31774136

Obliteration will be much more satisfying but obviously consume more.

Noble Phantasm? Maybe

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>>31774200

Won't it hurt more to read about this lost memory? I could write it up if you guys wish, its a very, very important event of Mylen and Siggy's past. Her reactions will also be fully explained when you read her journal.

>>31774233

A part of me just wants it for more lewd but another part is it because it's Mylen....

>>31774278
It's not going t obe too lewd... I think. The really lewd stuff wit hMylen happened after the Purge and before the civil war.

>>31774278
Don't do it anon. It's a forgotten thing now and you're just gonna hurt Mylen more when she finds out the memory was eliminated and all of a sudden Siegfried is colder to her than he was in the past.

>>31774318
I don't mind both actually.

It's just a flustered Mylen and a kind of dumb stuck Siggy seem like something worth reading.

but again I don't mind the really lewd stuff

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>>31773979
>>31774027

God. Fucking. Damnit. That was a vital memory and may effect our entire motivational level for the success of the war effort. Should have just forgot about the gem...

Well it seems that even if unaware of what is lost he subconsciously responds to the fact something was taken away. To lose this one, to be pushed into offering this one up, would fill him with pure hatred and rage towards the one who did it.

>>31774203
So consuming memories is like going into "hypermode" in Metroid Prime 3? In that game, you could sacrifice a health tank to enter a state where you had more powerful abilities, dealt more damage, and were invincible for a time. If you deactivated it quickly you could avoid sacrificing the entire energy tank and instead only lose some health. Of course if you didn't the meter would start to fill up and damage would increase it, if it got too full it was instant game over from "terminal corruption" but if you were careful and good you could get more out of each tank than technically went into it, but that part of it is essentially irrelevant here

>>31774367
But it's so tempting....

also INH, did we fuck up on this sacrifice?

>>31774387

No, previously Iwas going to ask a much, much higher price for the end of this arc, but after consuming something so precious... I'm not sure, I'll have to think about it. Good thing Radiance is here to infodump!
>>31774371
>God. Fucking. Damnit. That was a vital memory and may effect our entire motivational level for the success of the war effort. Should have just forgot about the gem...

How does it feel to play into my hands?

>>31774433
So I just did something that won't rid such a beautiful thing?

But will we have a full version of this though?

>>31774465
>So I just did something that won't rid such a beautiful thing?

That memory is gone, however, you still have Athena to worry about...

As for a full version, I'll try to think about it and work on it but I'm not going to make any promises, I have alot of things to write.

>>31774433
Play into your hands? Admit it, you had no fucking clue we'd choose something this big. Thus why you're second-guessing yourself.

>>31774522

I honestly thought you guys would see Radiance presence as a way to avoid risking yourselves too much, but then you went and did that... Well, you've mgained a whole lot of points toward a possible counter to an imminent tragedy!

>>31774548
So we lost the beautiful memory and we will be cold to Mylen...

>>31774590

Not cold if you don't want to be. Siggy could also feel some serious guilt, or rage. It all depend on how you want to play it

>>31774623
I like both to be honest

>>31774623
Make-up lewd.

>>31774623
If we don't save Athena I feel this will be all be worth nothing

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>>31774433
Nice triple dubs. To be honest, it kind of pisses me off. I don't like being outplayed. At the same time I did kind of sign up for it so I cannot get too angry. In the end this is just a game, nothing worth flipping out over or anything.

And while I'd like to stand around and have Radiance tell me everything we can frankly do that another time. If we don't wake up soon Athena will have died and these rather massive sacrifices will have been ultimately for naught. The broken ring is enough justification IC for him to be rushing to wake up.

The instant she wakes up the medics had better be right on top of her. Then Siggy will see it and start asking questions. I honestly don't know how to play it. Should he get furious, become ridden with guilt when he realizes that wouldn't have happened if he had just told everyone about changes with the beast, just accept it and be happy she could be saved while giving Daiyu a dirty look?

>>31774590
We don't have to act cold towards her, simply not as lovey dovey or feel guilty around her for some reason. But then it might not feel right to feel that way.

Only forgetting chunks instead of entire chains of events regarding a person would create some bizarre feelings.

The guilt can be used to boost the love gauge. ...The idea that he's going to act coldly to anyone over one or two memories is silly to me. It's not like he's forgotten all of the mundane moments that he's felt something tender towards her. He remembers loving her, he just might not remember why.

Plus, we're working with a ridiculous harem protag that loves everyone just because they're female and in sight. Even if he had no knowledge of Mylen and saw her as a stranger, we'd still be the same suave motherfuckers trying to get into her pants.

>>31774714
>>31774716

Waking up too early will burns all your chances to save her.

There's a reason why I only mentioned -four- soul links.

>>31774766
wait 4?

I think I'm missing something bit I think something is wrong

I say we wake up early, incidentally kill Athena, grieve over her, use that as fuel for Super-Crystal-Death-Mode™, and give our newly freed soul link to someone who still has both arms and is far fluffier.

No offense to anyone, but I feel that it'd make for a better story if Athena dies.
Especially with how many death flags she has.

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>>31774834

Yes, look back.

>>31774870
How will we know when it's too early

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>>31774880

I'm not going t ohelp you with that, but there's a reason why Radiance is here.

Faith isn't a fool.

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>>31774058
>Find it's weakness and be done with it

It knows it's fucked, only question it's asking itself is will it come quickly and decisively in the form of a overwhelming magical blast or is it going to be drawn out for a few seconds as he methodically picks it apart to find it's core and obliterate it. as Radiance's actions would imply it has such a thing

I'd like it to feel this one just a bit, and I'm still worried about the beast and need to save ammo. Satisfaction is nice, but I like to keep my options open.

>>31774766
Presumably Radiance knows what has happened and knows how to salvage it. That is, when we "should" wake up then.

>>31774923
If we take too long the beast will probably jump nightmare while we have it CC'd.

>>31774916
I hope she can help us through our sacrifice, I wonder how they will react.

What other memories did we lsoe

>>31774951
It'll only take a second or two with lots and lots of crystal drill spikes. Total obliteration would be like going Big-O Final Stage on it and vaporizing it instantly. Satisfying yes, but more costly.

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Seem like option 2 won, I'l lwrite it out tomorrow then.

>>31774952
We lost First time with Mylen/why we quit being the butcher and memories of mommy going from totally ignoring Siggy to becoming a loving parent.

In other words, some very, very important shit.

>>31775070
I should have said that >>31774923 and >>31774923 are both me. Sorry for not clarifying that.

>>31775144
Damint I meant to link >>31775014

>>31775144
>We lost First time with Mylen/why we quit being the butcher

That was one of the many events that made it stop, it happened right after the Lamia death. In fact this did happen BEFORE the rise of the Butcher.

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>>31774548
My thinking on the matter was that she could take either one of them by herself, but if she got double teamed (high possibility, both have a reason to want her dead) she wouldn't make it.

Thus, we'd have to handle one of them and there's no way that's happening without sacrificing another part of our soul.

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>>31775649

And what a part it was.

I trust you guys fully understand the meaning of Precious/strong memories now?

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>>31775707
Yes, things that may alter relations with other characters or could even affect Siggy's character.

Some other anon said it but he's probably right, if we do get the full "happy" ending we'll have ended it the same state as we started it. A man with few to no memories about anything.

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>>31775841

Do you think the girls could think a ''Who are you?'' coming from Siggy?

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>>31775901
If they knew why that was happening they could handle it. They'd likely have been there when they saw the BS crystals either protect them or finish off a formidable adversary.

They'd still cry and everything though. Again, it'll be like watching someone rapidly progress through Alzheimer's Disease. You remember all the fun times and such, but they don't. They never will again. That's painful shit to watch.

One last bump before sleep.

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>>31774951
A good point. A hint was also dropped that hesitation to sacrifice will result in things going south like they did before. So yeah, I vote for total obliteration. Nuke the Fucker!

>>31779048
But it was also said that if we leave too soon that it will kill Athena too.
>>31774766

Bump

Bump from page 9

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Bump

Okay, so we saw only 4 Soul Links, meaning that Athena's is missing.
The ring, which is damaged, is a representation of Athena's physical body, and we can no longer feel her soul being active.

So the question is, where is Athena's soul, and why is the link from her to us seemingly gone?

>>31775901
That's a good start, but we need much, much more despair.

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>>31783207
A bump for bestgirl.

>>31785009
Oh shit, that's actually a good explanation. We need to ask Radiance what the hell's going on as we apply the beatdown to the nightmare. The girl must know something.

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>>31785928
>The girl must know something.
Yeah, because the female characters in this quest don't have a tendency to only let on crucial information after it has become useless if at all.

>>31785998
Not like we're much better, what with not saying anything about the Beast or about Earth Mother.

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>>31785914
You funny guy, I'm gonna corrupt you last.

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>>31786253
Sure, but Tsu alone could probably write a whole anthology titled "Important shit I never told you" volumes 1 through 10.

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>making us sacrifice our memories of our waifus

>>31786991
Power has a price my good sir, a rather steep one at that. I just hope we get what we're paying for.

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Hm so there was a change in heart and now option 1 is the way to go?

I'll start writing soonish, altought the update is bound to really start around 7/7:30 pm.

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>>31786286
You tried that and it didn't work out so well

>>31787118
No. That is not the case.
What makes you think that?

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>>31787118
Either option should include Siggy asking Radiance why she's here and what's going on.as it is executed. We need info right *now* if we want Athena to be saved.

>>31787165

An impression, nothing more. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong and that's that. Altought after counting I think it's about 3/2 in favor of options two.

>>31787249
End the Nightmare, then we make sure the beast isn't going to try and go another round with us, then we can deal with the angel.

>>31787277
With the votes all over the place, maybe it would be better to have a re-vote.

Some posts aren't clear if they're discussing the options or if they're actually voting.

>>31787801

I've already started. but a poll would do http://www.strawpoll.me/1598384

>>31787874
Final Destination voting is also an option, but I suppose that wouldn't be fair until the players are assembled and know that one is coming.

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This foe is tenacious, stubbornly clinging to every seconds of life despite the gravity of the situation; you’ve no idea what it is you had to sacrifice but the cold anger kindling in your heart was nearly enough to make you obliterate it here and there without any mind for conservation, your body had been changed thoroughly without your notice. Crystals sprouted from your skin and limbs, shedding dusts of shiny minerals that had created a nearly impassable barrier for the tiny tendrils of the creature to squeeze through, incessant cuts into the offensives limbs of the entity cleanly sliced them again and again as they sprouted anew from its dark, foggy body.

It had nowhere to run anymore, the sky were dutifully watched by an angel pointing her halberd in its direction as the menace of the Beast had diminished, you felt your entire arms crackles as you moved them slightly, feeling the raw magical power in your bosom kindle, putting any kind of limiter or control on this near force of nature proved surprisingly frustrating but you kept on remembering the actions of the embodiment; Radiance previously shoved her entire arm down its milky mask despite the dangers of coming close, there’s obviously something of a weakness, an imperfection that needs to be shown.

‘’Something like you…’’

As you quieted your sentence by snapping your jaw shut, you felt a strange crunch, crystals fell from your mouths as your realize part of your teeth had changed as well, if you didn’t start to expunge this memory you’d likely change forever, at least, if you were in your physical body… but you’ve tempted fate long enough.

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The Nightmare face had been nearly torn off, half its face missing with a big hole in whatever remained of its forehead created an obvious weak spot; you directed the entirety of the dusts into tis body despite the squishy resistance of the tendrils, the floor of crystals protruded several spikes which quickly stabbed into its hard to pinpoint body, as if penetrating a soft, barely solid membrane. The tall entity jerked, as if caught in delirious nervous twitches while all the brilliant dusts invaded its body, undoubtedly cutting apart whatever passed as innards while simultaneously clearing the protective fog wrapped around its lower body harpooned by the transparent, bluish crystals, dark acidic blood flowed down the precious minerals, slowly eroding them.

It took a while to come to a simple realization; Siegfried Shieffer is a man with a simple wish, to preserve the sanctity of what you’ve gained through countless, innumerable loops and anyone or anything trying to harm and break the everyday life you’ve been trying to build will meet the fury of your very demigod soul itself. Crystals isn’t an odd physicals manifestation, the ice you’ve grown so fond off was always nicely clear but never safe or properly solid unlike this clear, see-through solid phenomenon; the enemies you’ve made will always try to darken your ambition, all you want right now… is to keep your wife-to-be safe and alive.

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Blood erupted from the punctured part of its white face as the thin entity jerked once more, a long staff of sharp crystals was slowly rotating above your right shoulder as the dark fog slowly cleared from the onslaught of brilliant dust, its small long body gave way to a translucid statue of crystal without legs, arms or lower body, a mere stick of bluish translucid nature slowly replaced the cape of protective, corrosive dark air. Trapped in a rectangle was a strange dark, thick worm incessantly jumping on the solid walls you’ve created, squishing itself time and again, causing incessant dull ‘’thunk’’ that tickled a sadistic amusement deep within you, the innumerable small worms were tried to pierce or phase through the barriers of your crystals without success – for now- and that’s why you couldn’t linger anymore, the overtly large spike of crystals looked like a spear instead of a javelin or arrow, it cut into the air, vibrating in its entire lengths as it literally pierced the defenses you’ve raised to trap the creature, changing the worm to crystals before obliterating it into dust.

The rest of its body immediately started to sizzle and burn from invisible fire, without the parasite allowing it to resists your soul the tendrils and worms could only burns as the invaders they were, its long, levitating forms curled in on itself despite the geometric obstructions and, quite simply, vanished; utterly consumed and burnt to nothing, maybe even to a state of non-existence.

‘’Where’s the Beast!?’’

You barked, two harpoons raised above your shoulders as you felt the crystals progress halfway down your neck, no sign of the dog betrayed its presence and you nearly launched your strike directly at Radiance when she ran aground, discarding the halberd which disappear in a brief shower of sparks along with her gauntlets, both running straight into her wings.

‘’Siegfried’’

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Her voice held no fear or hesitation, she slowly walked toward you, stomping and breaking part of the crystal ground shining in the white.
‘’Where is he!?’’

Never before did you want something to kill so badly, you felt yourself jump in surprise when Lysta hands cupped your cheek, causing the spinning spears to crackles and breaks, spent power returning to your soul.

‘’Fled.’’

She said simply, cocking her head sideway while rubbing her thumbs under your eyes, all the dried blood on her face was enough to calm you down, this angel had obviously fought just as hard as you did, although, she obviously didn’t sacrifice anything…

‘’Boys shouldn’t cry like this…’’

Her tone held a sad nostalgia that left you momentarily dumbfounded, her fingers were cupping the tears running down your face slowly, nearly intimately; the halo above her head shone weakly, granting her entire form an otherworldly aura that worked wonder to extinguish the last flame of your anger that could very well have come close to maniacally homicidal.

‘’…but I think that’s alright, the Nightmare is gone Siegfried, and the Beast wasn’t willing to follow you. You’re safe now’’

Victory, finally.

One of the last remnants of the previous Demon Lord gone, forever.

…What do you do, mister Shieffer?

>>31789175
Quickly, where is Athena's soul, what happened to her Soul Link? Something has wounded her grievously, since the ring is badly damaged; what do we need to do to save her?

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>>31789175
I think seeing us sacrifice something that big and devastating the nightmare in an almost effortless fashion made him piss himself.

Obviously, It's time for questions. The important ones. What's happening, why are you here, why is the ring broken and why isn't it glowing with warmth anymore and is there any way to fix any of this in a manner that will keep everyone alive?

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I guess it feel a bit like a useless choice, but I just wanted to make sure.

>you will never cover Hadraniel's fluffy angel wings in semen

>>31789229
This.

Supporting finding Lizard soul. We just need to see if this is "the right time" to leave.

>>31789334
Also supporting these questions. How the hell did she get here?

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>>31790182
I assume when Radiance's magic sword stabs someone she can jam over to their soul and attack them there as well. The wings and fluff decided to use that ability to send her to help us. Could be off base but that was my interpretation.

>>31790314
Not a bad interpretation, but it's always good to make sure there's nothing we're missing.

We don't want to have Radiance stuck here forever.

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>>31790385
I dunno, probably would help a lot to have her in our soul keeping the beast at bay. Plus we can look at Hadraniel and Leila, blush, and say we had Radiance inside of us before they got to.

>>31789175
Wait, if we didn't use the whole memory/power up then parts of it remain and return? Obviously we forget a good amount of it but would emotional states or bits and pieces of it be retained? It would be a small comfort to know that if we don't use the entire store of ammo that we get to keep some and thus don't "waste" any of it.

>>31790314
Possibly, there's just one major drawback to that strategy. It involves being impaled by a friggin' sword! That is generally a very bad thing.

>>31790385
No we don't, we don't want her stuck here either. If she's stuck here she can't be "freed" from the sword, and we could really use her as a free agent in the coming boss fights. Would help reduce the number of times we'll have to munch on our soul. I'd like to retain at least one precious memory of each of the girls by the end of this.

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>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TTzGc6rCa0

‘’SomethinghappenedtoAthenaIcan’tfeelalinkorwarmth’’

‘’Siegfried, Siegfried… Ssh, please. Calm down.’’

Her touches send lovely flutter in your heart as she incessantly caress your cheek with her fingers, removing your tears while gazing into your eyes, her set of upper wings crawling forward to wrap themselves around your shoulders but the crystals of your skin prevented any sensations.

‘’First, Athena ‘s body is being kept alive through continuous injection of Holy and Corruption to prevent the poisoning, she isn’t dead… not yet’’

Her left hand left your cheek to travel toward one of your own, she gently cupped your sharp limb and raise it, trailing her small, soft feminine fingers around the broken ring still attached to your finger, her eyes momentarily leaving yours to stare in silence at the item as your heart gradually settled down.

‘’Her soul has…broken’’

Her tone held a hint of remorse while your heart sank in frustration, you tried to chase her hand but she kept on, clinging to your cheek while trying to hug you softly with her second set of wings.

‘’Siegfried, the place you were before coming here was part of Athena soul, not the whole but it was still hers’’

Radiance stayed for a moment, eyes narrowing into your own, searching ; you simply stared in silence.

‘’The Nightmare was contained, everything was going according to plan, you could proceed without interruption, Athena was able to act with some form of logic since the creature wasn’t there to conflicts her thoughts process, but there was a complication which lead to Daiyu and Zechariah being unable to continue their rituals, but more important than that, there were three entity running inside her little part of soul’’

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Another pause, this time she slowly put her forehead on yours, eyes still dutifully into yours, brilliant blue overshadowing the crystal of your magic. She was so calm, so soft yet strong… angel in every sense of the word.

‘’Her soul broke because she took action, this is why you were healed without complication; she took all the damage the Nightmare inflicted on you upon herself, but more importantly…’’

This time, Radiance stopped as she bit her lisps, momentarily breaking eyes contact.

‘’My presence was too much, with you, the Beast and the Nightmare she was readily approaching a breaking point but the coming of an Embodiment was more than enough to rip apart it all apart, the souls of the majority of mortals aren’t big enough to handle so much traffics, I’m sorry but I was certain –you’d- die soon so I… I took action.’’

She raised her head and broke the contacts of your foreheads after her words.

‘’There’s only one thing you can do to repair the damage; you’ll need to merge her soul with yours’’

‘’Merge…?’’

Obviously this isn’t a link, the brightly colored angel nodded at your question, going back to give your face soft caresses, you tears having finally dried.

‘’As the son of Mother Earth, your soul has enough capacity to repair the damages done by the Nightmare and our battles with it, especially in the state you are now.’’

Thank the gods for heavenly maiden! However, you make sure to put a stop to your optimism as Radiance eyebrows furrows in worry.

‘’A Merge isn’t a link, a soul link still feel natural given its limits; a merge is different. I’ve never seen it happen but… there’s about one thing I can tell you for certain’’

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One of her hand fell toward your chest, resting on your heart; pressing down on your armors of crystals despite the obvious pain.

‘’You are a mage, she isn’t. You have a soul filled with raw power, she doesn’t. You have five soul links, she has one. The strength of your entire metaphysical network will diminish, you might even be unable to feel any of the women emotions unless they sleep, but more importantly, your talents as a mages, you origin of ‘’fluid’’ and ideal of ‘’Crystals’’ will flow toward Athena, using you as bridge she’ll be able to… share in your talents, while you lose part of your own’’

She pauses, letting out a soft sigh while reluctantly stepping back.

‘’You potency as a mage will be reduced, but she’ll gain magic in turn’’

…Part of you felt like smiling in irony, give up a part of yourself in order to save someone else in the middle of a war where you strengths will be most needed, right before you face with the strongest Embodiments of them all.

Is Athena soul and life precious enough to reduce your own abilities, mister Shieffer?

>>31790533
>Wait, if we didn't use the whole memory/power up then parts of it remain and return? Obviously we forget a good amount of it but would emotional states or bits and pieces of it be retained? It would be a small comfort to know that if we don't use the entire store of ammo that we get to keep some and thus don't "waste" any of it.

A consumed memory is gone, there is no way to reverse this.

>>31790621
What will happen to her if we don't merge our souls?

>>31790706
He's not gonna tell us.

>>31790706

Death or a coma if you spend some of your soul for repair (the enterity of your consumed memory)

>>31790621
A reduction in power? How big of one? If we just lose a rank I think we can deal, the soul blasts shouldn't lose any of their potency given their nature and it may enable Athena to do the same.

>>31790772

I can't answer for ''how much'' you'll lose.

>>31790772
Yeah. The sticking point is if we'll both be pretty good mages or if we'll both just become mediocre or average mages.

>>31790791
Can Radiance assist us with the merge and control how much we give to her? Like just enough to fix her soul without taking any more of our power than she needs?

Are we able to sacrafice a memory to reduce how much of our magic is taken?

>>31790828

You've already sacrificed enough to bridge the power cost significantly, Radiance can't help much in that departement, I can answer why IC at the start of my next post. If you didn't make such a HUGE sacrifice earlier, you'd either have to, or risk cutting one of your links entirely.

Athena will leech a part of your talents as a mage, this is unavoidable, as for how much, it is impossible to answer. Can you trust Athena not to take too much?

>>31790621
No, it's not.

But it's not just our own abilities that will be losing out.

Don't forget that the Demon Lord is healing because of our soul link, and there's no telling what will happen to her, and the other girls, with such a reduced linkage. I don't like that we can't feel their emotions either, that's always been a way to tell if they're in trouble or in distress.

>>31790899
I dunno. She strikes me as the type to say she isn't hungry and doesn't want any pie but after you get your slice and put the rest in the fridge she eats all of it behind your back.

I'm leaning towards doing the merge but I'm trying to think of something that will help reduce our burden more.

>>31790980
>>31790974

If its any consolation, like the links, it'll be able to evolve with time.

>>31791009
What day out of our thirty days are we on? We're pressed on time every which way.

>>31790621
>Is Athena soul and life precious enough to reduce your own abilities, mister Shieffer?
Yes, begin the Merge.
But first, I want to know: What was the complication that made this entire operation go off track?

Fuck... I was fine with letting Athena die.
It was like "welp, that shit got fucked. At least -we're- not dead."

But no, you pull this shit. If I vote to let Athena die, because I like Siggy being an all powerful glass cannon of death, then I look like an asshole.

>>31791070
Having so many foreign souls romping around in hers.

>>31791009
This is still not worth it.

This is opening up a whole new kettle of fish down the line when we have to fight the Beast. You can bet money there'll be a 'possessed Athena' fight.

>>31790621
>Is Athena soul and life precious enough to reduce your own abilities, mister Shieffer?
Sure, we're on borrowed time here anyway. Might as well make some yolo decisions.

>>31791094
No, what Radiance was saying here >>31790559
says that the complication was before Radiance had to intervene.

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>>31791070
I'll answer this IC.

Do you guys think I should do a poll?

...Siggy as a character would probably do it. He's too emotional like that.

>>31791137
Yes.

>>31791180

http://www.strawpoll.me/1599011

Time to end it once and for all.

>>31791137
that or a final destination vote

>>31790899
If only we hadn't fucked up so much... So if I'm reading this right this will downrank our links. Is it possible for them to regain their former potency if given time?

She's primarily a warrior and she knows it. I don't think she'd take much of our power, the mentat mode it enables is more than enough of a power up for a fighter. Plus she already feels guilty enough for not saving us when she could.

>>31791194
Shit, I fucking tied it up for now...

>>31790744
How long of a coma we talking here? Because if she's just gonna be a vegetable it's merge or nothing. I don't think they have IV's in this setting yet, meaning a prolonged coma means death within the year.

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This is a pretty close set of votes...

Don't choke on me now with 4/4 votes

>>31791304

A vegetative coma, alchemy and holy magic can keep a person alive for a long, long while.

>>31791351
If she'd never wake up then it's still merge or nothing. A person in a coma until the day they die might as well be dead already.

What if we sacrificed yet another memory on top of this one to make more extensive repairs?

One waifu isn't worth weakening everyone else.

Reminder that Daiyu's health depends on the link.

Oh god someone break the tie. Don't let the dice gods determine this.

>>31791410

There's only so much you can do with repairs, anon. What Athena need is the very warmth of Siegried soul, not weaponized magic/memories.

>>31791438
...I made my choice by the dice gods.
They chose death for Athena.

>>31791412
Daiyu's health has already healed much of the way with the link, and I would say that she is no longer so dependent on it.

>>31791470
Fuck you, anon. At least own up to your choices instead of leaving it to chance.

>>31791470
Forgive me if I have my doubts.

>>31791500
I just couldn't decide. No matter how I thought about it, both choices were wrong. How do you choose between two wrong answers?

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>>31791465
So you're saying she has no chance of ever waking up? Not ever unless we do the merge?

>>31791412
>One waifu isn't worth weakening everyone else.
You mean, not worth weakening the Soul Link to Siegfried and our own magic power.

When that magic power isn't what we're going to be using in the big boss battles anyway. And how do you think those waifus will feel when they find out that we chose to let Athena die rather than try to save her? Or are you going to keep that secret?

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>>31791559

She MAY have one, but not in the near or mid future by any possible means.

Pick your poison, /tg/ because right now its 5 votes to not do it, she'll die the very day she proposed marriage.

How fitting

She had her chance.
It's time to let go, /tg/.

She was dead when you decided not to chop chop the arm in that castle.

Rolled 1

>somebody keeps making the votes a tie
If 1 we merge

>>31791620
Just roll a d2, we're heading into proxy country at this rate.

>>31791553
By actually weighing the benefits and downsides of each side, and not ignoring the emotional costs for each one.

>>31791628
God dammit, we've already gone over this. She would have died then if we had cut that arm off then.

>>31791651
She 'could' have died.

But thanks to your indecisiveness, she HAS died.

After everything that's been sacrificed? It would be a waste to not do it. I don't even like Athena much but it would be stupid to just let her die at this point. It'll be a wreck for others emotionally and we don't know what will happen is someone soul linked dies to Siegfried. Don't risk it. Anything we fight at this point won't matter for us to be strong anyways. Look at the last angel we fought - couldn't touch him. Doesn't matter if we get a little weaker.

>>31791648
>we're heading into proxy country at this rate
12 votes? I'm dubious that we actually have that many players.

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>>31791648

Seem like it, Another way is to do a final vote.

Single answer, single number to avoid samefagging.

1=Merge
2=Do not do it.

I really, really want to avoid using a dice here, as it is extremely important.

>>31791711
1

>>31791711
1

>>31791711
1

>>31791711
1

>>31791711
2

>>31791628
>She was dead when you decided not to chop chop the arm in that castle.
Yeah, because preforming untrained amputations without the necessary tools in the middle of the swamp of 'oh shit son, you're fucked' reeks of good decision making.

>>31791711
1

>>31791711
1

>>31791711
1

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>>31791607
You are right, if the Soul Blast's potency isn't affected then this merge won't be affecting our damage output during the Orion, Deruella, and Beast boss encounters as we will be using Soul Magic instead of Standard Magic we're used to to put us on their level anyway. Even S-Rank Siggy could take Orion in any appreciable form. If Metal Man had gone all out right off Siggy would have been instagibbed.

Plus the merge would nail us MAJOR brownie points with Sylphis, Hadraniel, Tsu, and Ame, whom are all very close to her. I just hope we still get to use the girls as mystic turrets soon.

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Look like we have a landslide victory, I seriously wasn't expecting that.

>>31791749
Good decision making would be cutting off the demonic parasite borne of thousand-year old solidified corruption, which is now attaching itself to your friends arm, with effects that even the most legendary paladin cannot describe.

>>31791711
2

>>31791904
I think it says something that there's such a difference between a Final Destination vote and a strawpoll. Maybe we should have let the arguments simmer a little longer before voting?

>>31791904
Siggy is Greedy

>>31791921
Sounds like quitter talk to me.

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>>31791904
It's really a consideration of the character. In the end, Siggy is just too damn soft to kill off someone he loves for reasons of practicality and logic. No matter how good the case is to do so.

I just hope soul sacrificing retains potency, we really, really need that to remain as strong as it is now for us to even stand a chance of keeping everyone alive and not dying ourselves.

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>>31791975

Probably, emotions does tend to cloud ones judgement.

Enough time has passed, we have 7 to 2 votes, that's more than enough.

>>31791904
I guess what it boiled down to is what Siggy would choose. He wouldn't care what the consequences are; if he has a chance to save her, he would do it.

Stupid fucker probably wouldn't have even hesitated.

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>>31791711

1

>>31791904
going for the everyone is my harem goal.

>>31792049
Having everyone alive (avina doesn't count) is mine(Siggy not being a broken, memoryless shell of a man is optional)

>>31792019
Hey INH, if this weakens the soul links, does that mean we could make a couple more? Since now it's like 2 people linking with everyone instead of just the demigod idiot.

>>31792124
Nope, can't make more.
No cheat to link up others gals

>>31791921
>demonic parasite
Please, we didn't have the faintest of how that thing worked or the effects of it's extended use.
What we did know was that cutting it off would lead to her dying either of shock or infection. And that's discounting whetheer or not it would have fought back in some way.

>>31792225
Don't forget being under attack by skeletons at the time.