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Smashing Axe

Arcane
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Divinity: Original Sin
I think the only thing left to us is to attempt to get to the center of the universe and obtain the "prize". It seems to be our only hope to put right our mistakes.

Do we know about the competition yet, treave?
 

treave

Arcane
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Codex 2012
Yes. The Star League has freely shared that knowledge. As part of the League Earth would also achieve the victory conditions when they beat the rival Empire to the prize. Of course, the immortals are the only ones who will actually arrive there and meet their Masters.
 

Smashing Axe

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Divinity: Original Sin
I miss Shulgi :(

Sure, he was fired into the center of the sun, but that doesn't mean he's gone forever... Right?

Ten thousand years and he could be back hale and hearty.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
To The City of Broken Dreams

track: silent

I take one last look at the facility I had been sleeping in for the past five years. The supplies were dwindling, and I would prefer to keep this place ready in case of an emergency. Besides, there was the small flower bud that glowed faintly inside the tank – Shulgi’s data strongly implied that it was the last specimen of the Inanna flower left on this earth. It would survive, left to its own devices; the bud somehow fertilized the soil and recycled the air inside its little tank. It was still fragile, however, and taking it with me would be too risky. I make sure Yua’s core is placed safely in my backpack and perform one last check around the facility to ensure I haven’t left out anything important. Shulgi had left her core here, along with a back-up of her data in the computer. I do not have the parts to reactivate her here, but I should be able to find something to use outside. Furthermore, it seems that I don’t have to worry about my cybernetic hand anymore – my real hand has been regrown during my sleep in the capsule. It appears that Shulgi is involved with that, but there is no information on what he actually did.

Satisfied that everything is in place, I shut down power to the place and seal its access. When the time is right I will return, but for now I will have to venture back out into the world. There is only one place I can go from here – Ankida. The former imperial capital had escaped the worst of the damage from the Gray Death Incident, but most of the richer populace had evacuated to space as a flood of refugees from all over the world began gathering there. Right now there were about 10 million people in the city… ten percent of the remaining population left on Earth.

I put on the dirty, heavy brown cloak. The winds have been getting harsher lately. I climb up the stairs to the Academy grounds. It seems that the nanomachine swarm had passed by it, but the Star League had bombarded the area as part of their containment strategy.

The Star League…

They appear to be one of the two powers that Shulgi had mentioned in his recording. It seems that they had appeared shortly after I went into slumber, sending official delegates to meet with the Federation. Their technology was highly advanced, but nothing that we could not have attained within a generation. Their leaders were a different matter – each of the Star League’s founding nations was led by powerful immortals that formed the Inner Council of Nine, the highest administrative level in the League’s hierarchy. The ultimate goal of this League was to reach the center of the galaxy, where they claim an ancient civilization has left behind an artifact that will fulfill the wish of every citizen under their banner. To that end, they are competing with their eternal nemesis, the Mushuszu Empire. Earth has not yet had contact with that faction, but from all accounts the Empire seems to be keenly interested in us. Our out-of-control nanotechnology had alarmed them, and upon consultation with the leaders of the Federation, the decision had been made to destroy the world in order to save it.

The weather is bad, as usual. The sky is still a muddy green, with transient hues of red swirling in the air. My vision wavers.

For a brief moment, I see a ghostly Academy overlaid atop the ruins of the present. It is every inch a perfect recreation, right down to the spectral students populating it. My heart is palpitating wildly; I’ve been getting these visions occasionally ever since I woke up. Thankfully they do not last long. In the blink of an eye, the ghosts vanish.

No, not all of them. There is still a figure left in the distance, on top of the hill where that large tree used to be. A… white figure, standing very, very still, as if it were a statue.

When I blink my eyes again, it is gone.

***

“Hey, kid. What are you doing all the way out here by yourself? You lost?” A large, dusty truck pulls up alongside me, its driver looking down at me in with concern on his burly, bearded face. The side of the truck is plastered with fading letters that read: Burnon’s Salvage Company. It’s been three days into my trek to Ankida.

I shake my head. “I’m travelling towards Ankida.”

“On foot?” He whistles. “You must be crazy, kid. Well, we’re headed that way too. If you can spare some credits we can give you a ride. Sorry, no such thing as a free lunch in this crapsack world. I think it’ll beat walking, though.”

I give him a slight smile. “I’m sorry, I have no credits at all.” Of all the things Shulgi left behind, money wasn’t one of them. Then again, the world has moved onto the currency of the Star League. I don’t think I can blame him for that.

“Totally broke? What were you doing out in the direction of Olympus, then? Well, no matter, just hop on aboard. We’ll find something for you to do to earn it back. It’s dangerous to be by yourself on these roads.”

“Thanks for the concern, but I think I can take care of myself.” I still have access to my powers; in fact, they somehow seem to be stronger than before. There is no longer any strain on my body at all, and I have full control of their activation.

“Hm,” mutters the driver, peering at me intently. “Something wrong, kid? What happened to you?”

“No, I-“

“Just get on the damn truck already!” hollered a man from the back of the truck. “I know you’re all young and cool and independent and shit, but everyone needs a bit of help once in a while. In these days we all gotta stick together, you get? You ride for free. It’s not like your scrawny ass is going to eat up a lot of fuel.”

“You heard the boss, kid,” smiles the driver. “Get on.”

I can tell that they aren’t lying. Sighing, I haul myself onto the back of the truck. There are two people sitting there, in the middle of a pile of junk. The lanky middle-aged man who had called out greets me with a wave and offers a greasy hand. I shake it, mumbling a word of thanks.

“Burnon, of Burnon’s Salvage Company. What’s your name?”

“I’m…” I pause for a while, wondering if I should use my real name. I decide against it for now. “Kurou. Kagami Kurou.”

“Yeah, you’re Higashi, aren’t you? Just like that idol, Qin Kawano. There’s not many of your people left here.”

A sudden pain throbs in my chest as I recall my family. My parents and my sister… had they made it? Odds are that they hadn’t.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Mr. Kurou?”

“No, nothing.” It must have shown for a second.

“Sorry if I brought up old wounds. It’s been a hard few years for most of us. What matters is that we’re alive, yeah?”

“Ever the optimistic one, dear Burnon,” scowls the other person – a plump woman, perhaps of about thirty, with dark red hair. “Sooner or later the Star League will just leave us to rot. They only care about the spacers.”

“That’s not exactly true, Aisha,” replies Burnon. “They’ve been coming down more often lately with aid.”

“That’s because they want us to enlist in their army.” Aisha snorts. “I hear they’re not doing so well against the Empire lately. Need more meat to be sandbags for their frontlines. It looks like the spacers aren’t enough for them now. The separatists are kicking up a fuss about it.”

“Aid is aid,” Burnon shrugs.

“I thought the city was self-sufficient.” I speak up. From what I know, there had been massive hydroponic arrays constructed around Ankida to provide food to the population. Despite that, with ten million people there will be a shortage; and so a majority of the crops were converted into a nutrient paste. It was not good living, but it meant Ankida did not need to import food from the outside.

“Food, sure,” says Aisha. “If you can call that food. You still need medicines and stuff, though. And there’s the thing that recycles the water. We don’t manufacture the parts for that, and they need regular changing. You won’t believe how often a water chip can break down. Rated for eighty years my ass.” A side-effect of the nanomachine plague meant that the waters had been poisoned by the gray goo they left behind. All of the usable water on Earth had to be purified and recycled – as Ankida was near the ocean, it had the benefit of being able to obtain its water directly from a purifying facility on the outskirts.

“Sounds tough,” I say.

“By the way, where have you been, kid? You don’t feel like you have lived in any of the enclaves before. Feels like your face is familiar from somewhere though.”

“I was in an underground shelter south of Olympia Town,” I reply. “Family built a bunker. I’m the only one who survived.”

His face scrunches up in worry. “Well, shit, sorry about that. Shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, you’re right,” I wave away his concern. “I’m still alive. That’s all that matters. Supplies ran out, and I decided to go to Ankida. Then you guys picked me up.”
“You’re gonna pay us back, though?” asks Aisha.

“Aisha. I said he rides for free,” Burnon grunts, patting me on the back.

“I’m handy with repairs,” I offer. “Maybe if you let me take a look at some of these salvage I can help out.”

Aisha eyes me suspiciously. “You sure you know how to fix things, boy?”

I nod my head confidently.

It doesn’t take long for me to double the value of their salvage. A pair of cleaning robots they picked up was brought back to working condition, and I managed to cobble together a radio transmitter from other parts I found.

Burnon gives a long whistle. “Well, if you ain’t a dab hand at this. You wanna work for me?”

“I would like to, but there’s something else I need to do in Ankida first,” I say.

“Finding a girl?” grins Aisha. “That’s usually the case with boys like you.”

“Perhaps.” Shulgi’s message pops back into my mind – the key lies with Erika. Even if I do not want to unlock my other self, it would be good to know where she is. I also need to find out where Rei and the Messenger are. Hopefully they are unharmed. Finally, I should probably try to find out the fate of my family. If I didn’t…

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. No point thinking about the past. Don’t dwell on it. It will drive you mad. Don’t remember.

“You okay, boy?” asks Aisha.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Anyway, is there anything else for me to fix?” I smile weakly.

As it turns out, there is nothing else I can do with the rest of the junk. While negotiating payment, I settle for a much lower amount of credits in return for a few parts I had my eyes on – this will allow me to reactivate Yua once I am somewhere private.

It takes another day for us to reach Ankida, during which I hear more of the city’s current status. It is currently ruled by Governor Raheed Camna, but he has been facing problems with a growing separatist movement led by his political opposition, Mitchell Frommen. The separatists were insistent that the Federation and the Star League officially recognize the enclaves of Earth as an independent political entity, arguing that the Federation has abandoned all right of rule when they agreed to the razing of the planet.

It appears that Qin is in Ankida too, rallying support for Frommen. I’m surprised; I would have thought that she would have continued to be on better terms with the Federation. As for the Hero of the Federation Sir Naim, he has kept his Colonel post and is an influential member of the Star League military. Good for him, I suppose.

I get off the truck in front of Burnon’s salvage shop, located somewhere on the outskirts of the old quarter. Reminding me that there is always a job available at his place if I want it, he waves me goodbye as I set off into Ankida proper, clutching the credits I have earned.

First, I need to find a place to stay. Then…

***

A. I liaise with the local government offices – my papers and identity as Kagami Kurou are still valid. I will most likely be assigned to the Independent Ankidan Defense Force, the local paramilitary force that polices the city and acts as in its defense. That suits me perfectly – there is bound to be contact with politicians and people of power doing so.

B. I meet up with the separatist movement. Though they call themselves separatists, they appear to be attempting to gain their independence via a peaceful, political manner. It seems that the elections are coming up soon – this would be a good time to join their organization.

C. I lay low and continue working for Burnon, keeping myself carefully neutral. I don’t want to take any sides in this city. I should be able to do what I came here to do even if I have a day job as a salvager. Besides, it offers me more chances to patch up equipment; something I always enjoy.

D. I search out the criminal underground. There is bound to be one in any city, and they will invariably know something about the power balance of this place. Working for the local crime boss is a good way to step into the corridors of power.

E. Most of Shulgi’s contacts are of no more use, having either fled to space or died in the Gray Death Incident, but it appears that there is an active branch of the Apostles friendly to me – in my identity as their Saviour - disguised as a charity in Ankida. I should be able to join and lead them.

***

Thinking about it, I have come here to…

A. Make amends for what I have done to the world. I will attempt to set things right as best as I can, for as many people as I can. The path of atonement is the only path I have the right to pursue.

B. Gain power. I need power and status enough to challenge the Star League, the Mushuszu Empire, and bring humanity back onto the road it should have travelled. Screw these immortals and their twisted games. No gods, no masters.

C. Tell the world that the reality they see here is false. Everything is a fake… Paradise awaits us if we awaken. My other self was correct. This can’t be the real world. This fucked up place cannot possibly exist. I will finish what I have started, and then bring my salvation to the entire galaxy.

D. Eke out a living. I just want to live out my days in peace. The world is in enough trouble, and I do not want to add to that by making any more mistakes.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Nah, it wasn't all Senya's fault. Shulgi really fucked up by putting you into that virtual world. He didn't know that the fragment of your personality was still there. It was reproduced during the scanning and took on a life and will of its own. Things ballooned out of control from there. I think I did hint in that last choice that leaving him to proceed with his plans was not a good idea, though I suppose you guys didn't expect how far his plans would go.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
AB - Though EC looks interesting...

I was actually thinking we had more time before treave closed the vote. Had the 2 days promised passed?

Well, hey, on the bright side, Naim didn't get Kyrie... :D

edit: If only we had some control over our reload powers...

edit: root swayed me. flopped to EC.
 

treave

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11,370
Codex 2012
The vote was very solidly in favour of B, so I decided to proceed.

I can say this; there's no more pressing need to do stuff or worry you're wasting your time. The world's already fucked so even if you do nothing this time, nothing worse is going to happen.

edit: The votes for this update won't be counted in block.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
What? And leave well enough alone? When has the 'dex ever done that?:obviously:

edit: treave, in all seriousness though, our powers do give us access to limited time travel. Is there a possibility of learning to master them and going back to the previous choice? Granted that may take a few updates...but is there a way to set ourselves to learn this power?
 

treave

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Codex 2012
Maybe if you keep killing yourself you will find a better world. :lol:

Then again getting killed a few more times was what led to this crapsack world where all of Shulgi's machinations turned out for naught, so...

No, it is impossible to do that. The power you can control is that to erase. Reloading is not under your purview. You do not control it, it happens to you from an external source. You can try to erase enough things and events to cause a 'reference error' of sorts so badly that you force a massive reload.

But to achieve that level you have to take the path of the second C and put Senya into a particular mindset. Then it is a possible option. Not guaranteed, but possible.

...Also obviously there aren't any bad consequences to reloading, let along reloading to a point further back in time than anything that has been attempted so far, right? At least you find out what happens when you max out the bad end counter.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
This entire reloading thing makes me wonder if our other self wasn't right after all? I mean, the very fact that we can reload makes this reality seem like a virtual environment. Interesting.
 

Jester

Arbiter
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Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
Treave i can say only
:rage: i had know that being lawful good gonna bite us in ass. (i didn't think that Senya wouldn't try to fight at all sounded to pussy or that its gonna be so long time)

If we hadn't gone with good choices with ants and drop or if we didn't go to Lich would mini Senya still lock us up?


E B

"In preparations to this war... no as consequence of preparation everything was set aflame. I might burn in hell till end of time hunted by my choices, but i wont let anyone of them to win. History is written with blood and tears and its look like its time for me to write new chapter, after all i have some humans to spare. Regrettably that's only way left for me."

ps. I don't mind A or C in second.
 

Anabanana

Augur
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Jul 31, 2012
Messages
1,061
I told you we should've voted A...

This entire reloading thing makes me wonder if our other self wasn't right after all? I mean, the very fact that we can reload makes this reality seem like a virtual environment. Interesting.

But now we'll never know because that information is locked to us forever! Yay!

EA. There's no making up for how horribly we fucked the world, but we have to at least try.
 

Jester

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I told you we should've voted A...

This entire reloading thing makes me wonder if our other self wasn't right after all? I mean, the very fact that we can reload makes this reality seem like a virtual environment. Interesting.

But now we'll never know because that information is locked to us forever! Yay!

EA. There's no making up for how horribly we fucked the world, but we have to at least try.
We should try to tail mini Senya before gate in my opinion still It's no use crying over spilled milk.
Technically there is way to do things right, if we will be somehow able to use definer of universe to recreate world.
I think that we still can get Lamb information if we play with cage in Senya head, expect temptation from our little friend.

Still cant believe that he was able to do so much with half of his brain rebelling against him, expected that our power and reload is heavily based on our mind. Guess i was wrong and idiot.
 

Anabanana

Augur
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Jul 31, 2012
Messages
1,061
Well, I'm pretty sure that the cage in our head is locked up forever, but that... probably doesn't mean we can't get information about the reality of this universe through other means. Our alternate personality must have had other sources as well, right...?
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
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May 25, 2012
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1,820
EB - The only way to set world right is to get rid of Masters

And oh boy did we fuck up.
 

Jester

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Mar 24, 2013
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1,493
Well, I'm pretty sure that the cage in our head is locked up forever, but that... probably doesn't mean we can't get information about the reality of this universe through other means. Our alternate personality must have had other sources as well, right...?
Not forever but quite tight from my point of view we can somehow open it.

We cannot afford to kill your mind again; there is no telling how long it will take for you to recover this time, and the previous attempt has only made that particular aspect of you even worse. What I can do is seal him away. The lock is within your mind, and I will pass the key to Erika. It is up to you what you choose to do.”
Interesting it is this mind killing i would be pissed of if someone wiped my hard drive and looks like Shulgi is deeply involved. Hmmm and he seamed to know Anna rather well looks like he founded our new family and job.
Could Shulgi be a star of game BIOSHOCK I he remind me of last boss even thou he isn't so corrupted.
:troll:

Fuuuuuu still cant believe how bad this skip was. I feel heavily trolled.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
EC

OBVIOUSLY. hard to think of anything else. we destroyed mankind; time to reubilt it and reshape according to our design.
Eh, you do realize that C is us telling the everyone that the world is a lie, right? I mean, we'll be either prompting everyone to suicide like cyberjack or shaking people to their core like our old self did - but not reshaping mankind. Reshaping mankind sounds more like B.

edit: Also, did the codex totally screw up the universe or what? I mean, had we not interfered at all, starting with Ean, history would have played out as it should have. Even after we trashed the timeline completely and Senya was born, it seems our every action made this world more and more into a hell. Perhaps it is us - not the Masters, or the gieloth, or the immortals - who are the true villains of this story. The destroyers of worlds.
:M
 

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