From Software Lyric Suite's own Sekiro corner

[Andnjord]

I was sure you needed to visit the Senpou temple before killing Genishiro to trigger that quest, apparently I’m mixing things up.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Don't know where to post this so here it goes:

 

[Multidirectional]

I was sure you needed to visit the Senpou temple before killing Genishiro to trigger that quest, apparently I’m mixing things up.

The book end ups in the pond if you don't go there before Genichiro.

 

[gabel]

Looking forward to his reaction to Fountainhead Palace.

 

[Andnjord]

The book end ups in the pond if you don't go there before Genichiro

I am highly disappointed that the double plus secret ending that requires an unintuitive sequence break to trigger on top of all the other easily missable shit also has a fallback method, how casual. What’s next, quest compass?

 

[gabel]

The book end ups in the pond if you don't go there before Genichiro

I am highly disappointed that the double plus secret ending that requires an unintuitive sequence break to trigger on top of all the other easily missable shit also has a fallback method, how casual. What’s next, quest compass?

Well, Elden Ring is already half-way there with grace, an actual compass and NPC markers on the map.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

can't believe I missed this lol
good thing it's all there :D

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Well, Elden Ring is already half-way there with grace, an actual compass and NPC markers on the map.

Not to mention the map itself lol.

 

[gabel]

The map is somewhat warrented with the open world.
Too bad the open world is shit in the first place. :>

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ Ninja Blade (Part 1) ~
​

Spoiler

Alright, time to get this bitch going again!

First off, last time i forgot to include a couple of shots i took before getting the Shelter Stone. I was so busy trying to finish up the last update which had been going longer than i expected that i forgot to include the bit where i go revisit the basket guy:







Now THIS is a FromSoft quest ending lol.

Anyway, time to continue. Check out the totally vanilla chapter title that's actually a reference to a past FromSoft title!

In reality i just couldn't think of anything better let's move on. Upon porting to the Ashina Castle from the only Idol open to me, it seems something is going on:





Whatever is happening, it must have not reached this side yet and is probably still ongoing. I step outside and it seems everything is indeed still quiet on this side, the big guy with the dogs is even resting on my right, unaware of any troubles within the Castle:




I sneak past them but as soon as i come into view of the bridge i see a guard running screaming and then cowering in fear:




I drop down, and i see why he was running away:



I thought he was coming for me but the first thing he does is charge that poor guard and smacks the shit out of him:



To the guard's credit, he does his best to fight off the ninja but the outcome was inevitable:



The ninja now comes for me, but he gets another thing coming:





I like his Santa Claus mask lol.

I assume all the action is in the Castle itself but it may not hurt to check on the Reservoir once i'm in.



I move towards the moat, and find another failed actor trying to trick people into thinking he his dying for sympathy. I'm sure if i were to port back here he'll be alive and well again to give me the same routine:





I don't see anything in the moat, but there is this knewl scaffolding:




So there's new loot in different spots from before, interesting. I drop down and pick up a Yashariku's Sugar, but as soon as i dive some carp literally materializes out of thin air and drops right in front of me. Scared the crap out of me too. I've already cleared that wierd jar guy's inventory and now i have three extra carp scales with me, so either there's a surplus or maybe he is gonna restock his inventory down the line:





It seems there's bamboo beams and scaffolding everywhere:





While up there taking shots some purple fucker was trying to gank me so i jumped back into the moat and came back to sneak up on him as i want to see what i'm facing before engaging. There's that fucker up there:



Just a purple ninja i know those guys now, he gets what is coming to him for scaring me while i'm taking panoramic pictures:



So those ninjas, under cover of the night presumably but not necessarily, build an entire series of scaffolds made of large bamboo beams, even leaving some of them scattered about the moat, and nobody noticed:



Then i remembered this are the famed Ashina guards, so course they didn't see shit.

Nice glitch there, btw:



Before going further, i decide to take a peek at the Ashina Reservoir. Nothing of consequence there other than the fact it seems they locked the entrance to the well:



But they didn't block this one lol:



I go all the way to the end but there wasn't anything new there:





Alright, time to get back to the Castle. I try to see if i can make my way back to the Idol next to the moat. On my way there, i see another guard that is about to get jumped by another of those Santa Claus ninja. Dude, watch out!



I rush towards the ninja to save the poor guard while he was being butchered:



But all i get as thanks is that the guy tries to kill me, so i had to finish him off:



Like, dude.

I now make it to the Idol, wonder what's waiting for me up there. Only one way to find out!



First all i see is dead or dying guards scattered everywhere:




When suddely there's a screaming guard coming down the stairs here:



I barely get the time to take a couple of shots that the Santa Claus ninja comes into frame right behind me:



But he doesn't even give a shit that i'm there and keeps going straight for the pussy guard:



I kill the ninja than kill the guard too since i already know those guys are ungrateful bitches. As i go back up, two more Santa Claus ninjas emerge and one of them start coming after my ass, fuck:



In a panic, i kill the guy in what must have been a world record:



Just in time too as the other one was basically on top of me. Things are going too fast to take screenshots but i prevail in the end. Good thing only one got alerted as i doubt i would have been able to take both at once.

I carefully make my way towards the main door. I keep hearing familiar noises until i see the guy:





A Chained Ogre. Door is locked so it seems i'm not meant to fight him yet.

I make my way on the right, where apparently i find a group of Ashina guards just dicking around while the entire Castle is under siege. This kind of stupidity should not be left unpunished:



I decide to jump in with that weapon art i got from the carp jar guy, not bad:






Not bad at all.

Up ahead i find another ninja ganking another stupid guard. Fuck everything:






Making my way up from the left, i come across some new goodies, and also a dead nightjar guy, which puts me on alert:





Yep, figures, rat guys lol:



A whole bunch of three just come out from the ledge and try to gank my ass. I jump above a roof and find two more, which i kill in what is likely another world record:




But to now avail, there's more up ahead and i'm basically swarmed from every side, so this is not gonna work. I turn tail and port to the idol, and see if i can come up with a way to get through this ambush in a clean and smart way. I had to come back here several times before i figured it out, it seems those rat guys are positioned every step of the way going all the way up:



Can't believe i miss those guys now lol:



I also managed to sneak up on the three, look at those cheeky bastards lol:



So, i figured the best way is to flank them all and start from the top:



That's the rope point, but as soon as i make the jump the guy spots me:



I still kill him, and i'm able to get a good view of the ambush below:



I also check behind me to see what's up ahead after i deal with those rat guys and their ambush:





Figures.

Alright, i need to get rid of the rats first. I don't like that i messed up even killing the first unseen, so i figured i need a little help:



And sure enough i'm able to flank the guy without getting spotted, nice:




I kill him, after which i jump on the first guy below:



This alerts the one on the roof, who drops down and comes to investigate:



I wait for the AI to calm down, then i stalk the guy all the way around:



I get rid of him quickly, but i'm pretty sure there's another on the left around this corner as i remember seeing him the first time i tried to do this head on, so i make my way around and sure enough there he is:



I take him out and it's now time to figure out how to kill the three hanging from the ledge, except they aren't there?



I check around but apparenly they aren't anywhere. I port back to the Idol and redo this from the top again, with the same result. This time however while i'm looking for the three guys i finally figure it out:



Somehow, despite not coming anywhere near this part, the script that makes them climb out of the ledge got triggered but then it glitched and instead of climbing over the roof they all fell to their death, except for that little guy just hanging on for dear life lol.

Ok then, an unsatisfying conclusion to my attempt to circumvent the entire ambush but i guess there's not much i can do about it. Time to deal with those ninjas who apparently took the place of the nightjar guys. I kill the first without problem:



I know how they move now so they are not an issue one by one, but as expected there's a bunch positioned all over the place:



I make my away around, and see there's a couple of dogs there waiting for me too, ready to alert every ninja in the neighborhood:



I kill them with shurikens, but apparently they aren't regular dogs, as it takes two shurikens to put down once alerted, and they yield quite a bit more xp than regular dogs. Since i had to hit the second one twice the noise actually drew the two ninjas closest to them, but luckily my position wasn't made:



This actually helps as while the brown ninja makes his way up again i'm able to make it unseen to where the dogs were. I try to cycle through my inventory to get to the Gachiin's Spiritfall as i figured i need a little boost here when suddenly i see the second ninja was already making his way back:



He doesn't see me and turns around. I can't miss this opportunity, so it is time for bravery:




I nope out in a nano second and make it up the roof hoping to be able to flank the brown ninja before all hell breaks loose. Turns out i was fast enough the double patrol wasn't actually alerted so i land right behind him unseen, nice:



I kill the brown ninja and i now see those things aren't dogs, but wolves:



I try to kill them with shurikens again, this time they take two each or more. I just unload as many as i need and run back down as fast as i can just in time to see one of the ninjas got alerted:



I figure this scaffold might provide me with a means to get behind them:



But i take too long to make my dash so i miss my chance. I now see they are unsynchronized though:



This makes it easier however, as all i have to do is stealth kill one of them then deal the other in open combat. In fact this whole part was somehow easier than the nightjar guys, heh.

I go down but again all i find is some stupid lizards and some new loot:



At least the lizards provide some mild entertainment as i now know i can just stomp on them so they are at least fun to kill.

I make my way up, and no surprises around the corner like last time, so i manage to make it inside the dojo area without incident:



Now that i got the Sculptor's Idol from this side, i decided to go back and kill the brown ninja in open combat, fair and square:




Hey, honor demanded it.

So, back to the dojo. I kill the first samurai, and now i see something puzzling:



No fighting between the ninjas and the samurai? Are they actually in cahoots?

I sneak past the ninja, and make my way to the right, as i usually do when i'm farming those guys. There's no samurai guy next to the window, but as soon as i'm there something gets alerted, but i can't see anything anywhere:



I just stay still there to wait it out, but nothing happens. But then, while i'm doing that, i actually see it lol:



I make it to the left of those wall partitions to get a better look, and he is not there?



I make it back and forth a couple of times. I can see him on one side, but not the other. What is this fuckery.

Confused, i decide to try the other side first. I kill the ninja on my left without being seen:




Now it's time for those two:



A little bit of ninjutsu does the trick:



And i now lie in wait for the two samurai. No extra ninjas on this side:



I try the blood smoke trick again but somehow i can't get a deathblow on the second one, so i had to kill him in open combat:



I make my way back and see if i can get to that ninja by means of the breach in the ceiling:



Mmmmh, there's that bastard:



Ok, best way to do this is to just use the bloodcloud to take out the two samurai then just kill the ninja in combat. I need to get some Spirit Emblems first:



Then it's on:





They are all dead now, but i'm still aggroing something and i can't understand what it is:



I guess i can just move on.

You don't think...



Nope, nothing, shit is still empty lol:




Now i have several choices. I could go through this wall partition and go meet Isshin straight up and get some answers as to what is going on from him:



But i think that would just lead me to skip this boss:



I think for the time being i'm just going to go kill the Ogre on the lower floor, who kept screaming the whole time i was killing those samurai and ninjas:

Compared to last time i took the time to do it properly, by learning to deflect his attacks instead of just dodging everything. I figured out why i had so much trouble avoiding his grab attack the first time. In the second phase he can just cancel any attack or combo and switch to a grab attack instead. It's incredibly difficult to dodge and the only counter i was able to find that was reliable was the Loaded Umbrella. He does't do it in this video though so i didn't have to rely on that, but it's a pretty good video so i wasn't just gonna redo it to showcase that, heh.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ Ninja Blade (Part 2) ~
​

Spoiler

So, killing the giant drops this thing, which i suppose will come in handy:



I see even down here there's new loot:



I now brace myself as while i was fighting the giant i could hear the Santa Claus ninjas spazzing the fuck out behind this door. I open it, expecting to get ganked by all of them at once, but apparenly they are nowhere to be seen:



I go check it out, and i think they all went after that poor guard lol:



Ok then, i'll take it, by all means.

At this point i got a bunch of skill points (they just keep coming, won't they, will there even be anything left for NG+ as far as character progress goes) plus a fuck ton of sens, so i figured i might as well go spend it all before fighting that ninja since i doubt i'll be able to Homeward my way out of that fight.

I now pick up a series of skills, starting with this one which at first seemed useless to me but going from the description it seems i may be able to perform stuff like ninjutsu attacks in the middle of an open battle, which is actually pretty damn interesting if really works like that:



I then pick up this weapon art and its upgrade, just to open up the last skill of this tree:




And finally i get this thing, after which i think there's no combat oriented passives left:



I then port to the Sculptor to get some Prosthetic upgrades as they are getting expensive now and since i got a lot of sens might as well take advantage. While i'm there though i chance upon something really wierd:



What the hell is this bitch doing here lol. The Ashina Castle is being invaded by ninjas how did she even get here?

I talk to her and apparenlty it's just some fluff:




I then turn to the Sculptor but has nothing much to say either:




I'm sorry but how is she even here?

I go check out the secret entrance but it's blocked:



This has all the markings of a conversation i'm supposed to eavesdrop on, but i can't find any angle where that's possible. I now wonder if i fucked that up by talking to them first. I just assumed she was here as part of the events happening right now in the Ashina Castle it didn't even occur to me that it may have been related to something else.

Nothing to do but pick up as many Prosthetics upgrades i can with all the sens i got, which is quite a bunch:







I now decide to actually post-pone the ninja boss fight and check out the backside of the Castle first. I emerge from where i fought the Ogre, and i see those guys now were moved over here:



It's the same conversation about rice i heard before. On the right, i chance upon the monk bitching about getting paid or some shit:







Let's help him with that dilemma, shall we?



I kill the other guy and now check out the bridge, where i see a ninja gank what appears to be one of those generals:



I watch the fight and i'm totally rooting for the general. I enjoyed all three fights i had with him a great deal where as those faggot ninjas piss me off:





Sadly, it appears the ninja is stronger and the general is finally defeated in what was all the same an epic struggle:




I was actually surprised the general lost, so i ported back to the Idol to make sure he was actually the same guy. This time i kill the ninja right away and then i spar with the general myself. Turns out he is pretty much the game guy, except i think he is the first version and also of course only has one life instead of two:





It's kinda sad to see this guy being reduced to the status of regular mook. He was the first real boss in the game and i enjoyed all my fights with him. So long le actual tutorial boss.

Actually before going here i wanna check out the other side first. I forgot if the Idol here is connected to the Castle i'm going to check on the Old Grave Idol first to make sure i don't go wondering around:



So i activate the Idol in the Old Grave and yep, that one past the Shinto torii is also part of the Ashina Castle but i'll go there after this now. It goes without saying the racoon guy isn't anywhere to be seen:



This section is pretty much the same as before and i know my way around the cannoneers except now there's nightjar guys too added to the mix:






Dropping down from the second cannoneer i spot another one ready to ambush me:



I kill him, then flank those two i saw from the cannoneer tower:





I kill the one on the left without being seen by the Ashina guards despite them being right there (what else is new), and the way to leap on the other one is clear:



I now make it back to the previous roof where i spot one of the fire ones beneath me:



I'm suspicious that he is just by himself out there like this, so i try to turn the camera to see if i can catch another one hiding in a corner, either left or right, and apparently i do manage to spot something, just not what i expected:



What the heck is this lol. Let's listen:





Look who's talking lol.

I kill the guy down there and get ready to kill the little guy as soon as he drops, but apparently he just likes to hang up there:




So i go back up there and try to get to the guy from a ledge, but it seems i can't reach him so i keep moving closer, and then closer lmao:



So how's it hanging dude. Seen any good movies lately?

He turns around finally noticing that i'm right next to him and had to kill him:




Maybe we shinobi aren't as dumb as you think!

It's now time to get the last Ashina Castle Idol out in the back here. On my way out, i check under water, and there's nothing there this time, except for more scaffolding. Those ninjas should get into construction or something if the murdering business doesn't pan out for them:



I make it to the Shinto temple thing where i first realized Tengu was Isshin. I now catch another biggus rope, which according to you guys means something:



But while i was taking this shot i almost got spotted by something. I back track and try to get close again. Seems like something had to kill the poor monkeys that were here too. Like, why:



Anyway, i had to use the Gachiin's Spiritfall to get a look of what's ahead:



So that's what those ninja wolves look like. I'm guessing there is another brown ninja around here. I carefully sneak ahead where i chance upon this:





I wouldn't go so far as to call Isshin a demon just because your buddy sucked enough to die at the hands of a sick old man dude.

BTW, isn't this the dude i saw in the dojo room? Did he follow me here? Well, let's get this over with then:





First off, mr. Lasagna dude, you guys came here looking for trouble so what's with this bitching about your friend here he had it coming didn't he? Also, you got the wrong guy!

Doesn't seem he is gonna listen to reason, so i guess it's time for battle. After killing him (never once he pulls out a spear on me what's that about), i check on his friend and find a Dragon's Blood Droplet:




BTW, after the fight i go check on the dojo and apparently the boss is still there, so it's basically the same boss fight again:



Yeah i know better than to think it's just that guy again by himself:



I was actually expecting to see wolves but hey, i suppose another ninja makes sense as well. Well, time to kill this bitch too then!

So basically you get to fight the same boss twice, in my case directly in a row because of the path i took while clearing the Ashina Castle, which was a little different from my first time. The one in the dojo appears to be a weaker version, or at least he didn't have a power up in the second phase. He did have a friend next to him but that was a stupid gimmick and i figured it out before even entering the room as it was a given he couldn't have been there by himself. The second one was funny since i got enough training sparring with the Lasagna dude i was able to enter the dojo and smack the other one on my first try. I might as well just pretend this was a mini-boss with four identical phases lol.

Spoiler

So after spanking both ninjas like the bitches they were, i find a nightjar dude i can actually talk to, but the second i go up there that stupid brown ninja almost spots me:



I actually had to use the Gachiin's Spiritfall just to be able to talk to the guy:




Not Lady Emma she isn't. She was just there chilling with the Sculptor a while ago.



That's... literally what i've been trying to do since the start of the game.




No it isn't you guys keep attacking me for no reason. If you are working for Isshin to protect Kuro there's no rationale whatsoever for being hotile to me at all.

Now as i get close i see something where i fought Genichiro but i can't make out what it is (can't take a shot as i had to jump up to catch a glimpse and i can't press F12 fast enough before dropping down it seems so screw it). I'm actually afraid of getting too close as i don't want to trigger a cinematic, since i figured at this point i might as well go talk to Isshin first. I mean, there has to be a reason those wall partitions are in there, right?

So i slice my way through them, and this time it's ninjas against nightjar guy:



Nightjar guy doesn't last long though, but the ninja lasts even less with me!

After he dies, i slowly creep upstairs, and look at this, this bitch is now here:



Wait a second, was this opening here before?



I'm pretty damn sure i did check this side before so this stuff must be new:




So this "Open Gate" sword Genichiro has is the opposite of the Mortal Blade? It creates life instead of killing the undying? And how the hell am i finding this now?

I now know better than to go talk to Emma and Isshin. You ain't gonna fuck me twice in a row game, and i actually know where the eavesdrop point is here:




So she knows about Tengu. Isshin replies with this:




To which Lady Emma adds:




That's amazing, why is this shit triggering only now again? Shouldn't have i seen this right after beating Genichiro? And why the hell is nobody talking about the siege to the Ashina Castle?

Isshin continues:




He then adds:




So Isshin is expecting to be killed by Genichiro. Not sure what this part about Genichiro being able to swing his blade only a few more times is about.

Emma now suggests an alternative, namely, me lol:



Isshin finds the idea amusing, but apparently the old codger has come to like me:





Either that, or it's all the sake i keep bringing him lol.

I now go talk to Emma and she wants to play coy with me:




I then move to Isshin:




I try to talk to them again, all i get is this last few lines from Isshin:





I try to reload now to see if she leaves and i can get some lines about what is happening to the Ashina Castle, but nope, they are stuck with this.

So basically that encounter i had with Lady Emma with the Sculptor was something i was supposed to eavesdrop on as well. Except when i tried there was nothing. I go back to the Dilapidated Temple and to my dismay she isn't there anymore. I start checking every side of the Temple until i find it:



You motherfucker. This is unfair though my first assumption when i saw her next to the Sculptor is that this had something to do with the events in the Ashina Castle how in the fuck was i supposed to assume it was a random eavesdrop opportunity. WHY would she even go around having secret conversations with the Sculptor or Isshin while the Castle is under siege. HOW could even get out here.

It makes no logical sense. Feeling a bit sullen, i start walking around the area listlessly, when in the distance i see there's something in the box now:




So wait, did the racoon guy die or something? I go check, and nope, he is still there with the rot and everything:




Well, ok, that's out of the way at least. Time to cut this short while i go in a corner to vent my anger at missing out what was likely an important quest event.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ An Epilogue of Betrayal (Reprise): Land of Asura ~
​

Spoiler

Still feeling annoyed at having failed a quest, i begin to wonder around aimlessly. To pass time and allow the anger to subside within me, i decide to check upon all the remaining NPCs, but none of their conditions changed. The cowardly merchant is still warning me about things going on in the Ashina Castle (like, dude, it's being invaded by ninjas now, can i get some new dialog? Anyone? Why is nobody talking about this lol), while the polite merchant is still looking for someone strong to help him in his scheme of robbing the dead. None of them say anything new, either because their quests are stuck or because of the rot, but i do get what i think is a new line of dialog from that old lady near where i first met the Tengu. Porting there, i notice that the gate is shut from this side, which i guess makes sense:



I then go check out the old crone, who has now moved in the middle of the room:




Watch your tongue old woman, i've killed for less.




Pah, what of it? The fury of battle, the joy of slaughter, those are the things we shinobi live for.




I laught at the face of your demon. Nothing has been able to stop me now, why should i fear a demon? (also, didn't i just kill a "demon" out there?). I begin to feel as if there is no power in the world that can stop my ascension towards greatness. With my gift of immortality, who can stop me now?

The power of immortality...

It is now time to return to the Ashina Castle. I cannot allow Kuro to fall into the hands of the Interior Ministry. I make it back to the dojo, and i manage to get a good look at what was on the terrace without triggering a cinematic:



Is that...

As i approach the terrace i see Lord Kuro is there as well, and for the moment i decide to remain hidden to spy on the situation:





So my father is still alive after all. But where was he all this time? And what is he doing here now?






So this is how it is. My own father desires the Dragon's Blood for himself.





At this point, it seems my father has become aware of my presence:





Despite his age, he is still a true shinobi after all. It is now time to confront him:




His presumed death, apparently, was part of his plan all along:




I explain the power of the Divine Heir brought me back from death. It seems this is exactly what he is looking for:





But then again, why not? Why should anyone not want to use this fearsome power for themselves?





Forsake the Divine Heir? The thought had never occurred to me until now.




My father's word is indeed absolute. I must obey!



Yes:




Why not. The power of immortality is now mine, and with the Dragon's Blood at our disposal, who is there that can stop us? Lead on, father!




Before he can finish, it seems there is someone who would dare stand in our way:




My father has no time to waste with such trifles:






It seems this is no trifle:






This will take only a moment father!



The mere studentess now dares to think she can best me:





She provides some mild entertainment, but amateurs should not presume to take on masters:



(don't ask how many times i had to redo this before i managed to get that shot with the sun on our backs lol)

It is now time to face a real "master":











A master yes, but what can a frail old man do?

His strikes are powerful, but they are easy to circumvent. He provides an entertaining challenge for a while, but it is now time to put this sad old man down once and for all:




I remembered your own words Isshin, no esitation!

Ok, this one i really didn't like. It was a great fight up to the third phase but then he started throwing gimmick attacks and i lost the plot. I tried to find a way to deflect that Waterfowl Dance shit he does over a dozen times but it seems just like the Malenia version i need to look for a guide to learn how to get past it and that's just bullshit to me. Maybe if i had the time i could figure it out but i gotta keep going or i'll never finish this let's play (this couple of days i literally did 6AM to 6PM at work so i don't have a lot of time to muck around with this if i wish to actually see the end of it). The rest of his "flame" attacks are equally annoying as it seems the only way to get past them is to dodge them, which made the third phase extra obnoxious since because of his little dodge or backstep animations he kept backing himself into a corner where i had no room to avoid his fire attacks. I did figure out how to get past that criss-cross attack they both do: just dodge into it. The timing is similar to their grab attacks so it wasn't hard. Alas, they only seem to do it if they hit you so it didn't show up in the video as i wasn't gonna go down with that.

BTW, i did this the first time with Ichimonji and it almost made this fight too easy. Both of them have a lot of windows of opportunity to use that thing and if you don't mess up on your deflections you can break their posture incredibly fast. I had to refrain to use any weapon arts to make it last a little longer except of course for Isshin's Malenia flurry. I defaulted to Mortal Blade for aesthetic reasons (i also used that Ako's Spirifall for the same reason, not because i needed the boost), just to keep with the theme of the "demonic" shura path. In truth it seems most weapon arts can stagger him out of that attack so it really didn't matter what i used.

Spoiler

So after killing him you get his Malenia attack as a reward:




It goes without saying the one you get is not as impressive as his version lol.

Anyway, the old codger is now dead:






There's nothing that can stop our rise to power now!







Did he really think i didn't know?




That's right! Power and glory? Did he really think i would care about such things, and share them with him in the first place? How pathetic.







Yes, let the flames consume the world! Not for glory, not for conquest, but for the pure joy of slaughter! Let it all burn!

Spoiler

BTW yes, i totally made a manual back up of my save before all this lol.

I mean i do that always anyway before a major boss fight or anything like that so it's not like there was any risk doing this. I definitely knew something was up when Owl asked the same question twice. What i didn't expect is for the game to end early. That's a very unusual choice and i'm not sure what to make of it.

I see on NG+ you get some neat new mechanics like this:



Or this:




That gauntlet thing seems very interesting. As for the second, i guess it's an ok mechanic in a game where you can't edit your character appearance.

Ho, this is the memory of Isshin Ashina. Making a record of it since who knows where i'm going to see this next time:



Well, time to restore my save and continue this normally lol.

 

[Multidirectional]

This ending is the only reason to ever bother with NG+ in this game. What kind of psycho goes straight for it on the first run? I am scared of you now.

And yes that second Isshin phase can go fuck itself.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I didn't, read all the spoilers lol.

 

[Multidirectional]

Yes I know about your save file autism. You still went for the evil ending first, you maniac.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Well, it was on the way lmao.

I'm not gonna play NG+ any time soon after this run and when i do i'm not entirely sure i'll be up to pick this let's play again. I'm very bipolar with this stuff i get super autistic when i'm doing something but find it incredibly difficult to get back at it once i drop it.

Because of this, i figured it's best to get everything done now, just in case.

This choice of just ending the game prematurely if you go the evil path is very interesting though. I assume at one point i'm going to have to do this for real since i need One Mind to get all achievements.

 

[Andnjord]

Yes I know about your save file autism. You still went for the evil ending first, you maniac.

I bet he’s a man who manages to sustain a fully evil Planescape Torment playthrough from beginning to end!

 

[Multidirectional]

I'm not gonna play NG+ any time soon after this run

I don't think you should bother with it at all, fresh start is way more satisfying in this game. Gotta see how much you got gud.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Isn't there an extra difficulty mode for NG+? I vaguely remember reading about it, but i forgot what it was. Something on top of the Demon Bell.

 

[Multidirectional]

Isn't there an extra difficulty mode for NG+? I vaguely remember reading about it, but i forgot what it was. Something on top of the Demon Bell.

Yes, No Kuro's Charm. Much harder than Demon Bell. Though you don't need to play it in NG+, you just need to have one save where you started NG+. Then you are given an option for it on fresh saves as well.

You now receive chip damage (tested to be roughly 30%) when blocking attacks, effectively changing your play style, requiring you to deflect perfectly.
Enemy vitality and posture is increased. Regular enemies that would normally be posture broken and vulnerable to a deathblow after a single mikiri counter will instead recover. (Needs further testing: seems like you do half as much damage, but so do things like the burning bull to the enemies in the arena).
You take 25% more vitality and posture damage, as well as receiving significantly more posture damage if you block an attack instead of deflecting.
Status effects, such as poison, build up roughly 40% faster. (Tested at poison pool for both charm and no charm. With Charm takes around 13.3 seconds to get poisoned, without charm takes around 7.8 seconds to get poisoned).
This debuff stacks with the negative effects from the Demon Bell. (Source)
The debuff does carry a benefit, increasing experience and sen gain by 20% (rounded up)

I personally dislike this mode specifically because of the block change. I would be fine with everything else here, even when combined with Demon Bell, but I don't want to feel forced to always deflect perfectly. I think it makes this into too much of a rhythm game for my taste. I can only have patience to go through it with consumable abuse.

 

[Child of Malkav]

I finished Sekiro for about 13 times with demon bell and without the charm (about 3 times) and with Yahsariku sugar/spiritfall (1 time) and using that buff it's insane how fast boss fights are over. That extra damage really is noticeable especially after multiple playthroughs.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ An Epilogue of Betrayal (Reprise): A Father's Dream (Part 1) ~
​

Spoiler

Anyway, yes, it was all a dream and none of the shit i posted in my last update happened lol.

Since i posted the previous part already, let's just cut to the relevant bit, where of course Wolf disobeys his father. Unlike the first choice, you don't get a chance to backtrack out of it:




This guy is a piece of work he goes through a very obvious charade where he pretends to be hurt that i decided to defy his authority only to then try to kill his own son:





Do Shinobi even have a code or is this something he made up? Did he raise me just to use me as a tool and nothing more? Considering the way he fights and behaves i'm not entirely sure the Shinobi are beholden to anything. It's obvious he also doesn't give a rat's ass about the code in question since devotion to the Divine Heir was a central element of it. Without that part there is really no "code" to speak of. A father's word being "absolute" in and of itself without any actual code attached to it is meaningless.

Wolf has now come to the realization an individual must chose his code out of his own free will, but he still refers to the Divine Heir as his "master" which shows that he is still bound to duty and a moral sense, and is not driven by mere self-interest like his own father appears to be. Wolf may have been raised as a Shinobi, but through his service to the Divine Heir, and through his dealings with Lady Emma and Isshin Ashina, it seems he has learned something of the Samurai as well:





As soon as i turn my back to him, he tries to strike at his own son from behind. But i suppose this is just the Shinobi way:









Let this tragic battle between father and son begin!

Not bad of a fight, though it could have affored to be a little harder. I actually beat him accidentally on my fourth try with like three Healing Gourds left so i figured for a regular person just playing this normally this fight would have been somewhat underwhelming. Obvously i restored my save after because i wanted to beat him "legit" by learning his patterns instead of just cheesing my way through with constant healing. He is also easy to stun lock if you put pressure on him. He has a couple of ways to wiggle himself out if cornered but i had a try where i managed to push him against the wall through the entire first phase. He hit me a couple of times but i think that was just mistakes on my part i think it's possible to just stun lock him and not let him do anything.

Anyway, for the video i decided to try a more careful and methodical approach, taking cues from my fight with Isshin. I used Ichimonji to underscore the idea Wolf is no longer a reckless Shinobi but has something of the Samurai as well now. I think this combat art is kinda broken to be honest. It does massive posture damage and also recovers your own posture, and to top it off it doesn't even use Spirit Emblems it's a bit overpowered i think. Was particularly good on this fight since he has a lot of posture resistance and his constant jumping around means it's not always easy to keep pressure on him. Also, he has a couple of easily punishable moments, like when he throws that silly little bomb (no point in trying to avoid something that blocks healing if you aren't planning to use healing at all). His little tricks did throw me off balance in the second phase so i started missing some deflections becuase he threw my rhythm off but i still blocked them so there's that.

Spoiler

Heh, the bastard tries another cowardly ruse in the middle of the fight:




Alas, it is no avail to him. Despite beating him using Isshin's techniques, i still kill him the Shinobi way in honor of his training:





It seems Owl has never really fallen from grace. It seems this is just how the Shinobi are meant to be and he seems proud that i killed him with a strike from behind.

Either way, it seems it was he who had stolen the branch from the Everblossom:



So the Sakura Tree was lost because of my father's ambition:




The price i had to pay to get an almost no hit run with him (almost because the crackers damanged me even though i dodged them but the hell with that. I didn't even notice until i rewatched the video after uploading it on youtube):




I don't even know who the Drunk Mob is. I wonder if you get an achievement for collecting all those.

At this point i quit the game as it was late and upon reloading the next day i saw Lady Emma ported herself up the stairs again. I'm now super paranoid about missing out quest parts so i started wondering if i shouldn't have come down right after beating Owl but i figured even FromSoft CAN'T be that autistic. Predictably, it seems nobody is going to talk about the invasion or the betrayal of my father. As soon as i talk to her, she tells me she "found" something and then shows me this:



Oh is this about that Purification shit?










Wait, don't you need the Sakura Tree flowers to make the aroma that allows the Divine Heir to ascend to the divine realm? If Lord Takeru brought the Everblossom from the Divine Realm, how did he get there?

I'm not sure if this is a plot hole or it has something to do with the origin of the Divine Heritage itself, which is never explained that well and the last big lore dump was so long ago i sort of forgot any clues i may have seen at the time. Perhaps i should go back to read it. It's possible that Lord Takeru was the first Divine Heir and he was FROM the divine realm in the first place. Kuro comes from human parents but perhaps the Divine Heritage that started with Lord Takeru passes on the royal lineage.

Oh, also, did Lord Takeru have the rot or something? If he was the first Divine Heir, how could he have contracted any illness? Or was this part of the process of severing the Divine Heritage? Also, Lady Tomoe says she had no Mortal Blade, so she can't kill Takeru, but what about the Black Blade?

100% sure the game ain't gonna answer a single one of those questions.

Anyway, if the tree was lost, the flowers no longer exist either:





Yeah about that, my father had the branch this whole time:




Oh right, so what now?

She now starts mumbling to herself. Why do i get the feeling she is playing coy with me? I ask her what's "wrong". Here we go again:





What else is new.



Who? What?




I see, so that's what those graves were.

So i guess i have to go meet her in the Old Graves next, but before leaving, Wolf asks how the Mortal Blade is to be used for the "Purification" process, since the whole point of this is to avoid beheading Kuro, but she is as clueless about that as with everything else (or most likely, she won't say):




Well, thanks for nothing.

It's now time to talk to Kuro. He expresses dismay at the news i had to kill my own father, and asks for my forgiveness, to which i could only say that i did what had to be done. With a pained tone, Kuro thanks me again:



This exchange is further testament of the bond that has grown between us. I now tell him that i found the Aroma Branch among my father's posessions:




And i also report i found the Shelter Stone:




I explain to him it had been made into a shrine, and that on the altar it had the following inscription:



This makes him ponder:



He asks me what sort of place it was where i found the stone. I explain it was a large cave, which makes Kuro wonder:



Now it's Wolf's turn to have an idea:




Is this what the insane priest in the Mibu Village was talking about? Is the Fountainhead Palace in the divine realm itself?

Either way, it seems we have finally solved the riddle:








Alright then, let's get this done. All the ingredients are now in place, but there is still the question of drawing Kuro's blood:



Wolf tenses up, but Kuro tries to reassure him:




With some misgivings, Wolf complies. Kuro now requests for Wolf to close his eyes, which of course is not suspiscious in the slightest. The deed being done, Wolf has some concern for Kuro:



Not sure why he made the cut in his chest rather than the palm of his hand or something, but perhaps this is some kind of "clue" as well. To what, i have no idea.

Either way, the thing is now ready:




Nostagic how? Kuro has never been to the Divine Realm, has he?

He now turns to me:



I think i'm now facing another akward translation because the sense is a bit convoluted. Wolf answers by mentioning how the words "aroma" and "Fountainhead Palace" have been burned into his mind. I'm guessing what Kuro is actually asking is if Wolf has any further idea on how to actually proceed. In fact, it appears we are still speculating about this:





Wolf reminds him of the words he found in the inscription on the altar "A sweetly scented bridal offering". I thought we had just gone through this, but apparently we were almost there but not quite:





Ok, i got it. So the Fountainhead Palace is not in the Divine Realm, but is the place from which the Divine Realm can be reached, where as the cave is how one gets to the Fountainhead Palace.

I'm now super paranoid about missing out secret conversations, so i go looking around for places i can eavesdrop from. The old window is still there:



But i doubt Kuro will ever move his position to the library again. In fact, since he moved around randomly every time i ported here, i wondered if there was another location i could have done this from. I now start looking around the place. Is that blood from my fight with Owl glitching through the ceiling?



After scouring the place for a bit, i'm pretty sure this had to be it:



It doesn't matter now as i've likely exhausted all the conversations but in future playthroughs i guess i don't have to wait until i see Kuro in the library and can probably do it from here. I think.

I now go check on Isshin, who finally has some new lines of dialog, even if it's just a brief aknowledgement of my fight with Owl:





I guess he knew all along i would have had to make the hard choice of killing my own father to remain loyal to Kuro:






I now go check on Lady Emma in the Old Grave, and i catch her thinking out oud:





I knew she was playing coy about something. I pretend i heard nothing and ask her if she remembered anything:



Ho come on, you still want to play with me?



Oh, ok then.





I guess i now have to pretend i have no idea who she is talking about. So, Orangutan?



Right.






Wait a bloody second. Lord Takeru and Lady Tomoe were alive when you guys were children? I thought he was an ancestral antecedent to Kuro i guess i got the timeline completely and utterly wrong.

That begs the question of how Lord Takeru was able to bring the Everblossom from the Divine Realm if you need the Everblossom to ascend to the Divine Realm in the first place. If he was indeed the first Divine Heir that would make Kuro the second. I assumed the events narrated in the game were all ancients but it's possible it is all recent stuff. In fact it might explain why everything is going to shit now instead of having done so earlier on. Lord Takeru was born in the Divine Realm and brought back the Curse of Immortality with him and that just made everybody in this world insane.

Anyway, so this is where the Everblossom was:



Sadness that it is gone. Thanks dad.

Alright, let's go see what the Sculptor has to say about this:



Right, right, you ain't fucking me twice game:




Lady Emma replies:







So that's why she was being vague and evasive.

The Sculptor asks if she is going to keep this from "them", by which he means both me and Kuro. It now seems she possesses something that is the key to this question:




I now go talk to Emma and she still wants to pretend she knows nothing. She says the Sculptor wasn't able to help and that we need to look for other clues. I'm given the option to confront her about what i just heard while eavesdropping on them but i want to see what the Sculptor says first:





I'm guessing this is in reference to the choice i made to remain loyal to Kuro against my father's wishes. He then adds this:




So the game flats out tells you where to eavesdrop and i guess the implication here is that the Sculptor wants you to know what's going on.

This is my cue to just cut to the chase, so i go confront Lady Emma about all this. She gasps when she learns i was listening this whole time, and she has no choice but to reveal the truth:





I see.




Wolf realizes what this means:




She confirms it, to which Wolf adds:



Apparently, she simply didn't have the means to do so:



I guess this was before she acquired the Black Blade, all though i'm still unsure how that differs from the Mortal Blade, if it differs at all as its description of being capable of bringing life instead of severing it might be a mistranslation.





It seems she is still trying to hold screts from me until the very end, so i have to press her once again and force her to reveal what it is that she is holding that would lead to my death. Even after confronting her and revealing i overheard their entire conversation, she is still hesitant, so Wolf must demonstrate the full extend of his loyalty to Kuro:




After which she finally relents:







So now i have to go back to the Hirata Estate again. This game is turning out to be longer than expected.





So it's not that i was going to die, she just doesn't believe i can win. As i leave, she even prays for my victory:



Thanks for the vote of confidence Lady Emma. If i'm right that the Sculptor wanted me to know about this it seems he has better trust in my skills than she does.

Ok, before going to the place i wanna make damn sure i got all the secrets and conversations out of the way. I go back to the Ashina Castle. Isshin has nothing new to say, but i catch Kuro talking out loud as well:



I guess despite Lady Emma trying to keep this a secret from both of us, he knows as well:





This is such a sweet kid i think if the ending involves having to give up my life in order to save his i might take it lol.

The rice now reminds me i had totally forgotten to go check on the Divine Girl. After promising Kuro i will return with the Dragon Tears, i port to the Inner Sanctum, where i see the Divine Girl is alive and well. Ok, sort of:




In horror, Wolf realizes what has happened:



She rejoices upon hearing my voice:





Wolf recoils as soon as he touches her, and she explains:






Oh wow, so this is the end of this quest. But what did i do to this poor girl?

She continues:





I'm now given the usual options to request rice or hand her a persimmon. I try the rice and she gets all chipper and even starts giggling:





As soon as i touch it, Wolf notices that it is ice cold:



Much like Kuro, she is still a child and was merely amused the rice produced by her blood now had an "icy gleam":



I tell her that it looks like "fine snow". She laughts once more, and decides this is what she is going to call it:



To which she says:






I now feel like a miserable villain for ever putting her through this. Out of compassion i give her a persimmon, it's the least i can do. She really loves them:





Nothing more i can do for her, so i guess it's now time to check out this Hirata Estate memory.

 

[Lyric Suite]

~ An Epilogue of Betrayal (Reprise): A Father's Dream (Part 2) ~
​

Spoiler

So it's finally time to check out the last memory thingy.

Apparenlty most of the area is the same except for the last part towards at the end, which is now a little different. It definitely seems the Interior Ministry was involved in the raid since as soon as i get close i spot another ninja, who appears to be that same Lasagna dude who was bitching about his dead brother or whatever. He starts blathering something about how i was supposed to be dead, so i guess this part is after my father's betrayal during my fight with Lady Butterfly. I dealt with those guys to death so i waltz in thinking it's gonna be a cakewalk, wasn't even recording as what else can i show from those guys after the near perfect videos i did earlier, but he suddenly summons wolves during the fight and i get fucked. I manage to survive but then he does it again, and out of frustraton i just gave up and suicided myself. Of course, i forgot i was half-way a skill point so i started cursing myself for my stupidity but the Buddha decided to come to my aid at the last minute lol:



Time for revenge now!

Sort of a pointless video. I know those guys like the back of my hand now so i figured i was gonna bitch slap him on my first try but he caught me by surprise by calling wolves. On my second try, the first thing i did was rush towards him to see if i could stagger him out of his whistling animation. I didn't think it was going to be that easy but apparently that's all you had to do. Kind of lame i was already planning strategies using the finger whistle and other stuff but in the end he wasn't any different from the other two i just killed a little while back. I guess the "challenging" part here was supposed to be the wolves and the fire around the perimeter but in the end it was basically the same thing. Moving on and i hope this is the last one.

Spoiler

So i kill the guy, and as soon as he dies some bandit stars throwing fire arows at me, so i jump on a tower and from above i see there's a giant with a shield blocking the way:



I wait for the AI to calm down, and soon as i look down again it seems there's more than one giant:



I check on my left and i see i have the opportunity to take out the first archer at least:



After leaping down i then get a closer look at the situation:



Ok so it's not too bad the big giant just goes up and down and i get an opportunity to strike him from behind, and i decide to open with the mind control ninjutsu thingy:



I then admire my handiwork:






I don't know why this shit is just hilarious to me.

Despite managing to knock the shield guy on his ass, the club guy loses because the AI isn't smart enough to deal with the shield, so i guess i have to do it myself.

I try the axe of course which doesn't work, and i'm not sure if it can't work or if i didn't use it correctly. Ultimately, i had to default to just get around him every time the opportunity arose:



They are a little more annoying to deal with than the other giants but he wasn't as bad as i thought he was going to be.

Turns out this was all pointless as i forgot there was a Sculptor's Idol around the corner and i could have just dashed my way across this whole group and rest there heh.

While i'm there, i pop the next Prayer Necklance which reveals a bit of lore on those ninja dudes:



Seventeen born and i only met two i think.

No matter, i now check what's next:




Part of the building next to the Idol has collapsed and i can actually reach those guys straight from there:



But i'm sure doing so will alert the ninjas so i better take care of that first. I check inside the building but there's nothing much there. Despite the fact the whole thing is in flame the bandits left what was likely the most valuable thing in there:



Not very smart it seems.

So i jump on the roof and i see i can get really close without getting spotted:



The third ninja furthest from me is going on a short patrol but the second one appears to be scripted to start moving as soon as you approach him. I rested several times to make sure and he is not on a pattern, it's actually a script that plays only if you get close. Pretty obvious what i'm supposed to do here. Before trying the ninjas i actually give a got at the three bandits with the bloodsmoke ninjutsu and apparently you can kill them without alerting the ninjas. So much for that. So i make my way on the roof, and i flank the guy as soon as he begins to move and take him out without alerting the ninjas on either side:



After which the other two are easy picking:




I now make my way to where the fat bandit boss was and sure enough he is alive since this is a memory (hey, at least it makes sense why you are fighting this guy again). It seems he is having some sort of conversation with an Interior Ministry ninja:




Figures, my father was responsible for this whole affair. I guess that's why back when i did the Hirata Estate the first time people were accusing me of being in cahoots with the bandits.






Aren't you guys villains too?







Alright, time to take out this guy a second time, this time with a ninja on his side!

Ok, this was a bit more interesting than the last video. This time i decided to do it like the last Headless, try to get a perfect fight. Just because i find this hilarious, i open the fight by turning his friend ninja into a zombie and then watch them go at each other lmao. Last time it was the monkeys, now his ninja buddy. I gotta wonder how long the ninja could have actually lasted if it wasn't for the poison though.

Anyway, as i said, i wanted to make as perfect a fight as i could, but the game found a couple of ways to fuck it up. First, i manage to aggro some stupid bandit who starts throwing fire arrows at me during the middle of my supposed "perfect" fight, so i fumbled on a couple of deflections because i had to go take care of that asshole. Later in the fight the AI tricks me by going passive only to turn aggressive as soon as i got impatient and moved towards him. I only took chip damage but it pisses me off i still keep falling for this stupid trick.

All in all though i think it's safe to say i manastered him completely. I learned to control myself during his low sweep as i kept moving while jumping which made him fly accross the screen where i didn't get a chance to do a stomp reposte, but this time i succeded in disciplining myself. I also found a weapon art that could punish his grab attack. Laslty, just to be an asshole i did a little flex by not taking the final deathblow and spar with him for a couple more hits lol. I could have redone it to get it truly perfect but it was a funny video so i decided to upload this one instead.

Spoiler

I kill him, but the bitch ass doesn't drop any sake. Must have drank it all during the fight.

I go check out that room where i drew that archer from during the fight, turns out it was chock full of bandits so it seems i got lucky that i aggroed only the one:



And lo, among the loot i do find sake:



I'm taking this to Isshin for sure.

As i turn around i then see there was still one last guy outside the door. I think they were all supposed to be bunched up toghether but when i aggroed that one archer they all got spread out.

I now make it inside the adudience chamber, and as soon i get close i spot a monk guy doing a patrol:




BTW, yes, i did try. Still empty though:



After activating the Sculptor, i check the main hall and see there was another monk guy waiting for me around a corner. I go to the other side to see if i can reach him from there for a stealth kill but it appears he is placed in a way you can't kill him without aggroing him:



After several tries, i seems there is actually a way, but it's pointless, since it involves taking out the two bandits on the side, which allows one to creep close to him from the other side:




Alright, only one thing to do now:



I'm close to get my next skill though plus i got some sens so before doing this i need to level up and get rid of the sens.

I talk to Emma and apparently if you come back early from a memory you get some extra dialog but it's just some fluff. She notices that i came back from the memory but Wolf tells her he hasn't seen everything yet, so nothing much. Before leaving, i see she still doesn't have a lot of confidence in me:




Yeah, sure, thanks.

I now use my sens to get another upgrade, which opens up some extra dialog from the Sculptor:







It seems neither Laddy Emma nor the Sculptor even have the option to take the sake. I guess i was right, you can only give one type each which means there's likely enough sake to just give to everybody and get all lore bits. So i take it to Isshin, who reaches for it faster than his Ashina Cross attack:




Damn right it is, now talk:




I ask him about the rebellion:




Stolen?













I guess the Mibu Village is related to this.

And i guess that's when everything went to shit around here.







Nothing to do now but face my father again in the memory. Before talking to him, i notice the place is now littered with those shinto ofuda. Is there Shura here as well?





It's now time to confront father:





What i would become? I assume this is after i beat Lady Butterfly and he then kills me from behind. It's pretty obvious it was him even without seeing the Shura ending, all though the game plays it out like it's still a mystery.




So no extra cinematic, just a few lines of dialog. Nothing to do i guess but fight.

Just because i asked for an harder fight with him, the game throws me one as a secret encounter on a quest line you can easily miss. Wierd choice.

Anyway, first phase was just fantastic, one of the best fights i've had in the entire game. Sadly, the second phase has to spoil the fun with bullshit magic flying owl crap. At least here unlike with the flame bullshit in the Isshin fight you can actually counter his magic attacks. The stupid owl flying in the middle of the fight was the worse though. I got hit once because while looking at the stupid thing i didn't notice the crackers (not the first time this happened either) and then a second time because i redid the first phase so many times i forgot he throws ninja stars at you when he does his back jump in the second phase but all in all i can say i got the fight down pat. I understand why he uses magic as Lady Butterfly did too and i guess it's a shinobi thing. I also get it that the game wants to cover the bases for all "possible" challanges they can fit in this combat system and to some degree i actually like that's it's not just clank clank clank all the way through as it makes the game feel more "complete" and complex to have so many different things thrown at you (the big monke fits into this as well). Still, the honest, down to earth clank clank clank fights are just my favorites and the first phase was one of the finest clank clanking i did even with his annoying back step jump.

Spoiler

To be honest, i'm not exactly sure if those memories are showing things that actually happened. Did i kill my father already previously? His death is similar to the other one:




Did this actually happen? If you use the prosthetic during the fight he comments about the "curious" device i'm using. I assumed the fight with Lady Butterfly did actually happen as well as my father striking me from behind afterwards (or Wolf doing the same in the Shura ending wouldn't make sense), which is what forces Kuro to use the Dragon's Blood to resurrect me. But this fight here? I guess it could go either way. If it did happen Owl would have to be immortal too. The memory you get when you increase your attack power suggests this fight never happened though:



Also, i'm not exactly sure why he is stronger here than the version you fight "earlier" (or later following the timeline). In the description of the Memory it says he is in his "prime":



What prime? The events in this memory aren't that far back. Wolf is an adult in them and Kuro is pretty much the same age as he is in the "present" time. Is this more of how Wolf "remembered" his father in his memory? This is a very VaatiVidya kind of speculative bullshit but i can't think of anything else that would explain exactly in what kind of "prime" he was here that he lost since little time appears to have passed from the Hirata raid and the events that begun when Wolf got out of that well in the Ashina Reservour.

That's another part the game has done nothing to explain. How did Wolf lose his memory? I'm now going into more far fetched VaatiVidya style nonsense but it's possible that Kuro can't actually grow up, that he perpetually is in the current state of a child, and that Wolf has spent far more time between being resurrected and regaining consciousness than i first assumed. I now remember what Lady Emma said about the Shinobi who wouldn't talk. Since Owl doesn't shut up like ever, it can't be him as i first assumed, and it's obviously not the Sculptor which leaves Wolf as the only shinobi left. So something wrong happened to him after his first resurrection and who knows how much time it has passed between his death and him waking up in the well at the beginning of the game.

Anyway, Owl drops a branch with sakura flowers in it:



I guess this was the final step of this quest. It's now time to report to Emma:




She now wants to talk about my face:




Like the moron i am i actually turned around to see if something changed in Wolf's face texture. CLEARLY she was referencing to the fact i had to kill my father again, as Wolf intimates:




The Sculptor comments about it as well:





Before leaving, he drops a hint that perhaps he wants to talk about something, or perhaps there's something else i can eavesdrop on:



Whatever it is, it will have to wait as i have to cut this short. Next is the Fountainhead Palace!

 

[Andnjord]

his annoying back step jump.

I’ve never done this fight, but wouldn’t that be a good opportunity to punish him with shuriken followed by the rush attack?

Also, sweet job on the mid air ichimonji, that was stylish.

 

[Lyric Suite]

his annoying back step jump.

I’ve never done this fight, but wouldn’t that be a good opportunity to punish him with shuriken followed by the rush attack?

He deflects it every time, where as if you run to him you can sometimes chip on his vitality (also messing up the distance when closing in is bad with this guy).

And yes, i suprised even myself with the flying ichimonji lol. The first time i tried to do the usual stomp which is supposed to be how you counter low sweeps but he just moves around too much which is where the idea of using a weapon art while jumping came to me. Took a couple of tries to get it right though. You basically have to jump backwards so that his sweep runs directly into your ichimonji (or whatever weapon art that works mid air).