But we are wasting the valuable Fusion time on it. More than this, Elesa isn't willing to wait for us forever. If we run of steam, we won't go back to safety to recharge: we will remain in the dungeon. At some point mullish stubbornness stops being attractive character trait, and I don't want our current benefactor/leash holder to point it out to Shinji. Do you?
We get the full power and reliability of Fusion back if we accept the (temporary!) seal though. Why choose to gamble?
Last edited by Malorius; August 14th, 2018 at 04:00 PM.
Choice 374: [x] No, this is fine for now - he needs to see how this works in battle
Notably, there are safe zones within the labyrinth, usually between "floors", after you defeat one of the greater guardians at the end of each one!Originally Posted by Malorius
Choice 375: Battle it is then. The first enemies seem to be something like bone golems, shuffling about slowly, not distributed in any major way. What's the general approach...?
[ ] Close and cut them down
[ ] Use Earth or Water manipulation on them
[ ] Don't think, feel - trust your instincts
[ ] Try using wand spells
[ ] (write-in)
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
[ ] Use Earth or Water manipulation on them
[X] Don't think, feel - trust your instincts
I doubt we need to throw that much magic at them. So I will avoid the more costly mana answers here. Shinji has been trained by Lockhart and has the mind of a legendary hero fused with him. I think we can trust instinct at the moment.
Every video game multiple encounter fights I have played tells me to not throw the powerful spells first. Save them for the bigger shit.
Sure, let's be dark and edgy. I hope when Shinji overdramatically falls down, spent, and has to waste even more of Elesa's time, he will be able to beg for forgiveness convincingly. Thankfully, his worm lineage provides him inherent advantages in pathetically crawling on the floor in shame.
[x] Don't think, feel - trust your instincts
If you discard all rational thoughts, the path to victory is clear. Full shounen.
Last edited by Malorius; August 14th, 2018 at 11:48 PM.
Test run here we come
[x] Don't think, feel - trust your instincts
Golem usually better dealt with magic, but due to his current state, I want to see how he fares.
This choice sounds like melee since Perseus is warrior.
Last edited by sileaf; August 15th, 2018 at 12:07 AM.
Ah, he's finally becoming a Jedi, huh? I guess he needs to watch Star Wars after this.
I see an bad end approaching, but as we already are in deep shit, only one option is left.
[x] Don't think, feel - trust your instincts
Let's see if Perseus will be useful and keep us alive.
Choice 375: [X] Don't think, feel - trust your instincts
Choice 376: From what Elesa had been saying, Shinji had expected worse. Chimerae, Dragon Golems, perhaps a Basilisk or two - compared to that, what danger were a few (ok, more than a few) bone golems, even if all of them were armed.
'They're not coordinating with one another, so they're not as dangerous as they could be...' he thought to himself, giving in to his instincts for battle. First though...first, he tossed a disillusioned flow ofuda forward, into the very center of the loose grouping of the bone golems, to see if they would react - but they did not. 'They don't detect magical energy,' he mused idly.
But then there was no time to think, as he was among the golems, his scythe in his hand as he cut - no, not cut, smashed down bone golems one after another, as what had to be over a hundred of them began to move towards his position. His blood thrilled as the battle was joined, the urge to destroy leaking forth from him, as he hacked and slashed at one after another.
These...weaklings. They thought they could challenge him? They thought they could defeat a son of Zeus?!
They were pathetic. Had he - had he not slain the youngest and most deadly of the Gorgons? Had he not killed Cetus, the monstrous whale? And these...these skeletons sought to do him in?
Pain. Pain. Pain.
Pain was as nothing before his anger, and as the dull pinpricks of the bone golems' weapons registered on his skin, he retaliated with a whirlwind of blows.
'Andromeda...Andromeda is there...'
She was watching him, her eyes on him as ever they were when he fought - he knew the sensation well, and it made the pleasure of combat even greater, memories of passion joining with his battle-fury to give him strength as he smiled, his speed redoubled.
'Andromeda...'
Bone crunched, shattered, flew, yet the enemy kept coming, throwing themselves on his blade-staff, on--
Hm? Arrows? No...darts? What harm could such things do to---
ARRGHHH!
Pain. Pain. Pain. PAIN. PAIN.
Fire. Fire burned through him, raced through him from pinpricks.
All at once, he recognized it.
The acidic scent hanging in the air.
The golems...the golems were a distraction. A distraction for...for...
No.
He swung wildly, smashing aside foes, but the darts were already covering him. Darts whose tips had been coated with...with...
'Hydra.'
The blood of a hydra - one of the most poisons in the world. Even Heracles, the greatest hero in all--
What. No. I. I...I am...
GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
His form seized up, jerked as will fought will, the inner struggle raging with more intensity than the battle outside, for the skeletons could not hope to hurt him, with their mundane weapons shattering on, shattering on--
Stone rose up all around him, walls of earth blocking arrow-slits, crushing golems, clearing the corridor as...as...as...
Matou Shinji screamed, falling out of fusion, his body falling to the ground, his mind falling into darkness.
He drifted, alone. Drifted through an endless void. How long he drifted, he didn't know, save that the absence of anything - light, sound, sensation - time - nearly drove him mad.
Nearly.
For then the images came, and they were even worse.
Blood. Fire. Stone. Blood. Fire. Stone.
A massive form that hurt to look at, pain becoming the first thing that was real.
It...it...it...
Jinn.
He'd...he'd fought a Jinn.
Where? Never in his life in Greece, had--
'I...was not born in Greece. I am not of Greece.'
Never in...
The thoughts wouldn't come...
Fire. So much fire.
Pain. Through suffering he was made. Through suffering he was born, the crucible of battle.
And at the end, when he lay dying, there was a woman...someone familiar, someone who eased his pain, soothed his fears - the second thing that was real, as he looked out from eyes that flickered, into a world that was...that was....
Her name...
It was important. He knew that, but he couldn't quite remember what it was.
Her name.
It...it lingered just out of reach.
It...it was...
[ ] Andromeda
[ ] Elesa
[ ] Gaea
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
Guess what? The Fusion is spent and our brain damage is exacerbated! Who could have expected such outcome?
Not all gambles pay off, that's the nature of gambling.
[x] Gaea
No more immature crushes. Enough is enough. I can live with an obsession with another concept, not another woman.
Malorius, I think you missing the whole point of this choice. I am not reading this choice as pick the love interest or that the person is the crush of Shinji. That interpretation is only the most surface level way of looking at it. And given that this choice is a super rare case of having THREE options, I think that should tells us something is up when we are in a TRI-fusion.
I will tell you what I think is going on and why we are getting this choice. Shinji is currently in a tri-fusion with three conflicting minds contained in his head; his own, Zelkova and Perseus. The latter mind is too much for Shinji to handle and is fighting for control at the moment, either because he feels he deserves to be in charge (cause he is a son of a god or the HERO) or because he cannot/will not comprehend him not being the center of importance or that he not in his own body.
This choice is a fundamental choice of WHO is in control. Gaea is not a fully neutral choice here. It is the choice of Zelkova as what being could be all important to a tree other than the embodiment of Earth herself. The entity that makes up the very soil that gives nourishment to Zelkova. Zelkova would always be closer to the ideals of Gaea rather than say Alayashiki since he is not human and is a sprite of nature.
So in summary this choice boils down to the girl's identity as seen by each of the minds that are taking part of the tri-fusion.
[ ] Andromeda - PERSEUS
[ ] Elesa - SHINJI
[ ] Gaea - ZELKOVA
In which case, my vote would always be for the viewpoint that is coming from the mind of Shinji, as it is his mind that needs to win this fight. Zelkova winning might not be the worst thing but it is not good for a inhuman mindset to win this battle. Shinji really does not need to be influenced into more inhuman mindset.
[X] Elesa
Last edited by Skull Leader; August 15th, 2018 at 05:07 PM.
We choose a woman to associate with our Fusion, who will from now on hold a special place in Shinji's heart. If you want it or not, this choice has romantic connotations and that's what Shinji's subconscious mind will definitely latch on - that's simply how male mind works (we are not wired for platonic affections, blame evolution). How it will play out is another question entirely.
Sure, your interpretation sounds plausible. (The meaning of the vote is vague on purpose, I assume.) I, on the other hand, remain unconvinced that choosing something associated with Elesa won't influence Shinji in negative manner. You see, those dastardly Illuminati fellows...
All jokes aside, I just want to make Shinji more goal-oriented. Our tendency to try to help everybody and complete all side quests leads to Shinji's doubts and general lack of purpose. I don't want to create another pedestal in his mind, there are enough already. Gaea holds little feminine characteristics, it's more of an idea than a mythological character, and that's definitely a plus.
Also, I like Gaea quite a bit more than other two options simply because of what it represents in Nasuverse. At the very least it has not a fed it's babies to it's husband from some misguided attempt at love - no it's just a murderously bugfuck insane entity at the verge of collapse. What's not to like?
Elesa.
[x] Gaea
I trust in Zelkova more than Shinji at this point.
[X] Elesa
[x]elesa
they are remembering who saved them after the djinn fight
I am picking Elesa because Shinji needs to be able to take back control, even if shinji might end up latching to elesa, I hope we have a measure of option to dissuade him.
gaea is an unknown and not worth picking as this might send shinji into coma anyway and zelkova is in charge.
I think the cause of his breakdown is because we let perseus to take the rein.
he doesn't sound aware of his current state...and the cause of the fusion instability might be because he isn't aware or cooperating with this fusion.
unlike shinji and zelkova who know what it entails and worked together to make it works.
perhaps that is the key? they need to get perseus to cooperate with them?
I wonder what is he aware of as he lay dormant. does he perceives what shinji does or is it more like distant awareness?
I wish they can communicate.
Last edited by sileaf; August 15th, 2018 at 10:50 PM.
No matter what happens, Shinji must be in charge, even if it means the Elesa ship cruising the seas. So...
[x] Elesa
The smell of death and a Bad End is lingering in the air, but there's no way but forward now.
Choice 376: [x] Elesa
Choice 377: No matter how he strained, no matter how he tried, his mind could not grasp the name of the one who had saved him, whose touch had eased his pains and given him life when all that waited was death. Together, they'd given rise to an era, their union causing--
No.
That wasn't it. That...this wasn't...
Gaia?
The figure had glowed with the power of the world, august and radiant, the touch that of a human and yet...
Andromeda...
No. Not Andromeda. Not Ἀνδρομέδα but Ἀνδρομέδη.
Andromedon - Ruler (of Men).
All at once, he remembered.
Invoking a command spell in a moment of desperation.
A wish, granted in the moment before everything broke to pieces.
Salvation born of ruin, born of...
A smile.
A smile from the one for whom he'd become the enemy of the world, if she so desired. For whom he would face down a power that would cripple the very gods themselves, and refuse to break.
His power...did not come from the gods, for the gods were fallible. He was no son of Zeus, no halfblood prince of men destined to found cities and empires. He was a servant, a friend, a comrade...a titan...a titan who bore the heavens on its shoulders.
Atlas.
Atlasia.
Sion Eltnam Atlasia.
The one who had given him purpose, given him meaning, given him a reason to exist. Who had seen something in him, given him the chance to become who and what he was, if he had the strength to reach out and grasp the opportunities with his own two hands. With his own strength.
Images flashed by him, one by one.
The underground chambers of Hogwarts.
The smile of a girl whose eyes were as bright as the moon.
Fighting a shapeshifting foe in a grassy plain - and then in a frozen waste.
Standing against a horde of rampaging spiders.
The shocked expression on a Champion's face as he was hit by the Killing Curse.
A Jinn. A Jinn reeling from pain - a sensation it had not felt in 14,000 years.
A figure crouched over him with glowing palms, her prana sweet, her song resonating with the world.
Sun-bright hair.
Eyes the color of the sky.
"Elesa," he whispered, as the void trembled. "Her name...was Elesa..."
A shiver, a tremor, a quake.
A rupture.
Spinning, spinning, everything was spinning.
...and then Matou Shinji opened his eyes, looking up at the figure of Elesa Labelle, whose hand was on his...
'My arm...'
"Welcome back, Mister Matou."
"...Elesa," he croaked, his body - his limbs - weak, the flows of prana within him still jumbled and confused.
"Yes, that's my name. Don't wear it out now," the model replied impishly, rising and rolling her shoulders with an audible pop.
"What..."
There were...plants around him? A pool of water?
"After you collapsed, I finished clearing the first floor, and dragged you here when I had the opportunity."
"...here? Where is...?"
"A chamber that opened after defeating the 'boss' golem at the end of the floor, an interstitial space, if you will. The water here has...curative properties." She sighed, shaking her head. "Good thing too. I can do many things, but making an antidote for hydra blood isn't one of them."
Shinji swallowed as he heard this.
Hydra blood...the weapons of the golems in this place were coated with hydra blood?
"...I don't suppose you saved any?" the boy managed.
"The blood or the cure?" Elesa questioned.
"...both?"
"For the first, just the dart that was inside you," she replied. "For the latter...the pool is beside you."
"Huh." The boy said nothing for a moment, before... "Maybe we should take some samples with--"
"Doesn't work," she interrupted. "I tried, but the water vanishes if you leave the room, no matter how secure the container."
Shinji grunted.
"Figured I'd ask."
"No harm in it," she agreed. "So, the next floor has spirits, mostly, though there are a few physical traps. Any thoughts on how you'll approach it?"
How does Shinji answer?
[ ] In spirit form
[ ] In fusion, if he can manage it
[ ] Using his ofuda
[ ] (write-in)
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne
[x] In spirit form
Thank goodness, Shinji is back, it isn't that bad either and he got one of his memories back.
How much damage has Shinji incurred? His status of fusion?
I am leaning to fusion AFTER sealing, I reckon it hasn't been sealed yet?
Ofuda is good too to give fusion a break, but fusion still need sealing, I think.
Test run is done and it is unsafe with Perseus pushing for dominance.
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