[FF] Grail Works, Ltd.: Fate/Anarchy (Type-Moon/Scion crossover)

[Arbitrarity]

On the surface, yes - but there might be something workable . . .?

It grew on me a bit after brainstorming some other fairly basic ideas (I am distinctly not creative, so I'm basically permuting together story hooks or characters and checking if they relate to death/the underworld, Pseudo-Servants, or Sumerian mythology)
- It didn't really make sense to say that Kur was related to the Demiplane of Dread, even if they share some thematic similarities. For some reason the entire "Dreadlords are cursed in a terribly ironic way" thing seemed to mesh with how Ereshkigal keeps trying to improve Kur and failing.
- Orpheus-ing Laeticia seems too trite, and there's no reason to stick her in the Mesopotamian afterlife. She also probably doesn't make a reasonable Pseudo-Servant host for a completely different Servant.
- Pseudo-servant Fiore... might work? Feels simplistic, but Spiritual Evocation can be loosely related to death, even with the lack of canon detail, and her personality doesn't seem entirely incompatible.
- I have no idea what's going on with Kara from Melancholy of One, since it's been too long since I read it, I haven't really seen her used elsewhere, and I don't know if she's available. She has a deep relationship with death that I thought might be interesting.
- Killing Godafrid or having a near-death experience and making him a Geistcaller gives him a connection with death, but isn't really a novel concept
- Erik's use of obsidian mirror shards from an Aztec death goddess are death-adjacent, but that's not really enough to make it a plot hook. Shiki is in the same boat.
- Saying "Hanali did it" requires at least a bit more explanation. It can lubricate other explanations, but not create them out of whole cloth.
- Saying "Zelretch did it" opens a ridiculously huge space of possibilities. The lack of constraints makes it difficult to consider with my aforementioned lack of creativity

Dropping the Sword of Atli into the Age of the Gods seemed incredibly simple, but the relationship between Mars, Sefar, and the Age of the Gods actually fit together a bit, thematically. The problem, as I mentioned, is that it's creation myth, so has ridiculous power level and is a bit... sacred? to be interacting with. That said, there's precedent for having differences in that part of pre-history. It's also potentially more temporal paradox weirdness, and would be a bit of a stretch to relate to Ereshkigal specifically.

Alternatively, the relationship between the Sword of War/Mars and the Goddess of Victory/Venus (or just any treasure and Mankind's Oldest Hero) seemed at least thematically coherent, albeit mixing metaphors. Heck, the FGO Christmas event that featured Ereshkigal had Altera the Santa in it.

This is abstract enough it might fit better in the Grail Works general discussion thread, though.

[Kieran]

This is abstract enough it might fit better in the Grail Works general discussion thread, though.

Done.

[RanmaBushiko]

Chapter 77: The Stand: Man versus Titan



The Radioactive Crater




Twin screams erupt from two throats, constantly. One, howling from the depths of the Wolfen. The other, howling from Ymir as his boons outright shatter around him. Stone, rock and metal peel from Ymir’s form, as the Radiant Wave Surgers built into the Wolfen’s left arm push against the barely spotted weakness in Ymir’s body, leaving huge cracks riddling the massive form.

Inside the Wolfen, Erik continues screaming, as the tips of his left hand’s fingers slowly convert into mechanical metal, slowly turning from flesh and blood into machinery, inch by inch.

Ymir slowly snaps out of it first, trying to desperately push away Erik and the Wolfen and get away from the pain.

Moments Later, as the Wolfen starts to roll, Erik works through the pain enough to twist the Wolfen back over, forcing a good chunk of it’s bulk into holding Ymir down.

“Oh NO YOU DON’T!” Erik snarls harder, desperately fighting through the pain to push the Wolfen in for a grapple, left arm positioned to attack once more… as the glowing left fist stops, showing massive cracks going through the bulk of the technology.

Then Erik screams once more, as another inch of his fingers shifts into machinery.

“You fucking bastard, this hurts so fucking much!” Erik screams through the pain, desperately trying to keep the Wolfen on top of Ymir enough to hold it down.

While underneath the Wolfen’s weight, pinned, Ymir laughs a pained, victorious laugh.

Slowly, Ymir adjusts himself, forcing one arm around the Wolfen’s shoulder, and starts using leverage to break Erik’s grip.

Then he pauses, blinking, as he spots a light from the sky on his shoulder.

“Your metal beast once more, grandson?” A pained laugh from Ymir.

Then the laugh turns to a scream as the orbital laser cannon fires.

When the light is cleared up, most of the shoulder has been severed from the arm like a hot knife through butter. Fou’s teeth wrap around the wrist of the mostly severed arm, trying to rip it off with a titanic growl.

“Tch.” Mordred snarls, as she focuses, landing her Valkyrie near the other Servants. “I got his arm mostly off, but the command spells…”

“Erik has a plan, even for this?!” Chiron asks, looking out of breath.

Mordred just nods. “I just need one perfect shot with my Noble Phantasm, and we’ve got this won. With Erik holding him down, we just need to keep hitting him until something sticks long enough for me to hit the weak point!”

Chiron grimaces, then nods. “We’re all low on strength from all the fighting. I’ve got maybe one use of my Noble Phantasm in me before my Master is out of prana.”

“Can you sever the arm, perhaps? If we can prevent it from healing that…” Mordred trails off, looking at Chiron.

Chiron frowns, then nods. “I’ll be all but useless afterwards except for fighting hand to hand, but I’ll handle it.”

A flinch from Mordred has Mash turning to look at Mordred. “Are you okay?”

“Erik is… screaming. Whatever sorcery that thing has done to him has him screaming in agony, and barely able to focus on our fight. If it wasn’t for the Command Spells, I’d feel useless. As it is, I hate hearing him get hurt like this.” Mordred trails off, the frown obvious in her voice.

“Then we just have to kill it until it stays dead.” Scathach states, as she impales another of the translucent squirrels that have come to torment them. “Siegfried should be our front line. I’ll handle the aerial attackers with my Noble Phantasm, while Mash handles defense. We’ll get you that opening.”

With those words, Scathach focuses, power rippling outwards from around her, as she pulls out all her reserves of prana for one single moment.

“GATE OF SKYE!”

With her scream, or perhaps announcement, reality shifts, as a massive gate forms in the air, sliding to the ground. Reality ripples and pulls, as massive chunks of earth slam towards the opening doors of the gateway, before streams of foes slam at the gateway. Many of her fellow Servants outright flinch as they start sliding towards the gateway as well, and stare in shock as several Legion of Coal units fly through along with the Titanspawn.

And perish, one and all, as they fly through the gates into the Land of Shadows. For one brief moment, Ymir’s arm almost starts getting pulled through as well, before the pull stops as the gate fades. Moments later, Scathach goes to her knees, her body spent of almost all her prana.

The massive strike leaves the bulk of the battlefield empty of foes barring Ymir, and Servants rush forwards to combat the mighty foe left, even as Scathach goes to her knees, panting.

For a moment, Mash looks behind, watching Scathach pant for breath. Then, as Scathach nods to her, Mash turns ahead, pushing to the front.

And from behind, Mordred watches in the Valkyrie she’s claimed as hers, focusing inwards just as much as on her ring.

Two command spells. To strike when her intuition said it’s right, to attack with all her skill, might and power. To strike with all the power filled in the Gem of Power.

She can feel the link to Erik’s legend from the ring. How it’s twisting and shifting, the power flow to her ring growing stronger but alien from the friendly God he was.

She can also feel the power buried within it. Not quite understood by her, but did that matter to a Command Spell ordering her to strike with all her power and skill?

“No. Not really.” Mordred murmurs, quietly, looking up at the battlefield. Instincts scream at her, that though the time to strike directly was not yet here, the time to prepare was, and that she was in the perfect spot to prepare from.

For a moment, she frowns, studying the ring Erik had crafted for her, before shivering as words come unbidden to her mind. Unconsciously whispering them as she focuses on the ring, she barely notices power flaring around her.

“I, who am about to awaken,
Am the child of the greatest King of Britain, and slew my own father.
I have shattered kingdoms in the hopes to make them better,
And awaken my true power for this foe.
I awaken the heritage of the Red Welsh within my blood,
To protect my newly gained kingdom and friends.
Let me be victorious, with this, my greatest strength…
My Juggernaut Driver.”

For a moment, the pain is too much, as her soul almost buckles and snaps from the strain. Her spiritual core almost cracks from the agony, as power ripples from her depths.

Then her aura rushes out, as legend pours in, the draw from the Gem of Power forcing her to have enough Legend to have it work anyways.
Existence outright buckles around her and her war machine as power flares, impossibly beyond what anyone expected a Servant to be able to possibly do.

She doesn’t even realize Clarent’s raised up, mimicking her father’s pose when using Excalibur as a Noble Phantasm.

She can barely feel it, as her soul feels the rebound of pushing to the very edge of what her soul can handle while still existing.




Wide eyed, Mash turns back for a moment, in stunned shock at the flare of utter power coming from Mordred, far beyond anything she’d felt before. “It’s like that gift from the Lion King in that second singularity!” A quiet, stunned whisper comes from Mash, before her expression firms up, seeing the massive Titan slowly work to try and get to it’s feet.

Ymir growls in pain, as the massive golem body slowly works to pull itself up, the damaged arm healing rapidly as it does so.

The Wolfen on top of him desperately works to stop him, but the movements are muffled. Weakened.

Inside, Mash can see Erik, teeth grit as he tries his best not to scream, machinery converting his arm down to the wrist.

“Chiron, if you’re going to do anything, we need it now!” Mash calls out, desperation in her voice.

Ymir frowns, focusing on them, then growls.

Mash dashes forwards, shield at the ready.

One foot slams out towards them.

“LORD CAMELOT!” Mash screams, as the weight of her Noble Phantasm’s walls collide against the foot heading towards them.

Weight. Impossibly heavy weight. Like a glacier slamming into her.

Her body shakes, as she desperately holds her shield forwards. She knows she can win. This isn’t like Solomon’s attack on her, that day.

The walls buckle, the walls bend.

But they don’t break against Ymir’s foot.

Even as Mash goes flying backwards from the weight of the blow, the walls hold somehow.

Ymir smirks, eyes going to the next of the ones he planned on eating, before pausing at the smile on one’s face. Chiron's smile grows wider at the sight, as he finishes raising one hand, pointing upwards as he focuses the rest of his strength into one telling blow.

“This is a blow that pierces the stars of the Scorpion. My arrow has already been let loose! Antares Snipe!!” With those words, the Noble Phantasm lands.

Ymir’s damaged arm comes off cleanly, as the bolt from heaven lands true.

Then Chiron goes to his knees, his body betraying him as the prana cost is felt.

Mash slides in front of him once more, as her shield takes another kick from a far more damaged looking Ymir.

At the same time, Siegfried carves into the foot of the massive golem.

For the moment, they still have hope.



Elsewhere, two distant figures walk out of a doorway. Arcueid Brunestud nods to her companion, before watching for her move to strike.




Instinctively, Mordred feels her soul all but buckling, and somehow... reaches into her soul? Not sure why her instincts are leading her to do this, or how she’s doing this, but following them all the same.

The image she sees leaves her pausing, as she looks inwards. A red dragon…?

It’s not quite perfect. Much is still forming… or missing, perhaps?

Right. She was a part of the whole, wasn’t she? Sucked in by the Class Container.

But everything that wasn’t necessary wasn’t brought in. Including, perhaps this...

Slowly, she reaches out, focusing. She isn’t sure why, but her instinct tells her that it’s the right choice.

Legend obeys her, and slowly, the image shifts. Turning more vivid. Red eyes turn green on the dragon, as it shifts in looks, and she shifts in turn.

With a shiver, she watches Legend work, as her mind furiously races. Power flows deeper into the image, and she feels her body shift and change, her armor along with it.

She can feel the Valkyrie creaking under her weight, as her body shifts and adjusts around her. At the same time, though, she has far more power than ever before.

Then she shivers, as the rest of the Legend flows into Clarent, and her vision is upon Siegfried, battling Ymir with Mash, desperately attacking the monster. Behind Mash is Chiron, looking exhausted, like he barely is still existing. Further back is Scathach, slowly limping away.

Mordred shivers, as her power flares, no longer feeling like it could damage her soul or outright break it, Clarent amplifying it to the fullest. Barely noticing her armor now being a blood red, or her body not being human in the least, but the form of a dragon wearing armor.

It isn’t the right moment, her instincts whisper. It isn’t the right moment. Yet.




Ymir growls, kicking with both feet in an attempt to smash the Servants away from him long enough to get his feet under him.

One arm isn’t helping much with that. The nicks and gashes not healing anymore wasn’t helping, either.

With a frown on the massive golem’s head, he looks in on his grandchild, half focused on the pain of being shifted and altered.

It’s slow. Inch by inch, rather than being done all at once as planned.

Slowly, Ymir forces himself up, pulling one leg under him to get his bearings. Then he slowly, inch by inch, forces himself and the Wolfen up, uncaring of the damage to his leg as he focuses with all his willpower to get up.

His eyes travel over his descendant’s war machine as they rise.

He can see tiny explosions erupt in different spots, before he frowns.

It’s going to break before the spell has finished its work, at this rate.

Oh well, he can always help his descendant build a replacement.

An impossibly fast movement breaks out of the hold by the Wolfen, and Ymir glares at the gnats by his feet.

A gnawing sensation on his leg leaves him turning to focus on the giant dog, instead.

“Well, since you’ve decided you’re going to die first, I suppose I’ll grant you your wish!” Ymir growls, right arm raising as he focuses. A massive sword of ice snaps into existence, matching his stature, as he moves to bring down the sword upon Fou.

“Oh no you don’t!” Erik snarls, his voice distorting as he focuses through the agony with willpower alone, slamming the Wolfen against Ymir and pulling him into a tackle once more, this time the left fist raised up over the head.

Ymir’s eyes grow wide as the Radiant Wave Surgers on the left fist spark, glow, then snarl back into life as Erik does his best to pin Ymir down for a killing blow. Ymir’s single arm desperately reaches up, grabbing the Wolfen’s left arm, and struggles to bring it to a stop, ice blade shattering against the shield as Ymir loses focus on it.

Slowly, inch by inch, the two battle for supremacy.

“BALMUNG!” is the cry heard by both, as Siegfried unleashes his Noble Phantasm.

The Noble Phantasm carves into the massive golem’s remaining arm, weakening it slightly, but not breaking it.




“Not yet…” Mordred whispers, body shaking at the force held between her wrists. Her entire body shakes, as more and more power converges in Clarent, the blade starting to rattle in her hands. Is it from the power being too much? Is it something else? She can’t tell.




Ymir glares, then smirks. One headbutt, two headbutts, several more occur as fast as he can throw the blows, massive “Thunk” sounds echoing as his stone and ice body collides with metal..

Headbutt, elbow, headbutt, elbow, he switches off now. Doing his best to damage his descendant’s war machine, put him off guard enough to keep the glowing fist of death away from his head.

Glee shows on Ymir’s face, as more and more blows land, leaving the creaking upper third of the Wolfen, above his descendant’s cockpit, denting in further. Slowly, steadily, the massive upper third of the Wolfen shifts backwards, damage showing on it.

Then Ymir freezes, eyes growing wide in stunned shock, as he feels the legend growing from behind the Wolfen.

He jerks his head, taking in the sight with wide eyes of Mordred’s Noble Phantasm, charging with power, the air rippling around it.

No, not just the air. Reality itself is buckling and rippling, as the blade and whatever else is supercharging her feed off of each other.

Then Ymir looks upon his descendant once more. “To have planned things out like this. Well played, descendant. Well played indeed. But do you really think I’m out of tricks?!”

With those words, armor snaps into existence on Ymir, as he resumes beating on his descendant’s war machine.




Mordred growls, as she stares at the increasing amounts of damage done to the Wolfen, eyes catching each blow, even as her body shakes more from the strain she’s putting herself through. “Not YET, damn it…” Mordred growls, shivering.

Then her eyes catch something, and widen in recognition.

Glowing motes rising from the land.

“Father…?” A vicious grin lands on Mordred’s face, as she realizes not what, but who she’s been waiting to act with.




Rapidly, Ymir pushes the attack, doing his best to injure or damage the Wolfen enough for the Radiant Wave Surger clad left fist above his head to short out. Doing his utter best to force the Wolfen off, so he can deal with the gnat he’d offered to spare and snuff it’s existence out.

A chain snapping taut around his neck reminds him that he has other worries to deal with at the moment, however. Irregardless of his new body not needing to breathe, it still kept him from headbuttting his descendant’s war machine.

Ymir half thrashes, struggling with his right arm against the Wolfen and it’s Radiant Wave Surger.

“I will not lose here!” With those words, the chains snap, letting Ymir slam his head against the Wolfen once more. Repeatedly displaying his aggression and rage as he does his best to beat the Wolfen back.

More chains snap around him, binding him tighter.

Again, the weakened Titan thrashes, forcing them to snap through sheer force.

Over and over again, chains snap into existence and shatter, as Arcueid Brunestud frowns from her new vantage point on the battlefield.

Not enough to give Erik the final blow, but enough to distract the Titan.




Elsewhere on the battlefield, streams of yellow motes of light head to a specific place in the distance.

Slowly, the former Counter Guardian EMIYA follows, ignoring his injuries and lack of a spritual core.




Explosions ripple, metal creaks and tears, as the Wolfen’s upper third cracks back. From within, Erik winces as the bulk of the main thrusters show massive failures all over. “Well, they weren’t going to work in this form anyways…” Erik growls, barely able to think through the pain, as he shivers from the pain, before focusing. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to win!”

A pause for one moment, as Erik narrows his eyes, using sheer willpower to ignore the pain while tapping on buttons to redirect fuel even as machinery replaces flesh and blood most of the way up his left forearm. “That gives me an idea, though! DODGE THIS, YOU BASTARD!”

Maneuvering thrusters fire, as Ymir tries for another headbutt.

Ymir flinches back, the Radiant Wave Surger almost grazing his forehead as it’s suddenly in front of him instead of the rest of the Wolfen… and then his ice armor shatters outright as the glowing radiance around the left arm of the Wolfen fizzles out once more.

Ymir pauses, staring at the now normal left arm of the Wolfen, blinking, before a broad grin covers his face.

“You’re out of fuel for that, aren’t you? Well played, descendant, but it looks like this shall be my victory after all! Without that blow, your little gnat can’t finish me off!” Ymir laughs as he speaks. “Now all I have to do is wait for your machine to break, and I’ll be able to eat those gnats emitting Legend that have hurt me so badly, at my leisure…”

Ymir’s smirk fades, as he spots a yellow mote of light passing by his head. “What’s this?”

Slowly, Ymir turns.

In the distance he sees a sword, held by what looks like a young looking woman. Another gnat he missed, perhaps?

Then he focuses on the blade, and spots a bit about it. A blade that promises victory to its wielder. A blade fatebound to guarantee the wielder victory.

Ymir’s golem eyes snap wide in terror, as he realizes the trap he’s in, and he desperately moves.

A left arm forms, made out of ice, simple ice gears and machinery within it letting it work like a normal arm. A spear forming in the left arm.

Then Ymir throwing it as hard as he can, at the girl in the distance.

A shield appears, between the spear and the woman. In the distance, he can faintly hear a cry of “Rho Aias!”, though he’s not sure what that means.

Another gnat somehow appears, carving the spear in half before it can reach either of them.

Ymir growls, throwing a second spear, then winces as it breaks against the shield.

“I won’t let myself lose like this! Do you hear me, Descendant?! I WILL WIN!” With those words, Ymir screams, throwing javelins as often as he can with the ice arm. They don’t manage to reach in time.

“EX-” The scream echoes around the battlefield, timed perfectly with the words “CLARENT BLOOD-” as parent and child react as one.

“CALIBER!”, “ARTHUR!” With those words, the Noble Phantasms are released, shattering flying ice spears as they cross the battlefield almost instantly.

Twin attacks slam into the massive golem body of Ymir, tearing through him like a hot knife through butter, then outright detonate within him as they amplify each other’s blow.

The Wolfen goes flying upwards, before slamming down hard, as Ymir outright detonates underneath the bulk of it.




Slowly, Erik snaps out of it, flinching at the mostly mechanical left arm, before wincing as the pain stops, along with the agony.

Then he slowly looks up.

The Heart of Winter in all its glory, lies in the wreckage of the golem that formerly housed it, glowing faintly blue.

He could easily reach out and touch it, now, it’s so close to the spot he’s at.

That would be a bad idea, though, with whatever Ymir did to him earlier.

Slowly, he shakes his head, trying to shake the cobwebs out of it, as well as recover a bit from the insane amounts of pain he felt earlier.



The former Counter Guardian EMIYA walks slowly to Arturia Pendragon’s side, nursing his injured body as he goes. “Sorry for not being able to help more, Saber.” He finally admits, out loud. “This body’s something I’m still getting used to. It’s… different from the one I had in life.”

Both turn at the sound of thrusters firing, as Mysterious Heroine XX lands, Godafrid in tow.

“Thank you for the save… Archer. No, would it be Shirou? Or perhaps you’ll take a different name?” Arturia Pendragon asks, watching Mysterious Heroine XX for a long moment. “As for you, you must be Godafrid’s Servant. Thank you for the assistance.” The King of Knights nods regally towards MHXX.

Then Arturia’s attention is diverted by a war machine flying over, her child in the cockpit of it. “I apologize, Archer, and… Foreigner wasn’t it? It seems my attention is needed elsewhere for now.” With those words, Arturia Pendragon moves to meet the heavily damaged Valkyrie.

Slowly, Mordred pulls herself out of the Valkyrie, body returned to normal, if with more crimson on her armor than before. Muscles exhausted. Body feeling like a lead weight, hundreds of pounds heavier.

She looks up at her father, staring at her. “Father…”

Arturia Pendragon moves, taking the first steps, and pulls her child into a quiet hug. “I’m sorry, Mordred. I’m sorry for not looking at you as you died as you deserved, my ‘son’. That I wasn’t a better father for you.”

“Father, I…” Mordred cries freely into her father’s arms, letting loose tears of pain, and exhaustion. After a bit, she just hugs her father tighter against her. “We did it, father, and thank you for the help. Are you proud?”

A quiet, peaceful smile covers Arturia Pendragon’s face, before they both pause at the words from nearby. “Master? I think something’s wrong. My cosmoreactor’s starting to feel like it’s burning up.”

Mordred slowly turns, instincts screaming at her, to stare at the battlefield far off from them. In the distance, she can barely see the Heart of Winter starting to glow a brighter and brighter blue.

“What’s happening?” Mordred quietly whispers, then her eyes narrow. “Erik! Get your armor on, something’s off!”

“I can barely move right now, Mordred. My body feels like lead. What’s going on?” Erik’s voice returns.

“Mysterious Heroine XX’s Cosmoreactor is starting to feel like it’s burning up, and that Heart of Winter is glowing a brighter blue. The same color blue as the spell you got hit with.” Mordred sends, eyes narrowed.

“Crap. Yeah, mine’s starting to ache as well. I’ll pop the dome and grab my armor, though it might take a few minutes.” Erik sends back, sounding bone tired.

MHXX grabs her chest, wincing. “This is starting to hurt. I’m going to need to take it out in order to get it to stop burning me. If you don’t mind?”

The Servants around shake their heads, watching curiously. MHXX breathes out a sigh of relief as the cosmoreactor manifests externally.

Then it all goes to hell.

Streams of power flare from the Heart of Winter, just as much as the Cosmoreactor is giving off in waves of heat. Somewhere between, reality shifts, twists, then tears as the two manifested reactors, one of Titan origin, and another of more divinely crafted origin tear against each other’s influence.

Something breaks, and as a massive rift in reality opens up, the battlefield stares in terror.

The Wolfen moves, grabbing up the Heart of Winter so Erik can stab the damned thing with Raika… but the rift grows only bigger. Slowly, the Wolfen grabs into the ground, desperately trying to stop itself from being pulled into the rift.

A huge creak of metal is the only warning, as the top third of the Wolfen, battered, damaged and nearly completely broken, rips away towards the tear in reality.

Mordred’s eyes go wide, staring in horror, as multiple Servants slide towards the rip in existence, as well as EMIYA. Arturia’s arm catches Godafrid easily enough, but MHXX flinches as she has to fire up her thrusters.

“Any idea of what it is?” Godafrid asks, carefully. “And can you shut it down?”

“Scanners say that it’s a dimensional rift, Master,” MHXX replies.

“Damn it, not Palladium on top of all this . . .” Godafrid muttered under his breath.

“Oh, shit.” Mordred whispers, eyes wide as the Wolfen starts getting sucked in towards the rift as well. Exhaustion or no, she pulls herself back up onto the Valkyrie, turning it around. “Damn it, Erik!”

Sucking in a breath, the Exalt braced himself. With XX’s help—sometimes needing her to injure the prey enough for him to kill them—he’d gained enough Essence back for this.

It was the space of a heartbeat to resume his bargained, magus form; the space of another to activate his Mystic Eyes. From there, he used all his own wits, and the Fairy Eye’s natural abilities, to se a weak point. or failing that, one that he could make . . .

“Eyes that saw truth,” Glam Sight was called, as opposed to the “fate” perceived by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—and so they did. Any mortal seeing this would probably go mad; having the perspective that he did about the nature of the realities he found himself in, however, Frid was insulated by at least one remove from the “eldritch truths” that Lovecraft and those like him spoke of. He could see the Heart of Winter for what it represented, what it was, what it could be—and what it could not be.

The cost would be high; more than even an Exalt—at least, of his current level—could pay . . . But he still had one last card left to play.

“Looks like this is goodbye, Tori,” he called, having to yell over the chaotic roaring of the battlefield. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do better for you—but thank you, for everything. With luck, I’ll see you on the other side of time . . . And I’ll do everything I can for you, I promise!”

“By the power of this Command Spell, my Servant, use your Noble Phantasm to destroy the Heart of Winter. . .!” Godafrid orders, eyes narrowed. “And by the power of my final Command Spell, I order you to strike with all your potential strength!”

Reality twists, and with a loud scream of "Twin-Myniad Disaster!", MHXX’s noble phantasm lands clear, annihilating the Heart of Winter once and for all before it can clear the portal. Then she turns, pushing everything into her thrusters to push away.

For a moment, Mordred pauses, looking at her father. It would be so easy to stay. She knows her father has a group that she could seek refuge from…

“Sorry, father. I need to go rescue Erik. Be safe, and I love you.” Mordred nods towards Arturia quietly.

“Saving foolish masters in over their heads is a specialty we both share, Mordred. Go. Know that I’m proud of you.” Arturia Pendragon nods towards her descendant.

Mordred launches, eyes narrowed at the sight of the Wolfen getting sucked partially into the portal, now wavering.

As the massive War machine goes through, the portal starts to shrink.

“ERIK!” Mordred screams, and pushes her Valkyrie through after him.

Distantly she can see Siegfried and EMIYA falling through the portal, and the portal closing behind them. Siegfried vanishes quickly to the strain of wherever they are, she notes briefly. Or perhaps it’s lack of contact with his master? Her mind momentarily wonders.

Then everything she has left is focused on trying to get to the heavily damaged Wolfen, wherever the hell she’s at, in a place where nothing makes sense.



Author’s Notes:

And it’s just about all over, except for the side stories and epilogues.

Holy crap.

77 main chapters, 2 and a half years of writing, and we’re finally seeing the last main chapter of this long story. Now just for the rest of the epilogues to be finished up, as well as the sidestory of the original timeline...



Chapter Notes:

Erik’s all but out. Now it’s the Servants turn to finish the job.

Mordred has her marching orders, via Command Spell.

Attempts at a curbstomp wonderland are a go here.

All boons Ymir have that were in use, just shattered outright.

And so long as Ymir is in the Wolfen’s grasp, he’s being held still. With a radioactive pulse weapon against him, if *damaged*.


Scathach has how many fucking spears again?! All the branches of Tonelico as spears?! Whatever Tonelico is anyways…

[Xamusel]

So... whatever happened to Astraea?

[RanmaBushiko]

So... whatever happened to Astraea?

You'll see in at least one epilogue... *snickers*

[Xamusel]

Point taken. I'll wait for her to show up again.

[Arbitrarity]

Well, the ending is about as chaotic (or dare I say, anarchic) as expected. It's not my favourite chapter, I have to admit. There's a lot going on, and it doesn't give quite enough time to each character for their moments to be satisfying. I feel like it would have been better pacing to spread some of those moments among earlier chapters, or outright kill some of the characters off, so it didn't feel like their moments are so crammed together. I'm particularly thinking about Scathach and Siegfried here, who don't really contribute much to the narrative of the chapter, but the orbital laser and Antares Snipe also fall fairly flat. They feel more like you're trying to remind us those characters exist, rather than being climactic.
I think you could have done better by focusing on only one or two major moments here, and/or spreading these events over 2-3 smaller chapters. At the same time though, this fight has gone on for ~4 chapters (maybe 8 if we count the Hanging Gardens fight), so I can see not wanting it to drag on too long.


I like the framing on Mordred, and explaining other events in relation to it. We've had a sharp focus on Mordred before, i.e. during the Dracula fight, but this time there's a lot more going on. It gives the chapter a feeling of... inevitability? Which works well with some things (Mash, the Wolfen being beaten down), but less well with others. The chant is also a nice touch, it stands out, and we finally get some payoff for crafting choices back in chapter 66. I suppose the Great Welsh Red blood has some side effects on Mordred as well. (related, I feel like I should regret not taking Mecha blood tempering, but in my defense I didn't know what the Ragnarok contingencies were)

Erik is presumably being titanified, since he's the god of Machines. I have to wonder what sort of side effects a presumably-Titanic arm will have. Is it better than a different prosthetic alternative? Does it have unexpected powers? Is it killing him? Lots of possibilities.

I enjoy the way Ymir views things through the Scion paradigm. The mapping of various traits and myths adds a lot of implied depth. The Sword of Promised Victory in that view is quite scary, but considering it's defended the planet against comparable threats, its menace is quite justified. That said, Ymir's perspective and dialogue can feel a bit stilted, and occasionally repetitive. Everything is gnats.

I think Arturia's presence was set up well. The tease with Arcueid and a Door works, and is given enough time to settle, before exactly who it is made more obvious. Bringing in Arturia obviously has a ton of dramatic potential with Mordred, and it's a great climax for the story. We really could have used a chapter break after that, though. Revealing and resolving the dimensional rift just happens too quickly, I'm getting dramatic whiplash. It rushes what could have been a deeper moment between Mordred and his father. There was also definitely some potential silliness with XX and Arturia in the same room that we missed out on. I suppose we'll have to hope for omake or epilogues.

XX's last Twinmyniad Disaster didn't even get the name yelled. For a double-command-seal-empowered attack, that feels a bit sad, but by that point things are trying to wind down. It's chaotic enough that I'm not entirely clear on several characters' fates. It's obvious that Erik and Mordred are off into the void, probably with Scylla, since they have the Wolfen. Siegfried outright vanished without Grail support, and Emiya seems to be intact. Obviously Arturia is at a safe distance. I've lost track of Tamamo, Fiore, and Olga. I think they evacuated once Erik went full Transformers, but we haven't really seen them since. I'm assuming XX is vanishing from the power consumption of her attack plus the lack of the Grail, which is why Godafrid said goodbye.

I'm a bit bothered by the continuity hiccup of Godafrid having a depleted Essence pool, since he was supposedly draining motes off of some weaker enemies. You can definitely say that he needs everything he has to power XX for that attack, but that's not really what was described. On a Godafrid-related note, did we ever get an Anima Banner? You'd think using God Beast Transformation would do it, unless there are knacks/charms I'm not aware of. At the same time, an Anima Banner reveals a lot about him that's not necessarily set in stone yet, so I can see leaving that for a later dramatic time.

Well, that's a wrap for the main story, I guess. I look forward to seeing what you have in epilogues, there are definitely a lot of loose ends.

[Kieran]

So... whatever happened to Astraea?

You'll see in at least one epilogue... *snickers*

Yup.

Well, the ending is about as chaotic (or dare I say, anarchic) as expected. It's not my favourite chapter, I have to admit. There's a lot going on, and it doesn't give quite enough time to each character for their moments to be satisfying. I feel like it would have been better pacing to spread some of those moments among earlier chapters, or outright kill some of the characters off, so it didn't feel like their moments are so crammed together. I'm particularly thinking about Scathach and Siegfried here, who don't really contribute much to the narrative of the chapter, but the orbital laser and Antares Snipe also fall fairly flat. They feel more like you're trying to remind us those characters exist, rather than being climactic.
I think you could have done better by focusing on only one or two major moments here, and/or spreading these events over 2-3 smaller chapters. At the same time though, this fight has gone on for ~4 chapters (maybe 8 if we count the Hanging Gardens fight), so I can see not wanting it to drag on too long.

You aren't wrong . . .

There was also definitely some potential silliness with XX and Arturia in the same room that we missed out on. I suppose we'll have to hope for omake or epilogues.

The idea did strike me when I read it, but it didn't seem the time or place.

XX's last Twinmyniad Disaster didn't even get the name yelled. For a double-command-seal-empowered attack, that feels a bit sad, but by that point things are trying to wind down.

I agree with you.

I'm assuming XX is vanishing from the power consumption of her attack plus the lack of the Grail, which is why Godafrid said goodbye.

Yes - back home she goes.

I'm a bit bothered by the continuity hiccup of Godafrid having a depleted Essence pool, since he was supposedly draining motes off of some weaker enemies. You can definitely say that he needs everything he has to power XX for that attack, but that's not really what was described.

*Headdesk* And that's on me - I should know not to write things so late at night by now . . . Apologies, I will look into fixing it.

On a Godafrid-related note, did we ever get an Anima Banner? You'd think using God Beast Transformation would do it, unless there are knacks/charms I'm not aware of. At the same time, an Anima Banner reveals a lot about him that's not necessarily set in stone yet, so I can see leaving that for a later dramatic time.

That, yes - I'm being vague until I've settled on things (which could be years, at this rate . . . ).

Well, that's a wrap for the main story, I guess. I look forward to seeing what you have in epilogues, there are definitely a lot of loose ends.

That there are . . .

[RanmaBushiko]

Well, the ending is about as chaotic (or dare I say, anarchic) as expected. It's not my favourite chapter, I have to admit. There's a lot going on, and it doesn't give quite enough time to each character for their moments to be satisfying. I feel like it would have been better pacing to spread some of those moments among earlier chapters, or outright kill some of the characters off, so it didn't feel like their moments are so crammed together. I'm particularly thinking about Scathach and Siegfried here, who don't really contribute much to the narrative of the chapter, but the orbital laser and Antares Snipe also fall fairly flat. They feel more like you're trying to remind us those characters exist, rather than being climactic.
I think you could have done better by focusing on only one or two major moments here, and/or spreading these events over 2-3 smaller chapters. At the same time though, this fight has gone on for ~4 chapters (maybe 8 if we count the Hanging Gardens fight), so I can see not wanting it to drag on too long.

It's been 8 days under a literal year since the Hanging Gardens fight started up. Writing combat for this long, working out how Noble Phantasms will interplay in things, etc. is exhausting. Sometimes you want to push as hard as you can for good writing, and sometimes, the end is finally there, and you have to realize that the Servants have been fighting for how goddamned long?! Siegfried had the luck of having Mash, fueled by a fucking kaleidostick as a meat shield to tank everything in front of him as he pushed to fight Semiramis, thus him stepping up so well.

Everyone else was already on the edge of "I'm going to sleep for the next week to recover from prana deprivation and exhaustion!" levels of exhaustion. All because the Holy Grail is outright gone.

I like the framing on Mordred, and explaining other events in relation to it. We've had a sharp focus on Mordred before, i.e. during the Dracula fight, but this time there's a lot more going on. It gives the chapter a feeling of... inevitability? Which works well with some things (Mash, the Wolfen being beaten down), but less well with others. The chant is also a nice touch, it stands out, and we finally get some payoff for crafting choices back in chapter 66. I suppose the Great Welsh Red blood has some side effects on Mordred as well. (related, I feel like I should regret not taking Mecha blood tempering, but in my defense I didn't know what the Ragnarok contingencies were)

Glad you were enjoying parts of it. I was aiming more for "They're doing their best to help, and it's showing..." but... at least it came through somewhat? Again. Outright exhausted from how long they've been fighting. *Wiggles my hand* As for Mecha Blood Tempering, I didn't let anyone know about the Ragnarok contingencies were in the first place, for good reason. Would a Norse God of Machines, Mecha and Paranoia REALLY mention all his aces in the hole, except by a code name? REALLY?!

Erik is presumably being titanified, since he's the god of Machines. I have to wonder what sort of side effects a presumably-Titanic arm will have. Is it better than a different prosthetic alternative? Does it have unexpected powers? Is it killing him? Lots of possibilities.

It's the reason why he's not stuck on the Other Side of the World, after all, before getting kicked out of the universe violently. Aside from that? You'll see...

I enjoy the way Ymir views things through the Scion paradigm. The mapping of various traits and myths adds a lot of implied depth. The Sword of Promised Victory in that view is quite scary, but considering it's defended the planet against comparable threats, its menace is quite justified. That said, Ymir's perspective and dialogue can feel a bit stilted, and occasionally repetitive. Everything is gnats.

Yeah, to him, they ARE gnats. Humanity as a whole isn't "something to be worried about" to a titan. Add in that he's basically a copy of Ymir's mind made by the Heart of Winter at the time of his death? Back before the Great Flood was caused, in Scion 1.0 from his death?

Humanity wasn't really a concern to Titans back then except as "some screaming irritant to scrape off the bottom of your shoe". Period. No ifs, no and's, no buts.

I think Arturia's presence was set up well. The tease with Arcueid and a Door works, and is given enough time to settle, before exactly who it is made more obvious. Bringing in Arturia obviously has a ton of dramatic potential with Mordred, and it's a great climax for the story. We really could have used a chapter break after that, though. Revealing and resolving the dimensional rift just happens too quickly, I'm getting dramatic whiplash. It rushes what could have been a deeper moment between Mordred and his father. There was also definitely some potential silliness with XX and Arturia in the same room that we missed out on. I suppose we'll have to hope for omake or epilogues.

Glad you enjoyed this bit. Sorry for the dramatic whiplash, though.

XX's last Twinmyniad Disaster didn't even get the name yelled. For a double-command-seal-empowered attack, that feels a bit sad, but by that point things are trying to wind down. It's chaotic enough that I'm not entirely clear on several characters' fates. It's obvious that Erik and Mordred are off into the void, probably with Scylla, since they have the Wolfen. Siegfried outright vanished without Grail support, and Emiya seems to be intact. Obviously Arturia is at a safe distance. I've lost track of Tamamo, Fiore, and Olga. I think they evacuated once Erik went full Transformers, but we haven't really seen them since. I'm assuming XX is vanishing from the power consumption of her attack plus the lack of the Grail, which is why Godafrid said goodbye.

Yeah... my bad on bits and pieces here. Kieran didn't catch it either, and it was a few days of furious writing, followed by sending it to Kieran to proof-read, more writing, and the hopes that I'd get it posted before I went off camping for two nights with a friend, physically. Considering I posted AFTER the camping trip, my plans on posting before didn't quite work out.

I'll edit it in when I'm not still feeling bone tired from everything during the camping trip.

As for Tamamo, Fiore and Olga? Olga's with Sapphire, and is going to have interesting meetings as a result of all this. As for Tamamo and Fiore, you'll see...

I'm a bit bothered by the continuity hiccup of Godafrid having a depleted Essence pool, since he was supposedly draining motes off of some weaker enemies. You can definitely say that he needs everything he has to power XX for that attack, but that's not really what was described. On a Godafrid-related note, did we ever get an Anima Banner? You'd think using God Beast Transformation would do it, unless there are knacks/charms I'm not aware of. At the same time, an Anima Banner reveals a lot about him that's not necessarily set in stone yet, so I can see leaving that for a later dramatic time.

He covered that bit with a reply earlier, and I'll edit things when he gives the modifications to me.

Well, that's a wrap for the main story, I guess. I look forward to seeing what you have in epilogues, there are definitely a lot of loose ends.

Oh yeah, there are. You'll see... especially with what certain parties happened to be watching the show...

[Arbitrarity]

It's been 8 days under a literal year since the Hanging Gardens fight started up. Writing combat for this long, working out how Noble Phantasms will interplay in things, etc. is exhausting. Sometimes you want to push as hard as you can for good writing, and sometimes, the end is finally there, and you have to realize that the Servants have been fighting for how goddamned long?!

No doubt. You've mentioned the story fighting you several times, and the unintentional hiatus seemed like it might have been in the same vein. The story has to move on at some point. Exhaustion applies to Servants and authors. Sorry to lead with "here's why I don't love this". I hope that it's somewhat clear that I comment because I care, and want to keep my criticisms fair and reflective of what worked for me, and what didn't. It probably doesn't help that half of my job is reviewing code, so I tend to be somewhat harsh, and look for specifics.

Glad you were enjoying parts of it. I was aiming more for "They're doing their best to help, and it's showing..." but... at least it came through somewhat? Again. Outright exhausted from how long they've been fighting. *Wiggles my hand*

It was very cinematic, you can really feel the scene cuts. While there wasn't specific music provided, I could imagine some quite well.

As for Mecha Blood Tempering, I didn't let anyone know about the Ragnarok contingencies were in the first place, for good reason. Would a Norse God of Machines, Mecha and Paranoia REALLY mention all his aces in the hole, except by a code name? REALLY?!

No, but it is information Erik had, so I won't be held responsible for my suboptimal choices in the absence of information he knew :P

It's the reason why he's not stuck on the Other Side of the World, after all, before getting kicked out of the universe violently. Aside from that? You'll see...

I think I missed that bit about the Other Side of the World, what now? Actually, that reminds me, we just drained the Gem of Power. I recall that's anchoring him, so.... yeah, that might make it easier for Gaia to kick him out, and probably hastens the edition changing effect. I wasn't clear if those portals were Gaia ejecting people, it didn't seem too probable, though I presume she'll have an epilogue, since she was watching.
Actually, that makes me wonder if the transformation halting is from Ymir dying, or the Gem being drained. The former seems more likely, but if it's an effect that's corrupting him as a 1E Scion... well, you presumably know exactly what it was.

Yeah, to him, they ARE gnats. Humanity as a whole isn't "something to be worried about" to a titan. Add in that he's basically a copy of Ymir's mind made by the Heart of Winter at the time of his death? Back before the Great Flood was caused, in Scion 1.0 from his death?

Humanity wasn't really a concern to Titans back then except as "some screaming irritant to scrape off the bottom of your shoe". Period. No ifs, no and's, no buts.

It's in-character that he never uses proper names, and doesn't bother to learn the local terminology, agreed. I'd just love some more variety. Pests, insects, flies, irritants, ants, bugs, worms, cockroaches, fleas. If you're keeping with insect terms, a well-laid trap might merit "spiders". That last one seems funny as just the smallest possible "okay I respect you a tiny bit more than before".

Glad you enjoyed this bit. Sorry for the dramatic whiplash, though.

Again, you're trying to wrap up. I'm used to most serial fiction ending chapters either on cliffhangers, or letting the dust settle for a moment at the end of bigger arcs.

Yeah... my bad on bits and pieces here. Kieran didn't catch it either, and it was a few days of furious writing, followed by sending it to Kieran to proof-read, more writing, and the hopes that I'd get it posted before I went off camping for two nights with a friend, physically. Considering I posted AFTER the camping trip, my plans on posting before didn't quite work out.

I'll edit it in when I'm not still feeling bone tired from everything during the camping trip.

It's been a pretty long year generally. I find I have to take my productive moments when they come, and I have well-defined problems that don't require much imagination. Hopefully being done with the extended fight takes some pressure off. I suppose dramatic tension doesn't just apply to stories, either.

As for Tamamo, Fiore and Olga? Olga's with Sapphire, and is going to have interesting meetings as a result of all this. As for Tamamo and Fiore, you'll see...

Kaleidostick, right. That gives a pretty good hint about who's involved in those meetings. Tamamo and Fiore are definitely going to be interesting.

Oh yeah, there are. You'll see... especially with what certain parties happened to be watching the show...

Zelretch and Gaia are definitely the obvious two. I'd also guess Astrea and the Works in some capacities. Not sure there are other obvious choices, unless the Scion-universe Titans have a view somehow.

[RanmaBushiko]

No doubt. You've mentioned the story fighting you several times, and the unintentional hiatus seemed like it might have been in the same vein. The story has to move on at some point. Exhaustion applies to Servants and authors. Sorry to lead with "here's why I don't love this". I hope that it's somewhat clear that I comment because I care, and want to keep my criticisms fair and reflective of what worked for me, and what didn't. It probably doesn't help that half of my job is reviewing code, so I tend to be somewhat harsh, and look for specifics.

Yeah, thanks. Makes a lot more sense now. Trust me, your commentary is helpful.

It was very cinematic, you can really feel the scene cuts. While there wasn't specific music provided, I could imagine some quite well.

I was very, very tempted for Fate Stay night's Hikari to Yami /Light to Darkness ost for a good chunk of this. Very badly so.

No, but it is information Erik had, so I won't be held responsible for my suboptimal choices in the absence of information he knew :P

No worries. *Chuckles*

I think I missed that bit about the Other Side of the World, what now? Actually, that reminds me, we just drained the Gem of Power. I recall that's anchoring him, so.... yeah, that might make it easier for Gaia to kick him out, and probably hastens the edition changing effect. I wasn't clear if those portals were Gaia ejecting people, it didn't seem too probable, though I presume she'll have an epilogue, since she was watching.
Actually, that makes me wonder if the transformation halting is from Ymir dying, or the Gem being drained. The former seems more likely, but if it's an effect that's corrupting him as a 1E Scion... well, you presumably know exactly what it was.

Yup. Erik took the one battery he had left, and used it to empower Mordred in all sorts of interesting ways... on top of leaving himself more influenced by Gaia, not being anchored, etc. Things are going to be interesting as a result. Good guesses, too. No, the big giant portal was Ymir's Titanic cosmoreactor equivalent reacting... shall we say poorly to divinely crafted ripoffs?

It's in-character that he never uses proper names, and doesn't bother to learn the local terminology, agreed. I'd just love some more variety. Pests, insects, flies, irritants, ants, bugs, worms, cockroaches, fleas. If you're keeping with insect terms, a well-laid trap might merit "spiders". That last one seems funny as just the smallest possible "okay I respect you a tiny bit more than before".

Yeah, fair. You'll be seeing how it went far differently in the original timeline, later. *rubs my hands together*

Again, you're trying to wrap up. I'm used to most serial fiction ending chapters either on cliffhangers, or letting the dust settle for a moment at the end of bigger arcs.

Fair point.

It's been a pretty long year generally. I find I have to take my productive moments when they come, and I have well-defined problems that don't require much imagination. Hopefully being done with the extended fight takes some pressure off. I suppose dramatic tension doesn't just apply to stories, either.

Yeah, that's going to definitely take some pressure off. Showing off different abilities for characters wasn't exactly easy and working out how to ensure things went well enough for characters to not instantly die wasn't easy either.

Kaleidostick, right. That gives a pretty good hint about who's involved in those meetings. Tamamo and Fiore are definitely going to be interesting.

A few, I suppose... As for Tamamo and Fiore... *rubs my hands together* You'll see...

Zelretch and Gaia are definitely the obvious two. I'd also guess Astrea and the Works in some capacities. Not sure there are other obvious choices, unless the Scion-universe Titans have a view somehow.

*Chuckles, rubbing my hands together* I'm not going to spoil things on that front... yet anyways...

As an aside, I just finished editing in Kieran's edits to the chapter, and altered the MHXX noble phantasm scene more.

[Arbitrarity]

I was very, very tempted for Fate Stay night's Hikari to Yami /Light to Darkness ost for a good chunk of this. Very badly so.

I can see it, though that's mostly fitting for Erik's perspective (very analogous situation, everyone on their last legs slugging it out). Mordred's perspective makes it a bit different, I was feeling the Fate/Zero Sword of Promised Victory made sense, although it feels somehow weird to use that for Mordred. It's very reminiscent of the Caster Gilles fight. The Knight of Rebellion actually works pretty well.

Yeah, fair. You'll be seeing how it went far differently in the original timeline, later. *rubs my hands together*

I suppose we can obviously identify the Great Enemy now, not that it was ever THAT mysterious.

As an aside, I just finished editing in Kieran's edits to the chapter, and altered the MHXX noble phantasm scene more.

Nice. The description gives the scene a bit of a lull in the action, and makes it feel more weighty. Both are helpful for the pacing. Things Man Was Not Meant to Know seems fitting for a primordial being.

[Kieran]

Worry not, the epilogue(s) are under construction - only one piece is presently completed, and it's too short to post by itself, sorry.

As we are trying to tie up loose ends, are there any in particular that you want addressed? Some elements may feature in a future story, but I'd hate to leave something out that we can deal with right now . . .

[Xamusel]

First of all, what exactly are you going to cover in a future story, Kieran? I mean, I want to know what happened to the Domain of Dread incursion into the world, and if that'll be a recurring plot point.

...anything else I'm obviously missing?

[RanmaBushiko]

First of all, what exactly are you going to cover in a future story, Kieran? I mean, I want to know what happened to the Domain of Dread incursion into the world, and if that'll be a recurring plot point.

...anything else I'm obviously missing?

*drums my fingers, thinking on how to word things*

We're still pretty busy with a lot of stuff on ensuring all the epilogues read well, go well, etc. before working on the Misty/Foggy incursion. My mostly done one? Is a 13 page hulking monstrosity for Erik, alone already. Not including everything I have to add in afterwards, due to previously done choices, rewrite ending choices for everyone on decisions for Erik to make, since it was long before the armor, etc.

There's altogether far too many settings with "fog", "mist" and so on and so forth, not just the Domains of Dread, after all...

That's not even going into the continuities I've already written up for future writing involving this, the sheer number of epilogues to write, and so on and so forth.

Speaking of which, I need to finish that one sidestory chapter before Halloween that I got started earlier this year, and got writer's block for. It'll be rather fitting...

[Kieran]

First of all, what exactly are you going to cover in a future story, Kieran?

That is very much a matter of debate - with myself, as much as anyone else . . .

I mean, I want to know what happened to the Domain of Dread incursion into the world, and if that'll be a recurring plot point.

It seems . . . Unwise, to carry that for more than a single story (or perhaps, epilogue . . .?) - but I'll keep it in mind.

...anything else I'm obviously missing?

Not if you don't think so.

[Xamusel]

I think I'm missing something major, though, hence why I asked.

[Kieran]

I think I'm missing something major, though, hence why I asked.

Between RB and myself, I can think of at least half a dozen possibilities, but I've no idea what you might classify as "major" - however, if it's not important enough to you to really stick in your memory, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[Arbitrarity]

As we are trying to tie up loose ends, are there any in particular that you want addressed? Some elements may feature in a future story, but I'd hate to leave something out that we can deal with right now . . .

It sounds like you have a pretty good picture of what your loose ends are already, so I'm not sure you need to specifically wrap any of them up. Things I'd consider worth addressing, aside from the really obvious main character stuff...

- Astrea, since she never actually arrived on-scene.
- Fiore, because I generally liked her and would like to know what, if anything, happens afterwards with her. Secondarily Roche/Gordes, since I think they're still alive
- Is original Godafrid dead? I recall Chapter 71 was not very conclusive about this, though it strongly implied it. This doesn't really need an epilogue, but can probably be definitively answered
- Anything involving Scathach, Mash, Chiron, Kairi, Touko, or Olga
- I assume RanmaBushiko has it covered, but obviously Best Fox Wife is doing something
- Didn't Erik have a colony ship with a bunch of adherents in it somewhere? Wolf Home, I think? What happened to them?
- Wait, Ravenloft took the Grail?! I apparently forgot this!

[Xamusel]

And Arbitrarity covered what I could have asked about... let's go with that for now.