The Century Corps are a few minutes out from Lark2n’s slimy outburst, tracking down Relic
Kutok: I am having a hard time getting a read on it, it seems to be moving towards the Soul Tree
The Century Corps keeps following Kutok as she tries to guide them towards Relic, the robotic entity is far away
Begin Mission: Relic Hunt
Select Party and Unit Reserve
Hadane: I think w-
Hadane has to catch her breath for a second
Hadane: We should pursue the entity with the utmost haste
Nest: Are you ok?
Olivia: We’re running around in armor, it’s ok if one of us needs to catch a breath
Hadane flashes a quick thumbs up at Olivia
Mygin: So Olivia, what do you know about this “relic”
Olivia: I know nothing, it’s mirror is strange, nothing like I’ve seen
Lilac: Really?
Olivia: Yeah, although its presence can’t be a coincidence
Lilac: Do you think it was placed here?
Olivia: Possibly
Kutok: I’ve got a read on it, we should keep up the pursuit
Begin down Relic’s Trail
When the party is 10% through following Relic’s trail
Kutok: Seems like a barrage of random hollows and assorted goons of Rahihi’s or the Sinners Sextant litter our path
Olivia: No malignant presences from my so called realm are here
Lilac: Olivia, where are you from?
Olivia: Technically I’m from the essence of a goddess who was known as Optica, she has since been defeated but I ended up as heir apparent to her world, known as The White World
LIlac: Oh, so that’s why Acantha keeps comparing you to “that witch”
Olivia: Regrettably, yeah
Lilac: I understand
Continue following Relic’s trail
When the party is 20% through following Relic’s trail, a strange portal opens, with various White World monsters appearing
Olivia: Welp
Mygin: Next level jinx there
Larkin: Haven’t seen these since we defeated Optica all those years ago
Olivia: Larkin, you and I were the only people here present for that?
Larkin: Oh…wow….
Nest: I mean, I’m sure it was a great feat
Larkin: That’s really underselling it Nest
Centus: I mean I was around during that time…
Acantha: Hey how come you don’t get shit for helping free all the Centennials?
Centus: Because I feel remorse and have been in the guild for years, and also didn’t betray my people because a voice told me to
Acantha: …
Larkin: Harsh but fair verdict
Olivia: Well let’s clean up the mess coming out of my world
Fight against The White World Monsters
When you win
Boone: In addition to hunting down that big bird, we have to also clean up your closet?
Olivia: We would have to go back there anyway to reveal the secrets of the Dark Mirror whenever we get the shard from him
Boone: Really?
Olivia: Yes
Lilac: That’s news to me
Olivia: I wasn’t going to tell you until we got the shard
Boone: I guess that’s fair
Oseci: Let’s just chase the automaton
Kutok: It’s right this way
Continue following Relic’s path
When the party is 30% down Relic’s path
Lilac: Olivia, how does that, “Relic” get power from it’s mirror
Olivia: I have no idea
Lilac: Why don’t you know
Olivia: I’m not aware of every horrid thing in Optica’s closet of demon
Acantha: You should be, you’re the heir to her legacy of evil
Lilac: Ignore her, what do you think she had to gain from hiding that “Relic”
Olivia: I’m sure we’ll find out
Lilac: Ominous
Continue following Relic’s path
When the party is 40% down Relic’s path
Kutok: Every step we take we seem to get closer, I don’t think it’s moving
Olivia: Strange behavior, we must keep following
Boone: We keep pursuing this thing, what will it lead us to?
Olivia: Answers of some sort
Boone: But answers to what questions?
Olivia: What is it? What is its purpose? What is it doing here? I could go on
Boone: Nope, that makes sense you’ve made your point
Aiden: She is very astute with her points gun buddy
Boone: That she is…
Continue following Relic’s path
When the party is 50% through Relic’s path, a sudden barrage of energy shots interrupt their path
Kutok: Well looks like the gang caught up to us
Coming into view are Kiko and Vakakoya, with various Rahihi goons and Sinners Sextant members
Uruo: Errand boy doing errands for the warlord
Vakakoya: Oh you show up to the family festival and ruin everything, why weren’t you ever grateful for what we had?
Uruo: “What we had” was a warmongering narcissist as a facsimile for a father who never cared about anything but himself
Kiko: Can we skip the daddy issues and get to the part where we kill you?
Vakakoya: That one comes alive
Larkin: You know Kiko it really says something when your former boss is actually on OUR side
Kiko: I was actually very slighted to learn our boss was a pile of goo and I’m confused as to why he’s helping you
Larkin: Me too
Kiko: You don’t know??
Larkin: I don’t
Vakakoya: Enough!! Let’s dispose of these mongrels
Kiko: Fine…
Hoard: Time to fire away guys!
Fight against Kiko and Vakakoya
When they are at 80%
Larkin: This feels like the type of teamup where one side clearly feels more out of place then the other
Kiko: Oh, and who would that be?
Larkin: You, and it’s not even close
Kiko: Uhm, no? The Warlord’s right han-
Vakakoya: My name is Vakakoya
Kiko: Vakakoya and I have a united purpose, I don’t feel out of place in this collaborat-
Larkin: No you do
Nest: I would have to agree with Larkin, like you’re a former Department X member who’s in a primarily Centennial mercenary organization
Kiko: Ok, but that doesn’t mean we can work for a common goal, right Vakakoya?
Vakakoya: What is Department X?
Larkin: See
Kiko: Shut up
Continue fighting against Vakakoya and Kiko
When Vakakoya and Kiko are at 60%
Vakakoya: Uruo, how’d you like seeing our father again?
Uruo: Unpleasant, not a fan of the atmosphere, nothing remotely positive to say
Vakakoya: Oh come on, it’s not THAT bad
Kiko: The Warlord has a nice lair
Uruo: Was shameless propaganda a part of your deal with the warlord?
Kiko: Yes actually
Vakakoya: For real?
Kiko: Oh yeah it’s in the contract in Ayev’s office
Yoni: Sellout
Kiko: Doesn’t your family have a kajillion dollars?
Yoni: Yes
Uruo: Well, Yoni doesn’t use her money for evil
Yoni: Well, I don’t use my money for evil, doesn’t mean everyone in family does the same
Kiko: So I’ve heard
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Vakakoya: My father is quite wealthy himself
Uruo: He posses all the riches of the valley that he seized by force
Hoard: Uhm, actually all the riches of the valley are in the dragon hoards in the far mountains
Mygin: Historically speaking that is true, but the riches of the valley that were left are in the warlord’s possession and-
Kiko: Wait, those riches are paying me, I don’t get paid to talk
Resume against Kiko and Vakakoya
When Kiko and Vakakoya are at 40%
Hadane (Profusely Sweating): We’re…going to defeat you…
Kiko: Uhm…are you sure that armor won’t defeat you first?
Vakakoya: Sweating so bad it’s making local rivers rise in sea level
Olivia: Have some sympathy, would us heroes make fun of your bodily conditions
Kiko: Yes, you would
Olivia: Really??
Kiko: Well not you specifically
Larkin: Your employer was lame
Kiko: Your employer IS lame
Larkin: Nuh uh
Kiko: Yuh huh
Larkin: Nuh uh
Kiko: Yuh huh
Larkin: Nuh u-
Resume against Vakakoya and Kiko
When Vakakoya and Kiko are at 20%
Vakakoya: Uruo, just come back with us and be by our father’s side
Uruo: No
Vakakoya: Please?
Uruo: No
Vakakoya: Well I tried
Uruo: It wasn’t going to work
Vakakoya: Can’t fault me for trying
Kiko: This would be like me convincing Lark2n to form Department X again and hire me back
Larkin: He’s not doing that
Kiko: I KNOW
Resume against Kiko and Vakakoya
When they are defeated, they stagger back slightly
Kiko: Well, we failed to dispatch them here
Vakakoya: We’ll get them next time
Uruo: Maybe, if you’re lucky
Boone: There isn’t going to be a next time
Kiko: What are you going to do, shoot us?
Boone: No?
Uruo: Oh…right
Vakakoya: No don’t you think about it
Uruo: Sorry….
Vakakoya: You backstabbing bas-
Vakakoya is cut off by Uruo freezing him solid
Uruo: That sucked
Kiko: You just froze your own brother like that?
Uruo: Yeah, it buys us time, you’re next
Kiko: No way I let you do that
Kiko tries to fly away but Ba-Bayost shoots her down and without anymore struggle, Uruo freezes her solid
Hadane: They’ll be free eventually, correct?
Uruo: Should nothing go wrong it should wear off in a few hours
Hadane: Let’s continue onward
Olivia: You heard her
Nest: Hadane, are you good?
Hadane: No, I’m fine
Kutok: Well, continue following me everybody
Continue down Relic’s path
When the party is 60% down Relic’s path, they see a stray shield in the grass, Mygin picks it up
Mygin: Ah, this thing
Mygin dusts off the shield, revealing an ornate Phoenix pattern
Lilac: What the heck is a thing like that doing just lying in the grass
Mygin: It must have been in a treasure shipment or something before it was lost, either way this shield depicts an ancient valley legend, it must be from a place of worship nearby
Hadane: What kind of legend?
Mygin: The legend of an ancient guardian Phoenix that used to protect the valley, it would turn to ash after every conflict, but return when the valley needed defending
Hadane: Really, interesting…
Lilac: Why isn’t this Phoenix here anymore?
Mygin: The legends say that it sacrificed itself to seal away an evil long ago
Lilac: Intriguing
Mygin: It’s a fascination of mine…
Kutok: Hey guys, our Relic is getting farther and farther away
Mygin: My bad for the distraction, we should keep going
Continue following Relic’s path
When the party is 80% through Relic’s path, Olivia feels a surge of light energy
Olivia: I can feel its presence, we don’t have too much longer to go
Kutok: I know that, let’s hurry up so we can get to it faster
Olivia: You are so very practical
Kutok: Thanks
Continue following Relic’s path
When the party is 90% through, Olivia feels another surge of light
Olivia: A lot of light magic is clearly being generated from a nearby entity
Acantha: To what ends does that “Relic” serve you or serve Optica, we shall find out soon enough
Kutok: Stop speaking in evil please
Lilac: Yeah it’s not cool
Acantha: Sorry force of habit
Olivia: Whatever, let’s just get to that automaton
Continue following Relic’s path
When the party completes the path, they see Relic generating a large surge of energy around them, trying to open a portal back to the White World.
Relic: Mission: Retreat, Target: Identified
Olivia: Hey, stop it
Olivia’s call out causes Relic to turn towards Olivia
Relic: Target: Spotted, Initiating Defense with secondary objective of acquiring target’s echo
Hadane: What is that thing, doing
More sweat begins dripping from Hadane’s skin
Hadane: Man…it’s drawing closer
Nest: What’s going on with you
Hadane: Nothing Nest, I’ll be fine
Mygin: That thing’s mirror seems interesting
Relic: Inquiry about mirror. Answer: It is a white world object, it can hold echoes
Olivia: Optica built an echo holding machine?
Lilac: Acantha, what is an echo?
Acantha: An echo is sort of like a part of a person’s soul, like it’s a reflection of that person’s self, if that makes any sense to you
Lilac: I think I get it, it’s like another you inside of you
Acantha: I’ve essentially taken the place of your echo here, but I’m different because I can talk to you directly which most echoes can’t do without special technology
Relic: The anomaly’s explanation is correct
Olivia: Explain your purpose
Relic: Negative. Purpose cannot be revealed until target echo is captured and harvested.
Hadane: We just have to fight it
Centus: Be careful, this thing might have tricks up its sleeve
Relic: Recognizing attack beginnings, initializing combat
Fight against Relic
When Relic is at 75%
Olivia: It keeps trying to reach for me
Acantha: Maybe you’re the target
Relic: The anomaly, is correct
Boone: Well I didn’t expect the robot to be so forward
Lilac: Our purpose should still be to neutralize it, so we can study it
Relic: Recognized intent, turning into scrap is against protocol, will harvest the echo
Olivia: I just need to keep my distance, and I’ll be fine
Resume against Relic
When Relic is at 50%
Boone: I have never fought anything like this automaton before’
Olivia: You and me both
Acantha: Strange how you don’t recognize it’s attack patterns, they are pretty similar to yours
Olivia: No that’s the point, I’ve never fought me before
Centus: In all my years of adventuring, there are very few beings I could consider my equals
Olivia: Who could be your equal?
Centus: Well there was a warrior once named Pandora, but they are likely long dead
Olivia: Interesting
Resume against Relic
When Relic is at 25%
Larkin: It feels weirdly sinister for the big bad evil we’re fighting to not be talking back
Olivia: It’s a static robot, not much for it to say
Larkin: Well you’d think whoever programmed it would be more imaginative, have a sense of scale
Olivia: I don’t believe a villainy instinct is one considered when one programmes a vessel meant to extract soul fragments
Resume against Relic
When Relic is at 10%
Relic: Initializing retreat instinct
Relic begins trying to flee to the portal
Hadane: I don’t think so
Hadane casts a wall of fire in front of the portal but Relic effortlessly clears it
Relic: Effort, null
Nest: What do we do to prevent it from leaving
Olivia: I have no idea
Hadane: I might have an idea
Resume against Relic
When Relic is defeated
Relic: Must escape…
Olivia: I won’t let you
Olivia fires a laser of light at Relic who begins reflecting it back with a laser of its own
Relic: Must absorb target’s echo
Hadane: Olivia, get down
Olivia: What do you mean “get d-
Without warning, Hadane charges headfirst at Relic’s mirror attempting to destroy it with a head on attack, only for something more sinister to occur
Relic: Echo in range, beginning absorption
Nest: WAIT NO GET BACK
Nest tries assaulting Relic but is rebuffed, Olivia gives up her own assault as she moves Hadane away from Relic as the echo of Hadane flows into the mirror and through Relic
Hadane: I’m fine…I swear it….
Hadane’s face begins heating up even more than before, her latent fever intensifying
Nest: WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER YOU STUPID ROBOT
Boone: Hey, stand down you don’t want that thing taking your echo too
Nest: WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT AND WHAT NOT TO DO
Nest tries another assault on the still transforming Relic but it is once again rebuffed
Relic transforms into a strange entity that resembles Hadane and Relic merged into one
Relic (Hadane): It is not my designed merge target, but I am finally free to have a personality again
Hadane: It’s like looking in a really, really shitty mirror
Relic (Hadane): Your praise notwithstanding, I think I like this form
Nest: You sick bastard…
Hadane: Hey, calm down someone already fought literal death to get me a full soul I can live with half of mine
Boone: I mean…I get it….
Olivia: Hadane, do we need to get you to the tree now
Hadane: That could be a possibility
Larkin: What are you talking about
Mygin: The tree?
Nest: What do you mean Olivia
Relic (Hadane): Oh I get it…you’ve got a grander purpose then to be this avian puppeteer’s friend
Hadane: That’s…not exactly accurate
Relic (Hadane): But I sense it, how interesting
Olivia: What do you think this “greater purpose” could be
Relic (Hadane): I would tell you target, but you’ll have to catch me
Before anyone could make a move for Relic (Hadane), she vanished out of sight though the portal, as it closed before anyone could step into it
Lilac: Well…is this bad?
Olivia: Hadane? Do you think you can keep fighting like this
Hadane: I’m not sure…
Mygin: I have a quick question for you, Hadane?
Hadane: Shoot
Mygin: This fever you seemed to have, is it related to a feeling of a connection to the valley in some way
Hadane: You could say that…I could feel something calling to me
Mygin: Well, let’s get you back to camp to rest
Boone: Do we know if Hadane can sustain herself without her echo actually present
Acantha: Normally that’s the case, but Hadane might be a special case due to potentially unique circumstances
In the fringes of Hadane’s vision, she can see a figure in the distance, that no one else can hear or see
Death: It might be time for me to explain what your friend made me do to you after he won our fight
Hadane: How interesting…are you coming because my end is near
Olivia: Did someone say something?
Death: In a way, it might be the end of you, the beginning of something else
The figure vanishes from Hadane’s sight as quickly as it appeared
Nest: I won’t accept this
Olivia: Let’s just go back to base
Mission End
Larkin: Well, that was a day
As the party moves to head back, a slimy green tendril pokes Larkin in the back of the head
Larkin: Alright now what was that for?
Kutok: Look behind you
Lark2n rises from the floor, with the green tendril protruding back into Lark2n’s skull
Larkin: Gross
Lark2n: Sorry, couldn’t just let you go back without us having our conversation
Lilac: Right, you two have matters to discuss if I recall correctly
Lark2n: Correct, this valley was an interest point for Department X, so I came here to investigate
Larkin: So that’s why you were here
Lark2n: I figured you’d have to know something, that’s why you would have came here
Larkin: No we’re actually here on mirror repair duty
Lark2n: Regardless, a brief partnership putting our past differences aside might be beneficial to us
Larkin: You can just say you want to team up
Lark2n: What does “team up” mean
Larkin: Nevermind, we have a lot of work to do
Iehn: This is a lot better than you trying to kill us
Lilac: Well, you two better get to it
Lark2n: We have a lot to discuss
Larkin: Fine, let’s go, come back for me later
Lilac: Will do
Lark2n and Larkin begin walking off somewhere as the rest of the Century Corps heads back to the camp.
Back at the Century Corps camp, Hadane is resting silently on a bed, with Olivia, Lilac, Acantha, Yerod, Mygin and Dneuez monitoring her condition.
Dneuez: I’m using my dreamcatcher to get little glimpses into her dreams, but nothing concrete
Olivia: That’s alright, as long as you can get something
Lilac: I just don’t get it
Mygin: Well, do you remember that Phoenix I mentioned earlier?
Lilac: The legendary guardian of the valley? What about it
Yerod: Part of the reason I joined the guild was so that whenever The Phoenix returned that we could stand beside it
Acantha: Really?
Yerod: Yes, that is my own little dirty secret
Mygin: I believe your friend Hadane might be connected to the Phoenix in some way, the legends stated that the Phoenix always had “a soul of fire”
Olivia: She did mention to me she felt she had the soul of a Phoenix
Yerod: So that’s it huh
Lilac: So Hadane’s “grander purpose” is to what, turn into a Phoenix?
Yerod: I believe that may be the case
Olivia: So what are we supposed to do in this situation
Moving closer to the place of Hadane’s current rest is Nest, who wanted to check on her friend, not anticipating the large crowd, she remains out of sight as she waits for them to leave
Lilac: Well, you said we had to go into the White World once the Dark Mirror Shard was collected?
Olivia: Yes, acquire the shard from The Buzzard, enter the White World, get the remaining information on the the Mirror and go from there
Lilac: Well the plan must be modified now, we have to secure the shard, enter the White World, track down Relic, retrieve Hadane’s echo, get information on the mirror and then go from there
Yerod: They are likely connected in some way, the Dark Mirror and Hadane
Olivia: Hadane was with me when I first ventured into the White World to discover the Dark Mirror’s secrets
At this, Nest began feeling a certain kind of rage, not blinding but one small and breaking, peering through her face
Olivia: This expedition was one fueled by my own curiosity, the effigy of Optica that told me about the mirror told me to come here
Acantha: Why did you listen to it?
Olivia: Pardon?
Acantha: Why did you listen to the effigy of that goddess?
Olivia: It was our only lead
Lilac: Alright Acantha, you can drop it
Acantha: No actually, that thing claims she’s free from Optica’s influence, but the whole reason she found us in the first place is because she listened to an effigy of Optica herself
Olivia: It was for research
Acantha: It was reckless
Nest was feeling like she couldn’t take listening to this anymore, the reason she would potentially lose a friend was because Olivia was, reckless, careless, only cared about research
Olivia: Listen, Hadane was there with me and agreed with me about the expedition, say what you want but she was onboard with the plan knowing it’s true origin. Uncovering the origin and secret of the Dark Mirror is important as we had no idea, and still don’t, have any idea as to what its purpose is.
Acantha: Have you ever considered it was a trap by Optica to unleash some dark plan of hers
Olivia: It was a discovery related to The Buzzard, Optica is an immortal witch, she had access to information relating to subjects relating to all sorts of matters, and it was her personal source of information, she would not lie to herself
Acantha: I still can’t believe you right now, not to take any precautions, not to think twice about what you're seeing, maybe stopping and thinking about what you were doing. I mean that Relic that just stole Hadane’s echo was from the White World, is it possible your communication with the Optica effigy activated it somehow?
Olivia: There’s no evidence of that
Acantha: Uh huh, sure tell yourself that
Lilac: Alright guys, that’s enough, maybe you can quit arguing now, fighting amongst each other does no good
Olivia: Listen to me Acantha, the White World would simply not vanish after Optica’s defeat no matter how hard I tried to disperse it after the conflict over the years.
Acantha: Oh really? You tried to destroy the White World.
Olivia: Well, yes, through various efforts and spells I tried to close it off permanently. I had to bring Hadane into the White World with me so she could cover for me if something went wrong when I first went to investigate the Dark Mirror. The Temple of Echoes in the White World had a special chamber that could reveal secrets embedded in Mirrors, and no source I could find on this Earth had a clear answer to what was in that Dark Mirror. I had to do it.
Acantha: I see, well whatever, I’m done trying to argue with you
Acantha’s apparition disappeared back into Lilac’s shadow as she finished her argument
Lilac: She’s been really apprehensive about this partnership knowing your true origin
Olivia: I honestly can’t blame her
At that moment, Centus walks into the scene, wanting to observe Hadane’s rest briefly
Centus: Seems like our mage friend is stone cold unconscious
Lilac: Well her body is adjusting to a supernatural fever and half her soul getting taken, it might be a longer rest than normal
Olivia: Yeah, we should do all that we can to get her back to full health
Centus: I’ll keep ward over her for now, you should get back to planning
Dneuez: What about me
Lilac: I forgot you were here
Dneuez: Yeah that’s just what happens if you stay quiet for long enough
Centus: Well you can stay Dneuez, but everyone who plans should go plan for our next incursion
Lilac: Well, we should get going then
Yerod: Let’s strategize
Lilac, Yerod and Acantha move to leave the scene
Nest has somehow remained unnoticed, she doesn’t know how to feel right now as Centus’s gaze is fixed on Hadane.
Centus: It seems Olivia is like me, kindred in being judged for our past
Nest continues watching Hadane
Centus: It’s not exactly fair to her, is it Nest?
Nest was suddenly caught off guard by being called out by Centus despite them not even facing her direction
Nest: H…
Centus: How did I know you were there, I’m a warrior of untold age, things don’t get past me that easily
Nest: So what, is there a reason you wanted to just call me out?
Centus: I think you should be less judgemental about our friend, she’s in an impossible predicament of trying to be a defender of our world while being the spitting image of one of it’s greatest villains
Nest: I just wish she was more careful, that’s my only friend right there…
Centus: I thought the birds were your friends?
Nest: Well, no bird could ever understand me as well as Hadane could, I just wonder what I can do now
Centus: Just try to do the best you can, following your heart is the only thing you can do in a situation like this
Nest: Alright…I’ll see what I can do
Nest leaves the scene as Centus continues warding over Hadane’s resting place
