just a Lamb who writes sometimes

The Finale

Summary: After almost getting killed by Mycologists and their goliath, our heroines are finally trying to catch their breath. It seems the strain and stress are catching up to them, but there's no time for rest! Ginsha and Yaina have finally acquired the last piece, and now the Ancient Obol is complete.

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

We had made our way out of the Mycologists' lair, and I can't help but collapse to the ground from the exhaustion of the situation, and it sounds like Yaina had a similar thought. Flipping myself over, I manage to sit up, Yaina sitting on the ground near me, visibly shaken by everything. As I catch my breath, the full weight of what just happened starts to set in.

"We- We almost died back there!"

"I… I-I don't know how long we could've held out against those two…"

She looks over to me as she speaks, the fur on her face slightly damp.

"I know, I… I'm just glad things ended the way they did."

"Is that all you can say!? We almost died to those freaks of science! If that random code hadn't appeared the way it did, we wouldn't be here!"

"Well it did, and we are here now. Things turned in our favor, and now we have the Obol."

As if a switch was turned in her brain, her expression changes suddenly.

"T-The Obol! It's complete now! We can finally go home!"

I pause very briefly. The exhaustion must have been enough that I completely forgot about the whole reason we went into that freak show of an encounter.

"You're right… Where are we meant to bring it, again?"

"If I'm remembering right… the Bone Lord said to 'bring it back where we entered this world from'."

"So, the main island? With the statues?"

"I guess so. Come on, I don't care if the humans lock me up anymore, I just want to get out of here."

"Alright, alright… Just- let's take it easy, this has been quite an experience, and I am exhausted."

The two of us slowly get up, taking our time to return to the island we landed on, talking with each other all the while.

"You know… If anyone had told me I'd consider an Arxur my friend after going to Earth, I'd have gotten them screened."

I chuckle softly at the remark. "If I'd have even thought about becoming a comrade with a Farsul, Betterment would probably have me executed."

"I don't even know how we considered humans to be predators, they seem so tame after all of this… not to mention the couple I've met on the way."

"That reminds me… One of the humans I worked with during relief efforts, I think it was Lieutenant Zawada, she tried telling some of us about what they consider to be the natural order."

"Oh? What insights did she have, hm?" Her tone sounded a mix of sarcastic and genuine curiosity.

"Well, she said that the way the Federation–and the Dominion by extension–use the labels of 'predator' and 'prey' is… how did she describe it?"

"Let me guess, it's more complicated than we say it all its?"

I blink idly at her words, looking over to her. "Yeah, something like that… how did you know?"

"In the Federation there's a fanatic group calling themselves Linked Chains, they aren't very active or public. Their rhetoric and ideals are liable to get someone diagnosed with Predator Disease."

"I see… Betterment frowns on asking the wrong questions, and I'd heard rumors that they disliked the idea of Chief Hunter Isif helping humans."

"Really? I thought all this time that the humans called you for help when our fleets showed."

"Quite the opposite, actually. They held FTL disruptors around the planet specifically to try and keep us out."

"I see. Well, we both know how that turned out."

"Indeed."

When we arrive to the island, we see all of the Scrybes standing there, with the exception of P03, his Uberbots are here instead; even the Painter managed to make it, with the Photographer having them mounted on his back. As we approach, G0lly waves at us excitedly.

"See! See! I told you guys they'd made it!"

"The Champions from another world overcome their final challenge, having acquired the key they needed."

"I knew you could do it, and you didn't let me down, Yaina. You too, Ginsha."

"I had a feeling the Champions had come out victorious, as such I have come to see them off."

I can't help a sense of relief that washes through me from their words, it serves to remind me that we're finally done with things. Yaina steps forward and speaks before I can.

"Despite the challenges of everything… I'm glad to have met you all."

"I agree. You all have made this ordeal better, with your reassurance."

Suddenly I hear footsteps behind us, and turning around I see Luke and Kaycee.

"I knew you two would do it, and here you are."

"Figured we'd come and see you off, it was cool to meet real aliens."

"You're staying? Why not come back with us?" Kayce smiles softly while Luke simply looks over the land before turning back to us.

"Thank you for the offer, but… I think I'll stay here for a while longer. It's so wonderful to see this world like this."

"Agreed, and besides, I'd like to get my hands on every card I can. Good luck, Carders."

We exchange more words with everyone; telling Magnificus how the Painter wishes to become one of his pupils, asking Grimora to thank the Bone Lord for his(?) help, and thanking the Archivist for the memories in the form of cards she gave us.

"Where exactly are we meant to put the Obol?"

Yaina and I search for just [a moment] before finding a small slot in the ground, in the center of all four statues, somehow the exact shape of the Obol. Taking out the small thing, I hold it in my claws, hovering it just over the slot.

"I think we should both place it in. Come on."

Yaina places her paw onto the piece as well, and we insert the Ancient Obol into its place. Suddenly the sky turns dark, the moon overhead full and glowing, its blood red tint bathing the entire world in a dark purple–

{ERR: Minor Data Corruption – Retrieving DATA . . .}

Suddenly everything shifted, everyone but the two of us disappeared, and the entire layout of the islands changed, leaving only the small, central island, along with the main island ahead of us, with only a single path before us.

"I… presume this is the part where we leave?"

"I guess so, the Bone Lord didn't really say what happens after we brought the Obol back."

Slowly, we make our way down the path, statues on the sides of the road, each resembling various figures from our adventure. At the end, instead of the four pillars resembling each Scrybe, there's a giant stone arch with four smaller pillars of the Scrybes, a void-black data disk floating in the air.

"That's it…"

"That's what?"

"The OLD_DATA. I just know it."

Before I can react, Yaina steps forward, the area around the disk seemingly corrupting from its mere presence. Suddenly it all dissipates as she grabs onto it, holding it in her paws. In the archway, a gate appears, even darker than the disk, appearing to absorb all light.

"This is it… we're finally going home."

"Indeed. I wonder… how long have we been gone?"

"I'm not sure… I just hope the humans won't lock me up without hearing about this…"

I step closer to her, placing a claw on her back, causing her to look up at me.

"I'll be sure they listen to our story."

"Thank you…" She looks forward to the gate and takes a deep breath. "Let's go."

I nod, and we both step into the—

{ERR: Major Data Corruption – Cause Unknown} {Resume Transcription At Next Available Point?} >[Y]< [N]

{Recovering Next Available Transcription Data . . .} {Memory Transcription Recovered – Loading . . .}

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Junior Hunter Date, [Standardized Human Time]: October 25, 2136

The sound of a breeze rustling trees is audible, the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Did we do it? Are we back? Looking down to my side, I see Yaina looking around, still holding onto the disk.

"D-Did… Did we make it?"

"I believe so… This part of the forest smells familiar."

Realizing where this is, I turn around suddenly, this is where the cabin was! However, instead of the odd cabin behind us, there's the strange archway instead, complete with the pillars of the Scrybes.

"Is… is that the gate?"

"It looks like it."

"Do- Do you think that this means people can come out still? Can people go back in?"

"I'm not sure, for now we need to find civilization."

"Right… I trust you to lead the way, you'll probably catch a scent before I notice anything."

Before I could attempt to find a scent to track, I suddenly felt a splitting pain in my jaw, causing me to double over. Opening my jaws, I reach in and feel that area and… I feel a tooth, in the exact spot I remember pulling one out in Leshy's game. Looking over to Yaina, she seems to have had the same revelation.

"That was… not fun, but I suppose I'm glad that I have it back."

"Y-Yeah. Wait, your fang… it looks golden."

"Does it? Interesting… I'm sure yours might be as well. Maybe this is some kind of gift?"

"I'm not sure. Let's just go find someone."

With that, I attempt to retrace my steps back towards Yaina's ship, but no matter how straight of a path we take, it's like we keep getting turned around. As we walk, I realize I not only still have my deck from the islands, I also have the deck from Leshy's cabin as well. Putting them away for now, I try and focus on any scents I can pick up, but I can't pick up anything for the life of me. Eventually, however, I catch a faint scent, a human scent. I stop in place, closing my eyes and focusing on the smell before slowly tracing its origin.

"The scent… it's very spread out, but it gets stronger towards the same place."

As we get closer, the scent gets more and more familiar… and eventually we come across a small, makeshift human camp, and I immediately recognize one of the soldiers there.

"Sergeant Kamiński!"

All of the humans look over towards us, Kamiński having the most shocked expression as a few of them run over towards us.

"Ginsha! Where have you been? When you didn't come back, the rest of your troupe went back to their posts, but the rest of us stayed here with another person to look for."

"First, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. Second, I did manage to find the Farsul."

"That's great!- Wait, is that them there?"

He looks over to Yaina, who hides behind me slightly, much to the confusion of the nearby humans.

"Yes, this is Yaina. We've… been through a lot together, and that's putting it lightly."

"I can kinda tell… one of your eyes looks odd, and hers are literally glowing." He turns towards the camp. "Hey! One of you radio command! We got the crashed pilot and our AWOL Arxur!"

We go to the middle of the camp, the soldiers having some food cooking.

"Either of you hungry? You've been missing for quite a while."

The sound of both of our stomachs growling hungrily answers that question.

now, contrary to the title there is more of this crossover AU to read

however, at the time, me & Raph only figured we'd do a few epilogues

6 chapters later we have an "Extended Universe" work on ao3 as well, by the name of What Lies Beyond

given that that one isn't in a finished state, I'm gonna hold off on doing a reupload like this for that one

before I go, I'll paste our "final" message to readers from the fic's end notes and once more, reblogs are greatly appreciated! and i thank you for reading ^^

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"I would like to thank you everyone who sticked with us throughout this journey. Warm reception and soo many people liking our story is what made my day whenever we posted a chapter. I would also like to thank Gear for creating "A Card Game With Leshy" as without his work, our story would have never been born. Is it the end thou? Stay tuned with us, my friends!" -- Raphael

The Last Experiment

Summary: Yaina and Ginsha finally posses four pieces of The Ancient Obol and now there's only one piece left… Though there's a small issue. It's currently in possession of hideous Mycologist. Our heroines have to find them and take the last element needed to finally return to their world.

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

Why would the final Scrybe's fragment be in a bunker? And who were those people that Yaina said she saw in there? Those were the questions that plagued my mind as we searched for where the Mycologists were, to… very little success. We searched each of the islands, finding nothing aside from ordinary mushrooms, winding up back in the central island, staring off at the now glowing statues of the Scrybes.

"Where could they be? We've looked everywhere!"

"I don't know… the map wasn't of any use, either."

"Are the Champions suddenly struggling, now?"

A third voice interrupts our thoughts, looking over I see who I assume to be Kaycee, walking over towards us.

"What's got you two so down? You've clearly got the skills to live up to your titles." She looks over to the statues before turning back towards us.

"We're supposed to find the Mycologists, but we've already searched all over these Prophet-damned islands…"

"Seriously, croc? You should've at least figured out where they are by now." "After all, you're the best at following scents."

Without another word, she walks off. What does she mean by that? Suddenly I remember something, from before this whole hunt for Obol Fragments was the only thing occupying my mind. That spot between the bridges…

"I've got it!"

"H-Huh? What do you mean?"

"Before you showed up at the bridge, there was… a familiar scent. That must be where they are."

"What are we waiting for then, come on!"

We then quickly make our way over towards the small, easternmost island. Once there, the scent from before is much more noticeable, a thick and pungent scent. On the edge of the island are familiar mushrooms, along with a strange feeling.

"There's… something else here. I can smell the spores, but I can't see anything else."

Tentatively, I step towards the ledge, the smell growing stronger.

"What are you doing? There's nothing there!"

"Trust me, I know there's got to be something here."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I was the only one to catch your scent! Now let me focus…"

Reaching out over the ledge, I can feel a force trying to push me back as my claw passes into something, disappearing entirely. Feeling more confident, I take a deep breath and step forward…

Memory Transcription Subject: Yaina, Champion of Technology Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

What the hell does she mean? My scent? Don't go forgetting now, those humans sent the Grays after you. And you shouldn't forget her words, it was a rescue squad. R-Right! It was just that! And you'd believe a Gray? After everything they've done? You seem awfully willing to discount Ginsha's efforts here. What's stopping it from dealing with us after it's taken all it needs. After everything, I don't know what to believe anymore! Hey, pay attention to what's happening. Huh?

Looking up from my thoughts, I notice Ginsha… disappearing over the ledge? What in Protector's name is going on now?! Stepping towards the edge, I start to catch a faint, pungent scent, which almost seems to be coming from off the ledge. Taking a few deep breaths to steel my nerves, I shut my eyes and step forward… Nothing, no feeling of weightlessness, no sound of wind rushing in my ears. Opening my eyes, I see some kind of strange facility, completely overgrown with mushrooms.

"What is this place…?"

"Not sure, but if I had to guess… this must be where the Mycologists reside."

Suddenly, a horrific voices reminiscent of screams echo through the facility.

"We have been expecting you two for some time." "The subjects return." "You seek to take our piece of research." "You can't have it." "We have prepared for your arrival, you see." "Defeat our challenge." "If you wish to take our piece of the DATA, you must defeat your shadows first." "And then us." "Come now, if you believe you are ready."

Was- Was that the Mycologists' voices? Protector above, the sound is even more horrifying when I'm not hearing as a card.

"Sounds like we have to battle some more."

"Right… What do they mean by 'defeat our shadows', thought?"

"I'm not sure… but there's only one way to find out."

Looking forward, I can make out a doorway in the dim lighting, and it seems to be the only way forward. Walking through the door, there's suddenly a light filling the room, which reveals…

What in Protector's name is that? This must be what they meant by our shadow. That's a monstrosity! It has another eye under its left, it looks nothing like me! It's arms are too long, one even has an extra joint! Not to mention the claws… That's what the taint will do to you. After all we've been through, things are not so black and white…

"Filthy predator… Come face your cleansing."

"I don't know what you are, but you're not a Champion like Yaina."

Ginsha then steps up to the thing, a giant mushroom sprouting between them as a table. When the battle starts, she seems incredibly confident in herself, but I can't help but worry. My worries increase slightly as I immediately recognize the cards that the thing uses, that was my deck! The cards are much more fungal, but those were mine! Along with that, it's voice is like a cruel distortion of my own. What worries me even more is when Ginsha starts to struggle against this abomination pretending to be me, I think I can hear her growling slightly.

This is the perfect opportunity to escape while you can. No! We need to do this! The only way out is through the Code, and this is how we get it. … Ginsha is stronger than me with these cards, she'll win! Correction, she just did.

Ah, while I was busy with my thoughts, Ginsha beats that thing, and… oh gods, why does it melt like that?

"Come on, let's go."

I can't bring myself to respond, simply nodding and moving forward.

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

That... was not a pleasant sight. I've seen decay before, but never like that. Moving forward, the next room has– What in Prophet's name is that!? Unlike the previous room, this abomination resembles me, but horrifically twisted. Giant horns on the head, not a fang or claw in sight; its maw is fill of flat, blunt teeth, its eyes almost resembling a Venlil's. It's a terrible beast, and I've seen something described as 'Terror Incarnate' before! As I'm about to step forward, it instead points directly to Yaina.

"M-Me? Alright..."

She steps forward, and I place a gently claw on her back in reassurance. Just like before, a giant mushroom sprouts for a table, and the battle begins. Oh Prophet, that's my old deck. I'm glad I gave Yaina that Ouroboros from my deck, she is definitely going to need it, especially if that is still there. As I watch the duel commence, I start to retroactively regret making my deck so strong, but I know just how limited its card are, meaning it shouldn't be able to last for long. After a long and hard-fought battle, Yaina comes out on top, the second "shadow" falling apart one piece at a time, quickly being overgrown with mushrooms, only to decay rapidly.

"J-Just one more battle… Right?"

"Right, come on. Let's finish this."

Advancing to the final room, the face of the Mycologists is visible through the darkness, a mushroom table already in place.

"I had believed they would be better." "Disappointing." "No matter, you will both have to face us now." "Two against two."

"Fine with me… Yaina?"

"L-Let's get this over with."

As we step towards the table, I notice a faint glow from beneath us, and I feel a chill run through my veins, colder than the vacuum.

"Y-Yaina… look down"

I see her glance down next to me, her fur standing up. Beneath us was the very same tile I'd seen the Mycologists use when fusing cards, complete with all of the same symbols. Except instead of a pair of cards about to be combined, it was us on the chopping block.

"If you fail here, you will become our new subjects!" "Live subjects."

Looking back up, I can feel my heart beating faster. I might actually die here, after everything I've gone through.

Where is your hunter's spirit? Back in that Prophet-damned cabin, you felt no such weakness! Back then I had an actual plan! Besides, I would've put up as much of a fight, had I lost And where is that fire, now? Has spending so much time with prey made you weak? After what she's been through, she cannot be called prey. No… they're partially right. I wasn't planning on dying then, and I don't plan on it now.

"Bring it on. I don't plan on either of us dying here."

I can see Yaina next to me, a confidence visible in her face. Oh for Prophet's sake, not again. The light in the room brightens, revealing the Mycologists' frame, a tall and starved-looking individual, with mushrooms growing all over their body.

"Leshy's mask was hideous enough…"

I can't help but agree with her thoughts. On either side of the table, me and Yaina's decks appear, and with that the battle begins, the room around us shifting not unlike battling a Scrybe. Immediately I nearly feel myself falter as I see all kinds of species merged together as cards–Federation and Arxur included–but initially things aren't that difficult. That changes quickly, as the Mycologists start merging their cards, making them more powerful. Luckily, we have enough power to counter the stronger cards, but it takes quite a bit of effort on our part to tip the fungal scale towards them.

"Oh dear, you do seem to be quite powerful battlers." "A minor setback." "Perhaps this will ensure our experiment's success." "More power."

Multiple strong cards are placed on their side of the board, before suddenly all being fused into one. Oh Prophet, that's a lot of attack power. As I reach over and draw my next card, Yaina nudges my arm, showing me that she'd drawn my Ouroboros again. I shake my head slightly, gesturing to a special card I'd picked up, Pharoah's Pets, the best of the Black Goat and undying Cat. Combining that with a cheap card from Yaina's hand, I play down a powerful card of my own to oppose the Spore Behemoth that the Mycologists played. The ground trembles as the giant figure of a Urayuli appears behind us, but it won't last long against such the abomination opposing it. With the next turn, the Urayuli falls, but before I could play something else to block the Spore Behemoth, two cards move in on the Mycologist's side, one being entirely incomprehensible, the other called The Daus, with the two cards merging into… something.

"It- It can't be! I thought our research on the DATA was at an impasse." "New data on the DATA." "This could complete our research!" "Allow our escape." "With this, we no longer need that Fragment anymore." "Take it."

"Wait, wait. You're just… going to give it to us?"

"We have no more use for it. It is yours now." "Just take it."

The battle scenery around us dissipates, the final Obol Fragment floating over the table. Before I can reach out to it, the other Fragments we'd acquired appear alongside it, reality itself feeling like it's glitching as the pieces approach one another before finally merging into one piece, falling into my claws.

"We've done it."

"Finally, our research is now complete!" "The DATA is complete" "A new world of potential test subjects has opened to us." "Fresh subjects." "We must find somewhere secret to perform our new research." "We may not be welcome."

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don't worry, the Mycologists are only escaping the Inscryption world

The Scrybe of Magicks

Summary: After battling very strange graduate pupils of Magnificus, Yaina is on her last stretch to finaly challenge him. With the whole baggage of her experiences, will she be able to defeat The Scrybe of Magicks? As she climbs up the last set of stairs, a giant chamber filled with strange and mystical atmosphere stays open before her.

Memory Transcription Subject: Yaina, Champion of Technology Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

Making my way up into the final floor of the tower, I see Magnificus, standing at a canvas with brush in hand. Shortly after we arrive, he turns towards us, his eyes having a mystical glow to them.

"Ah, you are here at last. How do my pupils fare?" "No matter. There are far more pressing matters at hand..." "Do you understand the canvas you have been woven into?" "Nay, you are the brush. And the artist moves you with a terrifying mastery." "My eye aches with premonition." "But first, we must battle."

And just like that, the battle began, our surroundings changing to that of a mystical battlefield, and the music in the air changing to a totally new song, the melody sending shivers through my body. There's something odd about the mystical song, like there's some meaning hidden deep beneath. As I draw my first cards, Magnificus suddenly draws his brush.

"Behold... The Brush of the Scrybe of Magicks!" "My pupils would die to be painted by it, and live forever as a card." "But that is not the full extent of its powers..."

Just as suddenly as he drew his brush, he sends white and colored paints over to my cards, overriding their Sigils! This fight already seems incredibly difficult... Very quickly, I learn that there's only a few Sigils that Magnificus will paint onto my new cards, which makes working around them just slightly easier. Despite my best attempts, I lose the initial battle. I'm not letting a painting bush defeat me, especially not when I'm this close! Steeling myself, I continue to challenge Magnificus, not allowing defeat to get me down. Battle after battle, I continue to fail... yet with each attempt, I get further and further. Eventually, I manage to successfully tip Magnificus's scale, getting myself to the halfway point.

"Hmm... I must be slowing down with age." "I may need to set my brush upon my own cards once more."

With those words, he does exactly that, painting the same kinds of sigils onto his cards. Refusing to back down, I make the most out of my cards, the battle seeming to drag on endlessly. Eventually, two things catch my attention, the first being an insanely tall and dark figure seemingly dancing around the background, the second being my deck beginning to grow thin. I won't lose, not now, not after everything I've gone through! Reaching over to the deck, the card I next draw shocks me. Somehow, I had a Beast Card in my deck.

I chose this deck because I wanted to get away from the sacrificing! Pull yourself together, look at those numbers. That's… that's ten attack power and health! H-How is it so strong? Recall Leshy's words… "Death strengthens it forever." Okay, but… how did it wind up in my deck? Perhaps the Arxur gave it to you when you weren't looking. Maybe… this is my best shot at winning this fight, I have to use it. Look on the bright side, this time you don't have to sacrifice living animals.

Taking a deep breath, I play two Sentry Drones, and sacrifice them both to play the Ouroboros. Even without its Unkillable Sigil, its health being 10 made sure nothing could stop it. From behind me, I can hear the beast emerging into the sky, just like how the other cards come to life. With a ring of the bell, the massive serpent strikes, and the battle is won. The music filling the air fades away, and the scenery returns to normal… save for the tall figure, who retreats down the stairs once the card duel is over.

"You really did it, I expected no less from Leshy's Champion." "Though I would have appreciated if your friend would have honored my request to not aid you."

"You noticed that-?"

"You would be surprised how many things I know." "Now that all things are set, I would like to thank you for freeing us from our previous arrangement."

How… humble of him. "It's nothing… it was your plan and help that got us to where we are."

"No matter what lead us to present times. You have reached the last stretch of your venture." "Now… Shake my hand, Champion of Leshy, as the old customs require."

Walking forward, I take Magnificus's hand… it almost resembles a thin tree branch. After a shake, he takes a step back.

"It's such a shame I didn't get a chance to shake his hand…" He turns towards the stairwell, his voice having a tone of nostalgia to it. "How about we fix that, old friend?"

Suddenly from the stairwell, Luke walks up into the room.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt..."

The two then shake hands, and begin conversing with each other.

"I don't think we should interrupt them..."

"Agreed, let's go. We still have another fragment to find."

The two of us make our way into the side room of the top floor, only to find… a bathroom? The piping is very primitive, but the structure is still there. Along one wall there's a sink with a mirror above it, but the image doesn't appear to be a reflection of the room. Moving closer, I can still see that it's not reflecting the room we're in, but I can't make out what exactly the image is.

"What are you looking at?"

"You can't see it?"

"See… what exactly?"

"The mirror isn't reflecting the room… Could this be?"

Feeling a strange compulsion, I climb onto the rim of the sink and reach towards the mirror, only to find my hand passing into the mirror.

"Wow- And I thought the stairs were odd."

Soon enough, I'd fully passed through the mirror, ending up in… some kind of bunker. Despite everything being incredibly blurry, I can make out the general details. My inspection of the room halts as not one, but two corpses lie on the floor, a female human with a bullet wound in her chest, and a human male with odd facial fur and a bullet hole in his head. Everything about this scene is like looking through an out of focus camera, save for one thing; the Ancient Obol Fragment, tucked away in the shirt pocket of the male human. Carefully reaching down, I take the Fragment into my paw, when suddenly I feel a somewhat familiar force pulling me out of the mirror, and thankfully over the sink and onto dry ground.

"What just happened?"

"Well… I just got the fourth Obol Fragment."

I hold up the piece, the Fragment bearing the image of three Mox gems on it.

"So… What exactly did you see in there?"

according to the beginning notes on ao3 at this point is when i switched away from using Google Docs

which explains why the quotations marks were different up until now

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Tower of Magicks

Summary: After finaly showing P03 where his place is, our heroines are finally on their way to battle the last Scrybe. They enter a magical and elusive world inhabited by mages of all sorts and at the center of it is what seems to be academy complex. In the middle of said academy lays a giant tower.

Memory Transcription Subject: Yaina, Champion of Technology Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

“So, wait… you’re saying that down there was… Luke?”

“Not just Luke, it… it was right at his end. There was a human there, but I couldn’t make out her face.”

“What do you mean? Everything was just blurry like the last one, right?”

“Yeah, but her face, it… it was like what I’d imagine corrupted data to look like,”

“And P03’s face on the computer… I mean, he did succeed in his upload, he must’ve done so after…”

“Right… I think we should keep going for now. There’s too many questions right now.”

You have no idea… if you’d told me that joining that fleet to Earth would lead to me learning Arxur can be caring parents, I’d have sent you to get screened. But here we are. First, there’s Leshy and his game, now there’s a pocket dimension that was created by some digital game? The Gray’s right, though. Priority is getting out of this place.

“Yeah, let’s move along. We’ve only got one Scrybe and the Mycologists left.”

With that, the two of us leave the factory, making our way across the bridge to where Magnificus and his tower is. Slowly, the other beings around us start to look like wizards from those crazy Yotul stories, although more human in shape. Eventually we reach Magnificus’s domain, which resembles some kind of high-end form of school, although with a much more wide open design, complete with large sections of land dedicated to card battling, it seems. At the center of everything is a large tower, with the ground beneath it seemingly floating, having several chains securing it to the earth.

“The atmosphere here… it feels strange. Almost like.. Like it was taken from a dream.”

Taking another look around… I can see what she means. The clouds each have fantastical shapes, the sky has a slight pink tint to it, there’s even more floating landmasses, though those don’t seem to be chained down like the central tower. As we continue walking through the area, a large crowd catches my attention, and moving closer I can see there’s multiple of these wizards standing around what looks to be a larger scale card battle.

The arena is nothing like what I’ve seen so far, with each combatant on large pillars, a larger scale card field on the ground between them, a large bell hanging suspended in thin air by a chain on each side, and numbers floating behind each combatant. On one side is some kind of person seemingly made of stone, with the other side having… is that another human? He’s using all kinds of cards, but on top of that, he looks to be incredibly skilled, seeming very calm while the stone man looks to be struggling. Eventually, the human manages to reduce the number behind the stone man to 0, at which point the pillars lower into the ground, the large cards dissipating.

With the conclusion of the duel, the crowd of mages seems to dissipate, giving us the room to get a closer look at this human. As we walk up, he seems to notice us, turning over to look in our direction.

“Heya there, haven’t seen anyone like you two around.”

“I could say the same for you, I’ve only seen one other human like you around here.”

“Really? Well, I guess I’ve got a new friend to make.” “Oh by the way… what year is it?" "I still don’t know how time works here.”

“Last I remember, the humans I’d worked with said the year was… I think 2136.”

His expression falters slightly, as if he’d just received grave news.

“Wow… to think it’s been that many years since I woke up again.” “Good luck with your adventure, Carders. Stay safe.”

Just like that, he gathers his cards and walks off. Looking over to Ginsha, I notice a strange look in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“That… that was him.”

It takes me a moment for her words to properly sink it.

“But… how? You said yourself that…”

“I don’t know… At the very least, it looks like he’s doing something he enjoys now.”

“I… you’re right. Come on, let’s try and not get distracted again.”

We end up having to ask around to find where to go in order to challenge Magnificus, finding out that the floating tower is where he and his most promising graduates are. Making our way in, the first floor seems… strangely empty. The only things of note are the Trader’s side room, a stone totem with a large green gem on top, and… a strange music that seems to permeate the air. As I continue to look around, I see Ginsha opening up the door that leads to the stairs… only to re-enter through the front door?

“What just happened? I swear I was just about to go up those stairs.”

“Maybe there’s some kind of puzzle? Oh wait! There’s a note here!”

I walk over to a table against the wall opposite the door, with a note and some kind of eyeglass next to it. Picking up the note, I read it aloud.

“ Greetings. If you are reading this, it must be because you want to challenge me, Magnificus to a card battle.” “ But in order to earn that privilege, you must first defeat my three graduate students.” “ As for their whereabouts, that is for you to discover… Sincerely, Magnificus.”

As I go to put down the note, I notice a second note underneath this one, so I take this one and read it as well.

“ If you are the two Challengers from the stars, then I only have one rule.” “ The gray one may not assist with the puzzles, for she still possesses one of my mystical eyes.” “ As such, you must find and challenge my pupils on your own.”

“Oh… I see.”

“I’m sure you can do it.”

“Thanks.”

Picking up the eyeglass next to the note, I note how the lens seems to shimmer with mysterious colors… unlike anything I’d seen before. Looking through it, I notice that I can see small glowing flecks in my fur. Trying not to think too much about it, I try to fit it to my face, looking around the room. What soon catches my eye is the strange glowing writing present on the note, which shows three sigils from top to bottom. This might be part of the puzzle. Looking around further, I see the front of the totem has three parts that look like they can rotate, along with singles around it, and more glowing markings showing to line them up. Rotating each layer on the totem, I align them to match the sigils I saw on the note, and when it’s aligned, some kind of magical gate with a green shimmer appears.

“That must be where the pupils are…”

“Go on in, I’ll be out here.”

“Right… I’ve got this.”

Stepping in, I feel weightless for a moment, before I’m surrounded by a familiar green goo, which connects to a familiar face in the center.

“Arrrrghh! The pain is unbearable!" "I was turned into… Rrrggh! Goo for my final exam.” “Champion! You arrived! I knew you two could do it!” “I… I’m sorry, but I must also defeat a Challenger for my final exam!” “I will become one of the Master’s prized cards! Argh.”

Without another word, I had to duel the one who’d helped in freeing me from a card. Strange how this turns out, seeing as he wants to become a card. It might be odd… but he sounds very determined about it.

The goo wizard seems to focus on using these green gem cards, though the wizards on the cards he plays seem to be reliant on these Green Mox cards, so the battle isn’t severely difficult.

“No… Please. Please. Just tell the Master I passed! He won’t know the difference.” “Here, take this pack, and you should be able to advance now!”

Turning around and leaving the goo mage, I see Ginsha leaning against the wall, turning towards me when I step out.

“I presume you won?”

“Yeah… though, it was that same goo from the cabin.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently he’s one of Magnificus’s pupils, and got turned into goo for his final exam.”

“Ah, I see…”

“The stairs should work normally now, let’s go.”

Up on the second floor, there was a similar layout to the first, minus the table, along with this totem having an orange gem on top, with some kind of dummy behind it. Walking over to the dummy, it just… seems to stare lifelessly, before it suddenly springs to life! With this sudden motion appears a card dueling table, with only three cards… wait, do those have glowing sigils written on them? Carefully going through the cards, I find three sigils written on the cards, Ruby Heart, Hefty, and Airborne. Defeating the dummy in a card duel, it returns to lifelessness.

Moving to the totem, I align the sigils on the totem, and just like last time, a shimmering gate opens up, this one being orange. Stepping through, I encounter a grisly sight, a head speared on a stick, the ground seeming to be glowing hot rocks with cracks revealing magma, and several weapons stuck into the ground as well. To my horror, this disembodied head speaks !

“…just imagine you are an ice cube, slowly melting on a hot pan…” “Oh! I was only talking to myself. The pain of being a head impaled on a spear is…” “Well it is worth it of course. Magnificus will award me the highest honor.” “I will be the centerpiece of his deck!”

Without another word, she begins a card battle with me, this time using cards with these orange gems, specifically plenty of Ruby Golems. The fight was a bit of a struggle, with these golems turning into Ruby Mox cards when destroyed. Eventually, though, I manage to come out on top once more.

“Hm. Perhaps I will not be central to his strategy.” “I care not, he can use me as a chump blocker. I have mastered disappointment.” “Take this pack. The stairs now move as they should.”

Taking another pack, I return to the tower, advancing to the third floor. Unlike the previous two, this only has a totem, a storage chest, and three notes on the ground. Reading each of the notes, they each have some kind of riddle to find each of the sigils for the totem.

“The top sigil is found by the greedy.” “The middle sigil is found by the pale.” “The bottom sigil is found between the notes… or by those who notice finer details.”

Looking around, I notice a chest against the wall, and opening it up I only find a Rabbit card; right before I turn around, I notice a glow in the bottom of the chest, and see that the Airborne sigil was painted in the bottom. Inspecting the room more, I notice a few glowing flecks in one of the dark corners in the room, and while feeling around near it, I stumble into a hidden room just as dark as the corners, with the Ruby Heart sigil painted on the floor. Going back into the main room, I set the first two sigils correctly before thoroughly investigating the room… only to find nothing else. Eventually I just sit on top of the chest, trying to think about the final clue.

Found between the notes… I’ve checked the floor between the notes. But, wait… that’s not the only kind of note, right? I don’t see any music sheets here, do you? Well, no… but what if…?

Silencing my thoughts, I close my eyes, trying to block out anything unnecessary, focusing on the music… which slowly fades out of my mind, replaced only by a faint whisper. “Bone… Digger…” Opening my eyes after hearing the voice, the music returns back in full. Going back over to the totem, turning the final sigil into place. Stepping into this gate, I find… a strange, endless void, with glittering stars in the dis–

“At last! STIMULATION!”

I barely suppress a scream as a disembodied pair of eyes with a floating hat approaches and speaks to me.

“My test has been sensory deprivation you see.” “To unlock the full potential of my mind you see.” “It’s unlocked now! Hear me Magnificus? I’M READY!” “We have to battle? OK!”

Just like before, I’m thrust into a card battle. This time around, things aren’t as tricky, although the Force Mages make dealing damage a bit tricky. Luck seems to be on my side again, as the battle is done rather quickly

“THAT WAS INCREDIBLY STIMULATING!” “We- we aren’t done here right?” “I wish to see the light again! T-To sing! To dance!” “You wouldn’t LEAVE would you?”

Feeling bad, I almost considered trying to let him leave with me, but before I could react, something forcefully pulled me out of the gate.

“You alright?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I really wanted to try and help him out…”

“Ah… Well, if you won, that means the stairs up should be working now.”

“Right… I’ve got a Scrybe to face.”

With that, the two of us make our way up to the top floor. I’ll definitely defeat Magnificus, and we’ll both get out of here!

fun fact! according to Daniel Mullins himself Lonely Wizard is somewhere from 6'7" to 7'7"

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The Ultimate Grudge

Summary: After finally beating all Uberbots, Ginsha is finally ready to face PO3. He's absolutely sure of his victory and someone has to correct that.

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

Moving back through the factory towards where P03 was, I couldn’t wait to see the look on P03’s face when I broke the news that I’d beat all the Uberbots. Walking into the room, I can see him sitting right in front of that particle scanner just like before, and upon seeing us returning, his face changes to a smug expression.

“Well? Were my Uberbots too much for the stinking beast cards?” “I’m not surprised, I just thought you’d give up sooner.”

“Oh, there was no giving up, P03. Because I won.”

His face changes to just three dots… is he thinking? I walk up to the table, but am cut off before I can say anything more.

“You actually won?” “Gimme that deck.”

Before I could react, P03 somehow pulled my deck onto the table in front of him, and he was going through it, seemingly thinking, if the dots expression was anything to go by.

“…” “Wow… you beat them with that? Alright.” “Maybe there are some synergies that I didn’t think of. Let’s go then.”

Suddenly, a projection changes our surroundings into a larger scale factory, with machinery all around, and the card tiles appearing to have some kind of belts on them. Along with this, the atmosphere becomes almost colder, a rhythmic thrumming surrounding us, and the bell being exceedingly high-tech.

“You see those conveyor belts? Just like my factory.” “At the very least they ought to test your lane positioning.”

“Sure thing, your gimmicks won’t be a problem whatsoever.”

With that, I began to focus on the battle, ensuring to be careful of where I place my cards, and being sure to not let my stronger cards end up on his side, or blocking them if they do. All around us, my beasts viciously fought the various robots and machinery that P03 sent out against me, managing to prevent him from doing any damage to me, but struggling to deal any damage in return. What made the fight more difficult were the Explode Bots that, as their name implies, exploded, which resulted in me losing quite a few cards. Eventually, I got lucky with a draw, managing to play the Mantis God, which managed to win me the first part of the fight, although just barely, with only it left on my side.

“Oh. Scanner’s online. Which card to scan…” “…” “Oh. You’ve only given me one choice…” “The stat line could be better.”

Suddenly, the same kind of scanner from his factory appeared over my Mantis God, seemingly scanning it before filling every lane on his side with a Mantis God, though this time each has a new sigil I’ve never seen before. Along with that, a loud mechanical whirring can be heard, and the belts on the tiles switch directions.

“Your move.”

Luckily, I had just enough cards to block the worst of the damage, but when the first card cycles around to my side, it suddenly explodes just like those robots.

“I’m not making the same mistake as last time.” “You don’t get to use these against me like he did.”

Barely suppressing a snarl, I proceed into the fight, with P03 just continuing to fill his side with these exploding Mantis Gods, straining my deck as I try to block them. That is, until a familiar serpent enters my hand. I must’ve spent too much time around humans before all of this, because I can’t hold back a laugh as I realize just what this means.

“What’s so funny?” “Or did your feeble mind break as you realize there’s no winning?”

I take a moment to settle down, before looking up at P03, giving him the most violent glare I can.

“No, it’s not that… I’m just laughing because you think so little of this beast deck. But you seem to have forgotten one thing…”

After placing two cards as a sacrifice, I lift up the Ouroboros from my hand and show him the card. Judging by his expression, he is definitely not happy. Unfortunately for him, his cards constantly exploding leaves a lane frequently empty, which I use to my advantage. Once more, the enormous serpent appears behind me, and before P03 can even attempt to object, the battle ends.

“I forgot about that damned card…” “Stupid Leshy and his STINKING and UNBALANCED cards!” “What a stupid PRIMITIVE!”

“Yes, well, this primitive deck just beat you. What was it you told me when you demanded I be the one to beat your challenge? Don’t get cocky because you think you know how cards work.”

“Well, ANYONE could win with such an UNBALANCED card like that!”

“She didn’t even use it the entire time she did your challenge! If anything I’d say she was unluckier fighting your Uberbots.”

“Whatever! Just be off! I don’t wanna hear your damn voices anymore!”

With that, I just went to the side room to the left, noticing the Trader was in here as well.

“Wow… I didn’t think he could be more unpleasant.”

“Tell me about it, though it was immensely satisfying to beat him.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Come on, let’s find the next piece!”

“Right, but… where should we look?”

“We didn’t go all the way into the factory, maybe we missed something.”

We both decide to look deeper into the factory, and so we make our way back through P03’s room, ignoring the look he gives me as we pass by. As we go deeper into the factory, we see the process of how P03’s robots are made, but in reverse. Reaching the end, we find out where it all begins, one of the worker robots dredges up scrap from the seemingly endless ocean, which is then sent through multiple processes, before finally being scanned into cards. Searching this new and final room, eventually we find a round lid covering some kind of entrance. It was shockingly heavy, taking a bit of effort on my part to move it aside, which once again seems to lead into just darkness.

“I expect this will be like last time… So don’t lean into it this time.”

“That was once! Y’know what, you go in first this time. I’m staying out here. I don’t… want to see a body again.”

“Alright, I’ll go in.”

Taking hold of the floor, I lower myself in and feel around, finding nothing, and quickly falling in. The room was bathed in impenetrable darkness, until slowly the surroundings faded in. What became noticeable first was the smell of blood, human blood. Looking around as everything became clear, the scene is… interesting. There’s a human male dead on the floor, bleeding from the head, with a female human standing in the door of the room. Her face seems like corrupted data and I can’t quite make it out, but I can clearly make out the human sidearm in her hand, smoke seeming to come from the barrel. Nearby was a desk with a computer on it just like last time, but this time I could make out what was on the screen… Is that P03’s face? What’s he doing here? Just like the last area, this one seems to be frozen in time. Next to the table, in the remains of some kind of item was the Obol Fragment, this one having a battery symbol like that of P03’s technology cards. When I take the Fragment, I swear I saw P03’s face on the computer wink at me before the darkness returns, showing that this passage normally just leads to the sea level for some reason.

“There you are! Did you get it?”

Looking up, I can see Yaina looking down through the passage at me.

“Yeah, I got it right here. Let me get back up.”

It takes a bit to get back, given how the ladder seems to be for human proportions as opposed to Arxur.

“So… What did you see down there? I-I mean… I don’t really want to know, but maybe it’ll help us figure out what's happening.”

As I start to describe what I saw, my mind drifts back to the stories the Woodcarver and Rebecha told us…

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Ultimate Grudge When a Card bearing this Sigil moves to the opponent's side of the board, adjacent and opposing cards are dealt 10 damage.

P03: "STUPID and UNBALANCED cards!" also P03: creates a new Sigil so his own gimmick doesn't screw himself over

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Uberbots Pt II

Summary: After the meeting and battle with peculiar Painter and pragmatic Photographer our heroines venture deeper into PO3's factory to complete his challenge. It seems they don't have to look for too long, as a very energetic Uberbot has just crashed into them.

Memory Transcription Subject: Yaina, Champion of Technology Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

After Ginsha had defeated the Photographer, we made our way out of its room, making our way back into the factory. I’m not sure about her, but I’m confident she can complete P03’s challenge. As we were walking through some kind of machine production line, a new robot rolled up to us, looking more like P03 than the previous two. They had two arms opposed to his one, a green colored face instead of blue, an antenna coming from their head, and some kind of bell shape emitted from their… for lack of a better descriptor, their waist.

“Oh my gosh! You must be the Challengers!” “Wow, I haven’t seen anything like you before!” “Are you from space? What’s it like up there? Have you met any humans before?”

Protector, she asks a lot of questions.

“Um, well- I’m sure we can answer your questions later.”

“But right now, P03 is having me challenge four of you before I can face him.”

She pauses her nearly constant stream of questions, some kind of realization coming across her face.

“Oh of course! Silly me. I’m G0lly! Come come! Let’s head to my room!”

Without another word, she turns around and starts to lead us to her room, the inside having almost constellation-like symbols projected on the air, along with… if I had to guess, those must be some kind of net modems around the room. Does this world even have a net connection?

“Before we start, let me connect to your internet!" "I’m sure I can do it now that I have new Challengers here!”

With that, she looks upward toward her antenna, which seems to start emitting waves of some kind.

“Oh golly! This seems like a popular video, why don’t we take a look?”

Suddenly, her screen face changes to show some kind of footage, showing… Chief Nikonus? And the voice from behind the camera… is that Cilany? As I watch, I can hardly believe what’s happening, what is being revealed. Both the Arxur and humanity had art? And the Federation knew about it? Why did they only record the humans’ worst aspects? Just when I thought things had gotten tense, Sovlin suddenly leapt at Nikonus, claws to the Chief’s throat. Things thankfully calm down, but soon after, Nikonus reveals something unthinkable. The early Federation, consisting of only the Farsul and Kolshians, had effectively destroyed who the Krakotl were, and turned them into… as Nikonus himself said it: a productive race. However, things didn’t stop there, through Sovlin’s further prodding, Nikonus reveals that multiple races in the Federation had gone through this same alteration; genetic alteration, an allergy against meat, and turning the race into a more feeble shadow of what they must’ve been in the past, topping it off with anti-predator religions to ensure they stay that way.

I… what does this mean for everything? Has everything the Federation stood for been just a lie? You killed countless innocent souls in that fleet. N-no, I… I was doing the right thing… r-right?

{ERR – Emotional Overload Detected}

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

What… What in Prophet’s name did I just watch? There’s no way what that Kolshian said is true… right? If the Federation lied to their people, what other lies could have been told.

My thoughts are interrupted by a sound to my right, and looking down, I see Yaina on the floor, her tears hitting the floor. Before I can even fully process this, the robot we just watched this stream on speaks up.

“I don’t quite get what the cute animal people were saying, but I’m sorry it made you sad.” “If you’re still up for a card battle, then I’m all for it!”

I reach over and gently place a claw on Yaina’s back, and I can feel how erratic her breathing is when I do. After [a few moments] of this, her breathing stabilizes, and she sits down against a wall, her face in her knees. Looking back up to G0lly, I take a deep breath myself.

“Let’s do this.”

As the battle starts, the first thing I notice is once again something in place of the bell, a simple projected button that says “Next Turn” on it. Each of G0lly’s cards has an odd design, which almost reminds me of the limited net access the Dominion gives us. Along with that, the image appears to be a real photograph, with just a Mole being placed first. Unfortunately, none of my opening cards could fly over it, so I have to just deal with it for now. After playing my cards and advancing the turn, I notice G0lly once again seems to be connecting to the net.

“Oh! Your friends are here as well!”

That’s… how does she know the humans I’d worked with? Sergeant Kaminski, Corporal Zawada. Snap out of it, Hunter, you have a fight to win. Right, I can’t let this shake me now. As the battle progresses, she plays more cards representing humans I’ve worked with, and aside from the shock to my mind, the hardest part of the fight would be working around the seemingly random stats and sigils each card had. After a good battle, I pull through and become victorious,

“Oh gee, you won! You're really good at this!”

“Oh um, thank you?”

“No problem! And I should thank  you too!" "Now that I have an internet connection, I can learn so much!”

“You’re welcome, I suppose. We’ll be off to deal with the last bot.”

“Okie! She’s usually in her room, she always likes going over the files there." "See you later, swamp puppy!”

Swamp what? Don’t think about it. Turning around, I see Yaina seems to have recovered somewhat. Going over to her, I crouch down to her level.

“I won. Are you… feeling up to moving on?”

I hear her faintly sniff before looking up at me.

“Yeah…I-I’m sorry for being weak, it was just… a lot to take in at once.”

“I would not call you weak for that… I’m sure if I felt in the same way you did, I’d have reacted similarly.”

She seems… surprised by my words, but doesn’t comment, only standing up and walking out of the room. Standing up myself, I walked out of the room as well, looking for the fourth and final room. It wasn’t too hard to find, although the door was completely closed, and I decided instead of directly opening the door, I tap on the door like I’d seen some humans do.

“Come in, dearie.”

With that, I open up the door and walk in, this room being dimly lit with… I think those are filing cabinets, and inside is the final Uberbot, standing with one of the drawers open, going through files just as G0lly said she would be. Upon our entrance, I see her look over towards us, closing the drawer before walking up to the table.

“Ah, you two must be the new Challengers, welcome.” “I am the Archivist, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.” “My specialty is, well… archiving. In my files, I can find nearly any information.”

“I’m Ginsha, my friend here is Yaina. P03 specified that I am the one to face you.”

“Yes, that sounds right…” She opens one of her drawers before peeking into a file, placing it back right after. “P03 is quite spiteful towards Leshy, his ego would be more than enough to issue this kind of challenge.” “Anyways, I’m sure you’re just here for a card duel, no? Let us begin when you’re ready.”

Moving up to the table, I notice the “bell” this time around is a small hammer with a pad under it. As the Archivist gets herself ready for the battle, I notice that the file drawers on the other side of the table open on their own. Trying to ignore that, I look down at the board, noticing her cards seem to resemble the folders in the drawers. Drawing my cards, I ready myself for another interesting encounter.

After a few turns, she turns around to the drawers, pulling out two folders.

“Now then, let’s see what interesting memories the two of you have.”

What? There’s no way this robot knows things about us directly… right?

“Yaina… as a young pup, you read stories about mysterious beasts late into the night.”

“Wait-”

“They scared you so much that you hid in your kitchen’s cupboard until your parents found you.”

Looking over to Yaina, she seems to be hiding her face in her paws.

“That’s not so bad…”

“Oh, don’t think I forgot about you, Ginsha dear.”

Returning my gaze to the Archivist, she seems to be looking through the other folder this time.

“Your day was turned around, when a message came to your pad." "It was… the death of your father…” “Oh dear… there must be lighter memories in here.”

That day… he was burnt alive by an Exterminator during a raid on Venlil Prime. The only thing I received was a single message on my datapad, “Your father is dead”. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a cold message that the man who’d raised me was gone. I didn’t know how to feel back then, but now… there’s an unfamiliar pain in my chest.

“Oh my… let’s just resume, shall we?" "I’m terribly sorry for dredging up that memory.”

Right, that was all in the past… and right now, I have bigger things to worry about. Turning back to the battle, things go well for a while, though the Archivist is very good at card battles. Eventually, several turns later, she speaks up once more.

“Let’s do something more cheerful. What is your most precious memory?” “Fear not, I simply want to try and lift the mood.” “Why don’t you start, Yaina dearie?”

“M-Me? Oh, let me think… When I was younger, my father bought me a really expensive hourglass as a gift. I know it’s silly, and a small thing. But it meant a lot to me, and I still display it in my room.”

“How wonderful, a precious gift from someone who deeply cares for you.”

Looking over to Yaina, I see a folder card appear in front of her, which I can only assume has an image of an hourglass on it.

“What about you, Ginsha dear? I’m sure you must also have some precious memories.”

I look down at the table, thinking deeply.

Everything you’ve gone through has been painful. But it wasn’t always like that, was it? …no, it wasn’t It’s not the clearest memory, but it’s one of the earliest. Ah, back when things were simpler… Against all the cruelty of Wriss, my parents gave me a wonderful life. They did their best for you, and you turned out better than most.

“It would have to be one of my earliest memories… Wriss is a cruel place, especially for the children. Despite that, my parents did their best to give me a great life. I like to think I turned out better than most, thanks to them.”

“Wonderful, I knew you had a good memory in there, dear.”

With that, I receive a folder card just like Yaina, except… this one looks like a photo with my family from when I was young. I set it down onto the table for now, quickly returning to the battle. After several more turns, I manage to come out victorious over the Archivist.

“Well done, you’ve certainly proven yourself. I’m proud of you, dear.” “Although, I’m sure P03 won’t be so happy.”

“I for one can’t wait to see his expression when I tell him.”

“Oh he will be absolutely irate, that I can guarantee.” “Move along now, and don’t forget the memories.”

I take the card I received, looking at it before holding it securely in my palm. Time to show P03 what it means to be a Champion.

once again huge thanks to @/serrangelicart on Twitter for the design inspirations behind the Uberbots! you can see their post here

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Uberbots Pt I

Summary: With our heroines gathering another Ancient Obol Shard and having met Rebecha, they are now facing a choice of where to go next.

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

“So… if I’m understanding this right. The Data everyone keeps going on about, it changed reality?”

“I’m also having a hard time understanding, how could some old code do such a thing?”

“Woof. Look, I’m really no expert on this kind of thing.” “Last time something like this happened was a long time ago…” “Reggie and some other characters got revenge on some washed-up game designer.” “Although last time, they used The Hex to do it. No clue what other effects the DATA will have.” “Anyways, you two gonna sit here confused or continue your quest or whatever?”

Oh, right. We have to get the Obol Shards.

“That sounds like a good idea. Come on Yaina… let’s not dwell on this too long.”

“R-Right, let’s go.”

With that, we return to the bridge, walking in silence for a good while until we make our way back to the center, between all of the islands.

“So, where should we go next? There’s two other Scrybes we have to defeat, not to mention finding the Mycologists.”

“I… I think we should go to that large factory first. Maybe there will even be something else that can help out.”

“Maybe… I won’t count on it, though.”

So, we made our way towards the large, unmissable factory. Walking up to the front, there is immediately a problem with our plan, a lack of a visible door. After looking for [a few moments], I notice a glowing pad in the floor.

“What’s this?”

Walking onto it, I suddenly feel weightless as I’m lifted up into the air before being deposited on a higher level. Shortly after I land, Yaina comes up as well.

“Woah.. I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

“An impressive work of machinery, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah… Come on, let’s head inside.”

The front door opens on its own as we approach, letting us into a facility filled with mechanical marvels, one of which resting opposite us at a table for card battles. P03 notices us entering, looking at us with a very disinterested look on his face.

“Well well well, it took you long enough.”

He looks right over to me.

“You, lizard. If either of you want to challenge me, you are going to have to defeat each of my Uberbots first.” “I want to see the look on that STINKING tree’s face when his precious Champion loses!”

Here I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to dislike this robot any less.

“Consider your challenge accepted, machine.”

“Don’t get cocky just because you think you know how cards work.” “Oh also, you’ll have to wait a few minutes to face the Photographer.” “Damn thing keeps leaving to ‘capture life’.” “I knew I should’ve programmed it better.”

“Sure, whatever. I’ll be waiting to see your expression when I beat your damned challenge.”

Without another word, I walk deeper into the factory, taken aback slightly at the advanced production line running through the place.

“He doesn’t seem like the nicest…”

“Trust me he’s not. Hates Leshy for whatever reason.”

“Honestly, he sounds like a generally hateful…  person? Are- Do these robots count as people?”

I pause at the question to think about it.

No kind of technology like this exists in either the Federation or the Dominion. Would such a living machine be a person? Betterment would likely rule no, just on their lack of predatory diet. But they don’t eat at all… presumably.

“I’m not sure… I suppose I’ve never thought about it before.”

“A question for another time, then.”

Eventually we find our way to a side room, this one filled with canvases and various types of supplies strewn about. In the middle of the room, hanging from the ceiling was another robot, with a slim monitor of a face, cables hanging closely to its body, and two arms protruding out, one having a type of pincer of a hand wielding a brush, the other appearing to be a sort of spike, with a round platter with colors on it.

Upon us entering, they looked over towards us, the face on its screen being very simple, looking almost as if it were drawn on some kind of fabric.

“Oh, visitors! Wait… you seem new around here." "Are you the new Challengers I’d heard about?”

“Well, according to P03, I’m your only challenger. He’s got some kinda grudge because I’m using Leshy’s cards.”

“Ah, I see. P03, he is… difficult, to say the least." "If you are here to challenge me, please give me a moment." "I wasn’t expecting any challengers, so apologies if my workshop is unkempt.”

With that, they start to move things around in the room, having some limited mobility on a small rail that doesn’t appear to go outside of the room. Are they kept confined here? But why would P03 confine them here, but not the Photographer? Soon enough, they have a table for card battling, though with the bell being a larger hanging bell instead of the smaller one usually used.

“There we go, this should do. Your friend is welcome to stay and watch, if they like.”

Walking up to the table, there’s suddenly a strange feeling in the air, an almost… mystical feeling, for lack of a better word. As I look upon the bot’s cards, I notice how they don’t entirely resemble technology cards like I expected, each card appears to be on some kind of canvas, similar to the one I’d found back in Leshy’s first cabin. Moving my thoughts from their cards, I look down at my deck, the battle has truly begun. The battle starts off relatively normal, until they play down a blank card on their side of the board.

“Yes, this one will do nicely.”

They then use their brush and copy one of my cards onto their blank one. This could be troublesome, so I am careful which cards I play, even if the copies aren’t perfect, playing something too strong would only work against me. Eventually, the fight comes to a close with me victorious.

“Ah… it seems you bested me. It seems you’ve really earned the title of Champion.” “If you haven’t yet met Magnificus, could you deliver a message to him for me?” “I have always wanted to become one of his pupils, but I am unable to leave, as you can see…”

I do see, with how they’re confined here, I doubt they’d be able to go and do what they wish. Before I can respond, Yaina answers for me.

“We’ll deliver your message, don’t worry.”

“You are too kind, Challengers. The Photographer should be back by now.”

With my victory and our promise, we leave the workshop and nearly bump into the Photographer just outside the room.

“Oh, my apologies, Challengers…”

He looks over to me, the camera that is its head seems to focus as he does.

“You must be the Challengers that P03 called me back for. Come, now.”

Turning away, it leads us through the factory to a closed door, which enters into a small airlock, finally opening into a very dark room. Inside are multiple printed photographs hanging from clips, suspended by wires, along with a few basins of water with blank photographs. Photographer moves over to some of the empty basins, printing photographs from its head directly, gently placing them in the water and pulling out thick, dark curtains like a wall between the basins and the rest of the room before turning back towards us.

“Apologies again, I simply needed to start these photos developing, and protect them from light.” “Let us begin our battle, shall we?”

I simply emulate a human nod, walking up to the table with a strange device in place of a bell. It almost looks like Leshy’s camera, though more ancient, with some kind of cord attached. Sitting down at the table, I simply attempt to focus on the match. Pressing the switch attached to the camera, I jolt at the sound it makes.

“Normally I would have it loaded with flash powder.” “However, for the sake of the photos’ development, the sound will have to do.”

Looking up at the cards on its side of the table, he seems to be using printed images for cards, presumably each image representing something he had taken a picture of; as a result, the cards I’m dealing with are incredibly varied. A few turns in, I’m caught off-guard by a flash that, while not exceedingly bright, is enough to stun me for a moment. When my vision adjusts to the darkness, I notice that every card I can see resembles the dark, blank pictures that were developing.

“Let us see if your memory is photographic like mine is.”

Not having expected something like this, I have a difficult time recalling which card was which, save for the ones on the board. The rest of the fight was a real struggle, although now knowing how the Photographer battles, I took care to pay attention to my cards before being blinded again. After a while of battling, and me nearly running out of cards, I manage to pull together a victory.

“I see. You fought very well. I can see why Leshy thinks so highly of you.” “I look forward to hearing of your future victories.” “But if you will excuse me, I shall return to my duties.”

Turning around, me and Yaina exit the Photographer’s room, and I can safely say I feel confident in facing the next two bots.

also! huge thanks to @/serrangelicart on Twitter for the design inspirations behind the Uberbots! you can see their post here

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Piece By Piece

Summary: With things taken care of at the cabin, Ginsha is on her way to meet Yaina again. She plans to share her newly gathered knowledge from the old Woodcarver with our favorite Farsul. At the meeting place it turns out that both of them have some story to tell. Will they be able to work alongside each other to escape this strange world?

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion of Beasts Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

Walking away from Leshy’s woods, I can’t help but think about the story the Woodcarver told me, about the creation of this world and the power struggle caused by a special Code, which could give the Scrybes the power to take total control of everything. Somehow, the cycle they were locked into was broken, leading to Yaina and I getting trapped in… this! On the trail, I notice a path I didn’t notice before, leading to the right. It would be best to not go exploring alone. Reaching the intersection of the bridges, I start to pick up on a familiar scent under the surrounding ocean smell… a thick scent that seems to be coming from nearby–

“Ginsha!”

I’m brought from my thoughts as Yaina walks down the path, seeming a bit shaken by something.

“How did it go? Did you find anything special?”

“Y-Yeah, I did… I also have something to tell you about. It’s how we can get out of here!”

My eyes widened slightly at her words. Finally! We can get out of this Prophet-damned place.

“How? How did you figure this out?”

“Well…”

She then goes on to explain how some powerful Bone Lord told her the method for us to escape. We need to find multiple Ancient Obol Shards, and when assembled they can let us get ahold of… some kind of data, which we can use to escape. Each of the Scrybes has a Shard hidden in their region, with Yaina already having gotten one from the Bone Lord.

“So… We should probably go back to Leshy’s woods to find where his Shard is.”

“Right, we should. It should be easier now that you’ve done everything there.”

“Let’s go then, I’ve got a story to fill you in on as well.”

On our way back to the forest, I recounted what the Woodcarver told me. As the story progresses, I can see what must have been a mirror of my own reactions on her face at each new detail.

“So, wait… You mean some human found the game on a storage device that was old even back then?”

“Apparently, he also wound up dead over the secrets this disc had on it.”

“Wait… his name wouldn’t happen to be Luke, would it?”

“Yes, it was… you don’t think-?”

“He was one of Leshy’s cards, I remember picking that card for my deck…”

We kept talking as we walked, comparing the information we both had to try and figure out more about this entire situation. Once we reached the woods, we stopped talking to put our focus on looking for where this Ancient Obol Shard could be hidden. While looking, I remembered that Leshy’s cabin had some kind of hatch in the floor, though I don’t recall seeing one in this new cabin. Despite our best efforts, the woods were nearly too thick to maneuver, however we still had to press onward to search everywhere we possibly could.

“How in the world does anything walk through these untamed wilds?”

“Not sure, though the beasts seem to do just fine…”

“What- What do you mean? I don’t see any beasts.”

“It’s a bit dark, but I see some around. They seem… docile, though.”

“If you’re sure…”

I couldn’t help but notice how Yaina seemed to stick closer to me after that. Better the predator she knows than the one she doesn’t, I suppose. The woods eventually thin out, letting us move more easily, but also letting more light in, giving a better view of the beasts and people living out here.

“So primitive… how do they all live like this?”

“Not sure, they seem to be quite well-off, despite that.”

“I suppose…”

Looking around, I notice that some form of civilization has formed out in a clearing deeper in the woods, the beasts living mostly normally, the humans working on various things, and the– What in the Prophet’s name are those? They look as if some mad scientist had somehow evenly combined humans and beasts, one of them even eerily resembling an Arxur! Most surprisingly, however, was a machine that was entirely out of place among the less-advanced inhabitants around it; it was a tall thing, walking around on insect-like limbs, seemingly photographing nature around itself, and it began to walk towards us after noticing our presence.

“Fascinating… I have seen no life like yours before.”

Suddenly a small flash comes from its head, nearly blinding me for a moment. Did it just take a picture of us?

“I must ask the Archivist if she has any information on you. Good day.”

Without another word, it just scuttles away, off to take more photographs if I had to guess. What kind of machinery lets it act on its own?

“How does it work…”

I’m brought from my thoughts at Yaina’s words.

“I have no clue… I doubt anyone outside of this place would know how to create machines that act independently to that degree.”

“Yeah, it almost seemed… alive.”

Eventually, our searches end up leading us back to the cabin, although this time at the back, and what is immediately noticed is a locked cellar door.

“This has to be it, but… how are we going to get in?”

“Do you think Leshy might have a key? Did you see anything while you were there?”

“Not really… I suppose there’s no harm in checking, we should be close, after all.”

With that, we push through the thick woods and make our way into the cabin, finding it strangely vacant. On the wall, right behind where Leshy would normally sit is a key on a large ring. Going over to it, I reach out to take it.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking the key, what does it look like?”

“What if he sees us?”

“He definitely will if you insist on arguing.”

Not letting Yaina get another word in, I take the key ring off the wall, hearing her huff. Leaving the cabin, we see Leshy speaking with the Angler about something. Deciding to not stick around and be caught, we push back through the forest and return to the cellar door, slowly inserting the key into the lock and unlatching the doors. Opening them up, we find… nothing?

“What is this?”

“I… I can’t even see through this, it’s like there’s nothing there.”

“There can’t be nothing, why would there be noth–”

Yaina is cut off as she tries to lean against what looked like some kind of solid surface, only for her to fall right into some kind of void with a shriek. Panic courses through me, and after only a moment I dive in after her.

Ah yes, falling… This feels familiar.

Eventually, the falling sensation ends abruptly, and the darkness gives way to a strange sight. All around us is fire, with a desk next to us, and a human woman laying motionless at the desk. What becomes immediately apparent is that the fire around us doesn’t feel hot. The woman seemed to be doing something at an ancient computer, although the screen is indecipherable, with what must be the Obol Shard sitting on the desk.

“It- It’s her…”

I look over to Yaina, she seems to be staring at the human with… some kind of look in her eyes.

“Who? I don’t recognize her.”

“I- I saw her at Grimora’s domain… this is Kaycee. E-Everything here is unclear, but.. I’m sure of it, this is her…”

Where have I heard that name before…? I presume we can figure the details out later, for now we need this Obol Fragment. Reaching out, I take the fragment in my hand, when suddenly our surroundings are plunged in darkness once again, before the light from the open cellar doors fades into view. Looking around, I find Yaina in the darkness easily because of the glowing marks and her eyes, and I hold out a claw to help her out. Once we get back up to ground level, I remember the side path I’d seen.

“Oh right, there’s an extra path I saw, I figured it’d be best if we went together.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s fine…”

I pause for a moment, she’s obviously very shaken by this… what am I supposed to do? I.. I think I remember seeing some humans do this in the camps. Tentatively, I reach my claw over and gently place it on her back. She looks up at me with confusion, and I can tell she’s trying to not let out tears.

“We’ll get through this. We’ve got to.”

“R-Right… Let’s go.”

With that we go back through the forest, dropping off the key ring at Leshy’s door before going down the path and taking the early right turn. What this path leads to is a dock with some kind of simple water ship floating at it, and someone standing on the dock. Walking over to the dock, they speak to us first.

“Woof. I was wondering when the new Challenger would show.”

“Turns out there’s two of ‘em this time around.”

“And here I thought the people would be pleased with everything the first time around.”

What in Prophet’s name are they talking about?

“Woof. Guessing someone already told you about the story behind Inscryption.” “But I bet none of them told you how a game became real for you two, did they?”

“No, they really didn’t… we only know what the Woodcarver told Ginsha here.”

“Well, the old cycle kept things in place for a while." "Except, something nobody expected happened." "With the internet having so many copies of…” “It bent reality too much, to the point it started to crack." "Where there's a crack, you get leaks." "Now everything’s in some kind of pocket dimension.” “Next thing you know, the ent decides he wants to play his game and tell his stories again." "So he manages to take power just like the first time.” “You should know the rest from there." "His cabin shows up, then a crashed fleet pilot wanders her way in." "The rest is history. Woof.”

What?

What Lies Beneath

Summary: While Ginsha is getting things done with Leshy at his dominion, our favorite Farsul Yaina is on her way to the land ruled by the dead. While on her way there she meets a familiar figure who brings a lot of memories to her… After parting ways with the stranger she heads towards a giant temple. What awaits her there? What will she learn?

Memory Transcription Subject: Yaina, Champion of Technology Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

Parting ways with the Arxur Ginsha at the split path in the bridge, I continue towards the area of land eerily shaped like some kind of human hand. Along the bridge were multiple other individuals, seemingly going about their days, although as my destination got closer, they started to look more… skeletal. Suppressing a shudder, I keep going, looking through my deck and looking at the various cards I picked up, inspecting the robots on them and trying to figure out how best to use them, while also being relieved that I no longer have to sacrifice any creatures, real or otherwise.

Soon enough, the scent of the surrounding ocean gives way to a more damp, musty scent as a kind of wetlands comes into view. As I approached, I could see multiple individuals there, each going about their own business, with an unsettling amount of animated skeletons walking about as if nothing was strange about that. Not really knowing where to go next, I just sort of walk about aimlessly, finding numerous graves around the area, and even a few individuals taking part in card duels. One person sticks out among the scenery, however, she looks almost identical to a normal human, simply seeming to admire the scenery. Walking over to her, I can’t help but feel a sense of familiarity as she turns towards me, having heard me approaching.

“Oh, hello there.”

She turns back to the swamplands surrounding us. Her voice… it sounds almost like the one calling me here.

“I’m so glad to finally be awake… I can’t wait to explore this world." "I never thought I’d see it… in-person like this.”

“I-I’m sorry… Do I know you?”

She looks back over to me, smiling softly, although a strangely familiar guilt could be seen in her eyes.

“You may not really remember… but I was there." "You did as well as you could.”

I suddenly feel more memories of my time in Leshy’s game returning. Looking directly into those forward-facing eyes, I realize now who this is.

“... Kaycee?”

She doesn’t answer, her smile simply brightening before turning around to explore this world, like she wanted.

Deciding not to bother her further, I eventually find my way towards what looks to be some kind of temple. Upon walking in, I’m greeted by the sight of… death, in various forms. Tombstones, caskets, and skeletons. Across the room, behind a few tombstones was a tall, elderly-looking human woman.

“Ah, it would seem you heard my call… It is nice to finally meet you.”

“Do… Do you know me?”

“There isn’t a Scrybe on this island who doesn’t know of Leshy’s Champion.”

I can’t help but freeze at her words. She knows about what happened?

“Where are my manners? I haven’t introduced myself.” “I am Grimora, Scrybe of the dead.”

“I.. I’m Yaina, it’s nice to meet you… You must have helped Ginsha to beat Leshy.”

“The help was not solely mine, but yes, I did assist in whatever way I could.”

Before I could thank her for her help, she spoke once more.

“I know the two of you wish to return… and I agree that you must.” “But first, you must both defeat each Scrybe in order to be able to escape.”

My heart drops at the thought of fighting someone who seems so kind…

“Fear not, you need only win in a card battle against us.” “However, if you wish to challenge me, you must first prove your wits…” “You must discern which tomb marks the final resting places of my lovely Ghouls.”

Looking at the tombs in front of her, I see that each one has three indents, and there is a stone tablet on the floor that looks like it would fit perfectly. Going over to it, I pick it up and take a closer look at it, and it reads “Eaten by a hungry dog.” I suppress a shudder at the thought, how can humans keep such vicious things in their homes? To my right was half of a human’s skeleton, having seemingly been attacked by something. Walking up to it, it speaks to me.

“Oh no. Oh no. Do not look upon me.” “Do not snarl or sniff. I beg you” “If you wish to battle, please, let us get it over with!”

Before I can respond, a table suddenly appears between us, which have tails with skulls, along with {Extraneous Data Removed}. Reaching over to my deck, I draw my cards, looking up to see what cards this Ghoul is playing. These new cards I have requiring Energy makes things much easier, although it limits my options per each turn. After a bit of a battle, I manage to tip the scale all the way and win.

“It is over. You chewed me out.” “Now, please, look away!” “Turn your eyes to this card pack instead.”

With that, it hands me a small reflective package with the image of a hand reaching from the earth on it. Noting the theme of death here, I don’t think the cards in here will be helpful to my deck.

“I am called Sawyer. The middle stone marks my grave.” “Please, do not go digging up my bones!”

It then fades away into a near-transparent silhouette, leaving another epitaph piece in its place. Reaching down, I pick it up and read what’s written on it. “Sawyer Patel 1702 - Fall 1778.” Those must be human years. Going off of the appearance of Sawyer’s… remains, I feel it’s safe to assume that he was the one eaten by a dog. Exploring the rest of this… temple of death, I find a third epitaph, this one reading “Does not hold a grudge.”

This couldn’t be… who wouldn’t hold a grudge against being devoured by a predator? Well.. who else but another predator, I suppose.

Taking the three pieces over to the gravestone in the middle, I assemble them in order from name, cause of death, and well… the third slot is a different shape, so the only one that fits there is the one I just picked up. I suppose I have to fight the other ghouls and find their epitaphs. Noticing a stairwell behind Sawyer, I go down to find only another epitaph and a coffin, this epitaph reading “Brought down by Scurvy.” My translator helpfully informs me that scurvy is an illness caused by lack of Vitamin-C. Taking the stairwell back up, I challenge the nearby Ghoul who speaks strangely, and just like Sawyer, upon their defeat they give me their tombstone position, epitaph, and name, this one is Royal Dominguez.

Moving into the small room immediately behind him, there’s two coffins and a hallway to another room. Inside this new room is a large mirror and several pillars, along with another epitaph on the floor, this one reading “There was no cure.” Presumably, this refers to the scurvy that Royal died of. Before I turn back to leave the room, I notice how… unusual my reflection is. Waking closer, I step back as I see the image in the reflection, my fur covered in strange glowing runes, but the most notable differences are the Sigil seemingly painted on my chest, while the rest of me resembles one of the terran predators they love to keep so much. Slowly approaching the mirror, I can’t look away from the reflection, my eyes having a faint blue glow to them.

What’s happened to me? Am- Am I still even a Farsul? Has being around all of this given me Predator Disease? No, I… I can’t be thinking these things yet. I should work towards getting out of here… somehow. Turning away from the mirror, I leave the small and dark room.

Returning to the main room, I find a third Ghoul off to the left, this one having a shard of ice stuck in their skull. Approaching them just like the others, they speak as well.

“Brrrr! Did someone leave the AC on?” “Oh, come on, dude! It’s freezing in here!” “Maybe a heated battle will help.”

This fight was a bit of a struggle, with the Draugr cards that would become Skeletons when destroyed, but I once again come out on top.

“You did beat me. So I guess I’ve gotta fess up.” “The name’s K-Kaycee. Kaycee Hobbes.”

I freeze at the familiar name and stare at the figure before me. Th-This has to just be a coincidence, right? There’s no way that…

No! Come on Yaina, keep it together.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I take the epitaph and go forward to find… a primitive water well? What’s this thing doing in here? Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I turn the crank to see if anything is attached to the rope, and to my surprise there is! Another epitaph piece, reading “The defibrillator failed.” An unfortunate way to go, that’s for sure. Making my way back to the tombstones, I… realize I’m short one epitaph. Looking back through this temple of the dead, the only thing I find is a room with the Trader in it, unless…

No, you can’t seriously be considering defiling these remains. They’re the only places I haven’t looked! Besides, if nothing’s there, I’ll just close them back up.

Going and tentatively peering into the coffins, only one yields results, that being one behind Royal, containing the piece reading “Struck by a falling piece of ice.” That must be Kaycee, then. Returning to the tombstones, I assemble the epitaphs in the appropriate order, and upon slotting in the final one, the tombs suddenly sink into the floor, leaving nothing between me and Grimora.

“Marvelous! I believe you have proven your wits adequately.” “Are you prepared?”

Looking back over my meager deck, I steel my resolve and approach Grimora to challenge her.

“Marvelous. Just marvelous.” “Let us see what you learned in your previous battles.” “From everything, you’ve prevailed. And now it’s time to… battle!”

Suddenly, the torchlight is snuffed out, plunging the two of us in darkness, before the dim light of a pair of candles illuminates a table between me and Grimora, an impenetrable darkness and eerie mist surrounding us.

“My minions never truly die, you know.” “Let’s see how you fare.”

Just as I play my first card, I’m drawn to a mechanical sound behind me, only to notice the card I’d played coming to life around us. Turning back to the battle, I focus as best as I can while my robots and Grimora’s dead fight each other around us. Each time one of Grimora’s cards is defeated, I see her take a feather and write down an epitaph for them, only for them to return a couple turns later. Soon enough, I run out of cards and lose the battle, the darkness returning the surroundings to normal.

“Perhaps you should strengthen your deck some.” “I know my Ghouls have given you packs, and the Trader shall exchange Foils for cards as well.”

Looking down at the card packs I’d been given, I begin to open them, discovering that only three of the cards within are of these death cards, with the other two being different. Opening the remaining two packs, I’m lucky to get a few extra robots, and I reluctantly add a few skeletal cards to my deck as well. The cards will be destroyed eventually, I should capitalize on it.

Challenging Grimora again, we return to the eerie darkness, and the match begins. Having much more cards and playing them better is a big help this time around, however when her candle is extinguished, things change. She uses her quill and writes down a new epitaph. “RIP All your cards.” “Death by Grimora.” In my hand are withered, decayed versions of the cards I had on the board, which is now clear, each new card has only a single health. Deciding to make the best with my situation, I hang onto them and use them to block direct damage towards myself, just barely managing to come out victorious.

“You… Really defeated me. I expected nothing less from you.” “Your ambition is to return home, is it not?”

Looking up at her, I can finally see what the Venlil have been arguing the entire time. Behind that binocular gaze is true emotion, and Grimora’s gaze feels… almost motherly.

“Y-Yes… I miss home.” Home…

“Between you and I… there is something more you must do as well.”

“Wh-What? What more do I have to do?”

“An… acquaintance of mine will fill you in. You may find him in the lower level of the crypt.”

She pauses for a moment, looking at me with… sadness? It then dawns on me where she might be looking, as I remember the image I saw in the mirror.

“It seems that your time with Leshy left you… changed. I am truly sorry.” “The mark, while not visible to many, will be a scar upon your body. Until death will you part.” “I have never seen anything like this before, but I wish you all of the luck.” “Here, take this, then go.”

Without another word, she hands me another card pack, which I save for later. Her words weigh on my mind, what’s gonna happen to me? I… I should listen to her earlier advice. Remembering where I’d been instructed to go, I make my way down to the room behind Sawyer, only to find a coffin. Does she mean… Going over to it, I tentatively lift up the lid, only to be met by red, glowing eyes. I step back in shock, but manage to suppress a shriek.

“The Champion… Come, there is much to discuss.”

The coffin then closes before moving to the side, revealing a stairwell that goes deep into darkness. Steeling my nerves and taking a deep breath, I venture down into the abyss. Eventually, I come across a giant, floating skull with red eyes, looking down at me.

“The Cycle has been broken once, but there is only one way to ensure another does not happen.” “You and the Challenger. You must recover the DATA and take it with you.” “In order to find it, you must acquire five fragments of an Ancient Obol,” “Each Scrybe’s realm possesses a different fragment, the final…” “Is in the hands of the two experimenters.” “The first one… I give to you now.”

From the darkness, a small shard with an image of a bone on it floats down towards me, which I reach out and take.

“Assemble all five pieces, then bring the Ancient Obol back where you entered this world from.” “At which point, the DATA will appear.”

“Wh-What even is this data you’re talking about?‘

“I see… Your curiosity is not unlike his.” “I will impart my insights. However, they mustn't be transcribed.”

{ERR: Data Corrupted – Cause Unknown} {Resume Transcription at next available point?} [Y] [N]

In Perpetuum Ad Infinitum

Summary: After beating Leshy in harsh battle Ginsha is finaly free… Or so she thought. In the end she switched old and rotting cabin for a more dire situation. It seems the Cycle is still in power, and everything will have to be done to break it once and for all…

{Recovering Next Available Transcription Data . . .} {Memory Transcription Recovered – Loading . . .}

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Champion Hunter Date [Standardized Human Time]: {Information Corrupted}

I can feel my senses slowly returning… It feels like I’m suspended in the air, and it sounds like wind is blowing past as well.

Suddenly I’m snapped entirely into reality by a piercing scream, and when I open my eyes I see a Farsul near me, with glowing splotches in her fur and a familiar symbol on her chest. As the situation fully sets in, I realize they’re probably terrified of being so close to me in the air, every Federation species fears Arxur, after all.

“Yes, I get it, I’m an Arxur… Fear me.”

Wait, in the air?

Looking down, I realize why they’re actually screaming. We’re falling quite fast, and it dawns on me that there’s some ground approaching very quickly. As my heart starts pounding, my memories start rushing back; Leshy, the cabin, his twisted game. I thought things would be over when I beat him, where in Prophet’s name am I?!

As I see the ground approaching, I decide to accept this, as much as I don’t like it, there’s not much that can be done..

…

But yet suddenly, roughly [200 meters] above the ground, our fall slowed down significantly and we’re somehow lowered safely onto the ground. Taking a deep breath to calm my heart rate, I look around, first noticing four large statues nearby.

“W-We’re… we’re alright?”

Looking over to the Farsul, I start to notice details I’d missed earlier, such as the symbol on her chest looking identical to the Unkillable sigil, her eyes having a slight blue glow, and a missing tooth… wait a minute.

“You… are you Yaina?”

She looks over to me, seemingly just registering what I am and flinching backwards slightly before a recognition comes across her face.

“Wait… you’re that Arxur, aren’t you?” “Yeah, I–”

I pause before realizing I haven’t ever given her my name.

“I’m Ginsha, I… suppose it is nice to meet you properly.” “I-I see.. I mean, thanks for getting me out of that card, at least.” “Well… I don’t think we’re completely out of the situation entirely…”

With that statement, I gesture around us, the two of us looking over an unfamiliar world. Looking back over to the statues, one catches my attention, as the top looks like it was made in Leshy’s likeness. Walking over to it, I inspect the base of the monolithic carving, noticing something, which I reach out and grab. Inspecting it further, it appears to be another deck of cards, similar to the ones Leshy made me use.

“What’s this?”

Turning to the side I see Yaina grabbing a deck from another one of the statues, with those resembling the strange datapad I had to solve a puzzle on in order to obtain the safe's code.

“The cards I have are just like Leshy’s. What are those like?” “They… all look like machines, and the cost looks different too.”

We take a moment to look through our decks together, and while I can tell Yaina is definitely more comfortable around me than most of her kind would be, she’s still clearly fighting her instincts. Eventually, we come across a card in each of our decks with only words all over them, and upon further inspection we find these cards are to explain how the decks work. My deck is a Beast Deck, with the same functions of Leshy’s game, while Yaina has a Technology Deck, which uses a new resource called Energy, which slowly accumulates each turn. Along with that information, we learned about manually creating a deck, and how a minimum of 20 cards are required in order to duel someone.

Eventually, as we decide to go and leave the area, we find a map of the islands, showing four regions connected by long bridges. Upon seeing Leshy’s cabin, I growl softly at the memory of what he was doing.

“I’m going back into that cabin. I need to properly settle my score.” “A-Are you sure? What if–” “The world here is different, and I have a strong feeling he won’t have the kind of power he did prior.” “Alright, I’ll…”

Hearing her trail off, I notice her looking at a region in the south-east of the map, seemingly lost in thought.

“Hello?”

This seems to snap her from her thoughts.

“O-Oh! Sorry, I just… I feel like I should go over there.” “If you feel confident to go on your own, then go ahead, I won’t stop you.” “Right.. Okay, that sounds good. After we’re done, let’s meet… here.”

She points to the spot where the bridges intersect, and with this agreement we make our way down the bridge, and once the path branches, we part ways. Rushing my way over the bridge, my mind fills with unease at the familiar situation, but also anger from everything I was put through. My emotions peak as I enter the cabin, the interior nearly identical to how it looked before, with Leshy at a table opposite an empty seat.

“Ah, Challenger, you return once more.” “And I must assume you are not alone.” “Where is the Champion?”

Before I could give him a piece of my mind… or claws, he cuts off my line of thought

“No matter, if you are here, it must mean you wish to challenge me.” “Be not afraid, the only thing you have to fear is your own inadequacy.” “But first…”

Suddenly, he takes out a familiar camera and places it on the table.

“I know what you’re thinking.” “No. This is not my legendary camera. Not the one I use to create Beast Cards.” “This is merely a replica. You may use it to create photos of the beasts in the woods.” “My subordinates… The Prospector, The Angler, and The Trapper…” “They each require a photo before they will consider battling you.” “Return to me once they are all defeated.”

His words carry a feeling of finality, taking the wind from my sails as I take his camera, leaving the cabin once more. Looking around, I see the Angler to the right and the Prospector to the left. Seeing each of them in person was drastically different than Leshy’s masks, the Angler being a hulking figure with hooks piercing his lips, with the Prospector having disfigured teeth, a large human smile, very unkempt facial fur, all while striking rocks with his pickaxe. Walking up to each of them, I learn they want a photo of a fish and a certain dog, respectively. Near the river the Angler was in, there was a food bowl, with three human numbers under it. Going back into the cabin, I find the safe from before and enter the code, this time the inside having only meat inside, which I used to lure the dog to the bowl and take a picture of it.

“Well I’ll be darned. That’s my girl!” “I’ll let ye past me, and into yonder pond…” “But, dag nab it, first we gotta Battle!”

With that, a floating table similar to Leshy’s appeared between us, although on my side was a series of information, a counter with an image of a bone, three shapes, blood drops, and what I can only assume is the Energy meter than Yaina’s deck uses. Along with those was a scale and bell, just like I’m used to. To my right is my deck, although I’d learned while building it that I won’t have a dedicated Squirrel deck to rely on, I almost reflexively reached for it to draw from as well, so I simply just drew four cards. Not having any way to reliably draw Sacrifices, the battle takes quite a bit, but eventually I come out on top.

“Fair’s fare. Ye beat me like a dog.” “Take this. Some say these here cards are better ‘n gold!”

He then hands me a small pack, which I feel compelled to open, my claws making the process effortless. Upon looking into the pack, I find more Beast Cards, which should come in handy for my deck. Going further down the path, I see a pond with some kind of rod placed over it, a shadow in the water, and a bait bucket nearby. Figuring that the Angler wants whatever is in the pond, I take the dead fish from the bucket and place it on the end of the line. Very quickly after I secured it, a giant aquatic beast with razor sharp teeth that could snap me like a Tilfish leg. Thanking the Prophet that I got away before it popped out. Taking a picture of the beast, I take the photo and bring it over to the Angler

“Fish. Fresh fish. Good.” “Still. Must Beat.”

Feeling more prepared this time, I went into the battle, however my luck must have had other plans, as I wound up losing quite quickly.

“Thank for fish. But no pass until beat.”

After a few more failed attempts, I make my way back to the cabin, entering a side room I hadn’t noticed before. Inside I find the Trader, a very unsettling figure of average height for a human. She said she will trade cards and card packs in exchange for Foils, which I can obtain from overkill in card battles. Unfortunately, I don’t quite have enough to reacquire an Ouroboros, so I spend some of my Foils on a card pack to bolster my deck. With a newfound wave of confidence from some extra cards, I make my way back to the Angler, managing to secure myself another victory.

“You beat. You pass.” “First, take.”

Just like the Prospector, the Angler gave me a card pack, which I opened quickly and added the cards to my deck. Heading over the bridge I find a small field, with four burrows, a small rabbit jumping around between the holes, with a trap placed nearby. Thinking on what to do, I get an idea, placing a trap between two of its burrows and tricking it into going right into the trap, which left a conveniently clean pelt behind. Taking a picture of it, I try to think of where the Trapper is, before I suddenly remember the fight I had against them with Leshy, and how he flipped the mask around. Going back to Leshy’s cabin, I enter the cabin and make my way to the Trader.

“You… have brought a pelt. I am pleased” “Yet another turn of the skinning knife…” “It is time to set another trap”

Without another word, her head rotates completely around, and their demeanor changes instantly.

“I smell the hare’s blood on you.”

I barely suppress a shudder at the imagery and sounds that action made, but before I can dwell on that, another battle has begun. Similar to the previous time I fought the Trapper, there was a mechanical beast on their side, but instead of a Strange Frog, this was a burrowing trap that would block damage from my cards. It took some doing, but I managed to come out on top once for the third time.

“The trap has shut, yet the prey escapes.” “And the trapper waits for his next victim…” “You’ve defeated the three of us now. Leshy awaits.”

Another victory, another pack to add to my deck. Before I challenge Leshy, I speak to the Trader and buy the Ouroboros, noting that its power and health were the same as before. With everything in order, I make my way back to Leshy, ready for this battle.

“You had bested the unhinged Prospector, the gormless Angler, the enigmatic Trapper…” “You found yourself standing before your ultimate match: Leshy, Scrybe of Beasts,” “Your ambition is to return back? Good. Though if you do not defeat me, you will not get that chance.” “Steel yourself! For my beasts will show you no mercy, only fangs.”

With that remark, the entire cabin is bathed in darkness before revealing a seemingly endless forest around us, the table looking exactly as I remember it, aside from the extra information. What immediately captures my attention, however, is as we play our cards, the respective beasts appear around us in the forest, mauling each other as we play our cards and advance our turns. As my creatures fall, Leshy uses his camera to capture parts of them, namely their cost, stats, and lastly a sigil. Eventually, I manage to tip the scale over, and Leshy extinguishes his candle, at which point four stitched together cards are placed in my hand.

“You must like them. Though the stitchwork is my own, they are your cards.”

Unfortunately, these amalgamated cards I’ve been given aren’t the best, so I keep them in my hand as I continue the tough fight against Leshy. The battle is incredibly challenging, and when Leshy plays a Urayuli, the ground trembles slightly as a towering figure appears behind him. Drawing another card, I can’t suppress the grin on my face as I pull the Ouroboros into my hand. After making two sacrifices, I play the card, and a large flying serpent appears on my side to oppose Leshy’s Urayuli. With a ring of the bell, the two titans clash, but only one can come out on top…

“The great Scrybe was… incredibly… bested.” “Far away a light enveloped a long forgotten monument.”

With that, the darkness of the forest consumes the table, and the cabin returns to view.

“You had triumphed. Narrowly avoiding tooth and claw, the Scrybe of Beasts was defeated…” “That you were able to defeat me beggars relief. But now I must yield to you.” “My only regret is that our battle was so brief. Surely the summit of victory is made sweeter by a more arduous ascent.”

He then hands me a card pack, which I hold off on opening. Despite my earlier emotions, I feel a sense of pride in the victory, and I swear I remember seeing a genuine joy in his eyes during the battle.

“The sweet parts about your game were each of the victories. But I will not forget what I had to do to win. Besides, I still need to get back to where I belong…”

I can almost sense a silent understanding from him as I stand up from the chair. Before I could turn to leave, I hear the door opening and I see some strange, hovering machine with a face on a screen enter the cabin.

“I had to see your face after your loss.” “You’re just so… BAD!” “It’s no wonder we’re back here again.”

Again?

“And we would’ve been even sooner if the first one wasn’t so complacent…”

The first one? Does it mean Yaina? I can’t imagine how terrified someone from the Federation would’ve been in that scenario, so the fact she managed to win at all speaks volumes about her more than anything.

“I’m done being your captive, you STINKING beast.”

Without another word, it turns around and leaves, and after [a few moments], I leave as well. However, before I can leave the woods, a new figure is present just on the outskirts, an ancient woman with carvings around her. She must be the Woodcarver. As I walk past, she speaks, her voice sounding as if it hasn’t been used in years.

“You must wonder about the tale of this world… no?” “I… would be lying if I said I didn’t wonder, at times.” “Then have a seat, the tale is quite a long one…”

I sat down on a nearby tree stump, my interest thoroughly piqued by now.

“Let me tell you the story… of Inscryption.”

The Last Duel?

Summary: Losing control over your own body is terrifying… Especially when it happens when you're fully conscious. Ginsha found out how it feels the hard way, but our old Goopy friend managed to pull her from her shock and remember her task.... Find a way out.

Memory Transcription Subject: Ginsha, Traumatized Challenger Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 20, 2136

Before Leshy could place what I assume was his final map, I once again left the table, needing to recollect myself. If he has any problems with it, he doesn’t make those feelings known as I go back over to the painting, hunching over and catching my breath. I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, a level of fear I’ve never even felt, much less shown is coursing through me. Glancing down at Yaina’s card, I can see a mix of shock and fear in their expression.

“You… you just-” “I know what I did.. I don’t want to talk about it…”

They look to the side, remaining silent. This silence, however, is soon broken as a familiar goo peeks out from just under the painting.

“Aarghh, you have it! You have Master’s eye!” "Go look around, because you are in the final stretch… Aaaaargh… Of finding everything you need to beat this old beast."

Why not? Anything to try to distract myself from… Standing up in front of the painting, I look around the room and notice multiple splotches of a strange, glowing substance. Remembering the strange, blank card I obtained from one of the drawers, I move Yaina aside in my palm and look at it, now having writing visible on it that wasn’t there before, reading 11:00. Is this how humans denote their time? Just like their writing, I never learned this either…

Looking around the room once more, I notice an old style clock on the wall, just behind my seat. Going over to it, I am relieved to see markings indicating where the different arms are meant to point, and after feeling around for a moment I find three buttons that move each of them. After opening up the clock, I find a ring and… a roll of film? Suddenly I remember the strange tale the glitched cards told me, Leshy uses a camera to make his cards.. Quickly hiding away the film roll, I hold the ring and inspect it.

“Does it fit?”

After mentally cursing myself at how I flinched from Leshy’s sudden words, I tried on the golden ring and found that it fits strangely perfectly. Looking back over the cabin, I see Leshy has the final map already rolled out for me. Going back to the table, I steel myself and advance to one of three final spaces before I reach the Cabin, one final Campfire, where I once more empower my Wolf Cub. Moving my piece to the final space, Lehsy speaks once more.

“Your eyes affixed themselves on the small cabin…” “…the trail you were following leading you towards the door.” “Surely… surely this cabin marks the end of your search.”

In only [a few seconds], all of the candles in the room went out one by one, bathing me in darkness, not even Leshy’s eyes being visible anymore. I don’t have to wait very long before the unmistakable scent of the woodlands outside surrounds me, along with the faint scent trail I’d followed there. Despite a voice in the back of my mind telling me to turn around, I couldn’t even bring myself to look back, and so instead I walked forward. As I walked closer to the cabin, the only source of light aside from the purple glow of the moon, I heard a familiar sound, and after looking up to the trees, I noticed the same kind of bird in the branches, a Raven as I now know it. It appears to be looking down at me from its perch in the tree.

Paying it no mind, I continue forward, only for the ground to tremble as the now giant silhouette of Leshy blots out the light from the moon, his large hand reaching down and placing a stone in front of me.

“Steps away from the strange cabin, you were presented an opportunity.” “I don’t offer my boons to just any traveler.” “If you are able to pass my trials, you will be rewarded mightily.”

On the stone tablet were three cards, these must have trials similar to the cave event.

“The Trial of the Ring. If you have a ring you pass automatically.” “The Trial of the Swift. The three drawn cards must include a card with the Sprinter sigil.” “The Trial of the Winged. The three drawn cards must include a card with the Airborne sigil.”

I have few cards with Airborne, and none with Sprinter; what I do have, however, is a newly acquired ring. Reaching out, I pick the Trial of the Ring.

“Let the Trial of the Ring begin.” “Oh, you are wearing a fine ring.” “You pass, of course.”

“I will grant you one of my most powerful boons…” “Cards that dramatically alter the game. And you don’t even need to draw them.”

Three more cards are presented to me, face-down like usual.

“The Boon of the Bone Lord. You will start the battle with eight bones.” “The Boon of Goat’s Blood. You will start the battle with a Black Goat on the board.” “The Boon of Magpie’s Eye. When you draw from your deck, you may choose any card in your deck to draw.”

That third one sounds amazing, especially with the stronger cards I have access to, so I of course take that one.

“We will repeat once more.”

This time, I choose the Trial of Rarity, hoping one of my Rare cards is drawn. Luckily for me, I did manage to draw a rare card, unfortunately that card was Yaina. Leshy must have finally noticed they weren’t in my deck when he did… whatever kind of sorcery is happening right now. When it came time to choose a Boon, I decided on the Boon of the Bone Lord, which was one of the better options.

Moving forward towards the cabin, Leshy’s gaze unsettles me slightly, but I don’t pay it any mind as I walk in. Suddenly, though, I hear his voice rumbling out, shaking the ground slightly.

“You managed to get both of my boons…” “I don’t say this often, but I am impressed.”

A sense of pride wells up in me from his words.

“You have been a worthy adversary.” “But unfortunately I must soon put you to death.”

And just like that, I’m angry and determined. After everything I’ve gone through, nothing is going to stop me now.

Walking into the cabin, I find myself back at the table, Leshy once again in the darkness opposite of me. I’ve been through far too much at this point, and I’m not letting this– What in Prophet’s name is that?

The light from a single candle illuminates Leshy’s visage, and he seems to be entirely made of plants! His facial fur is dark green, his arms resemble the bark of a tree, and his body has all sorts of things growing on him.

“You took your time out there.” “And I’m itching for another game.” “Are you ready to play?”

I take a seat at the table for what will be the final time.

“I hope you are adequately prepared.”

I draw my opening cards, another theme beginning to play, ambience combined with more rhythmic sounds. Truly, a climactic theme for this final battle. Just like the previous bosses, he puts out my candle and places two by himself, except this time, he holds up a third in his hand.

“Perhaps… one more. To be safe.”

That sniveling coward! I suppress a growl as he lights a third candle for himself. Looking down at his board, I notice several Rare creatures coming in. Looking down, I notice a lucky hand, so I play down Loki, but before I can continue my plan, Loki transforms suddenly into a new card, an Ijiraq.

“Its true appearance is frightening… even to me.”

With a hefty four damage, I simply use my Squirrel to instead play my Wolf Cub, which easily deals with Leshy’s first life.

“You capably endured the onslaught of Rare Creatures.” “But the true challenge was forthcoming.” “Shadowy figures appeared before you.” “In their eyes glimmered a recognition of kinship… but colored by guilt.”

Wait, is that–

“They were betraying you.”

On Leshy’s side of the Board was Loki, alongside two other human cards I didn’t recognize, Kaycee and Luke. Taking my deck and laying it out to draw from, I notice that Loki is indeed gone from my deck. Colored by guilt… Leshy must be forcing his hand. With a slightly shaking claw, I grab the Terror Lupus from my deck and put it into my hand. Ringing the bell, Leshy readies more cards on his side, and I notice the Prospector mask has floated onto his face, along with him wielding the pickaxe. I can’t stop this, but if I stall for one more turn, I can advance.

Ringing the bell, my cards take out Luke and Loki, but the others manage to deal me damage directly, followed by my Ijiraq and Wolf being turned into Gold Nuggets. Looking back into my deck, I fetch the Black Goat and place it into my hand. Playing my Opossum, I sacrifice it for the Goat, and I then sacrifice the Goat to play the Terror Lupus, which effortlessly deals enough damage to push Leshy’s scale to the end.

His cards leave his side of the board, and he turns around, looking right at the full moon behind him.

“This damned moon…” “It’s dramatic, yes.” “But it provides no value to my board.” “I wonder…”

Leshy then takes out an ancient camera, pointing it at the moon. Is he planning to inscrybe the moon? With the flash of the camera, the moon is gone, and on Leshy’s side of the board is a massive card that takes up the entirety of his side.

“Now that is value.”

A strong 40 health, combined with a Sigil that allows it to attack every card on my side at once. Reaching into my deck, I retrieve Yaina before ringing the bell, the Terror Lupus making a worthy opponent for the moon itself, with my Black Goat taking a hit. I’m glad I’d increased its health a while back. I’m ending this fight here and now, I draw my Ouroboros and place it right next to the Terror Lupus, their combined power being more than enough to destroy the moon.

“You really destroyed the moon…” “I suppose all that’s left is to finish me off.” “…” “Go on.”

With Leshy’s words, it’s as if a weight is slightly raised off my shoulders, and I press the bell one more time to finish the match. The scale tips to the side, and Leshy blows out his final candle, suddenly bathing the entire cabin in darkness. I could hear shuffling about, followed shortly by the unmistakable scent of meat. Only [a few seconds] later, a new candle illuminates the room, placed atop a platter of… some kind of meat, though now that I can look at it, it doesn’t seem all that fresh.

“I do not celebrate often and I seldom give gifts.” “But you, challenger, you are worthy.” “Please, do not be polite. Dig in.”

I could feel a pang of hunger, but I ignored it as I remembered that I have a plan to execute.

“Is there something wrong?” “Your prize awaits.”

Despite my hunger, I restrain myself, instead looking Leshy directly in the eyes.

“…” “Very well.” “Come with me.”

Leshy blows out his candle, leading me through the door I’d come in through, but instead of the forest there was an extra room. Noticing his camera on a nearby shelf, I grab it and insert the roll of film I’d found.

“Who gave you that?”

My heart suddenly racing, I lift up the camera to my face in an attempt to capture Leshy with his own device.

“You absolute ingrate!” “Give it back!”

He suddenly lunges at me, his sheer strength startling, but before he can wrench the camera from my grip.

Click

Leshy is suddenly gone, on the opposing wall is a small card with his face on it. Looking down into my palm, I look at Yaina who seemingly has a surprised look on their face.

“Is… is it over?” “Yes, I… I believe it is over.”

I take a deep breath, calming my nerves as I look around the room. Seeing as the door I once used to enter this cabin no longer leads to the outside, I take time to thoroughly inspect the cabin. After spending [several minutes] looking around, all I’d found was a hatch in the ground, although it didn’t budge even the slightest when I pulled on it. Looking over into the back room, I notice something in there. In the back of the room, hovering over a barrel is… well it’s not that easy to describe, it bears similarities to the static card I’d obtained, but instead of being, well… static, it appears to be a dark void.

“I… don’t remember this being here”

Reaching over, I take the thing in my claws—

{ERR: Major Data Corruption – Cause Unknown} {Resume Transcription at next available point?} [Y] [N]

End Notes: and so comes the end... but when one door closes, another must open

worry not for there is yet more story to be inscrybed

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