#vanaspati

Can you see this, Emet-Selch? Or are you simply remembering your own horror? What would you think, to know the Final Days have come again?

That tracks with what we've been led to expect the Final Days would bring.

Pardon me, I must scream now. This is the sin eaters all over again. Is it contagious like that too?

(Indeed, it turns out that it is, in fact, contagious. Except it's worse, because the monsters don't even have to touch you. They've just gotta give you the bad vibes)

You'd think this dungeon would remind me of Amaurot, and you'd be correct, but what it reminded me even more of was Holminster Switch. It had the same excellently immersive atmosphere of horror, but more than that, the setting was similar: running through a destroyed/burning village, watching former residents transform into abominations, a horrific fiend waiting at the end... The significant difference this time being that there were no survivors to save... Great dungeon. Can't recommend it enough. Hope I don't have to play it again any time soon.

And then I got it again for daily roulettes, oops.

Eugh. Gotta give it to you, game, you really know how to make things horrifying. This was a person.

Yeah, I gathered from your comments during the dungeon that there was something wrong with the monsters' aether. You fought quite well for not being able to see them.

How is that possible? If they're not made of aether... How do they even exist? Are they just empty, or made of something else instead?

What. What do you mean by that. You mean...?

Then, this isn't... This can't be simply stagnation of aether. The sin eaters, the Flood of light, that was stagnated aether. There's something more going on than just that. Right?

Motherfucker. That's. That's horrible. What the hell. Souls can just be... Destroyed? So not only do these poor people get turned into monsters... They don't even get their promised rest. There's no reincarnation, no becoming part of the star. All the people we just saw transformed, they're just. Gone.

Poor Vrtra. He loves his people so much. And now all this pain. First the tower, now this.

Ahewann urges Vrtra to reveal their secret and openly be the great leader he has been from the shadows this entire time.

But, Vrtra will not consider it. He believes that revealing himself will do naught but cause further confusion and chaos.

Vrtra and Estinien take to the skies to continue doing battle with the horde of beasts. The rest of us Scions will accompany Ahewann back to the capital to render what assistance we may.

Back in Radz-at-Han, the Scions split up into small groups to investigate the origins of the initial blasphemy. To my horror, it is revealed that the one who transformed into the monster was Khalzhal; the man who ran the consortium in which I first met Matsya.

Through talking to his neighbors and business associates we eventually piece together the story. Khalzahl had fallen on desperate times, but had just been contracted to transport a shipment of luxury fabrics. At the last moment, the deal fell through, and the despair and hopelessness this created seems to have been the trigger for his transformation. As well, people who became overcome with similar emotions also transformed: simply seeing the blasphemy was enough to trigger the change in others.

Which means that this could potentially start up anywhere, at any time, with no warning whatsoever.

...

And just as we're realizing this, shit hits the fan.

Ahewann has arrived and is trying to console a crowd of his people, one of whom is a grandmother worried about her grandson who had gone to Palaka's Stand.

Quite suddenly, Matsya arrives, asking for help, and bringing news that Palaka's Stand has been overrun by beasts.

The grandmother is overcome by her fear, and transforms.

...Setting off a chain reaction. Numerous people within the crowd begin changing, and we scramble to kill them fast enough, before it spreads further.

A young boy, running with his father, trips in front of a monster. He too transforms...

And is crushed beneath the foot of the beast, which advances upon his father, now paralyzed with fear.

Ahewann jumps in between the two, sword in hand...

But the beast picks him up.

As he meets my eyes and begs me to save his people, the blasphemy eats him.

Seven hells.

The man Ahewann died to save is beginning to lose it. He's going to change too. But then, G'raha is there. G'raha gets through to him.

G'raha is the goddamn Exarch and he takes charge and he is beautiful.

He delegates, he delivers orders. He is in control, and through his steady hand, restores calm and confidence. The beasts are being brought down.

I love this game for not forgetting that G'raha led an entire city through a century of crisis, and letting him use those skills when they're desperately needed. Goddamn, this was fantastic.