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Tenzai
α΄α΄Κα΄ α΄Κα΄Κ α΄κ° Κα΄α΄α΄Κ α΄Ι΄α΄ ΙͺΙ΄Ι’κ±
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2023
ΚΙͺκ°α΄ Ιͺα΄κ±α΄Κκ° Ιͺκ± α΄Κα΄ α΄α΄κ±α΄ α΄‘α΄Ι΄α΄
α΄Κκ°α΄Κ α΄α΄
α΄ α΄Ι΄α΄α΄Κα΄, α΄Ι΄α΄
Κα΄α΄ Κα΄α΄ α΄ α΄ α΄α΄Κα΄ ΙͺΙ΄ Ιͺα΄ Κα΄α΄Κκ±α΄Κκ°.
- Κα΄Ι΄κ± α΄ΚΚΙͺκ±α΄Ιͺα΄Ι΄ α΄Ι΄α΄ α΄Κκ±α΄Ι΄
- Κα΄Ι΄κ± α΄ΚΚΙͺκ±α΄Ιͺα΄Ι΄ α΄Ι΄α΄ α΄Κκ±α΄Ι΄
Every story comes to an end, sooner or later. . .
Ι΄α΄α΄‘ α΄Κα΄ΚΙͺΙ΄Ι’: Ι’α΄α΄α΄ α΄α΄ α΄Κ | Κα΄κ°Ιͺ ΚΙͺα΄
β» β || β· βΊ
Ι΄α΄α΄‘ α΄Κα΄ΚΙͺΙ΄Ι’: Ι’α΄α΄α΄ α΄α΄ α΄Κ | Κα΄κ°Ιͺ ΚΙͺα΄
β» β || β· βΊ
"You've been nothing but perfect to me, darling. Be mine. I won't accept anyone else." A vampiric prince stood at the other end of her screen with arms extended, revealing the feelings once hidden within the depths of his frigid, undead heart for his protagonist lover. He was one of the many romanceable candidates in the Otome game Eternal Lovers: A Thirst for Passion; The final game released in the series before the gaming company that made them went bankrupt. While they held many talented writers and artists within their ranks, what the company and its series lacked was a consistent identity and niche. Their aims were too broad. Its settings across the game series were all over the place, contrasting greatly from one sequel to another.
For a couple games, their creative lead would focus on historical romances in feudal times between samurai and knights before suddenly shifting over to a sci-fi space odyssey with mecha pilots and futuristic magical girls. With other games in the series, they explored worlds of fantasy through magical academies or dungeons populated with mystical and monstrous races. Other times, they even experimented with realistic worlds set in modern times in both war and peace. To consider their flagship series, Eternal Lovers, all the same canon timeline was to give it directors too much credit.
While innovative for its time with its introduction of unique RPG mechanics, NPC interactions, and life-sim systems, it was still a simple premise underneath all the added elaborate layers of complexity: The protagonist was given choices to improve herself and further her relationships with different characters with the single goal of choosing your own happy ending. While in pursuit of this goal, challenges and antagonists would end up getting in the protagonist's way, usually leading them to suffer from a bad end as a result. The games were not kind to its villains. It was as if the story writers wanted to subconsciously let the player know that some characters were unworthy of a happy ending.
However, with time, competition, and a lack of creative direction, opinion of the series had become negative once the market was flooded with competitors. Demand had dropped when combined with an economic crisis that struck the real world. As a result, the canonic storyline that once was considered the golden standard of Otome games had finally come to an end. Within the final games of the series, they capitalized on whatever interest and fanfare they had left through leeching cash grab systems that took away from the game: Gachas and overpriced DLCs which sealed the fate of the characters that lived in their world. There was no true ending for them left. There was no more life for them to live. Their stories had come to a premature ending from a deadly combination of corporate greed, creative stagnation, and real-world economic affliction. Many among them were never meant to find happiness. The unfair gods that commanded the fate of the real world have dictated it so.
But where one story ends, another begins.
Darkness combined with the sounds of keyboard clicks to break up the nothingness. "Hello? Is this thing working? Can you hear me?" A familiar voice had rung through the room. It was a character from the Eternal Lovers Series that made an appearance in every game; The goddess of rebirth and new beginnings, Moira. Usually she played a major role at the beginning of the games, introducing the character, the world, and the setting to the player. Oftentimes, she would also make a reappearance at the end of those same games as well: Offering a player a chance at rebirth with the skills and items of the life before as a form of "New Game+".
As she checked the quality of her mic to ensure it was functioning properly, she accidentally increased the sensitivity to deafening levels. "IS IT BETTER NOW?" Thankfully, whatever she was using had auto-adjusted itself back to regular audio levels, notifying her that her mic was receiving her input. "Oops. Sorry about that, soul number. . . Fourteen thousand and seventeen. . . I think?" Moira wiped her exhausted eyes, before popping the tab of another can filled with a divine energy drink. "Ugh. . . Just one more to go before I could clock out. Thank god." She forgot her mic was still on, taking a swig of her can.
"Ah! Here you are." She searched through her pile of scattered soul reports atop her desk, picking out the next life she thought was the right one. "Your soul has been selected to be reborn into a new world. Ooo, exciting~" Despite her best attempts to hide her exhaustion, it was as bright as day. The supposed excitement was a tired addition at this point, given the fact that its the fourteenth thousandth or so time she faked the process today. "Once we're done here, you'll wake up in the world of Ferris. A wondrous land of magic and science!" Ferris was the universe in which the Eternal Lovers series of games took place. It was one of the very few constants shared between games.
"Umm. . . " The tired goddess flipped through more paperwork. "In a small floating island village that houses the magical academy of Alesia. Would you look at that? It has a nice err. . . View of the ocean!" Her presentation was much sloppier than it was in game. "While I would usually list a bunch of perks you could choose before I send you off, unfortunately, the other souls have chosen everything else. But! There is one more! Your memories!" She chimed, choosing the easiest blessing to bestow upon her arrival. "All that you've learned in this past life, you will take with you into this new one and-"
Her alarm clock rang. It was time to clock out.
"The reincarnation department of heaven is not liable for any crimes or damages you commit in the new world. Nor is it or its related entities responsible for any physical, mental, spiritual, magical, social, economical, sexual, or relational damage to you. By agreeing to becoming reincarnated, you consent yourself and your own wellbeing to whatever fate you have decided upon. . . " She droned one for another few minutes, bringing up every edge-case imaginable and unimaginable, before finally ending with another deep breath. "With all the boring, legal jargon out of the way. Good luck! May the goddess of luck bless your new life. . ."
"And I wish you nothing but the best on your next adventure."
The application was complete. Her introduction, while short, was said and done. All she needed now was to send her to her next destination. With exhaustion on her mind and her bed so tempting, she hit the enter key on her keyboard, sending the final soul on her way. Though, once she closed her laptop, she noticed a book sitting behind her screen. Her face paled upon her realization, before she shook away her anxiety. It was the manual to the new world and how to interact with its many systems. Inside the book held information about the cultures and species which dwelled within and how to interact with them.
". . . Ah shit. . . I forgot to give her the manual."
"Eh. She looked smart enough. She'll figure it out, right?"
"Eh. She looked smart enough. She'll figure it out, right?"
One new voice mail.
Ι΄α΄α΄‘ α΄Κα΄ΚΙͺΙ΄Ι’: Κα΄Ι΄α΄α΄α΄Κ α΄Κα΄ α΄α΄κ±α΄ | α΄α΄Κκ±α΄Ι΄α΄ 5 α΄κ±α΄
β» β || β· βΊ
"Hey mom. I just wanted to check in with you." Tsuna's voice had stirred his mother from her slumber. "The academy has been great! I've just enrolled in my new classes but I might need a few thousand more credits for the Fall Semester. Don't worry too hard about me though. I'll be able to take care of you once I graduate. So hold in there a little longer, okay? I'll be there soon. Love you mom. Thanks for everything." Her phone's screen faded back into black as she opened her eyes to the cold world again. Bandages had covered her hands from the job a night before. While her magical adversary might have been much younger than her, there was a distinct gap between their magical abilities. Her foe's "love" was powerful; Dangerous to the mother who owed a debt to the wrong people. Her son needed the money but her bar struggled to make ends meet.
"Ugh. . . Fuck." She lifted her head off the bar counter, grabbing her phone before stretching her limbs to wake herself up. Her muscles were sore and her head was throbbing, but that didn't stop her from remembering her responsibilities. She needed to restock the bar for the next shift. Even if it wasn't popular, it had a few kind regulars that visited often enough to drive her legs forward.
The ginger-haired woman stood up with renewed strength, grabbing her phone and keys to head out. However, before she took more than a few steps forward, she felt the door stop sooner than she expected. On the other side was an unconscious brunette; A girl she had never seen before. Her blue dress suggested she was a well-off local, though it was odd to find someone like her on this side of the island. "Hey. . . Hey, wake up." She shook the prone woman's arm to no avail. "Of course, I gotta deal with this first thing in the morning." She sighed, taking a deep breath before pulling her in to avoid others from getting the wrong idea.
Once the unconscious woman came to, she saw a glass of water sitting on the counter in front of her. The air was warm, being moved around by the ceiling fans above. She was in a lonely bar; A familiar scene from one of her games long ago. "Oh, finally. You're awake." Footsteps sounded from behind the counter, introducing the woman that brought her in. In front of her stood the ginger-haired antagonist: Ember. "How are you feeling? You're not coughing or sneezing, so I don't think you're sick. Get drunk in the morning?" Ember cleaned a glass with a rag, scanning her new guest for signs of injury. "I don't know who or what left you at the front of my door, but thank the heavens it was me who found you rather than anyone else. Can't trust the vampires around here. That's for sure."
Instead of introducing herself as she did in game however, there was something distinctly different about her. She was far kinder than she appeared to be when around the magical protagonist. "If you're feeling hungry, I might not have a lot around to make you something but I could scramble an egg. I actually bumped into you while getting more food. I have water and a few drinks if you're thirsty but. . . I'd avoid the alcohol if I were you. I wouldn't want you falling unconscious again." She chuckled, offering a gentle, motherly smile to ease the mood.
"I'm Ember by the way. What's your name?"
] Immediately upon entering, they were met with the sound of mall music as well as a cool breeze from the indoor air conditioning meant to relieve them from the heat outside. Inside held several stores from the various city corporations, each with stock from display of weapons to armors, clothing, general goods, and everything in between. In between the larger stores interestingly enough were local mom and pops-type shops, each still being run by organic species instead of the robots that often worked customer service for major corporations. "