Part 61: OVERLORD

Update 50: OVERLORD



Everyone ready?
A-as ready as I'll ever be...
GRRRRROORR!
If we come back alive, and I intend to make sure that happens, I'm charging ten times my normal fees for this fight.
I never imagined my special effects prowess would be used to kill a god and save royalty.







It's time to finish this. It's been a pretty long seven months since I started the LP, huh?



I went with the Attack Item Up food and bought a ton of Storm Jars, because Stardust kept running out of TP from spamming level 20 Thor Formulas in earlier attempts.



Well, no sense in hesitation. Here we go!



SYSTEM: As you struggle to take it all in, the mysterious voice booms from above you.



...YOU'RE the Overlord? The Overlord was a giant egg this whole time?!
Dunno how practical that armor is, but it looks incredibly silly.
Pfft...
Hrror-hor-hor!
As fun as it is to laugh at poor fashion sense, let's let the Overlord continue.
We created it in the image of an ancient ark, that we might escape into the skies. I fear you will not understand my tale, but listen... Long ago, this world faced destruction. The signs were obvious, and so we made plans to flee the perishing earth for the skies.
So you opted for the opposite of what happened in Etria--fleeing the Earth instead of restoring it.
But another ordeal fell upon us. Humanity could not adapt to the drastically altered environment. I continued my never-ending research on life to save them. But some were not satisfied... They wished to die on their home soil...to return to the false lands on the dead earth. I performed experiment after experiment to save those who remained faithful to me... But the secrets of life are obscure and arcane. Little time remained to find a breakthrough.
I mean, if I was faced with waiting for eternal life that might never come, I'd opt for going back home too.
Thus did I discard my human form, transferring my mind to a body that would last forever. In this way, I continued my research to protect my flock from all manner of calamities. That research continues today. The Grail of Kings...source of that much-sought immortality...
Y-you mean turning humans into monsters...
It is not yet fully functional. Genetic warping occurs, and men become something entirely other. If she had remained with me... Her specialty was genetic research...perhaps... No. The past is dead, and it is folly to speculate. I alone will discover man's salvation! I will not let you take the Grail of Kings from here! It is vital to mankind's future! Perish and become dust before my power as the Overlord!


You underestimate us.

VIDEO: Boss Battle: Overlord



We've come this far, after all!

This is the only time Last Battle plays in the game, so give it a listen. It's not a spectacular track, but it's decent enough.


Overlord
HP: 6000, STR: 58, TEC: 48, VIT: 50, AGI: 37, LUC: 50
Skills:

• LRDA: Uses the head. Attempts to inflict paralysis, panic, and fear on each party member, with a 30% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier.
  
• VOID3: Uses the head. Deals 70% ranged TEC-based Almighty damage to the party. Has a 50% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• MACV: Cannot be disabled. Nullifies and counters all Cut/Stab/Bash damage to the Overlord with 120% STR-based damage of the same element as the nullified damage to the source of the damage for one turn. Has 120 base accuracy.
  
• VOID2: Uses the head. Deals 140% ranged TEC-based Almighty damage to the party. Has a 50% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• AACV: Cannot be disabled. Nullifies and counters all Fire/Ice/Volt damage to the Overlord with 120% TEC-based damage of the same element as the nullified damage to the source of the damage for one turn. Has 120 base accuracy.
  
• VOID1: Uses the head. Deals 210% ranged TEC-based Almighty damage to the party. Has a 50% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• REPAIR: Uses the head. Heals the Overlord for 1000 HP. Has a 60% speed modifier.
  
• VOID0: Uses the head. Deals 400% ranged TEC-based Almighty damage to the party. Has a 50% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 125%
Disable resistances:
50% 75% 25% 25% 0% 0% 25%
0% 0% 10%
25% 50% 25%
AI pattern:

• Turn 1: LRDA
  
• Turn 2: VOID3
  
• Turn 3: MACV
  
• Turn 4: VOID2
  
• Turn 5: AACV
  
• Turn 6: VOID1
  
• Turn 7: REPAIR
  
• Turn 8 until death: VOID0

Master of the floating castle and Ruler of Heaven, he has left his mortal body behind.

...Are you kidding me? THIS is the final boss?! 6000 HP?! What kind of dumb joke is this?!

All I really have to say about the Overlord's skillset is that if you somehow can't kill it in 8 turns, you have much bigger problems than dying to VOID0.



I'm hoping Freyja manages to get a head bind off, since LRDA is annoying to clean up after, but I'm not getting my hopes up.



Asriel will set up Upper Stance, and then just spam Swallow Strike.



Overlord's not attacking this turn, so I have Ursa set up Protection Vow.



Realga defends since I'm betting on Freyja not binding the Overlord's head. Defending reduces the chance of being hit with ailments and binds for that turn by some unknown factor.



Much like Asriel, Stardust will set up Compression, and then just spam either Thor Formula or Storm Jars.


I can see why you're obsessed with immortality, but it's had some disastrous effects back on Earth.


So many explorers have suffered not just from being turned into monsters, but from dying to those monsters...

Well, alright then! Makes my job easier.


The culmination of all the improvements to my effects since the start of our journey...



None of the Overlord's skills use the arms, but Cuffs deals more damage than Shackles at the moment.



Ursa'll be fine tanking VOID3.



Realga preps Overheal because what else is she gonna do right now?



Here we go.



Less surprising than the head bind, since the Overlord only has 50% resistance to arm binds.


Huah!

Well, that's over 10% of the Overlord's HP.


Shocking-- Wait, no I already used that one... Electrifying, no?

And THAT was 1/3 of the Overlord's HP.



Head binds shut down the Overlord so hard it's not even funny.



Turn 3 is the MACV turn, so Freyja and Asriel need to hold off on attacking, while Ursa has nothing to do.


Saw that coming from a few steps in front of me away.



Overlord is now at around 1000 HP. He's done for.


There is no honor in an trivial kill.

That was disappointing.



What a waste of time.
We'll be taking that Grail, now...
SYSTEM: As you bask in your hard-won victory, the voice speaks again.
It seems your power is far greater than I anticipated. But you do not understand... My research is still far from complete. Though I have created something of a prototype... True eternal life will not be possible until the Grail of Kings is finished. And so I cannot allow myself to be defeated now.
S-so...?
But I have a proposition. I can grant you eternal life... Transcendence of your mortal human forms. In return for which, you must leave the Grail of Kings with me and depart from this castle. Think well... do not all humans desire life eternal and strength unsurpassed?
SYSTEM: The Overlord's offer has been made, and he awaits your answer. The decision is entirely in your hands...



Choosing to leave just results in being given a game over.

If you'll pardon my uncommon choice of words: Go fuck yourself.
Rrrrgh!
We're not like hat guy--we don't have terrible memories.
We haven't forgotten what happened to those others with "eternal life."
SYSTEM: You cannot leave when the Grail of Kings is so near at hand, and so you refuse the Overlord. At hearing your response, the Overlord sighs deeply before speaking again.
So... That is the path you choose. It was inevitable, I suppose. Then I will resist you with my true power...! Children of man! Freed from the destruction of the old world, I have dreamt a new future. None shall deter me from my sacred goal! I shall surpass the limits of humanity! Witness the might of a true god!

https://zippy.gfycat.com/BlankPreciousGlassfrog.webm (No GIF version available)

VIDEO: Final Boss: Overlord



Eh, we've beaten worse. Bring it on!

Now that looks like a final boss.


Overlord
HP: 27000, STR: 59, TEC: 48, VIT: 50, AGI: 39, LUC: 53
Skills:

• Mountain Stream: Does nothing for one turn. Uses the arms. Deals 220% melee STR-based Bash damage to the front row. Has a 120% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Dazzling Sunlight: Uses the head. Deals 180% ranged TEC-based Fire damage to the party. Attempts to bind hit targets' heads, with a 25% base chance. Has a 70% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• Dance: Cannot be disabled. Deals 5 (if no Overlord Core) or 10 (if Overlord Core) instances of 200% (if no Overlord Core) or 400% (if Overlord Core) melee STR-based Cut damage to random targets. Can hit the same target once (if Overlord Core) or twice (if Overlord Core) at most. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Birth of Anguish: Uses the arms. Deals 170% melee STR-based Cut damage to one target, with splash damage. Attempts to inflict panic on hit targets, with a 20% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
  
• Hail and Rain: Uses the head. Deals 180% ranged TEC-based Ice damage to the party. Attempts to bind hit targets' arms, with a 25% base chance. Has a 70% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• Solitude: Uses the legs. Reduces the party's physical defense by 50% for 4 turns. Attempts to inflict paralysis and fear on each party member, with a 25% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier.
  
• Crashing Thunder: Uses the head. Deals 180% ranged TEC-based Volt damage to the party. Attempts to bind hit targets' legs, with a 25% base chance. Has a 70% speed modifier and 120 base accuracy.
  
• Seek: Cannot be disabled. Purges all debuffs from the Overlord, and raises his physical attack by 30% for 4 turns.

Drops:

• Normal: Imperial Wrath. 100% chance. Sells for 10000 en. 1 needed to make Czar Cloth (+50 DEF, +5% Fire/Ice/Volt resistance).
  "Part of the Overlord's scale-like armor. Abnormally light, it's unknown how it was made."

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 125%
Disable resistances:
50% 75% 25% 25% 0% 0% 25%
0% 0% 10%
25% 50% 25%
AI pattern:

• Phase 1 (100% to 75% HP):
  
  • Turn 1: Nothing
    
  • Turn 2: Mountain Stream
    
  • Turn 3: Attack
    
  • Loops until next phase.
• Phase 2 (75% to 50% HP):
  • End of last turn: Summons one Killer Satellite
    
  • Turns 1 and 2: Whatever was upcoming from phase 1
    
  • End of turn 2: Summons Overlord Core
    
  • The Overlord Core's summoning is followed up by 4 turns of Dazzling Sunlight, then an infinite loop of Dance
    
  • When the Overlord Core is destroyed, the Overlord will use Dance, and then loop the next pattern until the next phase
    
  • Turn 1: Nothing
    
  • Turn 2: Mountain Stream
    
  • Turn 3: Attack
    
  • Turn 4: Birth of Anguish
• Phase 3 (50% to 25% HP):
  
  • End of last turn: Summons two Killer Satellites
    
  • Turns 1 and 2: Whatever was upcoming from phase 2
    
  • End of turn 2: Summons Overlord Core
    
  • The Overlord Core's summoning is followed up by 4 turns of Hail and Rain, then an infinite loop of Dance
    
  • When the Overlord Core is destroyed, the Overlord will use Dance, and then loop the next pattern until the next phase
    
  • Turn 1: Nothing
    
  • Turn 2: Mountain Stream
    
  • Turn 3: Attack
    
  • Turn 4: Birth of Anguish
    
  • Turn 5: Nothing
    
  • Turn 6: Mountain Stream
    
  • Turn 7: Solitude
    
  • Turn 8: Attack
    
  • Turn 9: Birth of Anguish
• Phase 4 (25% HP to death):
  
  • End of last turn: Summons two Killer Satellites
    
  • Turns 1 and 2: Whatever was upcoming from phase 2
    
  • End of turn 2: Summons Overlord Core
    
  • The Overlord Core's summoning is followed up by 4 turns of Crashing Thunder, then an infinite loop of Dance
    
  • When the Overlord Core is destroyed, the Overlord will use Dance, and then loop the next pattern until he dies
    
  • Turn 1: Nothing
    
  • Turn 2: Mountain Stream
    
  • Turn 3: Solitude
    
  • Turn 4: Attack
    
  • Turn 5: Birth of Anguish
    
  • End of turn 5: Summons Overlord Core

The true form of the Ruler of Heaven. Behold his overwhelming power, and despair.

THIS is the actual final boss, and he's...honestly something of a disappointment. Overlord is really just a damage race. He hits hard, but that's really the complete extent of what he does. The entire fight boils down to killing him before he kills you.



I probably should've used Cuffs instead, for reasons you'll see shortly.



Asriel will be varying up his usual actions in a couple of turns.



Ursa readies up Protection Vow, since the Overlord's not gonna do anything this turn.



Ursa will NEED an Overhealed Cure to not die to Mountain Stream next turn.



Same as always.


I stopped being afraid of mean looks some 50 years ago.


That metal head is...quite hard to restrain...



Note how I didn't activate Immovable yet.



Hope this works.



Since Freyja and Asriel are gonna be dishing out mediocre damage, it's up to Stardust to pick up the slack.


Alright, I hope those mixtures worked.
Rrr...


Urrr... Rrrgh...
It worked! Note to self: set price on that concoction when we get back.



This doesn't bode well.



It's...some damage. I can't argue that.


Arc lightning!

Oh.



Ursa needs to be patched up.



Aiiiii, I knew this would happen.


You'd really think you'd learn how to not miss that after using it so many times.
My dexterity is going, I thought I told you.



Fantastic, summons, my favorite part of boss fights.


Killer Satellite
HP: 1700, STR: 58, TEC: 45, VIT: 45, AGI: 41, LUC: 48
Skills:

• Chase Laser: Used after elemental attacks. Uses the head. Deals 150% (if one Killer Satellite) or 100% (if two Killer Satellites) ranged TEC-based damage of the same element of the chased skill. Has 100 (if one Killer Satellite) or 99 (if two Killer Satellites) base accuracy.
  
• Self-Destruct: Used on the same turn as Dance. Deals 800% ranged TEC-based Fire damage to the entire party. Kills the Killer Satellite after use.

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 125%
Disable resistances:
50% 100% 50% 50% 0% 50% 50%
50% 50% 10%
50% 100% 100%

Killer Satellites are major pains. Their normal attacks deal not-insignificant damage, and Chase Laser can turn heavy damage elementals into death. They're also in the back row, meaning that everyone deals half damage to them! (The only exception is if I moved Stardust up to the front row, or have Asriel use Issen.)



Asriel has one turn of Upper Stance left, so I have him use Peerless Stance.



This is supposed to just be a normal attack turn, so I'll have Ursa use an Amrita II on Asriel.


I can match none!
Evidently the part of his brain that controls order of words is going, too.



Ugh.


Ack! W-what is that light?


Rrrrr!


Th-thank you, Ursa...

Protection Vow kicked in there.



We could be doing worse for 5 turns in, given who our damage dealers are.



I have Asriel turn Immovable on, now that he has Peerless Stance going.



Compression ran out, but that's fine, since I want Stardust to chip at the Killer Satellite.



Peerless Stance needs quite a few levels before it starts becoming noticeably better than Upper Stance.



Insert exasperated statement here.



I love Overheal. Ursa just ate half of her normal max HP and doesn't even care.


Justice rains from... Wait, hm. Does "above" really work here?
Can you please worry about semantics later, Luca?!



Oh, great, one more summon.


Overlord Core
HP: 2800, STR: 59, TEC: 48, VIT: 50, AGI: 39, LUC: 53
Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 125%
Disable resistances:
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0% 0% 0%
0% 0% 0%

Okay, I'm being a little unfair to the Overlord Core. It's not really a traditional "summon," since it literally does nothing on its own. Its only purpose is to act as a timer--if you can't kill it within four turns, you're doomed, since Dance will no-questions-asked wipe you (exclusing Perfect Defense or True Endurance).



I have Asriel target the Overlord Core with Swallow Strike, since I want this thing dead in a reasonable amount of time.



In the video, you can see that this instance of Dazzling Sunlight gets sped up compared to normal actions. That's because I saw Ursa's HP, and my damage estimate for Dazzling Sunlight in my head went over that, meaning I panic-held the A Button and was basically shouting "NO NO NO PLEASE THIS ATTEMPT IS GOING WELL" in my head. That one point of Deadly Resolve saved me in the end, since it procced on the last hit.



Fun fact about the Auto-Heal and Self-Heal Amp Grimoire effects: because Auto-Heal technically isn't a fixed healing source, Self-Heal Amp boosts it, meaning that Ursa restores 75% of her HP whenever it activates--and remember, it activates 50% of the time on any damage instance.



A bit too close for comfort, but everything turned out fine in the end.



Asriel's Force isn't gonna have enough time to regenerate before the end of the fight, so I just bust out Issen to damage the Overlord plus both of his summons.



That's the Killer Satellite down.


Freyja, I know you said that head is hard to restrain, but can you maybe try harder?!
I-I am... Sorry...

*screaming internally*



Remember how Dazzling Sunlight nearly killed Ursa last time? I seriously fucking love Overheal.



Oh yeah, and Auto-Heal counts whatever the user's current max is, meaning it works perfectly fine with Overheal.



The Overlord telegraphs Dance with this, although you can already probably guess that it's coming by killing the Core.



I have Freyja take a break from not binding the Overlord's head so she can restore her TP.



Even with Overheal, Ursa would die if she tanked the entirety of Dance, so I turn on Desperation.



Stardust'll re-cast Compression now that the summons are dead.



Ouch.


What kinda magic is inside those weird Grimoires?

That basically completely undid Dance's damage, haha.



Oh hey, we skipped the second part of phase 2.



Getting ever closer.



Also, remember how I said that Overheal and Desperation stacking was a bug all the way back in the Gentle Toad fight? Turns out it isn't!



Overkill much?



Same reasoning as Issen.


RrrrRRREEOOOORR!


I...did it!

FINALLY. And not a moment too soon, since the Hail and Rain phase is probably gonna start soon.



I got really lucky that the Overlord used Birth of Anguish during True Endurance, since it means the panic got nullified, and Ursa becoming panicked would've thrown a serious wrench in everything.



Yep, there it is.



This is frankly kind of a shitty use of Trance, but whatever, I need as much damage as possible right now.



We're almost there, just a little more left!



Cuffs + Trance damage, for reference.



Like I said, the head bind could not have been timed better, even if it took annoyingly long to land.



Okay, it's over.



Might as well go for style points. (Realga has Overheal active.)


Heroes never die!
And she goes after ME for using a quote from the anthology...


Good-bye.


And GOD riddance.

It is finished.

VIDEO: Ending and Credits



SYSTEM: Whether the light marks the end of an ancient legend...or the opening of a new chapter... It would be premature to judge now.


SYSTEM: You recall his words...
My aim was nothing less than the evolution of man...the dawn of a new race!
SYSTEM: Despairing at man's weakness, he personally strove to transcend the limitations of his species.
...W-was the Overlord really all that evil?
Dunno. He did awful things, but... Seems like he just got messed up by everyone leaving him.
Centuries of solitude does take a toll on someone's mind.


SYSTEM: Perhaps their conflict was not a matter of right and wrong. It was a struggle whose outcome was determined by the strength of their respective beliefs. There may come a time again when mankind, facing incredible adversity, will lose its way...


SYSTEM: Just as you traversed the flying castle, their strength and bravery will allow them to face any hardship.



That could not be further from the truth.


Grrer! Grrer!
Ursa found the Grail...!
Well then. Shall we get back to town? Think everyone's waiting on us.



They've just accomplished the impossible... You know they'll be hungry! Come on Quona, fetch the ingredients!
Okay...! I'll help as much as I can so we can welcome back Lumen!
Wait, wait, THEY'RE BACK?! Ranger, come on, get going! We gotta go see everyone at the forest entrance!
But I'm in the middle of eating this steaaaaaaaaaak!

So. That's the end of the main story. What a ride that was, huh? Kind of hard to believe it's been seven months since I started. I guess I'll use this time to throw out some miscellaneous thoughts.

If you've never played EO2U, or even any EO game at all, I hope the LP's convinced you to at least give the eShop demo of it a look. Etrian Odyssey is a series that I'm incredibly passionate about, if the fact that I'm doing an LP of this game or that Dr. Fetus and I have near-exhaustively datamined both of the Untolds didn't clue you in already. One of my goals when I started the LP was to potentially expose the game (and possibly series) to people who might not have otherwise tried it, especially since EO2U is a remake of (in my opinion) the worst game in a series that's already very niche to begin with.

Another big reason I started this thing was to kind of throw myself into territories I was very uncomfortable with at the outset: organizing and maintaining a pseudo-creative project, and writing a narrative. I...wouldn't really say I'm comfortable with either of those after doing all of this, haha, but it's certainly been a fun experience just doing something that's a great deal different than my day-to-day routine of programming (both during the school year and now). I don't know if anyone reading this thread is aware of this, but four years ago, I actually tried my hand at LP'ing for the first time (with Megaman Star Force 1)...and promptly burned out five updates in because I underestimated the workload. Committing to this LP for seven months and reaching the end of the main story, in light of that, is something I'm personally kind of proud of.


Haha, I'm not just saying that! I've been rooting for them throughout their whole journey! And I wasn't the only one. Dad and all the people at the workshop were cheering for them, too. All of Sitoth Trading has been rooting for the Lumen guild!
...They actually did it? They got the Grail?! Holy shit, Phoebe, c'mon! We gotta get to the entrance!
Eh, you go on ahead. I'm sure they won't mind if I'm a minute late or so.

Anyway, with that stuff out of the way, might as well take the time to throw out some special thanks.

Firstly, a massive thanks to everyone who's posted in the thread so far! This might sound kind of weird, but every time I see someone post in the thread, it honestly kind of motivates me to know that there's a concrete example of someone who appreciates (or, at the least, can tolerate) the work I put into making updates.

Next, thanks to everyone who submitted characters at the start of the LP, both to those whose submissions I didn't go with (Hobgoblin2099, theshim, Erg, Txn, Level Seven, SC Bracer, Argent Cinereus, ZZT the Fifth), and those I did go with (Logicblade (Zack), Crosspeice (Nadia), C-Start (Phoebe), Supremezero (Freyja), Endorph (Realga), alcharagia (Stardust), jimmydalad (Milly), Kemix (Asriel), BlackPersona (Sophie), Dr. Fetus (Jackie), Scrap Dragon (Colette), TKMobile (Ursa), AweStriker (Rheine), and BlazeEmblem (Tyler)). It was a lot of fun, for someone who's never really done creative writing or fiction in any appreciable capacity, to take all these different types of characters and figure out how to write them!

Also thanks to my non-goon friends (excluding one), some of whom have kept up with the LP, some of whom I've just been talking to about doing this stuff: Becca, Jib, Ned, Heavy, Ben, Freak, Sapph, Yorsh, Oso, Efe (he's the goon), Crime, Sas, Glock, and Ranger. Yes, Ranger's name is derived from my friend whose online alias is basically Ranger--the LP's Ranger was originally supposed to be named Tim, but I discovered too late that you can't rename Story characters. (Incidentally, you've actually already seen almost everyone in that list, but not even realized it: "hat guy's guild" is the guild I use in every EO game, with characters named after those friends and I! Meaning, yes, I am "hat guy"-- I've collected a lot of hats in TF2 and Dota. )

Of those I named above, extra-special thanks to Heavy, who is principally responsible for the character of Ranger (building off an idea originally posted by alcharagia) and has kept up with the LP to make sure Ranger was appropriately Ranger-y. Another extra special thanks to Efe, who is the one friend in that group who plays EO, and has kept up with the LP from start to finish, all the while helping me with narrative stuff, moral support during difficult parts of the LP (writer's block, irritating bosses), and making my life easier by voting for good parties of his own accord.


Yeh know they've come far if I'm taking the trouble to go see them! Haw haw haw! What's that yeh say? A barkeep shouldn't leave his bar...? Aw, don't yeh sweat that. We'll be open tomorrow! Ain't a blamed thing wrong with a barkeep shuttering for the day!
Wait a minute, they're safe?!
They killed that bastard Overlord 'n got the Grail 'a Kings?! Holy gods, Zack, they're heroes! WE'RE heroes!
C'mon, Tyler, let's get moving! We need to be the first to welcome them back down!

Continuing with the thanks, yet another thanks to alcharagia for providing the thread title, which was my absolute favorite out of all the ones posted in the EO Megathread despite being relevant to exactly one boss.

An incredible amount of thanks to Dr. Fetus, who's both directly and indirectly done a metric ton for the LP. Beyond just being a sounding board for ideas through Steam conversations, his assistance in datamining EO2U made the process go by a lot faster, and he's constantly offered so many corrections, both mechanically (typos) and game-wise (number errors, misinformation about some classes, etc.) Oh, yeah, he's also doing the Story mode LP. That's gotta count for something.

Speaking of Steam conversations, theshim, Tyty, and Hivac also deserve incredible amounts of thanks for just being on Steam for me to talk to, toss ideas by, check videos for any glaringly obvious issues, and for theshim and Hivac, occasionally being TF2 and Overwatch (respectively) partners.


Ah, but no. I can't indulge my bad habits... This is not the time for me to wallow in the past. Still...who would have thought that they'd become heroes of the city? I wonder what their faces will be like as they return. How should I greet them...? Haha, at last, something to look forward to.
Our friends have returned! Rejoice, Milly! We must get to the forest entrance at once, to welcome them back!
...Alright, sure. I'll admit, I'm actually pretty impressed. _{Now I just gotta figure out when I can get out of this place.}
I'm so happy they're okay... And yet, I'm kinda jealous I didn't get to taste anything in the floating castle.
Judging by what the others have told me, perhaps you should be happy about that. Shall we get going to the entrance, Sophie?

I'm almost done with the thanks, I swear.

On the somewhat-technical end of things, thanks to Crosspeice, who provided a comprehensive list of item unlock requirements well before Dr. Fetus and I started datamining EO2U, and to Hobgoblin2099, whose food guide on GameFAQs has saved me so much time looking up pretty much anything related to FOEbucks food.

On a bit of a personal level, I suppose, thanks to Endorph, Hobgoblin2099, alcharagia, Dr. Fetus, Kemix, BlackPersona, BlazeEmblem, Crosspeice, who all responded with feedback after I made a post around a month ago asking how I was doing with the narrative. Seeing concrete feedback that my writing ability wasn't complete ass gave me a pretty big morale boost, especially given that I consider myself bad at anything vaguely creative.


Oh, but we waste time. Minister Dubois! Make haste to ready the celebration for our heroes' return!


Why, it seems as though the people are already gathering. This will be quite the celebration...!

And, lastly, thank you. Yes, you, the person reading this block of text right now, even if you were already mentioned above. I realize that this kind of thanks is a bit cliche, but I don't really care.


The Ruler of Heaven is no more. And so...those explorers trapped in an endless cycle of torment can finally know peace.

We're still not done with the game, of course. There's still quite a lot to do in the postgame, so don't go anywhere! We've still got plenty of game left to go.

That's for later, though.


Their names will never be forgotten here... And that's true immortality.

For now, thank you for reading, and, from where I am at the time of writing, good night.
























































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