Part 37: Kyra's Mirror

37: Kyra's Mirror



That is why we must take the fight to him.
But I'm -- we're not strong enough to stop him.
You will be. Doskias wields the mighty sword of Gemma, a dark runeblade of great power.
It was the only reason he could defeat Gunnar in combat.
And the only way you will be able to defeat Doskias is to find the only weapons that can rival his blade - the twin Daemon Swords of Marduk.
But where?
In Marduk's lost city, Babylon, hidden on World Shell 4. You must retrieve the Swords. The final battle is upon us, and the fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Soon the planet will begin to collapse. You must stop Doskias, and win the Gift of the Creator. Only then will you be able to save the world.
But how can I find a city that no one has seen in thousands of years?
Find Kyra's Mirror and it shall provide you the key in your search. I will leave you with one last warning: Do not pollute Marduk's Inner Temple with violence. It is said that the spirits will exact revenge for such a desecration.

What exactly will happen when the last piece is moved into place?
A rune will be formed across the face of the planet by the seams of the World Shells. A rune that will call forth great power and grant the Gift.

Does the everlasting communion of the legacy means communication with the dead?
Possibly.
I'd like to say goodbye to my father...

What exactly is Kyra's Mirror?
An ancient relic. Dogo fashioned it and Kyra used it to reflect light towards the sky, where it created the stars of the heavens. Marduk followed the brightest to Gemma's hidden fortress, where he marshaled the Armies of the Seven Winds and rescued Kyra and the world from damnation.

Where can I look for Marduk's ancient City?
Babylon on Shell 4, where now rests the World Bazaar. Search there.

Why must we not commit any acts of violence inside Marduk's Inner Temple?
The spirits in the city are very restless. They guard the ruins and protect the treasures hidden within. But inside the Temple, Marduk proclaimed it sacrilegious to commit violence. We must do as the ancients suggest, and heed the ways of the spirits.

When will Doskias attempt his next Shell movement?
Soon. The world quickly runs out of time, and if we cannot stop Doskias, thousands will die. Kyra's Mirror shall provide you the key in your search...

So. We need the Mirror. Before we go searching for it, however, let's take a little side trip to Shell 4.



As usual, after a momentous event, the shops have been upgraded. I pick up stronger, lighter armour for the whole party, along with a Turbine for Maya and a ForceTurbine for Grubb. (Led misses out on weapon upgrades because at present the Core bonus from the CoreWrench is more important than the damage upgrade the ShellWrench would give).



If you missed the Sphere module while in Buried Jinam, you don't need to go back there to get it - you can buy it at the Shell 4 docks.



While restocking on healing items, I ran into the NPC who was meant to tell us how to cure mold sickness, lo these many updates ago.

Do you know how to cure the sickness of the Mold Forest?
Sure. You'll need several ingredients that I don't have...First, a healing plant which only grows near Pranno, on the Sixth Shell. Then a piece of Helgak bone, and third a mortar and pestle, which you can buy from my shop.
What do I do with all of that?
Mix it up and give it to the patient.



Next stop: Shell 5. Why? You may recall that when we were first on Shell 6, we heard that Connor is obsessed with Kyra, and is even rumoured to have the frame of Kyra's Mirror. And since we wrecked his shit on Shell 6, he's relocated to Shell 5 and set up shop in the ruins of Ankara.



Our first stop is this guy in the town of Gregor.

Has this town felt the influence of Connor's pirates?
Connor? I'm afraid he'll destroy this town to get at me.

Why does Connor seek you?
I escaped from Connor's dungeons, under the Ankaran Capitol...he rules the shell from the old prison there. I stole a key to the place. It'll unlock the prison, if you can find a way in through the old subway access tunnels under the ground.



He hands us an Ankaran Subway Key. Off to the tunnels we go!



There's a sort of easter egg here. These are the same tunnels we used to get to the Ankaran Lab the first time around. This time, however, if we go exploring...



...we get ambushed by cyborg pirates.



Which is the perfect opportunity to test out the last card in the game - Dogo's Madness. Alisa dropped it last update.







Yep. The damage isn't so great, but it reliably inflicts Poison, Berserk, Curse, Stun, and (although it doesn't show it) Slow on anything it hits. Even once Stun wears off, the enemies will turn on each other under the influence of Berserk - and weaker enemies will often just die of poison without ever waking up.



Like so.



Our goal is the locked door at the end of the tunnel.



It lets us into a small area with two more exits, and two locked doors - red and blue. And one of those exits lets us into...



...hell.



The good(?) news is that all of the loot here is shit, so there's no reason to go exploring - we can ignore most of those rooms entirely.



Lever, door, hallway, you know the drill by now.



And a complete circuit of the level later, we have what we came for. But we're not done here yet.



Near the center of the map is this device.

It's a standard Ankaran P2000 Main Frame. Stand back.

She fiddles with it for a bit, and...

I reactivated some power systems.

This will be very useful in a bit.



The other exit from the hub leads to a different, but no less unpleasant, area.




And hey just like that we're back in the hub with both keys!



I'm here for Kyra's mirror, Connor. Hand it over or I'll take it by force!
Come and get it!



Connor has gotten a bit of an upgrade since last time. He'll use that attack constantly and can burn through your party very quickly. His two companions have a fondness for core-stealing attacks and casting Barrier, which doesn't make the fight go any faster.



That's why they're the first to fall. Even the barriered one takes upwards of 800 damage. Connor, meanwhile, takes less than 200. He doesn't have a lot of health compared to recent bosses - about 800 - but his heavy armour means this can be a very drawn-out fight.

But what's that glowing on the wall behind him?



It's the switch for the electric chair. If you didn't have Led or Grubb turn the power back on earlier, this does nothing. But if you did...



...the fight goes a lot faster.




Led does the honors. Connor explodes, then manages to drag himself to safety before we can finish him off. Oh well, I'm sure we won't be seeing him again.





With what?
The mirror was originally forged with the material of the Core itself, coupled with the silvery blood of the earth...Doric Ore.
Who can help me restore it?
Perhaps someone who works with Doric Ore and Corite.



To shell 7!



Badu exposed this ore seam ages ago when we passed through the mountains, and with the pickaxe we got last time we talked to the hermit, we can mine it out.

It's a reflective Ore. Almost like processed silver.



And speaking of the Hermit, he can probably help us!

Hmm. You could make a new mirror out of this.
Can you help me?
I could carve the mirror into the right shape! But I can't create the mirror itself. The Underlost work with silvers and Corite together. Perhaps they can help.



Before we can ask him to combine the ore and the lens, we need to show him the mirror frame - just asking him about Kyra's Mirror isn't enough.

Frame of Kyra's Mirror! Very impressive! Created lights in sky. Made of Doric Ore and Core Lens!
Doric Ore?
Silvery Ore in ground. Underlost can sense it. It combine with Core Lens real good! I can make surface for you. Just need right stuff!

We hand over the bits.

You have piece of Core! Now need Doric Ore. I will combine the two. Remain here!

Take this and fix Mirror.
How?
You must find someone can carve surface in right shape.



Can you carve this into a Mirror Surface to match this frame?
Sure, I can use that Diamond Wheel ya gave me!
Thanks!




Kyra's Mirror is restored.



Next time: we visit the Lost City of Babylon and recover the Daemon Swords. Who will come along? The swords are intended for Corgan and Selina, but there's no requirement that they be the ones who retrieve them.