Part 10: Update X - Vampires: Actually Kind Of Evil

Update X - Vampires: Actually Kind Of Evil



♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫

...alright. So, after some cleansing shouting and a bit of a break (and some more failed attempts), we finally make it to the Magic Chamber. What could possibly await us there?



As a sidenote, I appreciate the Magic Chamber at least looking the same as it did before.

head!
The souls of the ones who were trapped here are still screaming! It seems they will never find salvation.
Hey, someone's standing over there! It couldn't be...





I've already been expecting you! You have avoided my little guards quite skillfully... I am proud of you.

Uh. Yeah. Skillfully. Yep. That's what that was. I didn't just repeatedly slam my head into a wall back there. Also, Jayna really seems to have taken to being a vampire. She's sounding like she's been at this for years, she's a natural!

Jayna, what's this all about? Give us the book and come with us!
Not so fast... I don't have the book with me.
So that means you did have it! Why, Jayna, why did you steal it and come here to this place with it? This place is cursed!
Cursed? I haven't noticed anything like that.
Where is the book now? Jayna, the book is very powerful! You must not play with it!
...come, I will show you where the book is! And don't worry... as long as I'm with you, the skeletons won't haul you outside!
Jayna, that wasn't very smart of you! But for now, we're going to take the book. We will talk about this at home!
The book is on top of the middle tower. You can only get there from the southern roof! So we should take the stairs leading to the roof!



And with that, Jayna joins our party!



...

I wonder where she got those from...



Of course, this area has secrets to find, as well. Now, off we go to the middle tower.



...

You know, call me suspicious, but I don't think Jayna is making strides in this whole "being nice" thing.



Anyway, without much to impede us, we just hustle on to the middle tower.



Of course, there are also secrets here.





♪ BGM: Silence ♫

Asgar!



the traitor!
Traitor? YOU wanted to destroy the world! We had to stop you!
YOU WERE MINE! MIIIIIIINEEE! But you chose this damn friend of humanity!
Valnar has sanity! Something you never possessed!

Anyone else getting some deja vu here?

Oh, how cute. Do you have to defend weak vampires now, too?
Stop it, Asgar!
You are still the worm you were back then, Valnar!
And you are still the insane psycho from back then!
Ah, who is it I see there? Come here, my DAUGHTER!
Jayna?
What is the meaning of this, Jayna?



Damn it, Jayna! What have you done? You turned him back into a vampire! He should have been suffering as a Blood Spirit for all eternity!
Oh, Valnar. Now don't be so embittered. Undead life has returned to me once more! And new, unimaginable power flows through my body!
He's gotten even MORE insane!

♪ BGM: Megalomania - Laughter2.mid ♫

POWER! Endless power! And you, Morlon, SLEEP!
Who is this lunatic talking to?
I will show you an example of my limitless power!
The world... is ours!
He's losing it completely!
So it shall be! But don't worry, you are allowed to watch the spectacle as well!
Your pitiful powers I will take from you... you will be NOTHING!



You know, I'd like to GIF some of this stuff, but alas, the fog makes it impossible to get any decent compression on the image.

HAR HAR HAR! You WORMS!





There seems to be some sort of power stealing thing going on here.

And now, I want you to have fun! Enjoy it! It will be the last you'll ever see in your pathetic existence...



There are also a fair share of evil laughs interspersed into this dialogue.



And with that, Valnar and Alaine are whisked away.

And now, my daughter, shall we let the game begin?
Of course, Father...
A new age begins now!





More blood text.

WHEN A VAMPIRE
HAS THE POWER
OF A GOD?



Asgar seems to be casting some serious magic shit.



♪ BGM: Silence ♫

And with that, we cut to where Valnar and Alaine were sent.



Of course, they can't just be left on a slight hill that they could easily get off from.



Basically, they go very, very high.



♪ BGM: O Fortuna - gothicintro.mid ♫

I greatly appreciate it every time a dramatic scene in a game like this is accompanied by MIDI O Fortuna. There's a certain charm that goes along with MIDIs like this, with their kind of shoddy sound. This happened in Unterwegs in Düsterburg, too - when we investigate the dining room at Rabenstein after shit went down, O Fortuna kicks in there as well. Probably the exact same MIDI, too.



We see some meteors flying by...



...and these meteors decide that Earth seems like a happening vacation spot this time of year.



We cut to some really nice pixel art that is probably stolen from somewhere...

EDIT: Thread to the rescue!






..and the meteors decide to take a trip there, completely messing the place up. This game is actually a damning indictment of German tourist culture.



And Valnar and Alaine can only watch.

Where did he get so much power?
How could Jayna have revived Asgar?
Is this the end of the world?
ASGAR...
JAYNA...



We cut to Thyrik...



...and it immediately becomes a much less desirable place to live in, complete with MS Paint crack running through the middle.



...something happens to the world. This looks like it gets covered in ice.



Are these really the last moments of our life?
If they are, then I want to hold you in my arms for one last time, Alaine...
Oh, Valnar...



I love you, Valnar!





♪ BGM: Silence ♫



We get some rapid red flashes mixed in with the sound of a beating heart, and then...





Wake up! Now!
Uhhhh...
Ufff... what happened?
Stand up, and I will explain.
My goodness... everything is spinning... Valnar, are you all right?
...not really...



I have saved you. But that's not important right now.
WHO are you? Why did you do that for us?
Listen to me. The world has changed. Asgar didn't want to destroy it. He accomplished something I had deemed impossible. The world has shifted.
What do you mean, "shifted"?
The world doesn't exist anymore. At least not in the way you have known it. Asgar has fused the present with the past.
What did you say?
We are in the present, but it is the world from many thousand years ago. Asgar destroyed the surface and realigned it in a way so that it would be the same as it was during the age of the Elras Mages. Almost all towns were destroyed, and ancient cities exist once more. And so do the 9 castles.
Hold up. All towns got destroyed? What about the people?
It seems it is random who still exists and who doesn't. People of the present are dead, people of the past are alive. At least more or less. Whoever is still alive must be just as confused as you are. But it appears that people from the ancient times didn't notice any changes. As if they had never died.
How is such a thing possible? What power does Asgar possess? And from where?
I... do not know.

So you know, and just aren't telling. Good to know.

But what you should know is the role of the 9 castles.
And that would be what?
Listen. Many thousand years ago, there were the Elras Mages. A secret union of power-hungry mages who conducted the most brutal experiments, and who were always striving for the ultimate power. Then, there was also Pharaoh Ustra. A... benevolent ruler of a desert nation who opposed the power of the Elras Mages.

So he's not actually benevolent. I think I'm starting to work out how ellipses work.

He wanted to prevent the Elras from conducting their disgusting experiments. There was also the Clan of Holy Warriors. A clan dedicated to destroying all evil that plagued the world. The clan consisted of warriors and priests and also had remarkable numbers. Over time, they built 9 castles as the headquarters of their clan, so they could control and destroy all the evil in the world. Below each of the castles lies a deep catacomb, which were used by the priests of the Clan to store a very powerful spell. Only those who have control of all the 9 stone fragments will be able to utilize that spell.
9 stone fragments? What kind of spell could it be that they're protected so well?
I do not know. But undoubtedly, it must be so powerful that under no circumstances can it ever reach the hands of the Elras Mages.
And so?
The Elras desired that spell, but before they could get their hands on it, there was a great battle between them and Pharaoh Ustra. Neither of them survived. Time went on, and life continued. Over the course of the next centuries, the power of the Clan of Holy Warriors diminished, and their castles turned into ruins. Until they were nothing more than a bunch of scattered bricks. But now, Asgar has brought back those castles.
He couldn't be after the spell hidden below the castles, could he?
We have to stop him! Apparently, he didn't have the power yet to destroy the world completely, but to change it instead. If very drastically. Who knows what kind of power he will possess with that spell?
I see that you understand the gravity of our situation. I have to leave you now and observe the situation. I advise you to find out as much as possible about the Elras Mages, Pharaoh Ustra, and the Clan of Holy Warriors. Maybe then you can find a way to stop Asgar...
Hey, wait...



And he's off.

Gone...
Uh, Alaine... do you also feel so... weak?
I... I don't remember a single spell anymore... Valnar, what did we get ourselves into? Just what happened? 9 castles, a clan, the Elras, and Pharaoh Ustra... then there's also that strange being that saved us, apparently, but who knows more than he wants to tell us...
Very suspect, this whole thing. What has gotten into Asgar? And into Jayna?
We'd better get an idea of what's happening on our own. And we should think carefully about WHO we can trust, and who not.

And thus, we have our plot. We have to find the 9 stone tablets, even though we don't know what's on them, mainly because we're pretty sure it's going to fuck our shit up royally should it fall into somebody else's hands. And basically, we don't have a god damn clue what's going on. Works for me!