Part 78: Update LX-2 - Ending I: Good / Hard, Part II

Update LX-2 - Ending I: Good / Hard, Part II



♪ BGM: Back To The Old World - Zuruck.MID ♫

Our old friend blood text drops back in.

DREAMS
WILL THEY EVER COME TRUE?
WISHES
WILL THEY EVER GET FULFILLED?
HOPES
POINTLESS?

Valnar, please wake up! Wake up...



You really did succeed, Valnar! Please wake up, and see for yourself! We still have so much ahead of us... together... forever...





the water retreated for many islands in its place. Asgar's world shifting had been completely undone. Through the power of that spell. But Valnar was trapped in some kind of trance...
Oh Valnar, I love you so much! Why won't you wake up? I need you...



Why can't you wake up? Why can't we just be happy again? I mean, we had so many dreams together. Please, I love you! Wake up!



♪ BGM: Mystery Of The Mind - magischerkristall.mid ♫

You damn piece of trash! Didn't I destroy you?
Destroy me? You can't simply destroy me! I am an invincible parasite of your thoughts. You may be able to weaken me, but I will always gain strength again, and I will get you back under my control slowly but surely!
...
Your speechlessness signifies your helplessness. And that is what you are... helpless. I'm going to control you. Sooner or later. Whether you want it or not!
NEVER! I am the master of my own thoughts! No one controls me!
What do you think you can do to me? You are a worm!
I'm going to defeat you! Even if it takes forever...
You fool. I am invincible.
We'll see about that.
When I'm done with you, I'm going to take care of your little girlfriend. Alaine will be mine. She had rejected me the last time! Perhaps the body of that Vincent was too unattractive. But in this body, she won't be able to resist me...
Don't you dare!
Her wonderful red hair... her impeccable feminine curves...
That's it, I'm going to kill you now!
Come, you worm! Feel my power!





♪ BGM: Back To The Old World - Zuruck.MID ♫

Without you, I'm never going be happy! I don't want to live without you!
Oh, Valnar... please, wake up already! I NEED YOU!

Alaine was keeping watch over Valnar's bed for weeks, but he continued to stay in his trance. His spirit was fighting relentlessly against the Shadow Wraith that wanted to control Valnar. But that battle never seemed to end... while Alaine's undead heart was crying for Valnar, her stomach was yearning for more and more blood. But Alaine didn't drink. She remained at Valnar's bed. She huddled against his chest.



shut...



We get the quick fading in and out of light - days are passing. Until...

But her vampiric body could no longer bear it. It demanded blood... Alaine became more and more like a raging, for blood lusting beast. She hated the world that had taken her beloved Valnar away from her. She hated everything and everyone...



Uh oh.



♪ BGM: O Fortuna - gothicintro.mid ♫





So, uh, Klennar isn't doing too well.



Alaine destroyed the whole village. Not a single human survived. Alaine quenched her maddening desire for blood. With every human she killed, she got the feeling she was getting revenge on everyone who she felt was responsible for her misfortune. But none of the people in Klennar were at fault for Valnar not being able to wake up. But they should be together once more. For all eternity. In the Crimson Realm...



I love you so much! Why can't we be happy together? WHY? Just why...



More and more flames start engulfing the house.

In a moment, we'll be together once again...



We then hear a rumbling sound as we fade to black.



♪ BGM: Bad Night Story - vamp9.mid ♫

Yes, as sad as it was. Valnar didn't wake up. And so Alaine saw only one way to get back together with Valnar...
And the reason why he didn't wake up was because of the Shadow Wraith that was still inside of Valnar?
Yes, he was constantly trying to take control of Valnar's body. And should he manage to accomplish that, he would be taking Alaine, as well. She was to become his possession.
So Vincent himself was never interested in Alaine, but only the Shadow Wraith.
Yes. And not only because she had red hair.
But Jayna was a vampire. Why didn't the Shadow Wraith in her simply switch over to another body?
Well, but then Jayna would have been free again. And she wouldn't necessarily have been on the Elras' side.
And the spell had really shifted the world back to the way it was?
Yes. The spell granted the wishes of whoever casted it. And Valnar wished for nothing more than finally being able to live in his old world again. However, the spell did not destroy the Shadow Wraith in Valnar. And so the battle between Valnar and the Shadow Wraith lasted forever, and that's why he couldn't wake up...
And the Shadow Wraith was also the reason why Jayna was able to attack Alaine?
Absolutely correct. Under the control of a Shadow Wraith, vampires have no restrictions imposed on them. Simply the best hosts...
What I didn't quite understand is the thing about the Blood Spirits. For example, why was Vincent's Blood Spirit in the Crimson Realm even though it had been absorbed by Asgar?
No, Blood Spirits can't just be absorbed like that. When a vampire dies, their Blood Spirit becomes visible in the real world for a short amount of time before it then disappears to the Crimson Realm. But during that short time when the Blood Spirit is in the real world, another vampire can absorb the energy of the Blood Spirit. While it does get weakened, the Blood Spirit then still disappears to the Crimson Realm, it's still being existent. It's not possible to absorb a Blood Spirit completely, but only its energy. The Blood Spirit will only get completely annihilated by using the device of the Elras, which forcibly tears the Blood Spirits out of the Crimson Realm. During that process, the last bit of remaining energy gets squeezed out of the Blood Spirits, and they disintegrate completely.
That it had to end that way... after all the things they accomplished...
The three of them really did accomplish a lot, even if all of the things they achieved in the "new" world got rendered moot because of the world shifting...



♪ BGM: The Things They Accomplished - Questenden.mid ♫

Thanks to the help of Valnar, Asgar and Alaine, the shepherd was once again able to breed his sheep in peace. And he did that with an overwhelming success. He quickly became the biggest provider for sheep's wool and meat, and was therefore able to build a small empire... the money he earned through that was in big parts used for the "Magical Desire"...



After our heroes were able to make the baby stop crying, his father was finally no longer stressed, and he was able to take more care of his beloved wife, which led to the fact that they went from one baby to one more. And so the whole story began anew all over again...



Since no one wanted to help the young lady from Syrahs, and since she suffered a quick death by Valnar's hands, the opposition of the town Syrahs against Stan had also dissolved quickly. Stan was the only coffin vendor in the world, and thanks to his accumulated riches, he was able to build a small mansion. Of course in the shape of a coffin...

I contend that this is the best ending for this quest.



Since the parents of the little boy from Mirana weren't watching when he was playing with his Bugus Beetle, they didn't notice that something was wrong with the boy...
Well, little bug? Do you want to play with me? Yes, come here, little bug...



OUCH! THE BUG BIT ME!

I... feel so... weird...



...





Since the baker from Mirana was rotting in prison, his two assistants took over the production of the "special bread". But as fate had wanted it, one smart detective got on their track, and so they spent the rest of their lives in the prison of Rynik... their joy from the reunion with the baker Gerum knew no limits, however...

This part doesn't account for me busting the baker out of prison.



After Valnar helped the young man Collin from Mirana find out what kind of flowers his pen friend from Ildan liked the most, he gathered the courage and visited her in Ildan. Both were in love with each other from the very first moment, and so there was soon one baby more in the world...

Oh, how I eternally love you, Collin!
My heart is jumping from joy! I never want to be separated from you ever again!
You knew what my favorite kind of flowers are. Our love must be fate!



After the great success of capturing the baker Gerum and his shrooms baking goods, Detective Denton became the most known detective in the world. Many, many criminals were shaking when they heard his name...



The wedding anniversary of Jessy and her husband became a huge success thanks to the help of Valnar, Asgar and Alaine. Gonor liked the picture so much that he took his beloved Jessy with him on a big world trip. Both of them lived happily together until the end of their days...



Since Valnar ensured that Tremon from Jhalum didn't lose his money through a bet about a pink rabbit, he was able to use the money in a more reasonable fashion. And so he betted it little by little on bets about colored dogs, yellow sheep, and green dogs...



It may sound unbelievable, but the little Sarah from Jhalum might have gotten back her hair clip thanks to Valnar; however, she was now searching desperately for her left earring. Life can be really rough...



Since Valnar had taken care of the corpse in the swamp, Isbalim from Mesdor was no longer able to find anything, and he gave up treasure hunting, to the delight of his wife. Both of them lived far more happily together from now on...



After Valnar had acquired a medicinal recipe against mental debility of old age for Janosch from Mesdor, he and his mother could once again live happily until the end of days...



After the dreaded pirate Miboslash had been taken out by Valnar and his companions, there was no longer any real threat to Mesdor left. Encouraged by the victory over Miboslash, the mayor Elias declared war on the thieves of Mesdor. With success...



Thanks to the topaz from Valnar, the little Anastasia from Erena had the opportunity to receive the blessing of Ustra. She was already looking forward to her full body shaving...



After Valnar had successfully committed a murder for Malos from Erena, he instructed people to kill everyone who defiled the name of Pharaoh Ustra on a regular basis from then on. And so it was not a surprise that there were fewer and fewer critics of Ustra...



With the recipe that Valnar had brought to the good woman Akalena, she was able to make a splendid feast for the blessing of her daughter. And so the little Anastasia had been blessed, and therefore she became a full-fledged citizen of Erena.



Since Valnar helped the good detective Eron from Ordun to solve the problem with the werewolves, he was able to chalk up the success for himself. Apart from a hefty raise in his salary, he also received a statue of himself from the town Ordun. In memory of the great accomplishments by Detective Eron...



After the victory of Valnar over the undead of the cemetery, Pastor Joseph was celebrated as a great hero, and received a lifesize statue in his honor, which had been gracing the church in Ordun ever since...



Fina from Ordun was now able to confront her husband once again after Valnar had taken the wallet to her. From the money, the first thing they bought was a big arsenal of weapons.



Molly from Ildan could still not believe her luck to this day. A group of strangers had given her the wonderful amulet from the toy store. However, her husband was very soon wondering where she got the money for such an expensive amulet. When she tried to explain to him that a group of strangers had gifted her the amulet, there was a huge argument. Her husband claimed that was the stupidest lie that he had ever heard, and he cut out any housekeeping allowance for his wife...



There was a happy ending for Marry and Karos from Ildan, whom Valnar, Asgar and Alaine had helped to get back together. They were having big plans for their future and were happy as they haven't been in a long time...



The last surviving soldier at the outpost northeast of Ildan fought bravely against death. He knew he got his revenge, since Valnar and his companions wiped out all the monsters. That knowledge gave him strength, and so, despite of his severe injuries, he carried himself all the way to Ildan, where he had been treated barely but sufficiently. He swore to never fight again...



Marlen from Genos went off together with her father to search for the shrines. She did find out the positions from Valnar, but to be able to actually find the shrines wasn't easy for her. When her father also started to annoy her with telling her that he had the right to use the shrines first because he was her father, Marlen decided to push him into the Fire Shrine at a convenient moment. She didn't receive any power from the shrine of fire because of that, however. But at the very least, her headache was finally gone...



Dr. Lerd and his wife continued to have a very difficult marriage. He was proving to visitors how stupid and dumb they were, and his wife was cooking all day. His wife hated him because he was constantly correcting her when they talked. And so she wished every night that one day some stranger would appear and free her from her husband.



After her beloved Blood Rose had found a quick end by Valnar's blade, Morgana Tar from Genos was searching for a new mysterious and dangerous plant that she could talk with all day. But her new precious one had even more of an appetite than her Blood Rose. And so there was another example for the fact that you should always keep your hands away from blood drinking plants, and that people had no idea how to "donate" their own blood in a safe way...



There was a miracle in the Christmas town Zilahs. Tiny Tim got well once again thanks to the help of Valnar, Asgar and Alaine! His family thanked God incessantly for sending our heroes to them. As gratitude, they renamed the Christmas festival to "Festival of the Angels sent". To me, that was the kindest thing that Valnar had ever done...



Head chef Bruno from Ghardon became the most famous chef in the world thanks to his Sasoux de Prux. Customers from all around the world came to the restaurant "To The Windy Mill" just to get a taste of that delicacy. There was only one problem remaining. Head chef Bruno was slowly but surely running out of delivery boys...



The thief Darkking from Ghardon, whom Valnar had given the dagger, was henceforth able to make life very nice for himself. He had found a buyer for the dagger who was willing to pay almost 1 million Filar for it. Ever since then, Darkking had been a regular at the "Magical Desire"...



Mayor Feyn from Ghardon was hailed as a hero after she took care of the problem with the lizards in the crystal mine. She became the most popular person in town, and she was popular everywhere. The entire town of Ghardon was proud of its strong mayor, who took very good care of the needs of the people...



The people in the camp continued to fight for their lives and their new existence. Slowly, they were building the first new house and founded a new village. Olaron had found his daughter thanks to the help of Valnar, Asgar and Alaine, and so there was at least some glimmer of hope and joy during difficult times like those...



♪ BGM: Silence ♫

Valnar and Alaine...





Fade to white.

Yup, Marlex fucking Romeo and Juilet'd us. God damn. And with that, it's time for the final ending sequence.



♪ BGM: The Show Must Go On - showmust.mid ♫

Yes, that is a MIDI version of Queen's The Show Must Go On. I honestly can't say it doesn't fit! Anyway, the final sequence shows us some art of the characters and some extra credits. Instead of going with that, I'll show you the source files for the art and type out the credits.



A BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED ME



ESPECIALLY TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE I HAVEN'T MENTIONED YET

ARIAN
PSYCHOSKULL
ORCA



CLOUDI
FÜRST DRACUL
NEVER SLEEPER



CHRONO MOGGLE
MARC PISCHKE
JULIA MOOS



FUBU
SKYDEA
DORINA FISCHBACH

MY BRAVE MODERATORS



AND ALL THE AMAZING BETA TESTERS









♪ BGM: Bad Night Story - vamp9.mid ♫

I hope you liked it. I believe that was a worthy ending to my little story about Valnar, Asgar and Alaine...
That really was an extremely gripping story, Grandpa! Thank you for telling me this story. I'm not going to forget about it anytime soon.
And now, sleep, Simon. Perhaps I will tell the story again tomorrow, with a different ending.
That would be great, Grandpa!
You really are a good boy, Simon. By the way, you've grown up pretty big!
GRANDPA!
What, uh, yes, I need to get some rest now, as well. Telling stories is pretty damn exhausting.
Good night, Grandpa.
Good night, Simon.



Ominous.



Perhaps this will motivate you to play through the game on a different difficulty level. Because this game has six fundamentally different endings, depending on which difficulty level you selected, as well as on whether you have been a "good" vampire, or an "evil" vampire. In any case, thank you for playing. I would be happy if you could write me a mail and send it to "marlex *at* vampiresdawn.de", and tell me how you liked this game.

Oh, shit, I completely forgot about that!

And feel free to visit "www.vampiresdawn.de"; you can find a lot of information for VD 1&2 there, as well as for my future games...

You will also find screenshots for VD3 there. Yes, VD3 is in development. I didn't mention this before because I wanted to completely finish the story before telling you. Development has been slow but relatively steady, with the last development post being made in April 2018, and a demo as well as a crowdfunding campaign being announced for "Summer 2018". I had hoped that this would have happened by the time we get this far, but alas. Note that the "about" page for VD3 will technically spoil one of the endings we have yet to see, but I guess if you're going to go so far as to translate the page with an online translator or something, then be spoiled, I suppose. There's also a prototype for VD3 available that I haven't looked at yet - I might end up throwing that into this LP as well, I mean, might as well, right?

Anyway, after this, we are dumped back to the beginning of the game, with the difficulty selection. But we're of course going to avoid having to replay the game again and instead bust out my old companion, the Magical Orb of Ending Setting-ness. But before that, a bit of my opinion on this ending.

I really like this ending. If it wasn't for that stupid stinger at the end with Valnar waking up, I think it would have been a perfect way to cap off the series. The entire series has been about the tightrope walk between vampiric monstrosity and holding on to that last bit of humanity you have, and it culminates in Alaine holding on to her humanity and her love for Valnar so hard her monstrosity completely takes over and becomes her undoing. You can't reject your nature. It's not exactly high literature, but it's good enough.

And with that, before I leave to record the other five endings, I have two questions to pose to you, the thread:

1) What questions should I send to Marlex?

I'll admit, I completely forgot I was wanting to do this at one point, and only just now remembered. I have a few questions of my own, but opening it up to the thread seems like a good idea. Try to find questions that really only the creator of the game could answer.

2) What should I cover on Behind The Fangs?

After finishing up with the five other endings, I want to bring back Behind The Fangs for one more series. Now, I have one thing I want to do of my own - and that's the entirety of the castle battle system. It's so massive, it simply has to be broken down and explained. But is there anything else you want me to take apart and peer at?

Speak now, or forever hold your peace.