Ohhh... Library Battle SIMULATION: Let's Play Library of Ruina

[TeeQueue]

Appendix 34: Xiao

Director Xiao liked to emphasize something: “A mercenary’s work is to deceive; to fool the enemy into believing that we are advancing when we defend; to make the enemy believe we will thrust from the front when we strike from above. Feign submission when you raise your claws; we must seem unable when able to attack, that the enemy may grow arrogant. When the enemy is roused, distract them through disturbance; be aware that we ourselves are not subject to such anger. In order to defeat the enemy, we must be roused to anger; to remember that one’s emotions must remain a means to motivate the body and not the ends, and to exploit the enemy’s wrath with this in mind.” Our director may be seized with anger and momentarily stray onto inadvisable paths sometimes, but even the whitest jade has a flaw; I trust her to set herself back on the right track in no time.

I was in no way a soft person, though I don’t view myself as particularly tough or rugged, either. A straight and honest person. Accusations would be brought against me for being unmoved by the death of any person however close they may have been in life, a point not everyone would see as criticism. How could a person be so cold and heartless, even if the basic bearing of a Fixer is to look after oneself first and foremost? At first, I spent much time thinking over it, and asked myself many questions. Xiao as a person valued the lives of her colleagues, although her position forced her to keep her farewell to deceased teammates short, since carrying out her duty and emerging victorious came first. Shedding fewer drops of tears than the number of fallen was all the tribute I could pay. Bawling my eyes out would have stirred uneasiness in my colleagues. In the early days, the responsibility sometimes felt too heavy and burdensome.

I had never once thought that my method was incorrect; I believed it to be the best method for myself, and I deemed that problems couldn’t be solved any other way. Most Fixers will probably think in the same way. Therefore, I could not understand the manners of Lowell, the newly appointed Section 2 Director at the time. A person who tries to look after everyone, and doesn’t hide his grief-stricken face when a coworker passes away. It seemed clear as crystal that his tenderness would one day lead his team to death, yet he was faring better than I thought. A polar opposite to me. The ways I wanted to pursue but gave up because I was faced with my limitations. It might have upset me for a moment. A principle I could not follow, for I was not allowed to openly express sadness over the death of the few in order to protect the many; and my obligation to seize any chance of victory compelled me to march forward if there was something to count on. My capability wasn’t vast enough to embrace every member of the team. Was my choice wrong? What did he have that I did not? Looking back, I don’t think what I felt was envy or jealousy. The indignation certainly was not a toxic emotion. I’m sure each of us had different specialties.

It is said that people intersect with one another in some manner. I don’t think the process to be natural at all; I was not a believer of fateful meetings. After all, two parallel roads could never cross. A relationship begins with a desire to know. Simple curiosity. To know more about a person, or to go further and see what they are seeing together. People open up new roads to merge into the roads of others for various reasons.

I thought I would never care about him since he was so different from me, but my expectations weren’t quite right. I wanted to learn more about him, and I wanted to know what this emotion I felt was. And I thought I could perhaps become a better person if I saw what he was seeing together. If there’s one thing I realized, it’s that relationships between people always start from such small curiosity.

Taking in what I have said so far, you would think that this is such a peculiar and untruthful love. You might think it’s fussy. I cannot give out a clear answer, for I can’t dare define what love is. What could I say or add about an emotion I felt for the first time, one that I am still struggling to figure out? Furthermore, every person carries a different form of love. There will undoubtedly be some people who don’t place much importance on that emotion. You might even think that such emotion is absolutely useless in this City. Even if I were to define my love, this wouldn’t come across as a sweet story if you cannot understand it.

However, I can be certain that my sentiment towards Lowell was sincere. The so-called curiosity and sympathy… They bring about attention, admiration, and a little bit of obsession. I learned soon enough that this isn’t much different from what people call “love”. It may not have been something out of a fairy tale or a drama, but we still cherished each other in our little relationship. Perhaps I had been under the impression that love is a concept that is utterly distant from me. The love that I came into was cramped, yet big… and it felt burdensome at times.

You said I am strong, but the truth is that I was weak and fainthearted until the very last time I faced you. I have only grown so ironclad after I lost you. Why did I miss everything while you were still by my side? Why do I spend the whole night longing for you and regretting only after you have parted from me? I do have one regret regarding you: that I could not trust my feelings for you. That I was too afraid to tell you that you’re my everything the night before you left me.

Moments of loneliness will come as I live. It won’t be a thirsty longing for love, however. It is when I look to my side, yet there is no one next to me; when I am worn out from running somewhere; when I feel that my heart grows heavy rather than painful. Trying new things might let me forget it for a moment, but the memories will still follow me for life. When I feel such things, I can go back to familiarity. A familiar place, a familiar mind, a familiar person. And I plan to reunite with you soon. I want to tell you that I no longer have shame for the path I’ve chosen, and that I have finally freed myself from the guilt.

[TeeQueue]

The thread has spoken! We're following up on the far-left node next, to take care of our Prescript.

[Syrelian]

Xiao isn't actually immune to Burn I'm pretty sure, her passives say she halves all non-Burn ailments, and takes no Burn DAMAGE, she just also apparently has no ways to actually self-inflict Burn, so her getting the bonus from Chi Wen is entirely on your own head for thinking to bring fire to the flames

Jiao Tu looks like it could be an interesting Page to use at times, a wholly Counter die filled page has some useful and unique quirks I suspect

[TeeQueue]

Book 43: Index Proxies—Chapter 1

Music: Lobby


You know… it's kind of funny how the Thumb was the very first fight we did way back at the start of Star of the City, but it's only now that we're following up on this branch.

Anyways, let's see what's happened since we murdered the underboss of the Thumb.

VIDEO
Music: StorySimgak


One hundred and ninety-three.

Would you please stay still~!



Don’t act like it’s anything new, this isn’t even the first time we’ve had a quarrel with the Thumb~ Your boss isn’t gonna make a big deal out of this, y’know~?

“Remove the limbs of all Thumb personnel still remaining in the Nest. And hang their bodies on skewers…” We’re simply carrying out our Prescript. No personal feelings are involved in this process.



Isn’t that how everyone in the City lives? We’re all fundamentally the same, aside from the variation in methods.

Music: StoryJinji


…We only have one Prescript left to carry out now.

It’s quite a magnificent sight to see those limbless bodies make futile struggles with their fading consciousnesses.

That makes the Index the last Finger standing in L Corp’s Nest.

The only other obstacles remaining are the beasts of R Corp, and the Blue Reverberation.

All hail the Prescript~ I love how it always leads us to blissful places~

Prescripts are just meant to be followed. It’s not a good idea to give extra meaning or have any sentiment for them…

Some big mouth you have, Mister Messenger~?



If it weren’t for the Prescripts, you might not have gotten any treatment, let alone lived~?

I still don’t thank the Prescripts or anything.

…That’s just them being carried out.

The Messenger is correct. Prescripts are to be fulfilled—it’s as simple as that. Messenger Yan demonstrated it well through his past actions.

Music: StoryNervous


The Blue Reverberation…

I don’t believe we’re mutually hospitable enough to be having chats in such close proximity, now?

Hum, friends, no need to be so wary. I’m here to ask you a favor, Proxy Esther.

I was wondering if I could take those heaps of flesh on the skewers you prepared.

It looks like you’re done with your Prescript anyway. It never told you to keep them hanging forever, no?

Yet it did not tell us to bring them down.

It’s up to you to interpret the messages, so I’m personally asking you, Proxy friends.

This is tough~ What do we do~? I really don’t wanna let him get away with what he wants, but there’s no good reason to refuse~



We only need to see to it that the Prescripts are fulfilled one after another. There is no need to cause unnecessary conflict.

That’s a clear explanation.

Good wisdom as always. I’m glad we won’t have to see each other’s guts today.

It’s always a delight to talk with Proxies, you see. They have a similar scent as mine… Mmh, you know, I’d love to recruit maybe one of you to my ensemble.

I have no interest in learning what you’re trying to do, and I suggest you cut your antics short while you still can.

Is that so? I’m sure you’d like it once you heard it…

Anyway… We’d better take them while they’re fresh, right? I’m counting on you.



Pah, you’re right. He always dumps the tedious chores on us.



I know! This’ll make a perfect treat if I spread a mix of soy sauce and ground garlic on this and then grill it! What do you say, mixer face?

NEIIIGH~! BARK!! NEIGH!!!

Some appetite you’ve got there. They did a good job of chopping the meat into nice chunks, I’ll give them that; but the meat itself isn’t very high quality.

Easy, friends. We need them for other things. As long as you carry them all in mint condition… I’ll let you have two or three, maybe.

Of course, that’s up to Jae-heon to decide, though.

No worries! He’ll definitely allow it when I tell him that I’m gonna make mind-blowing cuisine out of it! Oh, he’ll have to! Hawhaw!!

Guess we’re having a barbecue party for the first time in a long while.

You’re being quite loud for someone keeping others waiting.

Sorry about that. We get along much too well with each other, as you can see~



Really, is that what you think? I beg to differ… Methinks the little animal friends from R Corp. are the only ones you’ll get to gut, rather?

Music: StorySimgak


There’s no need to pay him much attention unless the Prescript commands us to. …Messenger Yan. Is the next Prescript prepared?

Sure. Here you are.

Let me guess, it says “Esther, Gloria, Hubert, and the Proselytes under them shall head to the Library.” …Am I correct?

Mm? The Library~? Guess we’re going there ourselves, after all~

…How did you know that?

You look surprised, Messenger Yan.



What~? I was the only one being fooled?!

…Since when did you notice?

That matters little.

If you knew the Prescripts were fake, then why did you still declare war against the Thumb… And why are you about to dig your own grave by going into the Library?

I simply followed the Prescript.

It commanded me to “Carry out every Prescript delivered by Messenger Yan.”

…So the Prescripts knew, then. Just how much do they know, really…?

We cannot escape from the Prescripts. Every thought and action of ours is within the boundaries of Prescripts.

I don’t understand! But Yan’s been a good boy, fulfilling many Prescripts throughout his life? Yan~ Why’d you betray us! Was it for money?!

……

Gloria, there is no such thing as betrayal in our vocabulary. All that matters is whether or not one has carried out their Prescripts.

Hah…



I’ve lost so many things, abandoned and neglected so much because of the Prescripts.

I lost my family, killed my friends with my own two hands, stole precious things from people and looked the other way…

I was ridden with guilt, but I forced myself to do it anyway. Because the Prescripts must be carried out!

The Prescripts… guide us to the right path, they said. But have they really led me along the right path?

I resented Prescripts; I feared them; I loathed them; I didn’t even want to look at them again; And then… a Prescript gave me the role of the Messenger. Delivering Prescripts… with my own hands? So I began making fake Prescripts. I thought I was showing my will for the first time with that act…

But then the Prescripts do this, as if they knew everything already…

Tell me, Esther. Was this… not done out of my own will all along?



It’s our obligation to follow the Prescripts. And the Prescript now tells us to head to the Library.

And ask yourself this: Does free will truly exist in this City?

Proxies. We shall go to the Library this instant.

You don’t even have an invitation, though.

I’ve already received one.

…

But how. The order to head to the Library was just a lie I made up…

Messenger Yan. The Prescript has invited you to a certain place.

The Prescript… invited me?

Are you guys actually going to the Library, then?

As the Prescript orders.

I guess you would’ve said the same even if I brought you a Prescript telling you to die on the spot.

We move according to the Prescripts at all times.

Music: Lobby


We’ll see soon enough. Although I’m not exactly thrilled to find out… By the way, Blue Sicko’s got more new members for his band of freaks, from the looks of it.

I’ve seen that wolfhead, but I… don’t think we’ve seen the other two before.

One of them seemed rather enthusiastic about cooking.

…Hmm.

Do you have any guesses?

Oh, it’s no big deal. I was just reminded of the stories I read the other day about the guests we received from District 23. That’s all.

Besides, we have the Proxies of the Index to deal with first.

The Index… A Finger that acts strictly based on Prescripts. It’s curious how he forged false Prescripts, but it looks like the Prescripts anticipated that as well.

Yeah. Whoever’s making those must be a genius at precalculations.



I imagine that the one who makes the Prescripts is quite an impressive individual.

Probably is. You gotta be a cut above the rest to be leading a Syndicate as colossal as a Finger.

That doesn’t make those Prescript-worshipping zealots any less insane, though.

…

Is anything wrong?

…Nothing, I was just having some thoughts for a moment.

Music: Entrance


Such unnecessary rowdiness.



Whaaa~? You’re a human~?

Is she? Seems rather ambiguous to me.

I don’t believe that’s relevant right now.

The director of the Library, also known as ‘The Pale Librarian’, was supposed to be a machine to my knowledge.

Perhaps we should update the knowledge base with this new information…

She’s a liger~ I’m surprised to see such an awkward freak still exist in the City~

…

Ooh, look at her, she’s razor sharp~ Are you getting mad~?

You are to overcome the ordeals in this place and fight for the rewards, dear guests. Please go through that door if you wish to enter.

…And you’re calmer than what the current information suggests.

Proxies. Our primary directive is to enter the Library as the Prescript dictates. Stop this quarrel and get on with it.

Mkay~

May you find your book in this place.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: The standard answer to late Star of the City fights.


Videos

Index Proxies 1








BOO! Muahahaha!



Ah! A tough audience. No worries, I'm here to inconvenience you another way. You see, I'm very good at noticing things that don't want to be noticed, and during that last fight…

I don't want to be part of your bit, Kit.

No worries, no worries, just one question and I'm gone!

…Fine.

From my understanding, your entire… thing is to survive. And yet, what you did in the last fight… Dying immediately, to make everyone else shine.

Ah, right. I guess that might make someone wonder what's up. Fine. I'll tell you the trick.

That easily?

The sooner you know, the sooner it's not interesting. So: I never forgot the truth of the Library.

Really! But isn't that cheating?!

Remembering would only affect my emotional state, which wouldn't matter given that I'd be gone before the fight really started. So, I got a waiver from the boss, did my job, and went back behind the curtain.

Aha… diabolical!

Right. Well, see you never, then.

Yes, yes, enjoy your obscurity~ I have work to do.

[TeeQueue]

Book 43: Index Proxies—Chapter 2

Music: GuestBattle01


Oho..! Just by putting it on, you can feel the raw emotion coursing through your entire body. The flames tickling the back of my mind… waiting to be unleashed with the right stimulus.

I like it.

Oh..? That was a nice speech just now.

It's the truth. Don't go taking away anything weird from it.

Tiphereth is going to be test-running Xiao for us today. Because Sturdy Defense is such a good counter to Will of the Prescript, she's running a pair of them for page draw today.



Outside of that everyone else is running things we've seen before. I actually forgot to retool Omni's deck after the Mizus' Punishing Bird fight, so there's a dead page in it. Shouldn't matter, since we're a fair bit ahead of this fight's power curve.



Two acts to deal with, the first one being five of the Index Proselytes.



The Proselytes have a handful more HP and different bonus passives, but overall they're the same enemy as always.

Remember not to go overboard, Tiphereth. This is as much a mission to gather information as it is to win.

Yeah, yeah… We need to investigate that thing, right?



Precisely. Not even Angela could fully determine the effects of Xiao's unique E.G.O. We'll be studying this fight to see what precisely it does.

Well, if it's you guys watching I can at least be sure you'll pay attention. I'll try not to kill them all too quickly, okay?



Music: TipherethBattle01


Even with those blindfolds… They're all looking right at you, boss.

Then bring 'em all on. This thing needs a good test run, anyways.

The Proselytes in act 1 work exactly like they did in our first encounter with them with a couple slightly better pages, and today they've chosen to go after Tiphereth.



So, we handle them roughly the same way as back then: intercepting where we can to ensure no one Librarian takes too much damage at once.

Chinely… you're not doing anything.

I'm charging my ultimate attack… give it a second.

If it has to charge, how is it "ultimate?"

You just don't understand the romance of it!



I guess I don't. Just do your job when you can, would you?



Speaking of, are you okay boss?

I'm… fine. This isn't much!

Music: GuestBattle01


You sure? The music says you're behind.

We are decidedly not behind. I've simply ceded the advantage for the moment.

That sounds like being behind.



You guys just wouldn't understand! You're so busy worrying about 'tempo' and 'efficient victories' that you forget the most important part!



Such emotions are pointless human sentiment! The most important part is victory at any cost.

Says the librarian carrying around a book for… how long now?

Not sure! Time seems to have a certain level of meaninglessness here.



You'd think she'd have recovered by now…

It's an ailment with no other cases to refer to. Our initial assumptions are likely to be off by an order of magnitude.

Assuming she's not just sleeping through work, of course.



Setting that aside… Boss, you seem to be hunching all of a sudden.

Music: GuestBattle02


…yeah. Once my emotions got fired up enough, the armor manifested itself. It looks like the incomplete form, though.

D.A.D?

Got your analysis right here, boss~



At Emotion Level 2, Nine Children of the Dragon's first effect turns on. This effect gives the user +1 Power on Offensive Dice (which stacks with Fervor's +1 when we get to level 3), as well as gives them Xiao's Burn immunity and ability to halve stacks of negative status effects she's hit with.

So it's a generalized powerup… and the armor protects its user from damage.

For now. Let's keep pushing further.



The plan continues, and we spread our attacks out.



Finally got my support gear online, everyone. I'll do it faster next time, for sure.

You don't have to push yourself that hard, kiddo. You're the newbie on the team again.

Then it's even more vital that I pull my weight. I've spent so long talking myself up that I need to prove it.



That nap really did you good, huh? Do you think if we put Mizu to sleep…

There's no nap long enough for whatever's off with that one.



So then, do you think when Kaori gets out of the book she's going to have superpowers?

Perhaps! Is that a normal human thing?

Music: TipherethBattle02


I'd say it's more a… "normal Chinely thing."

Setting that aside, the enemy's on the backfoot. Let's take care of them, eh?

Indeed. Let's crush them.



They're basically all sewn up now anyways.



We've taken a bit of a beating in the process, though…



Don't worry about it too much. The power of Love should allow us to keep going for some time yet.



And I can feel it… our predicament is getting Knight of Despair's attention as well. We've got plenty of options right now.



…Not that we need them right now.

It's true, we don't see how you could lose this one.

I'll take care of this last one, you guys take five.



And so, we end Act 1 in style.



That was awesome!

Did you have to blow a giant crater in the floor, though…?

It's my floor. I'll do whatever I like to it.

Music: GuestBattle01


Our second act puts us up against the three Proxies, alongside another pair of Proselytes. They're decidedly a cut above the first group.



All three of the Proxies have their own version of Shimmering, and the Grace of the Prescript passive. They also all have the Locked Potential passive, which will give all of their dice +1 Power after they play six unique pages in an Act. Finally, each Proxy has one additional ability..

Esther's is Raging Torrent, and it is completely useless because Shimmering overrides draw power.



Hubert and Gloria, meanwhile, have Breaking Pressure, which makes our Defensive dice weaker in a clash. This matters a bit more, but it's not a huge problem.



Lastly, the Proselytes have Speed now. This would be a completely even match, if not for Act 1.



Music: TipherethBattle02


It seems it falls to us. As the prescript points, so our blades shall fall.

Oh… hey! I didn't know the liger knew more half-breeds~ Half-baked half-persons should slice up quite nicely~!

Half-baked?! Team, show them how 'half-baked' we are!

Such outbursts will make this Prescript more difficult to complete, Gloria…

Oh, piffle~! As long as we get it done, it's all good~



Esther has a power nullification page, Swift Trace, which has a trio of decently-sized dice we'll have to set aside a page to stop.



His other two attacks are Unlock, a weak page that will replace itself with a stronger version on use, and Multislash, a strong contender for the best page in the game.

Seriously, look at it. Its actual cost is 1, but it's a 1-cost that restores 2 Light and also gives us a draw. It's a mainstay of Singleton decks from here forward, and combines with Will of the Prescript to give Singleton decks amazing consistency—so much so that late game Library of Ruina deckbuilding uses Singleton as a default, and you need a really good reason to deviate from it.



Hubert and Gloria, meanwhile, have a different Trace page called Heavy Trace. The dice are bigger, but a two-die page is easier to handle.



The sheer number of dice coming from both sides makes the arrows a confusing mass of spaghetti. This is the true Library of Ruina lategame experience.



Hey, so… aren't you supposed to be blindfolded?

The prescript didn't tell us to answer your questions, only to fight you.

So it's more of a spiritual blindfold, then.



Or maybe because it's easier to cut when you can see?

Our blades help far more with that.



You're nearing the limit of that body's endurance. Self-preservation is what you humans normally do, isn't it?

It's fine. Just a little longer… I can almost taste it. Tylana! How's work on the main three?



I've got the longhaired guy under control. How's the robot doing?



Swords go spinny~!

They're a tough one… there's something like five blades under there, and they snake all over the place!

Oh my gosh, I can't wait to try it out.



These enemies are tougher than I anticipated. Unlock your swords as quickly as possible.

Already on it~

That sounds ominous…

In better news, I got my support system online quicker this go-around.

You also half-killed the guy in front.



Unlock 2 is the only new page we see this turn, and it's just a minor upgrade to Unlock.



I can feel something burning up inside… Just a little longer.

Stay safe, boss. It'd be a pain if you died now.

No worries. I won't let a single one of our comrades get hurt.

That ominous wind..!



You're using E.G.O!

Two souls alight as one.



Unerring virtue and meaningless despair forge a single blade…



Take this! The Sword Sharpened by Tears!



Geh..!

The leader is almost defeated.

You don't look too good either, you know!

The prescripts did not require that we emerge victorious. In either case, we've fulfilled it.



You hearing this? It's like they don't care if they live or die…

They don't! It's quite fascinating… so long as orders are completed, then the life of the individual doesn't matter. I haven't seen such clear, logical reasoning among you humans before now.

Reminds you of home, eh?

Yes. It reminds me of… My human. Childhood. At an… Orphanage.



Didn't know you were an orphan. My condolences.

Think nothing of it. Parents are a luxury!



You know, that thing your buddy did was cool~! I like how flashy it was~

Thank you. Your blades are quite flashy as well… how do they work!

Ooh, I had to practice lots to get it just right~!



…Alright, I think it's coming.

I hope so. You can't lose that much more blood.

You'd better be watching, Yesod! I took a heck of a beating just for this moment!

No one can say you haven't worked hard today, Tiphereth. My team won't let it go to waste.

Music: TipherethBattle03


Good… because this is going to be over in a flash.

The refracting blue effect around Esther shows that he's reached Blade Unlocked status, which gives a +1 Power to all dice he rolls from here forward. Each Proxy also unlocks a unique attack when they reach Blade Unlocked, and in Esther's case that attack is Castigation.



Castigation is a base 1-5 die that becomes a 2-6 after Blade Unlocked. It lowers the power of any die it clashes with by 12, making it able to clash deceptively well, and it deals bonus HP and SR damage equal to 5 times the natural roll. Luckily, we have a very good way to deal with it.

Ending a turn once we're at Emotion Level 4 puts Xiao's key page into its final state, and in this form it has a trio of unique E.G.O pages we can access at any time.



Two of them are Pu Lao, which is a cheap Individual Mass Attack that can give all enemies -1 Power next turn, as well as Ya Zi, a 2-hit Individual Mass Attack which gives the user 2 Strength and Endurance next turn. Both of these are excellent setup moves, letting us stack the Power of dice in our favor.



But we're going with Tao Tie instead, because we want to do massive damage.



As you'll recall, Mass Attacks don't count as 'Clashes' for the purpose of effects that activate on clash. Because of this, we can destroy Castigation without any risk to ourselves.

I'm going to hold back and charge my ultimate technique.

And I'm out of options… I need a second.

No problem. You guys watched my back this entire fight… I'll cover for you this time.



I waited a long while to get to this moment. Now let's see what I can really do!





aaaaaaaaaaa..!

That dragon finished off the last of the Proselytes… Could this be the Prescript's intention for us?

Is your faith wavering at this moment, Hubert?

Of course not. We go where the Prescript points.



Even if it is to our end. All that matters is that it be fulfilled.

You know it well.



I shall leave everything to the two of you, then.



Farewell.



And then there were two.



…They pulled out the heaviest ordinance they could.

My blades didn't get unlocked! It's really rude of them..!

Breaking the pages that Gloria and Hubert were playing last turn with Tao Tie stopped them from entering Blade Unlocked on this turn. That means we're able to avoid dealing with either of their ultimate attacks—this is more important for Gloria than Hubert, since she gets a Mass Attack. Not even Shimmering can overcome their Blade unlocked requirement.



Hey boss… was that the end of it?

Nope. I've got a few more attacks I can do now.

Nice. I'll join in this time!

Hold on. Yesod?



We've got the data we need. You're clear to finish them at any time.

Then crush 'em.

One final push, then. Let's awe them.

Heed me, thou that are more azure than justice and more crimson than love…



Got one of 'em!

Oh… so it's just me~?

Ha haa~! Hahaha~ Oh man~



Prescripts, am I right~?



ARCANA SLAVE!!!



You know… these guys took it better than most of our guests.

Well, yeah. We didn't see a body, so there's no way they're dead.

Um… the books they turn into are the bodies?

That's just what they want you to think.

Ugh, whatever. Good work, team.



The Proxies can be a bit of trouble should we run into them early, as all three of them have decently hard-hitting attacks and a global +1 Power stacking with +2 more from their passives to let them steal clashes they have no business winning. However, the first act gives us ample time to build Emotion Level to let us start spamming big Mass Attacks in the second half, letting us even the score. At this point, it's not even fair.

Music: Result


Xiao's page… it's certainly powerful.

Honestly, I don't see myself wearing anything else.

Something as strong as that… I can't wait to see what Kaori does with it.

Wrote it all down, eh?

Obviously!

Well… we bled a little, but overall a flawless performance! As expected.

Well, yeah. Nothing stops magical girls.

We did.

That was making friends. Completely different.



VIDEO
Music: Lobby


I think otherwise. You won’t be better than a corpse if you just mindlessly perform tasks as they’re given to you, and the Index looks just like walking corpses in that regard. They appear to have no respect for the free will of individuals.

Hmm… You know, I do have a thing or two to say about performing tasks as they’re given.

Here’s the difference: Both you and I are working hard in order to get out of this place. We have a clear goal set in our minds. We’re doing this because we wish to be free.

However… Yan’s efforts to prove that he has a will of his own went up in smoke.

You used to berate it hard, calling people who follow it pathetic and stuff. Have you changed your mind on that?

…Perhaps I have. I thought they were nothing more than completely meaningless arrays of words… for those who have no purpose in life…

As you pointed out, the Prescripts of the Index end up benefiting the Syndicate. That Prescript commanded them to eliminate all members of the Thumb in L Corp’s Nest. Right when an Underboss and his Capos have disappeared.

The Prescripts Yan had been delivering were false, but an invitation to the Library was in that man’s hand as if it were destined to occur.

And they knew that he was up to something. It’s like they’re seeing one step ahead… heck, three steps, maybe.

Yeah. I thought they were no more than zealots wasting away their lives and time…

But that was a hasty judgement I made from mere fragments. Could the Prescripts actually be as omniscient as they make them out to be, Roland?

Whether that’s true or not, I don’t think you have to be so unnerved about ‘em, yeah? The Prescripts could be some grand entity or a big ball of nothing for all I know. Point is, there’s no need to pay too much attention to what they say. Even if everything I’ve been doing was actually done out of the City’s will and not mine, that doesn’t matter to me one bit since there’s no way for me to realize that.



…The emotions you feel. Thanks for putting it that way.

I gotta wonder, though. Where was that Messenger going?

He was apparently invited by a Prescript… To where he was invited is still a mystery for us.

Talk about a cliffhanger… Always gotta tease me this way.

You seem quite interested.

Who knows? He might lead us to the full story behind the Prescripts.

Even then, we won’t get to see it if he isn’t our guest.

Hngh… Good point.



Taking out the Index Proxies has opened up another pair of Abnormality Battles, one of which will lead us to our next Realization. As for the other… It's kind of infamous for being tricky.

Anyways, I'll leave you to it!



"Finally, she sprinkled cinnamon powder—her favorite—and clutched the pumpkin in her arms."

"Time flows as life does, and life goes as time does."

Honestly, I'm curious about what runs the Prescripts…

As well as the secret behind R Corp's Singularity.

Really, the Color is the only one without a big reveal.


Videos

Index Proxies 2

New Key Pages






New Combat Pages



Esther Exclusive:

Hubert Exclusive:

Gloria Exclusive:

[TeeQueue]

The thread has spoken! The next abnormality battle we'll be doing is...



....huh. I didn't see that one coming. Guess we should see what Yan's up to.

[TeeQueue]

Appendix 35: Index Proxies

Is forging Prescripts a violation of rules? The answer is “Not exactly.” It can be written on any kind of paper, and as long as it is stamped with the seal of the Index, it’ll pass as a real Prescript. You will then wonder: Wouldn’t there be many people who exploit the system with malicious intent? Copying the seal is a complicated process, and not many know how; even if they overcame those hurdles, they still cannot outsmart the Prescripts. The Prescripts know all. They can tell whether or not a Prescript has been carried out, how it was done, and if someone is delivering fabricated Prescripts. An individual sending counterfeit Prescripts out of their own volition can ultimately be traced back to the will of the Prescripts, and the City itself. I suppose the Prescripts have some generosity for those forgers, as they may remain unpunished unless a Prescript ordering it has been issued. The Prescripts were already aware that Messenger Yan was giving out false ones, hence the Prescript to follow those faked orders. …No, that the Prescripts “know” might not be the most appropriate expression.

There are a number of ranks within the Index. Proselytes, Messengers, and Proxies are as much as I know.

Those who have been chosen by the Prescripts will decide whether to become a Proselyte. If they accept it, they will cover their eyes with a blindfold as they serve the role. The blindfold has little symbolic significance; it’s to teach the Proselyte to follow the Prescripts regardless of what is happening before their eyes. Usually, a group of five to six Proselytes accompany a Proxy, learning the rules of the Index and the role of each rank. If a Proselyte shows a certain level of competence, the Prescripts will assign the role of a Messenger or a Proxy to them. After being promoted, they are given a blade of their own, and they may take off the blindfold.

The Prescripts are a predetermined path; there is no point for Proselytes to refuse any. It’s still within their choice to decline the Prescript’s offer. Even though they’re free to quit anytime, no one knows if the Prescripts will allow it. The Prescripts might order Proxies to kill the runaway who abandoned their position, or let it slide, or even give the order to resign first. The Prescripts are truly unpredictable.

The Index has an arsenal of swords and blades. Most of the Prescripts we receive can be solved with a sword, too. Mmm~ Never really thought about why we use swords, nope! Maybe it’s because they have this oppressive aura and make us look serious or something?!

Each of us uses different types of blades. Starting with the ranks of Messengers and Proxies, the Prescripts give personalized swords. From a light one-edged sword fit for slicing things quickly; to heavy, double-edged greatswords~ They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Helps us stand out from each other. As for me, I’ve got five whole blades~ Maybe being speedy helped? It looks like we get swords that fit our traits~ Have you seen the sword Hubert’s carrying? It looks so heavy, and he swings it like it’s nothing.

[TeeQueue]

Book 44: 얀샋 ㄷ요무—Chapter 1

Music: Lobby


For our next fight, we'll be wagering all three of the Proxies' books to finish the far-left branch of Star of the City. It's time to look into what Yan's been up to.

VIDEO
Music: None


Fourteen steps to the right… Twenty-three steps to the left…

…There’s a staircase. How… far down does this go…?

…

The sound, it’s getting louder… And I see a dim light…

…Is it really okay to head inside?

…

I guess I have no choice.

Music: Still none, but there's a very deep, slow bass throbs intermittently throughout.




…Who are you?

I’m the Weaver working here!

It’s so nice to see a guest after such a long time. Come on, now! Don’t be shy and step right in!

A Weaver…?

Yep, that’s what I am.

You were invited by the Prescript, right…?!

How did you…

The likes of you couldn’t even dream of finding this place without the guidance of the Prescript!

It only invites people here on a very extraordinary occasion, so consider yourself honored~!

…Does this place have something to do with the Prescripts?

Yes-oh-yes, it has plenty to do with them. This is the birthplace of Prescripts.

Prescripts are born?

Your face tells me that you must have a lot you’d like to hear! And that’s good! I was really bored, too, actually… You should take a seat first, here. This will be a loooong story! Here’s your chair…



H-hold on. Could you please slow down… First off, I’m Yan… Yan Vismok… I’m a Messenger. I only started working less than a month ago…

Yan! So you were a Messenger.

Yes… I’ve been delivering Prescripts full of absurd and brutal orders.

Oh, I understand. Prescripts are cruel indeed. And knotty, too, which gets some people killed.

…I had to hear many resentful remarks and screams from the people who received their Prescripts.

Are you… Are you the one who wrote those ridiculous Prescripts?

Yeesh, so scary! Don’t scowl at me so dreadfully, now. To answer your question first…



…Huh? Then how are Prescripts “born”…

Shh.

…

…

Can you hear this sound? Can you feel the tremor, climbing up your feet and touching your bosom?

…I can feel a tiny quake, yes. But… what about it? It’s just a small vibration.

Wrong! This isn’t a simple tremor. You’re feeling the heartbeat of the City.

It vibrates at random frequencies… Those vibrations move this pendulum over here… and I spin the wheels to make threads.

…

Oh, why hear me describe it when you can see it in action? Here, why don’t you come closer and take a look~ A new Prescript is about to be born!



…Meaning? All I see are random patterns.

It could seem hazy at first. This is the language of the City, after all. You obviously won’t recognize it, no-oh-no!

The language of the City? Were there more languages left to be found…?

Mmm… It’s a different kind from the languages people use. Oh, it certainly is. The thing is… I have no idea what it means, either~

But we’ll soon be able to find out.



The threads spun from those wheels are then put in this loom, and I modestly weave cloth from them. Wait just a moment, now~

…

And there it is! Look. A Prescript has been created~!

No way…

…‘To Chae-heon. When you see a person on a three-way intersection waving their hand seven times, follow them to their house.’

It… really is a Prescript.

Alright~ No time to be spacing out! We should send this Prescript to a Messenger for delivery, right? Start with this stamp, and…



There it is! Pipe number N9201 is right here! Now we roll up this Prescript and put it in here. The Prescript will travel along the pipe all the way to the surface.

That’s what Prescripts were…? This can’t be… Who made the spinning wheels, the loom, and the pipes, then?

I have no clue~ I was led here by a Prescript, too.

Oh—oh, my predecessor was waiting for me when I arrived~ But they left after receiving a Prescript one day.



Not really? I don’t have much else to do, anyway.

Do you have any idea how many people died because of your stupid randomly generated commands…? If this is where all Prescripts are made… Then you could’ve at least tweaked them a little so they’re not as cruel.

…I’m doing this because a Prescript ordered me to create and send Prescripts down here, though. If I broke this Prescript, the Prescripts will get me killed…

What are you talking about! You’re the one in charge of sending out Prescripts!

What if there’s another Weaver like me somewhere in another Nest? You don’t possibly think that I’m the only one mailing all the Prescripts for the City, do you?



In my opinion, that’d be the City itself. The pendulum inscribing patterns on the threads swings according to the City’s motions, like I said just before.

Footsteps of pedestrians walking around on the surface… Quakes coming from construction sites… Impacts created from some clumsy person falling on the floor… Echoes of people’s screams… Every little event happening in the City becomes a vibration that moves the pendulum.

Even the sound of us talking.

At the end of the day, us City folk can never be free from the City. Every deed committed by denizens of the City is ultimately the City’s deed. We’re representing its will in a sense.

All the cruel things we’ve been committing were out of the City’s volition? Why did the City… have to be that way?

Because the people are. The City was built by people, and their cruel nature had to naturally reflect on their creation. We were born that way.

This is a mess… People built the City… and now the City is controlling the people…?

Does the order really matter much? I think the point is this! That whatever we do, we’re essentially part of the City.



That’s why you can talk about this with such a carefree attitude…

You’re right, that’s beyond me. I only do what I was ordered to do.

Do I really have to care about that, though?

According to the City’s will, its volition… The City’s will matches the will of the people living in it.

Did you know? There are beings born out of the City folk’s wants. Humans want to walk the path that’s given to them. They’re afraid to face the consequences of their actions and take responsibility for them.

They know that they will only end up going the wrong way if they try to make their own decisions. They’d rather rely on something and expect things from it rather than to live a life of struggle.

People without purpose in their lives desiring and yearning for something to open up a way for them… It could be someone wishing for equality amidst the savagery and voyeurism… Or it could be the vain hopes of those who want the City to thrive forevermore, providing for all of its inhabitants… That’s how gods were born; people needed them. They didn’t pop into existence because someone told them to. They can’t be made up by anyone, nor can they be oppressed.

You can’t blame anyone for this. So many people, so many residents of the City want them… Thus, they’re the fear that will draw near them, the temptation of happiness… The promises and wishes of all people.

Are you starting to get… why the Prescripts came into existence?



Haha… Yeah. Right… It wasn’t my fault.

People weren’t doing inhumane things because I delivered Prescripts to them… Those horrible things were meant to happen anyway.

…

You’re right, I think I see it now. It’s the City… It’s because people have always been cruel. Humans are born that way… And they have desperate wishes.



Killing people with my own hands, or taking away invaluable things from others… Shuddering in guilt listening to those horrid screams, while I tried my best to seem unfazed.

They were all useless feelings eating away at my heart.

…Exactly. I’m just a tiny part of the world, I can never change the wishes of all people… There’s no way I can defy this flow. What I did was part of the City… The will of the City. Forging Prescripts out of spite and delivering them could be traced to the City’s volition, not my free will.

But that equates to my volition in the end. The City and I… and every person in this City were one and the same.

Do you think so, too?



The screen transition is an inky black liquid running down again. We know what happened last time that occurred…



And as it clears, Yan is looking a little… different.



His text comes with a typewriter effect now, and his voice now sounds distorted behind it. It's pretty off-putting.

Huh? Me? …

…Oh, don’t you worry. Just a moment, please~

…Alright, here. It’s an invitation to the Library. Prepared just for you.

…As the City wills it.



What was he talking to… Or was he talking to me all along? Well, regardless!

Back to my post~ Gotta keep my position.

Music: Lobby


Beings… akin to gods of the City… I don’t think I’ve heard or read any mention of such things.

It does seem like there are some beings out there that fit the description that Weaver person gave. I think I’ve seen something similar a few times, though I don’t know if that actually was one.

Not sure if “being” is the right word for them, to be honest.

They’re supposedly created because people wished for them to exist… I don’t know a lot about ‘em, to tell you the truth.

According to her logic, the Prescripts would be one such being, created from the collective aspiration of those who want to be given a purpose in their aimless lives. So you’ve seen one yourself, Roland?

Dunno. I might have, but… I don’t really know what I saw. Heck, I’m not even sure if I saw it at all.

That doesn’t count as seeing one, does it.



…

You don’t think highly of them, huh?

Seeing what one of those metaphorical gods made out of people’s wishes is doing… I can’t see them in a positive light. They seem to lead people to ruin, in one way or another. Is it truly for their sake?

What do you think, Roland? Do you think those “gods” are leading the residents of the City to the correct paths as some claim?

I won’t lie that at a glance, they do look like a weird cult giving their lives to an object that swings on a whim. And they’re giving arbitrary meanings to it like how it’s the heartbeat of the City. That’s a consequentialist point of view, shared by many other religions. The methods they take may be a complete mess…

That being said, I don’t think that there’s absolutely nothing good to say about them. They fulfilled the people’s wishes anyhow. The results… are another story. Even though the so-called gods bring fear and despair to people, they get to live a life that’s richer and more human. The goal might have been forcibly handed to them, but it’s still better than nothing.

Well, you’re free to think whatever you want in the end. You could feel the Prescripts are horrible, or a justified necessity, or whatever.

You’re right. Anyway… We should put our personal impressions aside and prepare to receive our guest. I’m counting on you as always.

Music: Entrance


Receive a Prescript… And carry it out… Receive…



If I may, I am—

Angela…

…Yes, it would seem that you know me well.

The Prescripts know everything. The Prescripts represent the will of the City… They know everything that goes on in the City. They know what I am going to do… What you are going to do. All of it.

I… see. Don’t you have any doubts about the Prescripts?

Of course not. The Prescripts are the City’s will, and the City’s volition is my will… To deny the City’s volition is to deny myself.

By accepting that as truth, you’re acknowledging that you have no free will of your own; don’t you feel that it is unfair?



By filling up the part that can’t be achieved alone, our lives as humans can become much more lavish. I have the talent to walk the path in front of me, if nothing else… Even if I don’t have much happiness, I know where to go in the immediate future. And that’s enough for me.

…It’s fortunate to hear that you are satisfied with it. May you find your book in this place.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: e

Videos

얀샋ㄷ요무 1










And… Eradication. Five cost, one die, mass attack… 12-23. Only… in Blade… Unlocked… Got it. What now?

That was the last of the new pages for now. Do you ever get any response, kiddo?

Don't be absurd! A book can't write in itself!

If it could, we would have screamed for help some time ago.

Who's to say you didn't, kiddos?

We were asleep at the time, so…

Tell you what. If you get booked, I'll sneak a peek next time.

We'd rather you didn't.

Square up, you three. We're needed in the viewing deck.

Again? We're busy recently…

That new enemy seems to have some unusual effects. We're wanted on-hand to analyze the effects and attempt to counteract anything that might go strangely in the reception process.

…Ah, something like that, then?



What in the hell?!

That thing in the middle of his chest… is that some kind of loom?

To: The Floor of Technological Sciences. Receive the guest before you.

Guess that answers that... He's a looming threat.

We are… really underdressed for this.



I don't think he cares. Swords up!

[TeeQueue]

Book 44: 얀샋 ㄷ요무—Chapter 2

Music: Children of the City


Hey, hold on a second… weren't we supposed to be handling this guy? He didn't come out like he was supposed to.

There wasn't any chance to review the data either…

This kiddo must be really devoted to upholding those prescripts, huh.



Receive a Prescript… and carry it out.

Gah..!

Not good. Those punches are powerful, and we're at our weakest… I can't think of a way out of this one.

Hold on… let me think here. Prescripts, prescripts… What's the prescript he's talking about now?

He said for us to "Receive the guest before you."

Then in that case, maybe—



Now, it's your turn.





Hahaa..!

Kaori! You're awake!

...So we did need to attack the book after all…

Are you feeling better?

Mmm… a liittle..? But with such an iinteresting enemyy… and such busted paages..! I was mooving before I knew it..!

Well, at least you're still dressed for battle. But if nothing can be done, we're still in a bind…

Excuse me! Dear guest!



I'm really very sorry, but you need to stop for a moment.

I'm carrying out my Prescript, as is my purpose.

Ah, that's true, but this is about 'our' prescript. You asked them to receive you, correct?

That is correct.

Unfortunately, a couple of steps have been skipped. You've done nothing wrong, but that determination of yours appears to have overwhelmed the normal procedures. If we keep going, we'll have broken the request on that little piece of paper.

I understand. Prescripts are to be followed, without exception. Perform the necessary preparations. You have five minutes.

Ah, yes yes. We'll certainly do that~ Thanks, dear guest.

Impressive.

You get used to it if you deal with the Index at all. We're just lucky I could think of a hole in the prescript to exploit…

We won't waste the opportunity. Thanks.

Music: GuestBattle01


I'll get right to woork… You guys examine things, and shout if you seee anything..!

It looks like it'll use some kind of super-attack if we take too long..?

얀샋 ㄷ요무, or Distorted Yan as I'll be calling him from here forward, is mostly a support unit. Outside of that Distorted Blade his passives warn us about he's not going to deal much damage on his own.



His hands serve as the primary form of offense for most of the fight. They're immune to being Staggered and they cannot be defeated on their own, but if we deal enough damage they'll turn off for a while.

Aand… doone..!



It's a ruush job… but I'm sure it'll work fiine..! Fraankly… It might be tooo strong… I looked at the swoord that guy can use, though… And I've balanced around thaat…

If it can protect you all, I'll use it well.

So what about the rest of us, kiddo?



Mmm..! I just tweaked some existing stuuff… It normally takes waay more than five minutes to make even oone deck..! I just eyeballed most of the oother ones..!

And we're a… support character. Great.

We're aall basically supports today..! Once Yesod hits the field, you'll seee…



We did the best we could with the time we had. All we can do now is our best.

Let's get it done, kiddos!



Music: Children of the City


Time is up. Preparations have been made. Now, let us fulfill the Prescripts.

We've done what we can. From here forward, it's up to us!

Just look out for those prescript things… it seems like he's weaving them without realizing it.

Much like an Abnormality Battle, Distorted Yan has text that appears on the screen over the course of the reception.

To …. Pack a lunchbox and consume it on top of a trash can in the streets of District 11 at 1 PM today.

To …. Bake dacquoise while the hour hand rests between 7 and 8, and eat it while watching a movie.

To …. Initiate a game of Never Have I Ever with the first five people you encounter. When one folds a finger, break it.

To …. Neatly clip the nails of the sixty-second person you come across.

To …. Pet quadrupedal animals five times.

To …. Spin a wheel and throw a cake at the person determined by the result.

To …. Consume eight crabs stored at room temperature and ripe persimmon at once.

To …. At the railing on the roof of a building, shout out the name of the person you dislike, then jump off. The height of the building does not matter.

To …. After a meal, discard all dishes that were used to serve it.

To …. On the morning after receiving the Prescript, drink three cups of water as soon as you get up.

To …. Race against residents that live in the same building as you to District 7. Measure the distance every twenty-three minutes and disqualify the one farthest away from the destination.

To …. Within three days, knit a scarf with a butterfly pattern.

To …. Dial any number. Give a New Year’s greetings and words of blessing to whoever receives the call.

To …. See green from a white wall.

To …. When hungry, consume a Cheeki’s cheeseburger with added onion.

To …. Fold thirty-nine paper cranes and throw them from the rooftop.

To …. At work, cut the ear of the first person to fulminate against you.

To …. When your eyes meet another person’s, nod at them.

To …. Return to your home this instant. You may leave once a dog barks in front of your house one time.

To …. Wear light green clothing and take 10 steps in a triangle-shaped alley.

For the first phase of the fight, Distorted Yan does the same three moves over and over.



Two of them, Protect and Attack, target his hands. These moves will give the hand they target 3 Protect or 3 Strength for the turn if we don't redirect them to ourselves.



The third page, Vigil, targets our allies. It turns off Power entirely for the target for the entire turn—this works both for the target's dice as well as the dice of anyone who clashes with them. It is vitally important that we never allow Distorted Yan to target Yesod with this move.

Our Librarians can change the target of any of these attacks by redirecting them as normal, but the 20-30 Evade dice mean that he's almost definitely going to win any clashes against us, generating a decent amount of Negative coins in the process. Overall our priority is to always take Attack off of the hands, then take Vigil if it's on Yesod, and finally to remove Protect if we have speed dice left over—3 Protect is much less of a problem than anything else, especially given that we can just target the other hand right now.



The last important thing to notice about Distorted Yan is that sword underneath him. It's a countdown to his first use of Distorted Blade, and effectively our time limit for this phase—that attack is something we don't want to see if we can avoid it.



As for the hands, both of them are using a copy of Flurry of Fists. We'll be seeing one of these per hand every turn of this fight, and while the dice aren't particularly powerful the damage from their on-hit effects will stack up if we just ignore them.



The Left Hand is using Giant Fist, which has a giant die that deals True Damage a la Transpierce, alongside a block die and a decent Counter die as well.



The Right Hand, meanwhile, is using Compress. This Blunt page will inflict us with both Paralyze and Feeble next turn, effectively neutering one of our Librarian's rolls for the next turn if it gets through.



The hands each have one dead speed die on the first turn. This gives us exactly 1 turn to set-up and prepare to ramp before we start needing extra dice to handle increased pressure. Key pages with a base Light of 4 have an advantage here just because it's easier on our early game Light curve.

It looks like he doesn't quite have control over those hands yet, sir.

He did just transform, after all… It makes sense.

I wouldn't think too deeply about it. Just take advantage of the situation.

That isn't how we do things around here.



Even if we can't understand everything about our enemy, there is information we can glean. Little by little, we'll build up our understanding.

There is no need to understand. The Prescripts already know all. We need only to follow.



Geez… this kid's making it kind of hard to see with all the ink…

Maybe if we attack from behiind..?



Noope…

So we can't get positional advantages…

Have those ever worked..?



No! But a full guard is still good, it seems.



And attacks to the main body just get dodged effortlessly… We've found an interesting opponent.

No blow shall reach me until the prescripts say they may.

We think we're starting to hate interesting opponents.



Ah, it's all good. We'll get through it somehow.



Because of the enemy's strong dice numbers and our being forced to clash against massive 20-30 Evade dice, our team will generate more Negative Emotion Coins than normal, which throws a wrench into any plans that rely on +1 or +2 zone Abnormality Pages. Luckily for us, we're playing Yesod and Rhythm is pretty good.



So, what have we determined?

His right hand is all wrong.

Elaborate.

Look at them.



Whenever dealing with a hand in that position, the thumb should be pointed on the inside. Yet, it's on the outside… a carbon copy of the left hand.

Does it mean anything?

Probably not. We'll look for something else.

I noticed that he's not too skilled with those hands yet. Maybe that's why? I know if you yanked my thumb to the wrong side, it'd take me a few to figure it out.

So it's in our best interests to end this battle quickly.



On this turn, the Left Hand uses a new page, Baleful Brand. This page will inflict Erosion with its second die, which will add more damage whenever we get hit from then on.



I can regrettably only pull off Attack this turn as well, and with Defend targeting the Right Hand my continuing assault on it will be somewhat blunted. This'll probably be fine, our main goal here is to prevent ourselves from taking too many hits anyways. This phase gives us enough time that we don't really need to rush.



Since we can't touch him directly right now, focus on whittling down his hands. An opportunity may show itself.



Easy for yoou to saay…

Because Giant's Fist is such a giant die, we'll frequently be using our Block dice to try and reduce damage from it, rather than trying to negate it entirely. Emotional Turbulence is very good here, because of its Counter die being a decent enough Block to cut down the damage.



Yet again… such strikes will never reach me.

Huh… I see what you're doin' here, kiddo. An interesting trick, but easy enough to stop.



There's a trick to it? Please, explain!



These hands, they're connected to him by a chain. You'd think they let him move 'em around like he's doing, right kiddo?

Indeed. They're somewhat troublesome!

Thing is, the chains can be pulled both ways. As long as they're intact, he'll be able to make those crazy dodges. Just like a puppet on a string… It's that simple, kiddo.



So in the end, 'destroy the hands' was the correct plan from the start.



Then it would appear that we have something to work towards. Let's handle things, team.



Our plan for now is more of the same. I've finally managed to get everyone's hands filled with low-cost pages, giving me enough options to draw all of Distorted Yan's counters off of his hands. Yesod also finally draws into Unlock, about two turns too late to be really useful in this battle.



It's still just fine for pulling a counter off, though.

I can understand why you gave in when you did… but I can't support it.

There was nothing more to consider. I have seen the truth behind the Prescripts. Understood that my actions are the will of the City itself.



Assuming that the pendulum isn't controlled by something else, of course. There's no proof that there's no sleight of hand with the vibrations, or perhaps even the looms themselves performing a bait-and-switch. All I would have come away with were more questions.

Why should I disbelieve what I see with my own eyes?



We think that if it causes you to become some weird gauntlet-puppet-loom, you've lost the thread somewhere.



There's something to be said for simply following orders, though! That is ultimately the purpose of many… humans. Where I am from.

Mmm…

You disagree?



Sometimes, you have to follow oorders… but that doesn't mean you liike it..!

I suppose that's true. It's always a bit different when you enjoy what you're doing!



This is why I am so powerful. My orders shall become my will.

That's not quiite the same thing… You just stopped thinking about what yoou want…



The last of the Hands' moves is Lock, a move which unexpectedly does not lock one of our speed dice on the next turn. It's just a big ol' hit that can cancel out a third die on our page if it hits us.



My own will is but an extension of the City's. There is no need for pondering on pointless things.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone here will ever agree with you on that.

And yet, you are bound to a will that is not your own, just as you claim I am.



Perhaps. Still, I've not surrendered my ability to think for myself.



After using Unlocked 2, Yesod's hit Blade Unlocked status for another +1 Power. He's just about completely ready now.



I think I brooke this one..!



Splendid work, human friend! I shall double-tap, just to make certain.



…Ah! Well, nevertheless.



While the hands are disabled after they're reduced below 30 HP, they still take any remaining actions they have that turn. We can't just ignore them like we can with most normal enemies.



Fiinally..! I can feeel it..!

It's the same Forsaken Murderer as always… these bindings will only slow us down.

For the reest of us… Just try it oout..!

Ah. I think I understand.



Restraints only make this setup unstoppable.

Chained Wrath forcibly sets all of Yesod's speed rolls to 1. The Strongest makes all of Yesod's lowest speed dice into infinity speed. Myo's Prowess gives +5 Power if we're 10 or more Speed ahead of our opponent.

This is the most common endgame build for Yesod's floor, and it's exactly as overpowered as it sounds.



Anyways, now that both of his hands have been immobilized, Distorted Yan enters his blocking phase. In this mode, the only page he can play is Endure, which is a bunch of middle-sized Block counter dice. This is our invitation to pour on the damage, and we need to do so quickly.



This is because Distorted Blade will come out next turn if he's not Staggered.



You're not looking so untouchable now, and our dear mummy's on a whole other level. Having second thoughts, kiddo?

We think that would imply he had a first thought. When all he's doing is enacting prescripts, we're not sure it applies.

There is no reason for doubt. This path is the one I must walk.



The idea that one must do something reprehensible… I'm familiar with it.



Ultimately, I can only be thankful that my conclusion and yours were different. I don't intend to turn my eyes from the sacrifices of our way of life any longer.

Sacrifices which were meant to be. If the City wills it, any one of us is allowed to die at any time.



Smoke's on. Try not to breathe too deeply, kiddos.



Bit by bit… your motions and the strikes you deal make the earth move…



Those motions… the Prescripts can feel them as well. Your Library is part of the City, the same as any other.



His loom's weaving something!

It's been doing that this entire time, hasn't it?

This one feels important!

To Yan Vismok…



...unsheathe your sword and hold nothing back.

Thaat's… ominoous…

The hands are moving again!

At least they seem weaker than before.

Now that we've reduced him to below 301 HP, Distorted Yan has moved to his final phase. In this phase he will use Distorted Blade every other turn, and the hands are back—alongside Distorted Yan's absurd 20-30 Evade dice.



Distorted Blade is the main threat here, however. Its roll is a wide enough margin to be either completely free, or incredibly difficult to block—our average 3-cost is only likely to hit mid to upper 20s, so a 33 could simply crush almost all of our pages without issue. The hands, meanwhile, likewise begin using Lock and Banishing Blade much more often. We're on a timer: we have to blitz Distorted Yan down before the damage overwhelms us.



But this is Yesod's floor, so that's very possible.

Remain focused until the work is done. I don't want to see any of you leaving here in a bodybag.

At the whim of the great will of the City, we all move. Some are chosen to thrive. Others are chosen to die. That simply is.

"Chosen to die…" Don't you feel anything about that anymore?

Only the City's will matters. Only the Prescripts. It was all meant to be.

I see. So you choose not to acknowledge it.



The rest of you, focus on the left hand. The right should be finished in a second.



It is not I who am running from the truth of things.



Yesod and Null_Mia rolled a 25, but Yan hits a 26 on his Mass Attack and most of my team takes incredible damage due to a lack of Slash resistance. That's Distorted Yan's last phase in a nutshell.



This Abnormality yearns to give last rites to those exploited by the system, even beyond their death.



That would make you an ideal target for its E.G.O.

Infinity Yesod here is actually the ideal user of Solemn Lament. It has a base 1-6 Blunt die, which Chained Wrath boosts to 2-9. This is then given +5 from our Infinity Speed, +1 from Blade Unlocked, and +1 from Rhythm, for a total of 9-16, eight times, each hit dealing an additional 3 HP or SR damage as well. This gives it an absurd amount of damage potential, easily enough to blast through one of the Hand's HP in an instant.

Yesod's floor is :hellyeah: incarnate.



He can also tie a Giant Fist's initial attack with a Wedging Thorn.

We're starting to get what Kaori meant about us all being supports.

Ehh, Yesod's earned a chance to shine. He's always so busy helping us. Just wish I had a bit more energy to pull off moves.



I think we were supposed to help with that.

_{Hahaa… back to the drawing board theere, too…}



She's been knocked for a loop and still thinking about it. I guess after finding a "human friend," she's focusing on this for now.



Well, we should keep her from dying. The alien, too.

Alien?!

Inside joke, kiddo. Don't worry about it.



Castigation will take care of Giant's Fist here, so I really just need to focus on defense for the remainder of the turn.



The arrow spaghetti makes it easy to miss tiny things that we shouldn't have, though. Can you spot the error I made here?



I'll admit it: I don't know what that voice said to you.

The voice..? Ah. She said only the truth.

Its version of it, anyways.



Still… Running away from what you've done, calling it all the "will of the City," and absolving yourself of responsibility…



Ultimately, I can't see it as anything other than desperation.



The Prescripts are truth.

Only because they're given belief on such a grand level.



There is no purpose in fighting them. The City's will is my own will. Wherever I saw us differing, I was simply incorrect.



It's that simple… it's always been that simple. Free will… that is the myth. Acknowledging that is the only way I can live within this City.

Crap… One got through-!





I can't fight the City's will. It's folly to try. All I can do is step on the path laid out for me… and that is enough.



We pick up Clean here, to give Yesod another +3 on all his offensive die rolls, forever. It's exactly as useful as it sounds.



Hey, boss. We're in a pinch here…

Null_Mia's done for, and I'm in a pickle if I don't block that blade!

If it hits us, then Kaori would likely be the only one able to act…



And he's trying to get both hands back online at once. Kaori?

There's no waay… It's too slanteed…

Then I suppose it's all down to this.



When both of the hands are defeated, we get a turn in which Distorted Yan will either use Distorted Blade + one of each Repair page, or else will use two Repair and one Repair All. If one hand is down he'll also frequently try and Repair it to get it back into the fight, so it's vital that we take advantage of this opportunity to deal damage to Distorted Yan while we can.

Now… let us see who the Prescripts have chosen as the victor.



Before that… I think we're due for a change of scenery.



D.A.D's E.G.O will ensure that they survive this attack no matter what, and Kaori's roll is also high enough to have survived no matter what Distorted Yan got.



But ultimately, Yesod still had to get a little lucky and T.Hinman's 25 falls flat before a 30, costing us two Librarians in one fell swoop.



I suppose it was too optimistic to think we could win without sacrifices…

It was the will of the City. There is no need to suffer under the pain any longer.



Maybe… but I'd rather feel it when it hurts.



Even a killer headache has its purpose, you know.



…And that's that.

So it is. We lost good people today.

Alien buddyy…

Just… head back and get to work on cleanup, okay?



We made this fight significantly harder than it needed to be, simply by doing it as intended. There are a number of ways to make this fight easier, and while most of them require resources we don't have yet bringing anyone with resistance to Slash damage would have been great here. Since I didn't do that, the last portion of the fight became a damage race, but… Yesod.

Music: Result


Damn… that one hurt. We were looking forward to making it through.

Yes, it is a shame when a soldier dies right at the end of a flawless combat!

Flawless..? If you say so.

_{What even waas that light curve..? And how three of us briicked…}

You okay there, kiddo?

Of course noot..! With this quality of deeck… the only reason we've woon is because everyone else is uuseleess..! Come oon, buddy..!

Wagh! What are we doing..?

Making something that actually woorks…

Well, at least it doesn't look like she'll be going back to sleep anytime soon.

Any reason to wake up in the morning is fine enough, in the end.

Hey, boss. Miss Angela's—

I know, I'm heading over. Just… wanted to temper the bitterness with something a little more mellow.

Your work was helpful as well, Roland. If not for your quick thinking…

I just took care of the problem as best as I could.



Music: Lobby


Beats me. The Prescripts look like they see several steps ahead, so it might as well be. Though, boy, what did that Yan guy endure and struggle so much for? He risked death forging Prescripts trying to express his free will…

But that was ultimately part of the Prescripts… The will of the City, as he put it.

Yep. After all, this is the fate those Prescripts led him to.

You said earlier that there are good things to be said about them, Roland.

That I did. ‘Cause they’re still part of the City.

While I am still not completely convinced, I can understand it somewhat. Life as a human, never wanting for anything… What is the reason “gods” of the City emerged? Why do people wish for them to exist, even as they suffer? I tried to think from those people’s perspectives. The perspective of someone without a purpose to live. How I would act in their shoes.

What’s your conclusion?



“I’m different.” “I’ll seek out a way on my own.”

It’s much easier said than done. They won’t truly realize what they’re talking about until they’re put in such a situation themselves.

So they can’t be viewed all that badly?

Correct. I’ve decided against painting them in an excessively negative light. That still doesn’t mean I fully understand them, however.

Although, I am curious about what you just mentioned as well. I must wonder what Yan’s actions and the consequences to them were trying to show.



Those Prescripts sure are an enigma… And this whole Distortion business… It’s scary how the process can be so simple.

That demonstration made it clearer. It appears that the breakdown of a belief one firmly held can serve as a catalyst for the Distortion.

Exactly. That’s the scary part. It’s what happens all the time in the City. Though someone did explain to me why people aren’t distorting left and right pretty clearly. Either way… This left a bitter taste in my mouth, just like that other time.



And so, at long last we've finished with the far left branch as well. Distorted Yan and Xiao are considered the two biggest roadblocks of Star of the City, so it should all be downhill from here—especially with the powerful pages from those two fights now in our hands.

Next time, on Library of Ruina



"Finally, she sprinkled cinnamon powder—her favorite—and clutched the pumpkin in her arms."

"Time flows as life does, and life goes as time does."

That color is waiting here.

And the singularity is here, as well. There's no rush.


Videos

얀샋ㄷ요무 2
VS 얀샋ㄷ요무 (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)


New Key Pages



New Combat Pages



얀샋ㄷ요무 Exclusive:

[TeeQueue]

Also, short update: I'm currently out of state so while I'll be doing the usual appendix update like normal (since that's easy as hell), I won't be able to get any more footage until I'm back home, give or take a day as 14 hour drives kill my spine.

Sooo... see you guys in a week plus the time it takes to write an update!

[NintenGunner]

Been lurking this thread for not very long. Glad I caught up in time.
Anyways, Distorted Yan is probably my favorite distortion, albeit mostly because I find the circumstances that caused him to distort pretty neat. The explanations and "explanations" behind the prescripts remind me of cosmic horror. Forbidden knowledge and all that.

[TeeQueue]

Been lurking this thread for not very long. Glad I caught up in time.
Anyways, Distorted Yan is probably my favorite distortion, albeit mostly because I find the circumstances that caused him to distort pretty neat. The explanations and "explanations" behind the prescripts remind me of cosmic horror. Forbidden knowledge and all that.

Welcome to the end of the thread! I find most of the ending of SotC goes hard so this is about the perfect time to catch up, imo.

Anyways,



Still out of state so it'll be a minute before we get to this, but it looks like Chesed's Abnormality is our next target!

[TeeQueue]

Appendix 36: 얀샋 ㄷ요무

Have you ever seen a glimmer of light when you close your eyes? It’s blindingly bright at times, and it shakes in an irregular shape at times. This sensation is often called a phosphene. Whenever I close my eyes, the blurry image of a bloodstained carpet appears to me like that optical phenomenon. The beginning of an unpleasant nightmare. Four mannequins that lost a face and an arm each are lying on the carpet, spilling red beads; another mannequin has its hand on my shoulder. I turn around and look at the loudspeaker in the mannequin’s face. I can feel the vibration coming from it, even though I can’t hear what it says. But I already know what sound this mannequin is making. The vibration precisely matches the words I remember, and my heart starts beating accordingly.

This damned power of recall lost all my good childhood memories to oblivion, yet it brings back such remembrances every time I close my eyes. My response to it is always the same: Take the flower that’s slipped into my hand and nail it into the mannequin’s heart. A beautiful tree in bloom grows from the cracks the flower made. It’s as soft as the hands that caressed me, and it’s as pretty as the sound that consoled me. And it’s as sharp as the noise of that last moment when I was scolded for the first time. Every branch that grows from the tree causes a piercing buzz in my ears, and the petals hurt as they brush past my cheeks as if to make me feel the pain they hold. I stand still like my feet were tied, until my body is covered in scars. One, two… Black marbles fall from the wounds. How long have I been in this cycle of pain?

The nightmares have been with me for a good majority of my life. If I close my eyes, the memory of that time haunts me—and if I open my eyes, a reality I can hardly bear unfolds. I chose to keep my eyes shut because I thought I’d rather deal with the ever-echoing past. At least I won’t be visited by new kinds of pain… Prescripts keep coming without a break. The City folk meet different ends depending on the Prescripts they receive, though their fates all share a commonality of cruelty. Their resentment, screams, tears, rage, and death… It’s too much for my eyes. I sometimes thought how my life would’ve been if I stayed as a commoner taking Prescripts like them. Maybe I was better off back then. Maybe I should’ve just died early so I could breathe again as another being. Why did the Prescripts give me that order that day?

I trace back the nightmares to remember the past; everything was over, and I planned to follow them to death, but I didn’t have the courage to end my own life, so I… I picked up the Prescript that I thought would spell my doom at last and read it slowly. All the fresh-looking Prescript contained was a command to be a Messenger. It was pointing toward a beginning, not an end. I couldn’t see a single word that said anything about salvation or death. After being numb for a while, I finally tumbled down to the floor and broke into laughter louder than any sound I’d made before. I couldn’t help but laugh at my state. I wanted to end my life because of Prescripts, and now the Prescripts won’t even let me do that. Where has my free will run off to?

I was frustrated. Not even my own life was under my control, for everything relies on the Prescripts. Then I’ll gladly play along. Even if I can’t shatter the Prescripts, I’ll at least make a tiny crack. If I can show the masses that it’s possible to oppose the Prescripts, something might change… Something has to… It WILL make a difference. Once I had hope, I could see the way—and once I could see where to go, I had the strength to get up.

However, I realized it only just now. What I felt wasn’t hope, and that ignoring that Prescript and taking my own life as I’d planned might have been a truer expression of my free will.

What is the right way to live a life in this place, I must wonder? I’m not even dreaming of a life that I can be proud of; how does one achieve the feeling that their life is bearable to live, let alone be satisfied with it? I thought I had found an answer to that… But in the end, I couldn’t escape the Prescripts. The Prescripts are the City’s will as it is my will. I’ve realized my limit. I feel as if I’ve hit some kind of wall I can’t overcome. However, I don’t feel all too forlorn and miserable. Maybe there’ll be someone who can ride along with the flow, rather than break it. It just won’t be me; I’m not fit to accomplish such things.

So I want someone to find an answer in my stead. And I hope they can tell me that. Tell me how I can enjoy this nightmare.

There are actually a few other notes regarding how 얀샋 ㄷ요무's name is localized. First off, the script for his Key Page story includes a note from the Localization team:
<!-- Yes, this name is properly localized. I know you'll ask. -->

But what did localizing his name entail, exactly? Well, we'll start by showing off his four names across the KR, CN, JP, and EN translations, with all following images courtesy of MetaMeme:



All three of the non-EN languages are, to the best of my knowledge, the English characters that you'd get if you tried entering the name 'distortedyan' in the respective language's keyboard layout onto an EN keyboard. Obviously, this doesn't work for the EN translation, so instead…



We type 'distortedyan' into a KR keyboard to create his name.

None of this really has any bearing on the game's story at all, I just think it's neat.

[TeeQueue]

Social Sciences—735.35—Ozma

Music: Lobby


So it's the prescript-loving blokes today, is it?

Given that they never know what sorts of prescripts they get, it makes sense that they'd be prepared for anything, right~?

Makes sense… our last Abnormality was a giant wildcard itself.



Speaking of wildcards, this page from Yan is… we're testing it too, right?

Of course. It looks to have some kind of unique power like Xiao's, so now's the perfect time to test it.

Your stomach's a loom now, right? Does that mean you can just print those things out?

It seems to be mostly cosmetic, so I don't-HOLY HECK EVIL KIT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.



What, you've never seen a full-body prosthetic before?

Not that... Your… hair!

Oh, this? I was having some fun on Tiphereth's floor, and Tylana threw me through a bookshelf. Mwehehe… she wasn't expecting THIS.

Evil Kit's original hair was a workshop mod for the game, and due to some… unexpected troubles within the fandom, the mod was deleted from the Steam workshop. This means that it was also chain-deleted from any copies of Library of Ruina using it, leading to his shiny new hairstyle—which is based on how it looked when I loaded up the game after the removal.

Evil Kit: Now even inconveniencing the LPer himself! :moreevil:



Alright, everyone matches now, Angela. We're ready to go~

Very well. I will look forward to your success.

Let's get a look at this new Abnormality… I'm actually really excited.

You think it's connected to the other four?

I'd bet on it!

SNAP

Music: AbnormalityBattle02


It looks like a cursed princess.

One with an attachment to her pumpkin… It seems she must have been cursed.

How unfortunate… I wonder what did that to her?

Oh, you know how it is. Curses happen all the time in the backstreets. Hell, some places you can put money down to have someone cursed!

That's usually an application of technology, more than actual occultism…

I’m Ozma… A single person took everything away from me…

All I have left now… are these children.

Ozma is a boss fight that requires us to handle her mechanic before she becomes vulnerable. Until then, she'll have Ineffective resistances to all damage types, preventing us from putting much more than a dent into her.



On the first turn, her primary attack is Powder of Life. As a guaranteed 15 Summation Mass Attack, it's not really a threat as long as we remember to put one of our stronger pages against it.



Her only other attack this turn is Fading Memories, a single weak die that inflicts one of our Librarians with Oblivion. We can pick whoever we want, so I give it to Sweet Pea.



Since we've got no idea what we're dealing with, I'll take the first look.

You sure? I don't mind tanking it.

Let the team captain do her part, eh?

H-hey! Who said you were the-

Can't hear you! Captain time!

My original plan was to clash both Fading Memories and Powder of Life with the same page, letting me avoid taking any damage on the first turn.



However, I misread the arrows, and wound up trying to block Powder of Life with an Unlock. Whoops. Ozma charges energy into her staff…



And slams it into the ground, spreading an energy burst over our side of the field.

Muahaha! You zigged when you meant to zag, didn't you?!

It's all good! A couple trips are just par for the course.



And just like that, I'm right back up! It's just like… just like… um…



Hm. Well, this is a problem.

A problem? What's up?



I think… I forgot how to move. And some other things. Were we just fighting those guys over there?

Oh no…

Looks like things just got a little complicated~

I want you to feel it all the same… The misery of forgetting it all… losing it all…

I’ll be the one to take things away this time…

Here, child… I’ll give you new life.

Come back to me, so I won’t be lonely…

Oblivion makes Sweet Pea the most important character of today's battle.

Let's start at the beginning. Is there anything you do remember?

I'm… pretty sure I'm on your side, and I remember how to hit things.

Her memories being lost is probably also related to those four popping up on that side. They look like… emaciated pumpkins?

Perfect for smashing! Muahaha!



The four Jacks that spawn this turn are the main issue to deal with in this Abnormality Battle, and their phase makes up the majority of the fight. Four of them spawn in on the second turn, and each will use the Combat Pages of the Oblivion'd Librarian. Additionally, each Jack has a unique Direction associated with them, that gives them a constant buff.



We will need these to tell the Jacks apart, because we need to steal Sweet Pea's memories back from them. If we don't, then they'll steal her Key Page and Combat Pages permanently, and turn her into a Pumpkin whose only move is ?!?!.



We don't want that to happen, so to do that we need to use our Oblivions to take back what's ours.



Meanwhile, Ozma changes her attacks to try and get in our way—we need to make sure she doesn't get too much of a chance to pile damage on us.



Each Oblivion can land 3 hits an attack, so we'd need 3 full Oblivions to land in order to get our entire deck back. We only have 3 turns to do it, so there's no time to lose.

Okay. So… I'm going to hit those guys.

Without any memory?

It's instinct, not memory. I'm sure it'll work.

I suppose that curse hit just the right person, after all.

Is that instinct too..?



Not this one! Head's still empty.

The solution to this puzzle is relatively simple: on her first turn, Sweet Pea will hit the front two Jacks. We're looking to see if one of them flashes, but if we do get a flash the fight can move on so quickly that we could miss which Jack is correct. Luckily, there's a way to give ourselves all the time we could ever want to view the information we need.



This is the Quick Mode option. It is set to On by default,and the option itself has been squirreled away in the upper-left corner for the entire game. We can toggle it by pressing Q, or by clicking on it manually.



As long as it's off, we need to press Space for each die our side needs to roll. This will give us plenty of time to note which Jacks we're hitting, if we happen to hit paydirt. This is one of maybe two times in the entire game where Quick Mode: Off is useful, and this is all you really need to know about it.



Geh..! Sweet Pea's moves are a bit more troublesome than I'd like to admit.

So I'm awesome, is that it? Sounds right.



Not this one either, by the way.

So it must be one of the two in the rear.



Ah… I see. You're trying to protect your companions, aren't you?



A curse leaving only a pumpkin as a friend, thus she tries to turn others into pumpkins to be friends… she's a real handful!



There's still two Jacks left, too. One of them has to be right, right?

Most likely. You holding up okay?

There's no point in being worried. I'm sure these Abnormalities have done a lot worse than wipe our memories.

Speaking of memories… Twee, didn't you have a unique Key Page with you?

Oh! Right…



Like Xiao and The Red Mist before it, Distorted Yan's Key Page has a persistent E.G.O button which is available regardless of the floor.



Clicking it gives us one of Distorted Yan's unique Prescript options. Every turn we're given one of the following Prescripts:
+1 Strength
+1 Light
+1 Protection and Stagger Protection
Draw 1 Page

Twee can then play this page on anyone except herself, granting them that benefit for the turn. Once she hits Emotion Level 3 we will have two Prescripts to choose from, though she can still only use one a turn. As long as we remember to use it, it's a free buff every turn.

I forget about it more often than I'd like to admit.



I'll go for the back two now. You guys cover me.

Don't worry. I'm the captain… protecting you is my job.

For some reason, that definitely doesn't sound quite right.

The enemy Jacks actually used a pair of Le Regole last turn, meaning the entire enemy team has +4 Damage this turn. Ideally we want to avoid getting hit.

…I mean, we always want to do that, but like. Especially so.



Three down… that makes it pretty simple to know where it is, huh?

That does narrow it down quite well.



Wooooah, holy hell that's a brain blast! Found the right one!

This flash is what we've been hunting for from the Jacks. Now, an astute player would be able to see the 2 Haste on the Jack and immediately know which one to target from here forward.



But I can instead take advantage of the Quick Battle being off to just hover over the tooltip and jot it down on a notepad.



Well, congratulations on your memories returning.

Oh, they're not all back yet. But I do remember being the captain. Weird… isn't it, Tweeds?



I didn't say a single thing that was wrong.

The heck you didn't!



For every hit we get against the correct Jack, we get one page back in our hands. As a reminder, with 6 Oblivion left we need to land every hit on both of our remaining Oblivions to beat the timer… so now's the time to throw out our big plays.



Twee still has Distorted Blade, a page that works just the same as it did in its own fight.



Meanwhile, Evil Kit has access to Eradication, a Mass Attack which can be used the moment we hit Blade Unlocked with Gloria's Key Page. Its die isn't nearly as big as Distorted Blade's, but it's much cheaper and it gives 1 Feeble for the entire turn if it hits.



We're not going to have a lot of energy if this doesn't work…

If it gets my memories back, you guys shouldn't need any more energy after this.

Unless she steals them again, of course!

Well, yeah, but what are the odds of that?



Today, we also learn something interesting about Mass Attacks. Here, Twee fires off her Distorted Blade.



It hits all five of the enemies, meaning that their dice should now be broken.



But when Evil Kit uses his Mass Attack, they get to reroll them. The dice breaking doesn't happen until after the Mass Attack step, so one die can defend against two Mass Attacks even if it loses against the first.

I've figured out what this body can really do! Check this out!

Hey, hey, watch the chains!

Now… what was the line? Ah, yes.



GET OVER HERE!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!



Holy hell, Kit… is that why your body's so big?

Seems like it! It's all chains, swords, and mechanisms to blend people in here. Perfect for dealing with lots of enemies!

Wonder if that was because of a prescript, too…



Who cares?! It's time to get my memories back!



There we go… head's nice and full again.

And now that they don't have any memories of their own, it looks like those Jacks are pumpkins once more~



I think we made the Abnormality really mad..!

Of course we did! We just killed her only friends!



Her rage has made her drop her guard. It looks like this is our chance.

In that case, I'm sure you all know what to do~

I won’t forgive this!!! You’re no better than that lady wizard!!!

No… Don’t take away what is mine, not again…

If we successfully complete the Jacks phase, Ozma will use Agony of the Deprived, and on that turn her Stagger Resistances will all change to Fatal. This is our chance to attack, but any hits that we take from Agony of the Deprived will give the victim Feeble for the entire turn, blunting our offense. We need to deal as much damage as possible this turn, because next turn she'll restart her pattern from the beginning.



So we do that.



Agony of the Deprived's animation is just three Powder of Lifes in a row, and we mostly avoid getting hit by it.



Ultimately, it seems like this Abnormality's gotten quite a raw deal~



So she was cursed! So what? Lots of folks get cursed in this city!

Classical curses still don't really happen here.



That's all semantics, really. Fine print tying you down, neighbors who sneak in and take your stuff, scheming coworkers trying to get ahead… there's plenty of ways to curse someone you know, even without magic!

That's cool and all, but I think we've got about six seconds to take this Abnormality down before we have to do that all over again.



Right, right. Wouldn't want you losing your memories again, would we?



Tell me about it… having all my memories shoved back into my head gave me a bit of a headache, too.



Well, at least we're done here… I can't say I feel too good about bullying a victim.



If you get right down to it, all of these Abnormalities were locked into tiny rooms and used for power. Which ones aren't the victims?

True enough… I guess I just can't stand the ones I've watched kill people before~



Ozma isn't particularly difficult if we fight her the normal way, but there is a cheese strategy available as well! Because we can choose who gets Oblivion, we could load up a deck with completely terrible pages, have them clash with Ozma's attack, and have a completely free Jack phase. Honestly, the fight's simple enough that it's not worth cheesing—we'll need to do it the normal way soon enough anyways. The only hard part is keeping track of which Jack we need to be attacking.

Music: Lobby


With Ozma suppressed, Chesed's floor gets another level-up with all of the usual bonuses.



All three of our new E.G.O are interesting, and the first one, Power of the Past, is a sizeable power up to every die on every page… in return for messing up any deck we have's Light curve immensely. One extra Light per page is enough to make Light recovery pages only Light neutral, and any other page much more costly. We would have to build a deck specifically around using this page… but I admit 3-4 Power on every die might make it worthwhile.

The next one, Oblivion, is a decent recovery page. It costs 3 Light in return for 40% of a Librarian's health, and while they can't move the turn it's used it refills their light entirely. It's a good situational healing page, but since it requires us being behind to be useful there's usually a more optimal choice to make.

Lastly there's Powder of Life. It's a get-out-of-death free page, giving us 20% of our max HP the first time each one of our allies would fall in combat. It's our only Level 3 page right now, but since we never want to be dying in the first place it's only good as a last-ditch safety net.



Well, if the pattern holds that was the last one before everything goes to shit.

Personal growth is usually quite a messy affair. I'll make some coffee for our upcoming guests~

Speaking of, there aren't many Librarians left to wake up anymore, are there? So for who we're getting back…

As loathe as I am to ruin perfectly good speculation…

You're not at all.

I'm really not. Anyways, he's right over there. How's it going, Seyser!



Not… the best, I think? My hair seems to be on the fritz.

Oh right, it sensed danger, didn't it? What's the matter?

It's just not doing anything at all anymore.

Of course… that makes sense, actually.

From my understanding, we're fighting people to the death to get their books at the behest of a questionably-rational AI overlord. With all due respect sir, that feels like a little danger.

…Ah. I see. You weren't fully briefed on that technology. That hair isn't really meant to sense 'danger,' exactly~

Seriously?

I'm a little bit familiar with the Singularity that your hair uses, you see… what it's actually reacting to is your possibility of dying.

So… because we can't die here, it's not working.

Good for you! You'll finally be able to think without your brain rattling around.

By the same token, it means that if it ever does start shaking on us… we're in actual danger.

Setting that aside, you guys should get to work cleaning up. I have a suspicion that Angela and Roland will be dropping by here shortly.

Right. Can one of you show me where everything goes?

Leave it to the real captain.

We're on it. What will you be doing, boss?

As I said: making coffee for our guests~

Next time, on Library of Ruina



It's Chesed's turn now… I wonder what we'll see?

"Time flows as life does, and life goes as time does."

The Color

The Singularity

[TeeQueue]

The thread has spoken! It's time for Chesed's Realization battle. Hopefully I have less trouble than I did with Gebura's.

[Kacie]

Ozma, the Powder of Life, and Jack Pumpkinhead are from the The Marvelous Land of Oz - while a bit disturbing, Ozma doesn't lose her friends but she does lose the trappings of her early life. The abnormality isn't quite remembering things correctly, or else Frank Baum deliberately made the book's ending nicer.

[TeeQueue]

Concerto 3: Chesed—Sonata

Music: Lobby


…Hm.

Not to your liking?

Despite my progress towards becoming a human, it appears I still lack the ability to taste anything.

Ah… that's a shame.

Roland. Describe the taste for me.

The… taste? Oh, well, I mean… it's… Deep. You feel the bitterness right off, but then there's an unexpected nuttiness underneath..?

Honestly, there's so much dancing on my tongue here I can't even put it into words. This… what'd you call it? Cafe noir? It's not bad.

Lately we have a greater number of options for grounds to select from. It's let me make quite a number of good blends~

Yes… the Library is quite powerful these days. It has grown splendidly due to our efforts.



Speaking of the Library… I had a thought recently.

VIDEO
Music: ChesedStory


Looking at the power the Library has gathered so far, we could easily…

To get refined books in our hands, we need the emotions of our guests to be heightened above a certain level. To draw out their emotional tension, the guests are pitted against librarians in a battle of life and death with something precious on the line.

Refined books, huh…

What do you think is considered precious by all people?

Their own lives, I guess.

Exactly. Being alive is the prerequisite to achieving anything. We’re picking out people for their books at the cost of one’s life.

We still disagree with each other, I see.



How could I ever forget~? I drove employees to death for the sake of energy refinement even though we were more than capable of saving them.

Sigh… Chesed, that was all part of the script. It was devised to provoke your so caring and delicate heart. And I simply followed it as per obligation. You know now who to blame for all that, don’t you?

It’s true. It was all part of the script. Then what’s our excuse now?

This is not the same as back then. Individual choice meant nothing in that corporation. But here, the guests that enter the Library and meet their demise were all notified of possible risks and agreed to take all responsibility for whatever happens in this place.





That was tense, huh? You sure are good at rubbing things in others’ faces.

…And brewing coffee.

Mhm. Thanks to you, I realized how all the coffee I’ve drunk in my life was hot garbage… I don’t think I’ll ever bear to drink ordinary coffee again.

That’s good to hear~~

I never imagined there could be such subtle differences in sourness and sweetness, or how that could bring out a deep taste.

See? You can savor the taste when you know more about it~

Maybe the same goes for this world we live in?

Perhaps we’re just led to believe that the path ahead of us is all there is to it, because there’s so little that we can see or learn. Just like the Index obsessing over Prescripts, and the Fixers hanging on requests.

Speaking of, does the Index really not know where their Prescripts come from? Like, completely oblivious?

Mm, yeah, I don’t think they have any idea.

Following orders without even knowing who gave them or for what reason, that’s just… bitter.



One can’t even be sure if the values they’re pursuing are their own anymore.

Are you okay with the City staying this way forever?

It’s not a matter of being okay with it.

It’s a matter of survival. This is just how the world is, and we’ve got to live in it somehow. There’s nothing we can do about giant streams created from people tangling with each other.

Sometimes, I’m stricken with sorrow looking at the stories taking place in this City. Things that happened to my past self and his colleagues, and the things we’ve done afterwards… I joined the effort to change the City because I didn’t want to witness any more of that.

And how did that go?

As you know, the City did not change as we’d hoped.

…One can say that we caused even more trouble with the Distortion.

Think we got what we deserved?

Nah. That’s just an obvious outcome, that’s all. There’s no way the City can change.

Really? Even if we learned why all the pain is perpetuated in the City?



No Fixers would be driven to death solely to fill out contractual obligations; no feathers would be spent like expendables by the Wings. As if knowing why could actually prompt changes.

Point is, knowing does jack to change things. I told you, the stream is just too big for individuals to do anything about it.

I’m not saying we’re looking for immediate change. I know that we can’t change things instantly.

What do you know about it, then? What makes you think you can talk like it’s so easy?

Everyone just bears with it! They can’t afford to do otherwise!

When will you stop running away?

I’m not running from anything…

Aren’t you and Angela just lying to yourselves about it, though? That it can’t be helped, that there’s nothing you could do.

That’s the truth, what else am I supposed to do?

This is the City… There is NO other option!

Music: Dark ambiance


It’s a privilege that only those with power can make.



…

What the hell was that contract about, then! You know breaking contracts and dropping your reputation means a death sentence for a Fixer like you, right?

Read it again, carefully.

… Sneaky bastards, pulling filthy tricks with words…

So why did you try to smuggle Enkephalin in the first place? We wouldn’t have gotten into this if you hadn’t done that.

I swear, I had no idea… I didn’t know it was Enkephalin, and I didn’t know it was meant to be delivered to O Corp!



Let’s see how long you can act so high and mighty! Just you wait… The City’s gonna screw you over in the exact same way!!!

That’s then, and this is now.





What? But you said veterans of the war will be given first priority over moving to the Nest! That’s what I was told before joining the war!

Didn’t you receive the notice? The terms have long since changed.

You’ve got to be joking… We aren’t talking about some cheap giveaway, it was a promise made by a Wing!

You know all there is to know. Yelling won’t get you anywhere, I’m afraid.

…Please. It was all to earn that migration permit… Is there really no way…?

No means no, even for you. Tremendous amounts of money were involved in the agreement.

What about all the others who fought to death for the permit, then! What did they die for?!!

…I won’t forget this. K Corp. and I Corp… No, if any of the Wings dare reach out to me asking for help, why I’ll make you regret it.

You still received payment, didn’t you?



Well… I’m sure you’re already well aware of these precautions, right?

Go fuck yourself.

No thank you. Have a nice day.





It’s rather… romantic to be living in the so-called streets of music, too.

Still, the Nest could…

And I honestly never really wanted to move to a Nest. We’ve both seen and done the dirty deeds going on in the Nest per request of the Wings.

At least we wouldn’t have to worry about our lives walking around in the Nest! Life is more valuable there than in the Backstreets! And it’s not just us, what about our baby—



There is a smack accompanying this line. Roland's wife was not above thwacking him, it seems.

I’m telling you, it’s fine here. Who would ever want to touch our child when we’re the parents?

Good point…

C’mon… Again with that gloomy face of the past. You finally started socializing, too.

But…

Roland. It’s a miracle that we even have a decent house and a family. You know how the life of a Fixer usually goes. And I’m saying this just in case… No matter what happens, don’t blame yourself for all of it. You know it won’t be your fault.

Don’t say stuff like that.



You know I don’t make promises.

Hss…

Alright, fine! I promise!



…Alright. I’m counting on you.

Who was that just now?

Remember my old friend, Olivier?

Course I do. He used to work at the same Office as you.

He’s asking me to lend a hand for a bit.

…Don’t tell me, is it Fixer work?

…Erm, yeah. Looks like he urgently needs a hand. Don’t worry, nothing dangerous. I just have to be there and fill the number.

And the location?

District 25.

Whew… You’re going to a cold place. Remember the delicious pajeon we ate there? Buy some for me when you come back.

But of course, your majesty. I’ll be back as soon as possible.

…And thanks for letting me do this.

Can’t have you lose one of your last few remaining friends.



My family and I came first. I cursed those who turned away from my desperation. Everyone turns away from each other’s suffering and goes about their lives.

Who could I dare blame in these circumstances? Each person spurs the suffering of the City trying to live, knowingly or not.

Music: Ominous rumbling


I know! I know that I have to stand this ground and try to make a living like the rest… even if I loathe this cursed world and this City!!! I can’t do anything about it… I can’t change this damned City alone. It’s just how things work. Knowing the truth or making up my mind won’t allow me to go against the flow.



The City won’t change. As long as humans exist, the City will never change… It’s become a part of everyone’s life to hurt others for themselves to live… We can only survive in this world with our sense of shame covered in scabs and calluses!!!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Roland tries to kill us because he's a human and this is the City.


Videos

Chesed 5

[TeeQueue]

Concerto 3: Chesed—Adagio



Our decks today are the same as before, and SeyserKoze has been put right into Nikolai's page so that he can give everyone another 1 Power for most of a very long fight.

And make no mistake: Chesed's Realization is long.

Music: Roland01


Chesed.

Ah… yes, Angela?

I left you alone with Roland for no more than five minutes.

He also decided to run away from a question, you see~

And you cornered him with your verbal acumen. Well, let's help him work through this for now.

So you know everything, do you..? Then tell me, what should I have done? What didn't I know to do?!

Had I thought things through more calmly, could something have changed…?

But… What else could I have done…

A small piece of wisdom might have changed something…

Give me the power to listen… The power to solve all things with ease…

Yield your wisdom… With that wisdom, I could… I could…

What could be in the world illuminated by wisdom…?

People who brag about their knowledge and feel no shame of ignorance… That’s you and me…

A life where one has to be ashamed of lacking knowledge and be thankful for knowing… I don’t know…

Will the insight gained through wisdom really bring change…?

No. You’re probably the same. You just pretend to know better…

Haha… Ha… I can’t stop smiling…

The biggest change in the Scarecrow fight is the addition of Harvest. Harvest goes right for whoever has the most Wisdom in hand, gets +1 Power for each Wisdom they hold, and will try to murder the heck out of them.



His pages also have the ability to rip the Wisdom right out of our hands, meaning we would prefer not to get hit—the page is still as important as ever in this fight, after all.



The Scarecrows are largely the same, with a few buffs to their numbers to match our current power level. One of them will try to Harvest Wisdom us, while the other two use normal attacks that grant us Wisdom if we beat their dice in a clash.



Harvest Wisdom is the exact same in every way, and we set up two Wisdoms to block it. Interestingly, this does count as a unique page for the purpose of the Blade Unlock passive.



The rest of the Scarecrows give us sources for more Wisdom. Their numbers are pretty good, but by this point any of our usual 3-costs can deal with them.



It's no good to say what you should have done now. Hindsight can't change the past.

Sophistries… that's all you have. With your big head, so full of thoughts. I'll crack it open and slurp them all up.



Scarecrows're basically the same. I can hold 'em off even with my weak attacks.

Really, this is just the same fight but with an extra crow, isn't it?



Such a lovely, shaven head. Keeping no obstacles between your wisdom and the outside…

This guy's a hell of a lot more persistent than the Scarecrow ever was, though.



Just keep those thoughts in your head as best you can. We'll need them later~



Like me… you only pretend to know. Your tool tells you all you need. Give me your wisdom; you're not using it..!

That's gonna' be hard, boss..!



Then it sounds like distraction time! Muahahaha!

Hahah… what the hell..?



What is this… it sinks into my body…

Straw's really absorbent, and iit looks like that applies to straw-based Abnormalities and their E.G.O as well. He's got my ink all over him, don't hold back!



My plan here is to give up on Twee's +1 Power with breakdown pages, in exchange for trying to land solid hits or killing blows to lower the cost of the high-impact key pages that her keypage has a bunch of.



While you were painting the target, I was marking it. He should be nice and vulnerable now.

If only there were a Smoke user here as well, the damage may truly be incredible.

We go to war with the army we have, not the one we want.

A splendid pearl of wisdom… give it to me as well.

Ahh, beans.



Harvest uses his other two main offensive pages this turn. They don't steal our Wisdom on hit, but he does still get +1 Power per Wisdom in his target's hand so we'll want to ensure they clash with someone empty-headed.



Meanwhile, the Scarecrow we just beat up uses Till the Soil. This page still doesn't grant us any Wisdom, making it a useless for our purposes. It's not a huge deal.



On the strategy end of things, the one other thing I've been focused on throughout this phase besides getting clashes is playing Unlock with everyone who has it, as much as possible. Each version is a unique page for the Blade Unlock on our Proxy decks, and since the fight is so long the 2 turns it takes to fully put Unlock 3 online is less than a tenth of the battle—more than enough time for its incredible 1 Light/1 Draw to pay for the effort several times over.

Unlock is really good in Realizations.



We're going to grab Roland's attention. You try to get your wisdoms out.

That was already the plan.

Anything that we're not using to defend ourselves, we'll use to knock some sense into our good friend here~



Meanwhile, I'll dance circles around this scarecrow.

Save some wisdom for me…



Hey, what happened to stealing it from me?!

I have tasted your mind… it's empty, like mine.





Don't let it get to you, Seyser. He's not himself right now, anyways~

…I won't.



We're almost done here, anyways! Muahahaha!

I just wanted to change things…

Don't care!



Now, classical Ruina theory states that we could give Courage to Sweet Pea, and give her a +8 Power on her main die. However, she's already more than strong enough to handle anything this Realization can throw at her and two clash winners are better than one. I give it to Seyser instead.



On the third turn of the fight, Harvest will normally use a special attack, Harvest.



If this attack hits, it exhausts the highest-cost page in our hand, removing it from our deck for the remainder of the battle. We absolutely never want to allow it to hit us, but its 7-7 base is actually pretty easy to block as long as we clash it with someone who has no Wisdom in hand.



Harvest is Staggered, though, and the other three Scarecrows don't provide him with any protection so…



Dammit… Eyes up, you four! The scarecrows are still moving!



No worries. I'll take care of this one.



And I'll take this kill! Farewell, Roland!

The answer can't be found with knowledge… that is the one thing I know.

Even after we defeat Harvest the Scarecrows will finish out their turn—but none of them accomplish anything.



Of course I knew it… Just like I know this emptiness can never be filled.



No matter how much I wish for it, I'll never find that warm heart again. I can only chop away at this ocean of trees.

I don’t want to feel this empty and lonely feeling anymore…

I clutched my empty chest and grieved. Begging to have this cavity filled…

I looked for things to substitute the warmth…

I cut one after another, but the forest continues to grow thicker. There were always more trees to chop down.

I chopped down every tree that caught my attention…

I feel cold inside, and I can’t do anything about it…

Don’t you tell me that you understand everything. You’ve gone cold all the same…

I know. I can’t fill the void this way… I know it all too well…

The void won’t be filled; I’ll only be sorely reminded of this emptiness…

The forest will never change… The deeper I yearn, the more trees will grow…

Give back what you took… from me…

Logging is a slightly toned-down version of the original Woodsman fight. Like before we get all of our Light back every turn, and he gains +1 Power per Light we have on our character. We need to be spending all of it every turn, if possible. This time around he'll automatically lose 1 Warm Heart every turn, and while he'll be Staggered when he runs out of them…

He's only got 400 HP and we're actively encouraged to spam our high-value pages. He's not going to last that long.



Warm Hearts work the same, but instead of gaining or losing them directly from his combat pages, he now gains Pieces of Mind. Four of them become another Warm Heart, so we need to ensure he doesn't get any of those.



The trees, meanwhile, are completely ignorable. Targeting them will give us Heart Fragments, which power up some of Logging's attacks. There is no reason to ever target them.



Of the three pages we see this turn, only Strike of the Axe has the aforementioned Heart Fragment powerup effect. Since we should never get any fragments, we should never trigger it. The other two are mostly notable for their 1 Paralysis on Clash Win and 1 Strength on Clash Win counter dice—we want to bust those dice hard if at all possible.

You guys remember the rule here, right?

Don't hold a single thing back. Yeah, I remember.



Well if we're not holding anything back… You get me?



Yes… Mua ha ha… YES!



More trees… none of you have what I need either.

I must disagree. We're your way forward from this rut you've stuck yourself in~

Doubtful. You're as cold as I am..

I like to think I've thawed a little since I woke up here…

Your tongue remains as sharp as ever, at any rate.



It seems like I scored a direct hit! This guy's tougher to hurt than the original… is it correcting for how the Library's developed?



You're just using the wrong attack! You don't use a sword to destroy a body!



A woodchipper is much faster! Muahahahaha!!

Nngh…



Good job you two. Looks like he's a bit dizzy!



My ears are ringing, no more. My heart still has power… and I'll take your warmth with it.

Even though it won't complete you?

It's all I have.



You know words won't work, right Seyser?

I know, but it's rude to just leave a conversation thread hanging.

Mmm… that's true.



Speaking of, it seems like our camaraderie manifested into power. Allow me to play the part of the damsel.

So we're saving you if you're in trouble?

If you'd be so kind~



Your light is not the brightest… I'm unconcerned with your warmth.

Worth a try, at least.

You probably should have taken it, huh Sweet Pea?

And let you protect me? Nah, I have to keep my captain cred.

_{...Captain cred?}



Don't Take My Heart is the last of Logging's normal pages, and it's an opportunity to knock Pieces of Mind off of him before they can cash in and make a Warm Heart. Since he has no way of generating Pieces of Mind without hitting us, though, and since we're able to ensure he doesn't hit us… it's just another page in this particular fight.



I decide to smack it down with Decapitation, the unique page for Hubert's Key Page. This is a Ranged combat page with a single massive die, making it perfect for intercepting that 6-10 lead die.



It's been so long since the day that my chest was ripped open, and warmth left me… How many trees have I cut down?

Hey, Evil Kit, didn't they hire you specifically to work this Abnormality?

Originally, yes! I'm quite well-versed on its foibles.

So you know what to do when it starts moving, then? Isn't there some kind of cheap trick we could use to win?

Oh, nonono! My instructions were clear: "If it moves, you're already dead!" I stopped paying attention after that.

Once it breaks free it seeks hearts to keep itself running… but frankly, we're way too strong for it. Roland won't get a chance to reload.

You sure? Those trees back there look pretty weak… he could steal one from them.



Not if we don't let him.



Whatever he's longing for, it's long gone. No reason to let him keep searching in vain.

Huh. Thought you'd have understood that feeling better than anyone.



How you figure?

You're from a completely different timeline than the rest of us. All those relationships you forged are all but gone for good! I'd imagine that would make you want to rekindle them.

Heh. Cute theory, Kitten.



You're right. I do miss the friends I have the way I know 'em. And it sucks knowing all those memories only exist in my head now. But… what's the point in crying about it? It's not like Miss Angela here could just give us back our memories from loops outside the ones we already have, right?



It would be possible to attempt, but the inherently less stable forms you Assistant Librarians have would likely not be able to hold together.

For what it's worth, I can recall the both of you~

'Course you can.

Anyways, I'd love it if they were my buddies still. But… hewing my way down some arbitrary path to try and get back the glory days that only live in my memory… That doesn't fix anything.

…Sweet Pea…

Pretty brilliant, right? So you want to step aside, Tweeds?

Fine. Just this once, you can be the captain.

In that case, I've only got one order for you guys!



Before he can even hope to react… Knock the stuffing out of him!

There are two other attacks that Logging can use, once its Warm Heart count gets low enough.



The first, Lumber, is used to try and chop down a tree to regain Warm Hearts and continue his rampage. We would have to draw these off of the trees in order to keep him from cutting them down and recovering a decent number of Pieces of Mind.



And if we ever see Empty Chest we've probably won the fight—this is the page Logging spams once he's out of Warm Hearts entirely.



But none of that ultimately matters, because Logging isn't going to get to move again.

DECAPITATIOOOON~!!!



I can't simply stay here in this dense forest, hewing things without a single thought. That will not get me anywhere…



I need to retrace my steps… In order to get back what I've lost…

I got him!

Get ready for the next stage, everyone~



…I simply need a path home.

Music: Roland02


…Home… It's right there. I'm on my way, dear. I have that pajeon you wanted~!

I'm sorry, Roland… there's no one left in there to greet you.

Don't give me that, you wicked wizard..! I'm… I'm going to go home! I know I can get there if I follow the path!

To home where a loving family awaits…

There won’t come a day when we’ll all go back together.

This is the only path I can walk along… The road paved with golden bricks…

I’ll be able to meet what I’ve desperately wished to see if I keep following this path.

If I followed the randomly paved brick road, will I find it? The thing I’m looking for…?

Where is home for me?

Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s hurry along. Before the wait kills me.

We’ll make it to the end. Right?

Let’s all gather up. Let us dance and skip around.

Haha… That guy… That wicked guy snatched it all.

It happened all too suddenly… I couldn’t do a thing as I got far away from home.

It’s time to go back home now. My home that should exist somewhere.

…Now, shall we go back?

The Homing Instinct works almost exactly the same as The Road Home. Turn 1, make a path. Turn 2, try and walk the path, repeat once more, then hit us with an entire building.



His numbers are largely the same as well.



Scaredy Cat also works the same as before, gaining Strength if we attack The Homing Instinct on this turn, and gaining +5 Power against people on the path next turn.



Its moves are all the same, but the die numbers have been buffed a very little bit.



Lastly, the home is still a house.



Because we're stuck in this phase for several turns no matter what we do, it's actually ideal for maxing out our Emotion Level. That cat's attacks need to be blocked anyways, after all.



I can see the path I should be walking on… I'm coming home to you now.

Looks like we're going to be defending against him, boss.



How convenient… now that power from before should help against that kitten over there~

Don't worry, we'll have your back.



Cat's just as immortal as ever, for what it's worth.



Speak for yourself! I remembered… burning works! So I brought a little fire!



I take A Warm Heart here, and give it to Sweet Pea—she's got an efficient Light curve, so it should be trivial to keep her above 3 Light.



Friends! Let's Go Home~! has gotten a little stronger, with a 9 instead of a 4… but unlike the first fight, we have a trick up our sleeves. Both of the path targets get a page called A Road Walked Together added to their hands, which is a guaranteed 10 roll. Because nothing in this phase inflicts Feeble or Paralysis, this section of the fight is completely free.



Hey, Kit? I don't think fire worked at all. That cat's looking as good as ever.

I don't believe an Abnormality has shown up alongside an E.G.O like this before…

It appears to be sustained entirely by Roland's consciousness at the moment.



Meaning the second we finish with him, this thing'll vanish too.



Then leave Roland to us, cap'n!

Okay, now that I'm hearing it it feels wrong coming from you.



Why are you blocking my path..?

The more pertinent question is why you've given us the means to block your path.

…What are you saying? My home is right there, I want to get-

No, you don't.



I remember the fight against The Road Home very well. Going home was all she knew, and we had to stop her entirely with our own power. But that's changed now…

And that change has to mean something's different, doesn't it~?



The path is right there… all I have to do is walk it and I'll find where I belong.

That's the influence of the Abnormality… but beneath that, you already know, don't you?



You know what's waiting should you ever arrive home… so you've given yourself the perfect excuse to avoid confronting anything~

You… you bastard…!



Should you really be provoking him like that, sir?

I'd say it's the perfect way to handle this fool!

Wha-? Why?

Remember how the fight with this one ended last time? She was vulnerable just after she used her ultimate attack!



So come on, you posh fop! You say you want to get home?! Well I say you're a ruddy liar! Your home doesn't exist!

I'm sure it exists… it must exist. You're… you're just trying to fool me!



You're just a bunch of wicked wizards. I'll show you… I'll show you my home exists! It has to!

Hey, it worked. Good job, you two!



After going through the pattern twice, The Homing Instinct uses You… Wicked Wizard! A 20-20 die is decent, even after Paralysis drops it to 17, but any of our 3-costs is almost guaranteed to block it. Scaredy Cat also gets a new status effect this turn.



Cowardice effectively means that each hit we land on The Homing Instinct will give a -1 to all of its offensive dice for this turn. Because its Speed Dice are all 1s, this means we could effectively ignore it and focus entirely on getting to the next phase.



So we do that.



I'll pray with all my heart and soul… and my miracle will happen~



My home is real… yes, it must be. It's just down this mysterious path…



So? What do you have to say now, you big meanie?

Hmmmmm hm hm..!



Muaaaaahahahaha! If your home was real, then wouldn't it have hurt us?!

That's… you blocked it, is all!



You can drop the bit, Kitten. We've already won.

D'aww… but this is fun!

If the fight had made it to the next turn, then The Homing Instinct would have been Staggered, and Scaredy Cat would use Alertness to try and protect him.



It is the same exact page as in the first fight, and we will not be seeing it because our damage output is absurd.



Dammit… I can't keep this up…

I think we got him!

It's true. It's time to face the facts…



That day… the home that I craved was destroyed. That's what's at the end of this path.



There there… calm down, kitty.

Scaredy Cat does what it can, but with 10 Feeble the poor thing's been declawed. It can't deal any damage to us.



It was all stolen from me… I'll never see that "home" again.



…But I'll be damned if I let anyone else steal another thing from me.

That's… not the same Abnormality we just fought.

Well, they did give a cursed princess vibe before. Maybe this is based on them before the curse?

He's really working that outfit, in either case…

Focus, Koozy.

Why did he have to rob me of all my world?

I don’t want to live a life of being thieved any longer…

Before it comes for me again… I have to act first, or else…

They have to experience the same. The forlornness of forgetting and losing everything…

Please send me back. Back to the place where my beloved is…

I can do little more than just exist…

This despair won’t ever leave me… I won’t ever be able to return…

Why should I have to be the one that seeks forgiveness?

I don’t want to lose something yet again… I don’t even have much left…

The only thing I have left is hatred toward what made me this way…

I may be in awful shape, but there’s no need for you to pity me…

Seeking vengeance for that hatred by myself…

Faded Memories is a point-for-point recreation of the Ozma fight we just did. Because it takes place so late in the fight, however, we've had plenty of time to set up to take down the Jacks.



Turn 1 is the same as last time, with a low-powered Mass Attack and a single page to designate our forgetter.



Since we know the trick this time… who's going to forget again?

Not it!

Quick on the draw… but you guys don't need to worry. I took care of it once, I'll do it again.

You'll be okay, right?

So long as we don't screw up.



Rise, all of you. Rise, and fight. That I might get revenge for all that I've lost.



Welp, here goes nothing.



Ever since he robbed me of everything that was mine… all I could do is seek vengeance. I won't be pushed again.

Oh… yep. There's the feeling. Uuugh..!

Rise, Jacks. Rise and crush them.



Um… What's… going on?

We're in a fight. You have to track down the correct pumpkin enemy and beat your memories out of them.

Woah… deja vu. Has this happened before..?

Once, yeah.

Now… experience it: The pain of losing all that you are.



The Jacks work the same as in the first fight, and this means we can deal with their gimmick through the same manner:



Meaning I turn Quick Mode off for a moment again.



I'll try to stop the Jacks from moving. You guys just focus on bringing any of the ones that block off of the Captain.

There are no new pages here, either—during most of the fight, Faded Memories and Ozma use the exact same pages, die for die. With Sweet Pea having an extra Speed Die to use Oblivion with, this is actually a net downgrade in difficulty.



Alright… beat the snot out of the Jacks. I can do that.

Yeah… you see how it is. You lose everything, and you rage against whoever you can blame. It's normal. That's just how it works in the City.



They're all open! Let's go, team!



Not this one… where are you, memories?

While we're searching for the last Jack, there's one thing I didn't mention about this fight during Ozma: it's actually on a time limit.



After going through the Jacks phase twice, Ozma or Faded Memories will begin to spam Grief of the Deprived. This Mass Attack is the strongest page available to them, and once these start coming out the battle is going to end quickly, one way or another.



Huh… something feels weird about this one. Maybe it's our target?

This is the other thing I didn't get to show off in our first fight—when Sweet Pea's allies hit the target Jack, the screen still darkens slightly as a hint that that's the opponent we should be hunting. It's much less obvious than when it's hit by Oblivion, but it's another way to figure out which Jack is the one that's carrying our memories.



Bingo! Just give me a sec, and I'll be back to normal.

To overcome my curse so easily… Enacting revenge is harder than I anticipated.



Or maybe you're just bad at it. I'm back, everyone!



Great! Then we're just a tiny push away from being done!

…In the end, it seems all I can do is simply exist.



We've got this, everyone. Just one more push!



You think yourself so far above me, who has nothing…

Don't get careless now. You remember that a candle burns brightest in the end, right~?



Agony of the Deprived is a little bit stronger than the original, but even through Ineffective defenses we've hacked off much of Faded Memories's HP and SR.



I have nothing left… You cannot take anything from me even if you want to. But you have everything… Everything that was stolen from me.



I want to take it for myself.

That… smarts. Is everyone okay?



Just fine! A little muscle pain can't stop my speed!

So even this has failed me.



Very well. Send me to my beloved, if you can…

We… can't actually kill him, right?

Of course not. I would not allow him to die so easily.



Then it's time to go diving into the unknown again~



My body is broken… but I am forced to live on. In that case… why not deny it? Such an obvious truth… there's nothing to say it isn't a lie.



If I sing into existence a happy spell for us all… maybe then..!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: "Oz came up with a brilliant idea. Her emerald eyes seemed to shine even brighter."

[TeeQueue]

Concerto 3: Chesed—Rondo

Music: Roland03


Ah… you lot have traveled quite a distance to come to me. You must be unhappy with your place in life. Come, tell me your troubles.

He's lost himself inside of the Abnormality. Angela..?

My available information on this Abnormality only refers to it as "The Adult who Tells Lies." It is linked to the other Abnormalities you have seen so far… but the related Abnormalities were kept separated to ensure that it would never be called.

Like the Magical Girls or the Birds… Pea, what's your gut say?

This feels like a performance. We need to play our part, or who knows what could happen.

It's as good a plan as any. Angela~?

I will keep you apprised of any changes.

Nothing is as deceptive as evident truth.

I’ll cast a spell that will make everyone happy.

Poor stuffing of straw. I’ll give you the wisdom to ponder over anything.

Do you think jabbering away with your oh-so smart mouth is all that matters?

Tin-cold woodsman. I’ll give you the heart to forgive and love anyone.

Who do you possibly expect to understand with that ice-cold heart of yours?

Cowardly kitten. I’ll give you the courage to stand up to anything and everything.

What are you even going to do when you lack the bravery to face anything head-on?

Last of all, road that is lost. I will send you home.

What are you fighting for so fiercely when you have nowhere to go back to?

I simply gave you what you wanted.

I can’t let it go. I can’t give up what is mine!!!

False Throne is more a series of trials than it is a boss fight. It has six different phases to work through, each of which has its own peculiarities, and for the most part Roland will be immune to damage.



On the first turn, we're more concerned with setup than we are with anything else.



…Hm. It seems like we've got options all of a sudden.

On the first turn, five unique pages are added to the hands of every single one of our Librarians. Each of them is an On Play page, and once one of our Librarians plays a page they lose all the other pages from their hand—the page they played is also removed from everyone else's hand as well. We need to ensure we play all five of them now, they'll be important to the tasks ahead.



In that case, let me try calling the spirit of the Woodsman.

Ah… I see. So you've come to gain a heart that will let you feel love and warmth.



In that case… I'll become the Scarecrow.

With your head full of straw, you wish only for the wisdom to think over the truths of this world… I understand your struggle.



The cat for me, then… since I took its help earlier.

O cowardly kitten, you come to me seeking the courage to walk forward. Surely, I shall be able to give you the courage you need to carry on.



In that case, I'll become The Road Home~

Ah, yes… you who have been displaced from your world. Come here, I know a way to get you back.



Muahaha… perfect! I wanted to see what this curse was all about anyways!

I believe my dealings with you have already concluded. Why have you returned?

Oh, you know. I love to meddle~

I see.

Now that we've taken care of the busywork for phase 1, we have to deal with False Throne's actual attacks.



Welcoming Salutations is a 10-10 Summation Mass Attack, and that means we can block it trivially so long as we put anything in the targeted Speed Die.



His other two attacks are relatively low Ranged attacks as well; nothing we need to be too concerned with.



Ooh, it seems I can control the pumpkins. Go forth, my minions!

Each one of the special pages grants a number of benefits, which we'll cover as they become relevant. One of the benefits of Ozma is Help Me, Jack!, a 0-cost page which gives all allies +2 Power on their offensive dice for the turn it's played. It also costs 0 and handily blocks How Noisy, so I immediately play it.



You've all journeyed far along that golden-clad road, and now you've arrived at my emerald city. I'm quite impressed with your drive… but you must be tested if you're to have your reward.

A test… that'll definitely mean fighting.

Like we weren't already planning to beat him up.

First off, allow me to offer to you my warmest… most fond…



Salutations.



Everyone's alright, yes?

Seems that way.

Of course. If such a simple greeting would harm you, then there would be no point in taking my tests at all.

You could just let us kick your teeth in so we can move on already.



Such noisy and boisterous children… please keep yourselves under control, now. We don't want anything unfortunate to occur, oh no no no.

A bit condescending, aren't you..?



Condescending, but hard as a rock. Sure enough, we don't have much choice except to play along.

Right, right. Now then… settle down, all of you. Your tests will be… Well, let's start with you, dear Woodsman.



What the… It feels so heavy all of a sudden..!

Come now. I've set you a perfect stage. Show them your warm and caring heart.



The second phase is built around Woodsman. False Throne summons a trio of Emerald Crystals, and cuts the maximum Light of all Librarians but Woodsman to 3. We have two turns to destroy all of the Crystals. Succeed, and we move on to the next phase. Fail, and we get punished.



That's Not It! is a slightly stronger Mass Attack, which inflicts Bleed to all our allies.



As for the Crystals, they don't have any attacks or abilities.

Those crystals… they're resonating with the enemy. If they're allowed to stick around, things will become much more troublesome.

With this sudden gravity, that might be a little…

Nah. I got this.



I can hear my heart beating… my breaths become one with the rhythm of my being. With each step forward I'll carve a path for the rest of you.



False Throne uses the other two attacks in his standard set this turn. Brimming Light is his Light Restoration page, and Please Be Gentle will tank our unit's Offensive die output if it hits. Both are still Ranged pages without particularly impressive die ranges, so they're also not a large threat.



I'll weaken the crystals. So much so that even a tap will finish them off. All I need you four to do is tap them once I'm done.

Sorry. If I could just unsheathe my sword…

Don't worry about it, Tweeds.



I've gotten out of way worse scrapes than this!



You'd best hurry, or your friends will suffer for it.

Don't worry about us, we're fine!

So long as he continues to toy with us in this little 'test,' he shouldn't use anything overly lethal.



Hey team, we're all set up here!

What? Already?! I wasn't set up-!

I do good work.



I'll just enjoy myself breaking this toy, then!



And that's the second one done~



Three! We're all set here.

So quickly…



Ah… I can't say I expected that. Hold on a moment, I'll keep you entertained while I prepare the next test.

_{Your heart was supposed to be hollow and empty… this should have been an immense challenge for you. How did this happen?}

It looks like he wasn't expecting us to kick so much ass.

I doubt we were supposed to be able to succeed at all, let alone so quickly…

So it's unfair play, is it? Well I have something in mind myself. A little prank, as it were!



I think I've just about gotten the hang of Ozma's curse. We might be able to use it to win!

Awesome! So, are you going to use it?

Doesn't work like that! Right now, he's trying to trick us. You can see it in his lying eyes. So, his guard's up. But if you can lower it…



I suppose we'll give it a try. Reserve your strength while we handle his attacks, everyone~

Oh, I see. You need more entertainment while I finish setting up the next test. Such rowdy children… Don't worry, don't worry. You won't get to the end if you keep being so loud.



So just quiet down for a moment, would you?

Says the person shooting emerald shards at us.

A test isn't any good without stakes, wouldn't you agree?



Pass/fail grading is stakes enough! You don't have to go putting spikes in!

Pass-fail… pass-fail. Yes, yes. I think that's what the next test will be, then.

Seyser, I think we're about to get hoodwinked.

Man, I hate it when that happens.

Don't worry, guys. There's no trick he can do that we can't beat!



Ahh, dangit.



Here we are. A pass/fail test, without any entertainment from myself. That ought to make you children happy, yes? Now, Scarecrow, show me your wisdom.



Each of your four companions have been encased in crystal. I've given you the means of freeing them, but only if you can solve my riddle.

O scarecrow, full of straw, left alone and feared by all, four emeralds stand before, whose form you once adored…

Hm.

Shouldn't you be paying attention to the riddle?



There's no point. Sure, it's probably technically solvable, but we're trying to make him angry. Nothing makes a GM angrier than when the puzzle they spent so much time putting together gets trivialized by something they didn't expect.

Which would be?

Well… Yan was a Messenger of the Index. The Prescripts say who they go to, and the location that they're supposed to show up at. But I didn't ever see one mention who a person is. That means either Messengers know the faces of every member of the Index…



Or they can determine who a message is meant for by looking.

So by interpreting the solutions you were given as 'a prescript to deliver…' the body complies?



Seems like it.

The news is ordered and hints all given, now your wisdom prove, 'ere your companions find their ruin… Scarecrow, time to choose.

…Oh, you finished?

Don't tell me you weren't paying attention… I'm not going to repeat it.

Oh, yeah. No problem.






I figured it out already.

You… what?

Yeah. I just used my "wisdom" to see right through the crystal.



From there it's just matching the message to the statue. Just like a real Messenger.

You just… cheated your way through it.

Hahah… you know, now that I'm actually doing it myself, I can see the appeal of ruining someone's carefully-laid plans. Anyways…

_{Your empty head really thought of all of that on its own? No, that simply can't be… In that case, could it be..?}

To all of you guys: Time to wake up!

Very well then. I'll allow this to be a pass, as you did… technically succeed.



Very well done, Twee.

Yeah. Not bad… for a vice-captain.

For today.

Pfeh. We'll see.

Hey… guys? You do see those floating, super-ominous looking skulls, right?

Ah, yes. That's your next test.



Hm… it seems like we've been weakened.

It's another part of the test, I'm sure!

Of course. Your knees are chattering, and your bodies feel heavy… because you face absolute terror.



The terror of the horrifying visages before you…



And the inescapable death they hold. So, cowardly kitten… What will you do?

Nothing at all!

I don't believe I was speaking to you.



While Scarecrow's phase is as easy as 'play cards as directed,' Scaredy Cat's requires us to play cards as directed and put a stop to four different attacks against our allies. It is also pretty easy due to the special page we get for this phase.



Show me if you can overcome that fear and-

…fear? Is that what I'm supposed to be feeling?

You don't have to pretend… You are facing death itself. It's natural that you would be frightened.



Nnnnnope. Hair still isn't shaking. This isn't even remotely a threat.

Bwahahahahaha! Oh, how deliciously ironic!



Seyser has more than enough Light and hand presence to go all out on three of the Scowling Faces, with the fourth one getting targeted by a pair of weaker pages.



You're so bold in how you sally forth. Where does that bravery come from?

I wouldn't call this 'bravery.' These things only look scary, don't they?

They would be instantly lethal to your friends, you know. If one hit lands, you're doomed.



You're a known liar, though. Why should I believe you over my own senses?

That's not… how this is supposed to work! You're supposed to be frightened, and struggle to be courageous!

With 15 Strength and the Faces having a weakness to every kind of Stagger damage, the only way that any of them could survive more than two dice from SeyserKoze is if we could somehow roll two 1's in a row. Given that none of our pages even have 1 results on them…



Seyser murders his way through every one of the Scowling Faces in 2 dice each.

Done.

_{You… no, none of this is right. The tests were supposed to be harder than this. So much harder… these faces aren't the ones you should be making.}



Fine then. The wandering girl. You need to go home, right..? But even if you did go home, is there anything left for you waiting there? Why do you fight so fiercely for something that is behind you?

Every dream must have its end, mustn't it? I wouldn't say it's wrong to want to step forwards towards your own goal~



There is another option. You can simply create a new home, and then you will have reached it as you wished. This city is grand… I will allow you to stay here, in safety.

If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not~

I'm afraid I must insist, my poor traveler.

This phase is a redo of the first phase in terms of attacks, but now we can deal Stagger damage to False Throne—once we've Staggered him, we'll move on to the next phase.



The Road Home's own passive doesn't help us much with this phase, giving Chesed some support abilities.



Each page has two copies, they can be used to either heal allies or give them Protection against damage.



Anyways, False Throne is still Marked, and SeyserKoze still has one turn left on Courage, giving him 15 total Strength, so we don't need to worry much about chewing through his SR.

He seems to be quite… insistent on my staying.

I'm still hopped up on that high from killing those Faces… want me to take it out on him?

I think we should all attack him together.

Oh. Sure… that works too, boss.



Once more… I welcome you, dear travelers, to my Emerald City. Please, make yourselves at home.



No thanks. We're good.

But this is a city of wonders. Full of anything you may want!



As long as that thing is emeralds?

I am offering you a place to belong. Why must you children be so ungrateful?



You're the one who started it with all of those 'tests' and whatnot.

Of course there were tests..! That's what life is. A series of tests, tribulations. You do for me, and only then do I do for you.



Or to us, yes. I'm quite familiar with the process, muahaha!

You're still here..? Actually, thinking on it… that explains everything.

Oh?

You put them up to this. Because you're jealous of my place on the throne. Because you blame me for your own mistakes.

Oh, so you are the lying sack of crap who made Ozma wind up that way. Thaat's what you meant by our dealings being done.

Don't play dumb with me. This was all you. All along.

And what's wrong with that?!

You lot were lying, this entire time… what you're after is my throne. This throne I worked so hard for… all the things I've gathered.



I was willing to test you. To even give you what you wanted. But no more…



You didn't engage with my carefully crafted puzzles. You blew through my encounters without a care in the world. I try to give one of you a cool moment, and philistines that you are you throw it in my face. I attempt to reward you… and you don't even want it anymore.

Fine! If you're so intent on every single thing I do…



I am through playing with you.

Playtime is Over!!! is the only attack that False Throne uses in his final phase, and he will use it with every one of his speed dice. We cannot beat any of these dice in a clash, and even if we could we'd be eating a total of -40 power to all dice next turn. Beating False Throne through conventional means is not really an option. We'll have to transform him into a different being… somehow.

I see… so this is his real power. Angela..?

It's well beyond any of you. Should he attack now, you will all be wiped out. We need an alternative measure.

Muhuhu… Perfect. This is perfect! He's so angry he isn't thinking straight anymore! Great job, everyone! You're the best group of accomplices I could have hoped for!



You've all had your important moments… but now it's my turn!

No… that cursed power. You were never supposed to be capable of accessing it!



If you tell me what I can't do, I'm just going to do it twice as hard! Three… two… one!

No-!



Muhu… muhuahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!!!

What'd you do to him..?

I turned that punk into a pumpkin!

So it's just… over? Just like that?

Pretty much!

I was expecting more of a climax… but I guess this is fine, too.

It was ultimately a very Evil Kit-like way to settle things.



Let's go home, team. I should get another pot on before Roland comes to.

In that case, I shall excuse myself.

You don't want to stick around?

There is work to be done elsewhere. Cleaning up is your duty.

If you insist~



Chesed's Realization is long, but ultimately one of the easiest of them. By the time we get to it, we should have access to not only Myo and Gebura's pages, but also Multislash, Unlock, and a number of other absurdly powerful pages which allow us to overpower the first two phases with ease. After that, it's all just rehashing old puzzle battles, and while they're time consuming there's nothing that happens from Phase 3 onwards that is difficult. The only way to lose would be if we were to somehow accidentally delete Transmogrify from our deck during the final phase… which I have definitely never done.

There used to be an old exploit where, if the Courage user had Rake, they could Stagger the Scowling Faces and steal one of their combat pages. Because False Throne did not have Courage, it would then become possible to instantly defeat him. This is no longer possible, but I assure you that it was very funny at the time. I have since been made aware that this actually works just fine still, which is

VIDEO
Music: None


Because I am certain you will never leave me.

Music: ChesedStory


I made up spurious lies to comfort myself. A runaway couldn’t be anything more than a runaway. I could never escape from the stigma I branded on myself. The shame I felt from things that were out of my hand… It’s inescapable, even for me.

I don’t attribute the suffering of some strangers to myself. That’s that… and this is this…

Some things just can’t be helped.

Sure. Let’s say that they were. And there’ll be still more things that are inevitable in the future.

Maybe we can’t change the things that are considered normal right away. Even then, we’ll know shame at the very least.



…Just by knowing? There’s no strength to get things done.

Roland. The fact that one knows is sufficient. It might get shelved deep in the back of the mind because life keeps you busy.

But, it can always be pulled back into the light. As long as you have the will. And when you bring it back up… it doesn’t have to be only one time. If you can do it time and time again…

Neither you, nor this City… No one could look down on the power it can create.

Shame, huh… The humiliation that I took part in perpetuating the pain of the City…

That’s what I think, anyway.

I get what you’re trying to say. I admit it. Yeah… It’s certainly true. Most aren’t even aware of what they’re doing.

You really understand me~? I’m touched.



You’re always welcome~

Music: Lobby


And so, we're done with Chesed's Realization, granting us the usual perks of E.G.O and the last 3 Abnormality Pages. Speaking of, we should take a peek at them!



Emerald is a very funny page, giving us a 5-cost combat page which lets us cancel out two pages that a target is playing. The pages selected are completely random, but this does set us up to more easily be able to get onesided attacks through, and it can cancel some very threatening attacks from our enemies.

False Present, meanwhile, gives us some generic buffs we can spread among our teammates, similar to the start of False Throne's battle. These show up on the E.G.O selection page and are technically cards, but I'll just list the effects here:

Liquid Courage: Deal +6 damage, take +3 damage.

Silk Sack of Sawdust: Recover 8 SR on clash win, lose 4 SR on clash lose.

Heart of Lead: Lose 5 HP and gain 1 Light each scene.

Home that Cannot be Reached: On clash lose, lose 4 SR and gain +2 Power on next die.

Transformation: Upon a successful attack in a clash, destroy the opponent’s next die at a 50% chance; upon taking a hit in a clash, destroy the next die of self at a 50% chance.

These buffs are pretty good overall, and can be built around… but it's a level 3 Abnormality Page, making it impractical to use.

Lastly, we have Magic Trick. As it is another level 3 page it's quite costly to get to… but it has inspired a number of unique strategies taking advantage of the ability to instantly reduce the cost of pages like Distorted Blade to 0. Being able to spam all of our highest-cost pages in a single turn for effectively 4 Light is exactly as crazy as it sounds, and Chesed's most well-known endgame strategies revolve around this page in one form or another. It's very good.



So, Tweeds. Now that you've seen how brilliant my leadership is—

Not a chance. I'm still the real captain.

Only in this timeline. Before, and probably most of the time before that…

Doesn't matter. Like you said: "hewing your way down some arbitrary path to try and get back the glory days that only live in your memory doesn't fix anything."

Smartass. You know this is different.

Oh yeah? How?

'Cause I'm the best.



Knowing shame… looking at what you're doing, and knowing it's wrong, huh..? Geez… he always leaves me with heavy stuff to think about.

That coffee's worth it, though.

Next time, on Library of Ruina



"Time flows as life does, and life goes as time does."

R Corp waits for their revenge.

The Snake slithers away from danger.


Videos

Chesed 6
Chesed Realization (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)


New E.G.O Pages

[TeeQueue]

I've seen enough. It's time.

[TeeQueue]

Music

ChesedBattle01
ChesedBattle02
ChesedBattle03
ChesedStory

Abnormality Pages

Level 1



Chesed's Abnormality pages follow a couple of themes, and while none of them are bad a number of them are very good. Courage is outright the best option here, giving 3 Strength and Protection to whoever we choose for the entire battle. A simple +1 Strength is strong already, and a +2 is enough to take even with a bit of a downside on it… so this is absurd. Out of the rest, Cardiae is probably the best offensive option, and Gleaning is a solid defensive option. Rake isn't very good, since any time we could have it we're dominating the enemy—stealing the pages of an enemy we're already crushing is basically just a 'win harder' button.

Timber is relatively good against enemies with Shimmering, since they'll always have full Light, and while Torn-Off Wisdom has interesting synergies with discard decks its -2 Zone makes it very difficult to reach unless we play to lose for a turn.

Level 2



Chesed's Level 2 pages don't have anything as obviously overpowered as Courage, but there are some interesting picks to be had here. All of the clash wins we should be getting makes Emerald very obtainable, which can be used to cancel dangerous pages coming from big singular enemies. A Road Walked Together can be situationally useful, but without any way to force the enemy to target a single Librarian it's somewhat random if we get a power boost or not. Home is a pretty nice damage buff against single targets, but otherwise is finicky to use—there are more constant options for Power here.

On the negative side, Oblivion is a very powerful recovery page that costs us a turn to activate but can let us quickly recover our entire stockpile of Light. I don't like giving up any aggression for that, but it's serviceable. I vastly prefer A Warm Heart, which gives one Librarian +1-2 bonus power as long as they have 3+ Light. It doesn't show up as often as I'd like due to its -1 Zone and 0 having two different pages in it, but when it shows up it's a good pick. Lastly, Power of the Past is completely nuts. 3-4 Power is big, and if it wasn't a -2 zone Level 2 Abnormality Page it'd be worth building a character's deck around. As it is… it's a cool thing that we should never see.

Level 3



Out of our Level 3 pages, Magic Trick is powerful but requires us to be running builds with a lot of high-cost cards to really capitalize on it, making getting there a bit harder. Powder of Life, meanwhile, is an excellent safety net in a floor that really wants its full team surviving—but ideally we won't ever be low enough to have to fall back on the revival. That leaves False Present as a sort of default option, but really it's hard to go wrong with any of the Level 3 pages. Just pick the one that works for the strategy that you're using at the moment.

E.G.O.



Harvest is relatively cheap for an E.G.O page, at 4 cost, and its claim to fame is a die that rolls 25-35 as long as everyone is alive. This makes it the E.G.O equivalent of Headshot or Pinpoint shot, but MUCH larger. It's great for Staggering a target low on SR at the start of a round, or for breaking through one specifically powerful die. The Evade on the end is nice, too, but it's much more likely to lose a clash than that massive first die.



Logging is an immensely powerful 5-cost E.G.O which has one primary use case: We slap it onto whoever has the massive amount of Power boosts from Courage and any passives they can muster, and watch them do a bajillion damage in one shot. It's only okay at clashing without Power stacking, but the higher our numbers go the more potent it becomes.
.


The first thing to note about The Homing Instinct is that it is an 8-18 Individual mass attack. This means it's only targeting the first die on the enemy's page, so it can't break an entire page on its own—but it doesn't have to. THI is a sustain E.G.O that we want to use to give everyone else in the party back 2 Light. Its numbers are big enough that it'll consistently win whatever clash it's put in against at least one enemy, and that keeps the rest of the team going strong.



Faded Memories is arguably even better than The Homing Instinct. Its two dice are smaller than The Homing Instinct's are, but if targeted correctly each one should be able to hit at least one enemy. If it does, the entire team gets to draw 2 cards each. This allows Chesed to run slightly less drawtech than other floors, freeing up slots for more high-powered pages or Light recovery. It's a very strong option, and probably the best E.G.O on the floor.



Lastly, there's False Throne. It costs 2 more than Faded Memories, but comes with the same dice. The upside of it is that it can temporarily bring back allies who have already fallen in battle. They'll have 4 Light, and while they only last for one scene this sudden influx of actions might manage to swing things back in your direction if the situation is dire—and it had better, since they won't be coming back a second time. While I'm sure this comeback mechanic has saved someone, I am not them and I have never needed to use False Throne.

Final Thoughts

In Early Access, we didn't get access to Chesed's realization until around midway through the third row of receptions—as I recall, the only two they hadn't released yet were Xiao and Yan. Because of this I never really played around with Chesed's talents. We're in much the same position here, with only two unselected nodes to go in Star of the City before we get into the relatively more linear endgame, but looking at the floor's kit it's actually quite dangerous. A +3 Power to all offensive dice as a level 1 page is insane, and the floor has enough tricks with Light generation and additional ways to gain power that it's actually pretty nuts. I'll be playing around with him a bit during the upcoming receptions, so I'm looking forward to seeing just how well this floor performs now that I can really use it.



_{There is a mod that lets Chesed beat enemies to death with his coffee mug. There is also a mod that lets Gebura beat enemies to death with Chesed. Both are very popular.}

[TeeQueue]

Book 44.5: Small Story 2

Music: TipherethStory


Kit what the hell have you done?!

Ohoho, you're so kind to jump right to me. But no, this is a collaborative effort between myself and Madam Twee!

You knocked the damn shelves over!

Constructively! What you see as a mess of books and bits, we see as the first-ever Heart-Pounding Library Maze of Doom!!

Ooh, nice naming sense!

Miss Angela is going to kill us if this gets back to her. You know that, right?

"I don't care what it is you lot do between our receptions, so long as you take responsibility for the act and clean up after yourselves…" Or so she said. So, we're in the clear.

Uh-huh. And how does that lead to making a giant maze in Natural Sciences?

Oh, it's not just NatSci. They made a mess of Language, too.

And I helped. It's all done, nerds.

You threw two floors into chaos for… Kit, even for you this is a lot.

Yes! Hence why I got help!

Forget about that for now. What're we doing?

Ah, right. I'll get the scenario out now. Ahem… "The fell wizard D'Tenebrais-"

Punch-wizard.

R-right. Punch-wizard. Has taken over a fifth of the Library's territory, making it into her own. As heroes, it is your job to overcome the minions of evil, and save the day.

This sounds awesome..!

It sounds like a combat exercise.

What's the matter? Scared I'll whip your ass again?

…Alright, I'm in.

Then let the games begin!

This was a really interesting idea, Seyser. But why..?

Oh, Chesed wanted to meet up with the others. Since your bosses were going to be out, Evil Kit decided to start on something massive, and roped Twee in before anyone could say otherwise.

It's nice… I just hope nobody gets too beat up.

VIDEO
Music: ChesedStory


C’mon~ You’re acting up again.

Bah… I liked you a lot better when you were just a box of steel.

Wow, really? I guess today is my lucky day, getting compliments from Gebura of all people~

Huh? That wasn’t supposed to be a compliment, you…

Alright, cut it out, you two. Aren’t you sick of fighting already?

…This teal-haired turd keeps rubbing coffee in my face. I don’t get what’s so good about a cup of bitter bean water.

It’s an acquired taste, you know~

Go lap up that taste yourself, then. I don’t wanna bother getting used to it.

Don’t be so sour~ I got something sweet for the both of you this time, so give it a try for my sake, please~?



Mhm. That’s the one~ It’s actually called macchiato, though…

…Whatever, it’s all the same to me. That one was edible, I’ll admit.

I wasn’t a huge fan of it, though. The flavor of caramel was too strong for my liking…

Thus I’ve prepared a cup of Vienna this time~ This’ll suit you better.

Thanks for being considerate, but… why do you keep recommending us coffee, anyway?

Well, you see~ I thought it’d be nice to make at least one friend who understands the savors of coffee, y’know?

I mean, I could drink coffee with you if you’re so desperate for a café buddy. You just seemed weirdly insistent with Gebura.

Yeah, I gotta wonder what’s up with that.

Well… How should I put it? See, the thing about Gebura is that…



What?

…

The air’s taken a sharp turn to be menacing… I was just kidding~ I mean, it’s nice that we can gather round from time to time for a drink, isn’t it~? There’s no better reason than a hot cup of joe to bring us all together and chill~

It’s true, we’d usually be shut up in our own floors doing our jobs if it weren’t for breaks like this…

If that’s what this is for, there’s no reason to make it about coffee, right?

Maybe he doesn’t have any other excuses?

You hit the bullseye there, Tiph~

Forget it. In that case, I could just come up here with Tiphereth to hang out more often.

I don’t think we’re that friendly with each other… But still, it seems silly to me that you’re trying to make up reasons for us to meet, when all you needed to do was ask.

I’m honored to hear that~ So, back to this coffee… Wanna give it a try?

No reason to refuse a cup you prepared for me!

Music: GeburaStory


…Mmm. There's a nice spiciness to it that cuts through the bitter.

And the whipped cream is to your liking?

Don't fish for compliments, Chesed.

<sub>CRASH!!!

You've got a thousand years to go before you defeat me, weakling!

Not fair, you're only targeting me!!</sub>

Seems like the Librarians are up to something interesting.

Indeed. Would you like to go join in the fun~?

…Right after this cup. Don't wanna end things too early.

Videos

Small Story 2

[NintenGunner]

I love how the assistant librarians are acting like literal children in this particular update.

[TeeQueue]

Religion—936.10—The Price of Silence

Music: Lobby


Our goal for the day is to make a bunch of decks that can run themselves. We want a balance between draw, light regain, and an overall good Light curve with some big punch—overall this means 'Singleton,' as any other deck requires at least a little thought to run properly. If I was really clever I would have made everyone bring Burn as well, but I am not clever so we're doing this normally.



Man, really loving this well-dressed pirate vibe I've got going on.

Is that why you went with that page? You wanted a pegleg?

A pegleg for stabbing, but yes.

Just make sure you don't accidentally stomp down with that leg too hard and throw off your stance. The body'll do almost all the work… but if you're too gung-ho you'll fall flat on your face.

Riiight…

And why have you chosen the form you've taken, Talow?

I'm working with you, aren't I? I'm hoping the smoke can take the edge off.

We both know that the Smoke doesn't work that way.

Wishful thinking, then.

SNAP

Music: AbnormalityBattle02


Alright, it's new, but no big deal! I hope you're ready to wreck this thing, because here we—

Hold a moment, Morgan. We must consider our options carefully.

You're white as a sheet, old-timer… Don't tell me you actually know what that thing is.

It was before your time… before mine, as well. That thing is The Price of Silence. An Abnormality so troublesome that it was sealed away before Ayin's plan began in earnest, lest it directly lead to countless Managers despairing and taking their own lives.

That very potential was why I drew upon its powers in my battle against the Manager.

You could've just said "It screws with time."

Very well… It screws with time. Once the battle is joined, we will have to be quick and decisive.

The flowing time cannot be grasped, nor can the flow be stopped.

Time flows as life does, and life goes as time does.

Why do you try to defy this greater stream that none can stop?

The Price of Silence forces us to play Speed Ruina. Once we press Space to roll Speed Dice and begin the turn, we'll be given 30 seconds to make our plays before the turn fires off automatically. We can't target it, either, until its mechanic has played out.



Every turn it summons a Remnant of Time. These Remnants will copy the number of Speed Dice, Speed Dice ranges, and also the Resistances of one of our allies. On their first turn they will use 2 unique Combat Pages, before attacking with whatever Combat Pages the Librarian it's copying used last turn in subsequent turns. We have 12 turns to defeat 12 of these things, rendering The Price of Silence Staggered and targetable if we do. If we fail…



The Price of Silence uses a fairly powerful Mass Attack instead, and restarts the process again! Pretty simple, we just have to take out the Remnants of Time without falling behind the pace of 1/turn. There's just one little wrinkle…



Each Remnant either gains +3 Power in a clash or in a one-sided attack. We can check which they have by hovering over their buff icon, this can be done before starting our timer so it's free as long as we remember. If possible, we want to avoid clashing with this one—but honestly I kind of just forget to respect these. There's not enough time.

Much like Chesed's fight against Ozma, this fight is also largely a test of if the player knows how to use a basic function of the battle system. This one is a little less obscure than Quick Mode, though…



It's the P button, something we've mentioned several times before. In this fight, pressing it means that we'll be able to offload most of the card selection—a godsend, given that 30 seconds is nowhere near enough time to set all of our pages.

In the back there is our timer. When the turn starts, the hand on top begins moving to the right. It makes a complete rotation…



Seems our time is up. Were you all ready?

Of course!

If nothing else, your hands-off management style ensured we could do things on our own.



Thank heavens for small favors, eh? Smoke's up, take it out.

Got i-



Don't got it. Look out, they're strong when they get a bead on you.



It was only a scratch, I trust?

Yeah… I'm still good.



We'll continue as we were, then. So long as no one triggered that trap in their haste…

…Trap?



I see. So we've been hooked.

What do you mean, Hokma?



That's… what I meant. One of us bought us all some time… but the cost is very high.

Ghh… no mercy at all, is it?

Don't be silly, Talow. We're still standing. This is much weaker than when I was using it.

Unfortunately, there was no way it could ever be that easy, right? The Price of Silence has added a trap in the hands of every single one of our Librarians.



That trap is Silence. It's a free page, meaning hitting P will quite frequently slot it into a Speed Die as a filler page, and while it gives us infinity time on the next turn it also costs our entire team 25% of their HP in exchange.



When we hit space to start the turn while Silence is in effect, the clock in the top-center simply does not move. Since we have plenty of time, let's take a peek at the pages that the Remnants of Time play.



Both Torrent of Hours and Backlash of Time are fairly middle-of-the-road pages for this point in the game, with power levels roughly equal to a 2-cost page at this point in the game. They can deal some damage, but it's honestly unlikely that these pages alone will be enough to Stagger any of our Librarians unless we're playing incredibly badly.

During Silence, The Price of Silence also changes up its lines.

A price follows silence.

Silence does not always bring peace.

Well… since we have the time, let's use it. This one prefers to clash with us, so I'll draw its attention. The rest of you, crush it before it can do anything.

My kind of plan! We don't do enough real work around here. It's all analysis and stuff for us lately.



Well, what do you expect? The other floors all have things going for them. Either E.G.O, or the support of powerful Abnormalities…

And Binah's floor?

Literal Arbiter. Enough said. But us? We're two geriatrics and their live-in help.



That's a rather misleading description, but I do see your point.



It's true that we don't receive guests as often as the other floors… but it seems our recompense is a rougher time with the Abnormalities we must face.

Now that our free turn is over, the rest of this fight boils down to making the best use of our 30 seconds that we can to defeat one Remnant every turn. To do that, I use a three-part strategy.



Step 1: Press P. This autofills all our Speed Dice slots.



Step 2: I hover over each Speed Die. Each time I see Silence, I right-click it to remove it from the die. This keeps us from accidentally losing 25% of our health again, and we've got more than enough time to check all of the dice. Once that's done…



Step 3: With the remainder of our time, I reset those empty slots as 0 or 1-cost pages that restore Light or draw more pages. Multislash is the ideal choice, but we'll take anything that ensures that we can keep playing more pages next turn.



These steps are incredibly simple, and we could easily follow them to trivialize the rest of this fight.



So we'll do that.



For twelve turns. This is exactly as compelling as it sounds—The Price of Silence seems intimidating, but once we have a plan to deal with it it's actually just a long exercise in Not Screwing Up The Plan.



Our life actually gets even easier once we start getting third Speed Dice, as the Remnants only play two pages on turn 1. We can target the empty die with any reset pages to have a nice free attack on them.



That's the fifth one… How much longer are we going to be dealing with this?

If I remember correctly, the thirteenth toll should be different.

Thirteen? Ugh, that's forever.



It's quite unsurprising, if you think about it: that an Abnormality based around the concept of time would want to use quite a bit of our own.

Maybe it's trying to tell us to savor every moment available?

Maybe.



Bah, I doubt it. This isn't about savoring anything—it's wasting our lives away doing the same rote repetition day in and day out. Just like always.



The manner of death we're giving these guys changes a little each time.

Well, they do say that history doesn't repeat itself, but rhymes instead.



I guess that was probably true. How many Managers did you go through, Talow?

Too many.

And they were all slightly different, right?

Iunno. The guy was never the most talkative when it came to us frontline folks.

He seemed to communicate just fine to me?



Yes… something happened with his final iteration. He wasn't the Ayin I remembered… but instead the one he needed to be.

I know, right? He could actually get the damn job done.

You watch your mouth.

There is one more interesting thing that can happen in The Price of Silence. While we're in the middle of the turn and the clock is ticking, we can press escape.



If we do, the pause menu comes up like always… but because we've just paused the game a gong sound plays here that's very familiar to anyone who has ever paused in Hokma's suppression in Lobotomy Corporation.



When we unpause, everyone loses 25% of their max HP again. While this would be a nasty surprise, there's almost no reason to ever pause in the middle of setting up a turn so discovering it by accident is unlikely.



So… anyways, I lost count? How many more is it?

That was number ten. Two should remain.



Make that one. The next time it ticks, we should be able to end this… Oh, hold that thought.



Time's up, now what?

We watch it and see how it reacts.



We broke it. Seems like the plan worked.

So it does. Let's press the advantage.

Because we successfully defeated 12 Remnants of Time in as many rounds, we skip right to the Staggered and targetable phase of The Price of Silence. If not, it would be using Inevitable Demise right now. If it were to do so, there are special lines associated with it.

Time is given to everyone evenly, but fate makes it unfair.

No one can go against the flow of time.

Under normal circumstances, The Price of Silence has 150 HP to burn through this turn, which is actually quite trivial. However, Hokma has broken this fight by simply existing.

Xiao's page, as you may recall, gives the Remnants that Hokma hits while wearing it the Force of a Wildfire debuff. Whenever we then Stagger a Remnant with that debuff, it passes half of that Burn on to every other enemy on the field. Over the course of this battle, we've naturally whittled The Price of Silence down to only 31 HP—making this trivial.



And there we go… it's done.



So did we actually learn anything from all of this?

Time passes at the same rate, no matter how much we try and stop it. To hold it back for even an instant requires great sacrifice.

I was going to say 'this Abnormality is bullshit,' but yours works too.

Ah, it wasn't that bad. At least the fights were quick.



As long as we're using decks that can play themselves, The Price of Silence is actually trivial to defeat, and for the most part this entire fight is won or lost on the deckbuilding screen rather than the fight itself. It is possible to win the fight if we play manually as well, but this requires a much deeper level of skill with flinging cards around than the P button.

Of course, we can also make the fight go a little bit faster by taking Xiao's passive to its logical extreme…

VIDEO
Music: HokmaStory


So have you, Benjamin.

Am I truly the same being that Benjamin was? Do you find the inheritance of fragmented memories from the past to carry sufficient meaning?

You’re quite a bit more incisive with your words than before. Did you have a change of heart, by chance?

Having sent my great and dear beacon away in the pillar of light, and having failed to give a proper closure to his ultimate plan, all I have left now is ferocity. The personality and characteristics of our previous selves still constitute us… However, those are but moulds we were cast in. That mould is now being filled with our everyday experience in this place.

I don’t expect you to ever understand the loops I suffered, but you surely remember the script and how we successfully concluded it, don’t you?

Possibly so. After all, you are completing our memories and personalities through the books. Alas, the Sephirot residing here are Sephirot, not their original selves. I assume they will all feel it in one way or another. As people that surely were their past selves, but feel as though they were different beings… or a dream.

Angela. What has become of the other branches of Lobotomy Corporation?

Probably sealed somewhere underground, following the shutdown procedures.



I suppose some survived somehow, though not everyone would’ve had that luck.

You let greed take over and abandoned all your duties. The Library is no different from L Corp. The fact that your way of managing this place is nearly identical to how it used to operate speaks volumes.

All I could do and learn for the last million years in that basement was to treat humans as expendables in all types of methods. There was no other option for me to choose, even if I wanted to.

Is that why you employ Abnormalities and E.G.O as well? You direct the librarians to put on the shells of others’ egos in order to amplify their unstable emotional state even further.

Do I need to remind you that I only have them do that when they receive guests, who also happen to enter voluntarily?



…I’m just using the resources available to me. Since you were already exploited by Ayin, it’s only fair that I get to do the same.

He brought you lot back from death without consent and forced you to endure cycles of pain. You were nothing more than puppets to him, dancing on the stage as he liked. I was born from more of his irresponsible actions, too.

How can you just accept all of this as if it were nothing, Hokma?

…

It is no longer a matter of whether or not his actions are acceptable. I simply chose to accept it. I am not one to judge my mentor’s will.



…

Why do you hesitate?

…Forget it.

It was possible because I have faith, Angela. That faith is also what prompted me to give you a chance.

This is frustrating… Both you and Ayin are completely insane. You have to be.

…



Benjamin, he… He was the only person who cared enough to tell me it’s okay, even though I’m not human.

You would be right. The one who stands before you right now is Hokma, not Benjamin.

…

And yet, Angela.

I am not so different from Benjamin, in that I do not believe your status of humanity is what matters.

…Why don’t you just go back to sorting books.

Music: Lobby


The remainder of Hokma's stories involve him speaking with Angela, instead of Roland. Makes sense, given that the two of them have… a history.

Anyways, let's check out our new toys.



Time is one of the most hilariously powerful pages in the game in the right circumstances. The +1-2 power on every unit we have is huge, letting us win clashes we shouldn't and acting as a lovely force multiplier for us. However, it requires us to either be incredibly good at speed Ruina, or else to play decks that require P+Space. Given that most of the fights from here forward require technique and thought, this is very difficult to actually do unless you're amazing at speed Ruina.

The Thirteenth Toll is an interesting page as well. Every 13th page that the selected Librarian plays gains 1-2 power, and deals Max HP % damage as a little bonus. This is a very powerful effect on a page with a lot of hits, but the 13th page is a downside. The earliest we can get this is after turn 1, meaning on turn 2 we'll have 2 pages played, turn 3 we can play 2 pages, turn 4 we can play 3 (if we have a Speed 3 page), putting us at 7, Turn 5 we can play another 4, to put us at 11. This means if we play every page we can on every turn, the soonest we will be able to hit a single 13th toll is on the second page we use on Turn 6, with the next one coming on Turn 9 after that. It's too slow to be meaningfully useful, as fights are almost always decided well before it comes up.

Lastly, we have Silence. This page lets us either nuke everyone's Speeds but the page holder by 5 for 15% of their max HP, or boost their own Speed by 5 for only 10% of their max HP. They're situationally useful, but overall quite underwhelming.



Setting that aside, it turns out we're also ready for Hokma's next Abnormality Battle right now.

It's the last Abnormality Battle in the entire game, so if you want to hold off until an appropriately climactic moment, that's fine—and if you want to do it right now that's also fine. The fight just kind of… sucks, is all.

As for the Small Story down there, we've actually unlocked two of them! We'll… we'll get to those.

In the meanwhile, you know what to do!

Next time, on Library of Ruina



"Let us meet again as stars."

We're nearly done with polling for Star of the City. It's been a long while.

…Well, you know what your options are by now.


Videos

Hokma 3
Everything is flammable. Everything.

[TeeQueue]

Seems like it's time to get the last Abnormality Battle over with.

[TeeQueue]

Book 44.6: Small Story 6 & 7

Music: Lobby


That's everything on R Corp… I really don't see the need to continue reading every single book that comes our way.

There is a likelihood that information will be found within, information which we can use.

More of that faith stuff, huh? Spare me. Your blessings are closer to curses.

<sub>They're doing it again…

Just tune it out.

You think we can get earplugs from one of these books..?</sub>

You say that, and yet it was that same curse that allowed Ayin to find his way to the end of his path. Blessing or curse, it all depends on perspective.

Try saying that after you spend thirty years in the Outskirts.

You blame me for your suffering, when it is you who push those around you away. Are you truly angry at me, or simply unable to deal with your emotions?

There's not really a difference.

There is, though you never learned how to see it.

Hey, where do you think you're going..!

Out. I should speak with my fellows, as I never had much chance to before. I understand you have a standing offer to speak with those below as well.

I don't need any counseling. I'm fine.

Whether you do or not isn't something I can say. Regardless… you saw yourself what connections could do to a man. Perhaps you should have faith as well.

But I must take my leave. There is no way of knowing when we will have more work to do.

_{The hell do you get off, pretending you're a good boss now.}

Good or bad… he's got a point. You've been even pricklier than usual since the Library formed.

A lot happened.

So see a shrink already, before I drag you down there myself.

Fine. I'm heading out, too. Later.

I can't believe that worked.

He probably won't go through with it, you know.

"Ah… but all things in this world are rooted in faith for, uh… fixing things."



VIDEO
Music: NetzachStory


What could you be musing on, intoxicated all by your lonesome?

…

…You don’t seem to be in the mood for conversation.

I don’t really feel like treating you nicely…

Are you upset about your alone time being interfered, or is it the shackles of the past that bind you?

Both, I guess. I dislike both. I’m denied something of my own, then and now.

But… I do enjoy having drinks with others sometimes.

On the premise that I am not among those “others”?

I’m just saying that I’m not totally against it.

…I don’t think you’ll bite, but lemme ask out of courtesy. Wanna have a drink?

You do know what my answer would be. As you suspected, I don’t quite feel like having a beverage.



…Let’s say that I have been visiting others to introduce myself.

You’re not like before.

Perhaps I am experiencing changes, as nobody is ever truly immutable.

Yes. Speaking of… It would seem that most of the Patron Librarians have collected their thoughts and made up their minds. What about you?

I dunno yet. I’m scared of decidedly setting my mind on something, too. If what I chose turns out to be an untruthful answer… I wouldn’t know what to do.

No man can choose the right path at all times. One only has to believe that the path they are taking is the right one. Such is the nature of truth; it is akin to faith. The paths you have chosen, where you stand at the moment… All that you’ve seen, heard, and touched for yourself constitute the road to truth. You need to carry the faith that you’re headed for truth.



Though what you’re saying is all too hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s always been.

Did you make up your mind at least?

Maybe so, maybe no. Peradventure I will express my thoughts when everyone has formed an opinion.

I suppose I shouldn’t waste any more of your time. It was a short, yet enjoyable conversation.

Music: Lobby


Guess it was… heading back up?

No… I shall head to Malkuth's floor. I don't believe we've ever had the opportunity to speak before.

If you like…

…Is he gone?

Seems that way.

Finally. I was never any good with that guy.

Oh, you too..? I thought it was just me. _{Pass me another, eh?}

Even then, I'm not sure it was "hide from him" worthy.

Ah… well. You know how it is. I'd rather avoid another scolding for drinking on the job, you get me~?

VIDEO
Music: NetzachStory


Oh? Gebura and Roland are here, too~ What are you guys doing all about like this?

It’s obvious. They’re all slacking off. And what’s all this… Alcohol? Get it together! Look what mess that hopeless drunkard created!

Sup, Tiphereth.

I’m not in the mood to greet you back! I’m sure Angela won’t like it when this reaches her ears, hm?

She brought us to the book that one time, true…

I was having a light chat with Netzach, then this black suit snuck in.

Hngh… I was just here for a drink, that’s it…

Anyway, did you all make an appointment to meet here or somethin’? That’s a lot of folks coming to this floor at once. Aren’t you popular, Netz~

I’d never be up for drinking meetings! Especially if it’s with Netzach!

I’m here because Tiphereth said she had something she wanted to ask~

Then just ask the question and go…



Gosh, the stench of alcohol is everywhere… Stop drinking so much, even the books will stink at this rate!

…That hurts. Stop hitting.

…

Oh no, Gebura~ You shouldn’t smoke in a place like this~ Other librarians are walking by~

…

Chesed is right! Smoking on top of books is a bad idea. This spot is full of wood! I dunno if the books can catch fire here, but it doesn’t look very good.

…Okay.

She seems to be more open to Tiph’s words than yours.

I’m used to it~

Hey, it’s not like we get to gather up like this often… Why don’t you guys have some drinks before you leave?

Ugh, you’re so wearisome! You’re never, ever gonna see me drinking with you!! I was just starting to warm up to you, but now I’m starting to take a dislike again. Maybe replacing you really was the best option!

Harsh words, man…

Don’t mind it too much, Netzie~ She doesn’t sincerely mean it~ We have things left to do upstairs. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks~



What is this ruckus about?

…Er, nothing much, just, reinforcing our bonds.

…That’s why there are beer cans all over the floor.

Hahaa…

What are you two doing together?

I was asked to find a book he needs.

I figured that a book on the Floor of Language would make good supplementary material, so we were heading up.

Oh, that so? Guess I should vamoose. Appreciate the drinks, Netzach. The story you told was interesting, too.

So, Yesod. What’s the book you want?



Oh I’d have loved to see that…



It's a book on the Church of Gears. I'd like to learn more about their automated movements.

It's a good thing you ran into me, then. Tiphereth and my floors are still kind of a maze.

The librarians were supposed to have cleaned that up after the training exercise.

Yeah, the losers were. Those guys can't agree on who won, so they've got about one more hour to figure it out or they're all cleaning it together.

They have fifteen minutes.

We'll give them the news on the way.

Music: Lobby


I'm heading out to check on Kaori again. I'll let you know if she's moved from that spot or not.

She certainly seems to be in higher spirits since she woke up, but she hasn't stopped poring over our pages and cackling to herself.

That's why we're doing the wellness checks, right? Not that T wouldn't tell us if anything was suddenly wrong with her in the first place…

True, but I think that proactivity is good when it comes to our mental health in this place.

You're right. People don't realize there's a problem themselves until it's way too late, sometimes.

Uh… Knock-knock?

Oh, hey Talow. What brings you down here? On your way to see Bishop?

Not this time. I'm here to see you guys.

So you're here for that counseling we're offering?!

It was either this or getting dragged down entirely too many stairs a few days from now. Easier to just handle things.

Alright then! Uh… let me grab a blank book, and we'll get right to it!

I'll ask Switch to prepare you two some tea, then.

[TeeQueue]

Religion—937.93—Blue Star

Music: Lobby


Hokma and Morgan haven't changed up much, the only real difference being swapping out some minor skills for a bit of SR restoration and giving Hokma a good source of Blunt damage.



Talow is working with a completely new build today, my first attempt at a proper Blockma strategy. It's missing several things still, but it should do for our purposes.



Lastly, Robin is going for pure Slash. Yet again, we're missing a few things to have a good monoSlash deck for this point in the game… but BHK is powerful so it should work out.



You know… if the patterns from the rest of this place hold up, we'll be seeing our final Librarian after this.

So the Library will finally have everyone.

Just be careful. Blue Star is a powerful Abnormality; I've seen what it can do plenty of times and it doesn't usually go down without casualties.

Regardless of the shape that this threat takes, we shall overcome it. After all, death continues to have no meaning in this place.

Not to us, anyways.

SNAP

Music: AbnormalityBattle03


Praise be the Star!

Prase be!!

Okay… what're we looking at?

It seems the Blue Star itself is not the target in this fight, but the idol its worshippers have made…

So it's made its own worshippers…

Made? No, we have always been.

Carrying the load of this place from start to finish!

Unappreciated! Unloved! We finally saw our great light in the sky completed, and even that was taken from us!

Forced to watch as our savior was turned into a devil before our eyes, and made to rip the skulls off of her own flock! Can you imagine the pain?!

The humiliation!

BUT WORRY NOT! FOR WE DESERVED IT ALL, SINNERS AS WE ARE!

Holy shit… are they the Clerks? I thought they all died twenty minutes into the war!

_{Ohh my god this is where they all went.}

So now, we shall offer ourselves up once more, that we may become greater than we were!

WE SHALL MEET AGAIN AS STARS!

We’re all sinners… We have to return to that place and cleanse ourselves.

Worry not. You’re simply going back to where you belong.

We all return to that place some day. It’s an instinct.

Our main adversary today is the Shrine to the Blue Star, a completely unassailable opponent who is also immune to status ailments—meaning Burn tricks won't work this time. Every 3 turns it'll use an attack on us, but otherwise it's just a measure of how far we are through the fight.



The Worshippers of the Blue Star, meanwhile, are our turn-to-turn threat. They are Immune against all HP damage, and each one of the four has only a single Fatal weakness to Stagger damage—the others are only Ineffective. At any time, two of them are Fatal versus Pierce while Blunt and Slash get one each. Our goal is to Stagger them so that the Blue Star absorbs them. Meanwhile, our Librarians also get sucked in whenever they are Staggered. Whenever this happens to either side, their team loses SR and their enemy regains some.



The Worshippers will use only three offensive pages. Of them Our Faith is Never Wrong is the most noteworthy for its 3 Paralysis on the second die, but all three have decent numbers for where we're at in the game.



We dedicate our all for our great master!

The purpose of our lives have become clear!

…Hm. Perhaps the Clerk onboarding program was too intense.

You think?

We needed efficient workers, the sort who wouldn't complain even if they wandered and handled cleanup all day. At the time, none of their lives mattered anyways…

Our lives are nothing! All that matters is the whole! We work without end…

And unpaid overtime is mandatory!



They're quite determined, and those wrappings they've gotten are on par with E.G.O.

We are enwrapped in the great love of the Star! Our every move is for its grand design!



Well, E.G.O gear or not a Clerk is a Clerk. It looks like the stuff has worked its way into their flesh in several areas....



That is the sign of the Blue Star's favor! The more it digs within, the closer we have become to it!

That's called E.G.O Corrosion, and it's potentially lethal!

And in death, we give ourselves over to the Star! We shall all join it in time! There is no shame in hastening it!



I think it's a bit late to talk with them. This is what they want.



It might not feel good to fight your former comrades, but we don't have any choice anymore.

If it is any condolence, the Clerks have never counted as comrades before now, either.



Isn't that a little bit harsh..? We were coworkers.

Killing your coworkers isn't that out of the ordinary for us, either… Well, not normally.

We certainly haven't done much of it in my time with the company.



You don't have to pretend you care, ma'am. We've always been expendables!

Sinners, condemned from the day we're born.

Even when we're able to make it to the end, we're recycled!

We don't even get to have names! All we could ever become is something greater than ourselves! We shall perish and join the great Blue Star in the sky!

We shall all meet as stars!



Hold on, did we actually take their names, or…

Of course not. They still needed them, or Yesod wouldn't have been able to properly remember all the names he'd redacted in the course of his duties.

What.

Ayin's plan was intricate beyond compare, and every cog needed to interlock perfectly. We would never steal their names… because they were necessary to us.

But we give them codenames, because it makes it easier to pull the trigger on them.

It was necessary, in order to ensure the plan succeeded.



Even if that's true, it's not hard to see why they threw their hats in against us.

Oh, our hats aren't against anyone, ma'am!



We are sinners, all of us, and we shall all return to the Star from whence we came. There, our flesh may be made pure and in some small way we shall become one with something greater than all others!

Greater than the Corporation, greater than the Sephirot, and even greater than our dear saintess!

For all have sinned, and must await the call of the Star!



These guys have a serious overabundance of faith…



They're normally prone to panicking at the drop of the hat. The corrosion must have done a number on them.

This is why we had safety regulations on that stuff…

Let's just call this… putting them out of their misery, then.



At the end of the turn while any combatants are Staggered, the Blue Star will suck them in as advertised. This also deals SR damage to any remaining enemies, and heals our SR in the process—of course, if we get Staggered the opposite will happen.

It's refreshing… I didn't expect that.

Yeah… maybe we can get some breathing room with a few of them down.

Is that what you think?! Then you've forgotten the number one rule about clerks!

Music: Ominous Wind


There are always more martyrs to be had! We're convenient, useful, and fully interchangeable! The motor that keeps this place purring like a kitten!

Of course it wouldn't be that easy…

Ah, listen my brethren! Do you hear it..?

That sound… The time has come for redemption at last!

Look at Blue Star… it's glowing.

It seems we've gained its attention for the moment.

At the start of turn 3, the music is shut off—a signature effect of Blue Star's breach back in Lobotomy Corporation—and it uses its signature move.

Can you hear this wondrous sound? The nostalgic echo you’ve longed for?

Aah… At last…! It’s calling for us at last!

That call is guiding us to the only place that will accept us…!

Sound of a Star will be coming out every three turns, and with it all enemies heal 10 SR. Its 20-20 Mass die is chunky enough that we might get hit by it even when we use a 3-cost, which is why everyone today is packing a Sturdy Defense, It's strong enough to usually block the attack, and keep us from worrying about the effect—anyone it hits becomes Fatal to all Stagger damage on the next turn.



All of the Worshippers will use Hear the Sound of the Star! this turn as well, a pair of decent Pierce dice that each deal bonus SR damage on hit as well.



I do what I can, but Morgan and Robin both haven't drawn into their Sturdy Defense yet. This means they're both likely to get smacked, but we can take the damage as long as we don't let the enemy hit them next turn—Talow and Hokma will be picking up the slack with clashes just to be sure.

The one Staggered Worshipper left over from the SR damage due to its allies being sucked up is also a blessing and a curse. On the upside, it can't attack us this turn. On the downside, its Stagger will be cleared before Into the Star's Embrace makes its check, meaning we won't get any additional damage from it.



Ahh… it comes! As the forerunners heard when the first DING brought us all into its grasp…

May the sound ring true!



You two okay?

I'm fine!

This thing has a kick to it.

Well, it is mostly legs, so…



Did you hear it?! You heard it, right?! That sound… that glorious SOUND!

Yes, I heard it just fine.

There's a unique animation for enemy attacks on this turn, and it's very



Doyoulikestars? Ilovestars. Let'sbestars. Yougofirst. I'llberightalong!

Great… they're motivated and I'm losing my footing.



Just… stay calm. All we have to do is turn things around on one of them and we'll be fine. You felt it earlier.

No, no that's not right at all! I heard the voice of the star, felt the ding ripple through my body. It cries out and says it's our time!

Music: AbnormalityBattle03


Oof… I don't think we're doing too hot, here.

You said it. I need a minute… I'm tired as heck.

Don't worry. Talow and I will bear the brunt of the offensive until you've recovered.

Due to a bad opening hand, Morgan's out of pages to play now—she only has her Sturdy Defense and I want to hold on to it for later. I do what I can, but since we should score a few Staggers this turn we should stabilize as long as nobody on our side gets Staggered back.



It doesn't matter which of us falls here… We shall all be stars in the end!

Their faith is quite powerful, but their bodies aren't able to keep up with it.



Unwavering devotion to company and leadership is all we have! If we didn't have that… then what would be the point?

What… would be… the reason… why we worked so hard…? It couldn't be for nothing…



Hey hey, don't let it get to you, Eta43. Just think of the sound! Let it wash over your mind. Get rid of all the thoughts… and you'll be good to go!

Yes… yes. Thank you, brother!



One enemy Staggered, 100 HP gone. We've got 600 to go through from here.



I'm feeling a little more steady now…

And I've caught my breath. Let's go all out and try to finish this before Blue Star can launch another attack.

I'm afraid that's impossible. There are only four of them here.

Regardless, we should be able to handle… three of them, if we play our cards right.



It is my time, brothers… I go now to become a Star..!



That's half of them… Morgan, Hokma, you got the third one, right?



It's already done. Morgan, go for the remaining Worshipper.

I got them!



Ah… how sad. I'm the only one who won't get to join them…

But that doesn't matter!



Yes! None of that matters one bit…

Music: Ominous Wind


For the time has come! Let the sound play once more!

Let us meet as Stars!

Even more Clerks… Just how many did we have?

On any given day, there were between 2 and 100 clerks. We would replace all of them every night, simply to have a fresh stock.

My god. That's so many people…

Most of them were recycled from your templates, without the energy expenditure to become a proper Agent. Why, even Talow has done his fair share of time as a clerk.

Seriously?

Yeah, I did a couple of days. Not a fan.



My life as tribute to the great Star above!!

Now's not the time for that. That one's plotting something.

Because we have a Worshipper at low SR this time, they will use We'll Soon Meet as Stars!!! as their first attack. If this attack hits, it will change all SR of the Librarian they hit to Fatal for the next turn, and also instantly kill the user. This is bad for us, because a dead Worshipper isn't getting sucked into the Blue Star and draining the HP on the shrine.



I'll face it head-on. Hey, old-timer, you see about knocking them for a loop before they get a chance.

Your tone has changed… have you let go of your hostility?

Hell nah, just realized it wasn't useful in the middle of a fight. I'll make fun of you later.

Well, it's a start.



GAH!

Morgan, cover for her.

I'll do my best!

A differently timed shot of the Blue Star Mass Attack shows us something important: The Abnormality is doing a biiig stretch whenever it goes off.



Ahh… the sound! Piercing through me and you alike! Doesn't it make you shiver with anticipation?!



I do anticipate the end… but it's not the end that you envision.



But the clock still moves forward towards it, inexorably.

This shattering is the effect of The Thirteenth Toll, and because of it Hokma is able to deal a decent amount of damage to the enemy's HP despite their immunity to damage. This damage equal to the dice value after all bonus Power, making it quite strong… but completely worthless in this fight as HP does not matter.



The clock moves for us all. Come, join us!

Pretty sure I'll die if you hit me like that again…

That's also fine! The impure shall be purged!



Just take it easy, Robin. We'll be all done after we take out just two more of these guys.

We could also allow two of our own to join it, and we would be finished just the same.

You're not seriously ordering us to…



It is an option. Ultimately, however, I believe the most recent Ayin would frown upon such a method unless it was necessary.

So… is it necessary?

Music: AbnormalityBattle03


I don't believe so, no.



One of the pierce Worshippers was Staggered by the end of turn effect, leaving us with three targets. Tao Tie should take one attack off of each of them, and thanks to Hokma's +2 Power from Fervor+Nine Children of the Dragon, we're guaranteed to Stagger the Slash-weak worshipper unless we roll minimum damage. Morgan and Robin focus on the Staggered worshipper so that I can recover their Light and hand counts.



The flames… they burn!

Halfway there… not bad, boss!



Yes… soon the Blue Star shall be at its zenith! That satisfaction is what we crave!



In that case, you could have laid down your arms at any time and the star would be satisfied.

The Blue Star wishes for more tribute than our pathetic minds! We must try to take others within it! Until then, we can only wait to be worthy!

That's not how this thing works.

Their faith allows them to believe it so. Words are not going to sway them, Talow.



Once more the gaze falls upon us, my dear family! Once more, one of our own is brought to the sky.

May we meet as stars!



With the enemy down one worshipper this turn and us needing only one Stagger to finish things off, I go all out and have the entire team play the most powerful pages we have in hand.

So… hold up. After we're done here, are we going to be getting all of the Clerks back?



I don't believe so. There are limits to what the Library can currently support… it would likely take too much of the Light to allow them to walk around within the Library itself.



Seriously? What a drag.

Don't worry about us, ma'am! We shall remain in service to the grand Blue Star, a single-use can of human ready to be discarded at any time!

Such is our purpose! Such is our purpose! Such is-



BARF!

And that's about enough of that.

With our tenth Stagger on the enemy secured, the Blue Star sucks the worshipper in at the end of the turn, and the fight immediately ends.



Congratulations are in order… for you have passed the test of the Blue Star! May its holy light guide you on your path ahead!

Let us meet as stars!

It seems our work is done. Still standing, I trust?

I'm just going to say it: Fuck clerks. So much.



Overall, Blue Star is mostly a test of how well we can handle both the Mass Attack turn and the turn immediately following it. There's no tricks or strange gimmicks to be concerned with beyond that, so as long as we just stick to the fundamentals and do them well there's nothing to worry about.

VIDEO
Music: HokmaStory


You’re making an appearance here more frequently than I had thought.

I don’t expect you to enjoy my visits.

You are free to think whatever pleases you. So, what is your business?

There’s something I’d like to hear, Hokma.

Is it something the director of the Library is unaware of…? What would that be?

I want you to tell me what you think of this place.

Are you here for insignificant advice?

…I won’t press you if you don’t feel like giving a response.

…As seen from my eyes—this is a purgatory.

You don’t see it as a plain hell?



It is a preparatory step for their lives to be unraveled in the form of books.

Even if they meet their demise here, they do not actually face death in a true sense.



You know it well. They merely pass into eternal slumber, forfeiting their memories and knowledge.

…Angela. What stops you from letting them go?

…

The fate of the guests’ lives has yet to be determined, and I presume it is because you are still hesitating.

…I wonder. Why I can’t let them go. Why I hesitate. Our being is made up of the Light, including myself. That’s why we are unable to leave the Library. We simply cannot exist outside of this place. And I want to… break this constraint. All of us here could be given a new life, or we could all perish. The outcome will be either one of the two.



…I’m not sure. Still, this is the path I chose, so I’ve decided to see the end of it.

“Is there any way to navigate this infinite space without getting lost?”

“Where are the books that hold significance? Where is the book that I need the most?”

“Is that book truly what I need? Does it exist at all?”

In this vast void of life, the only compass one can rely on is faith. Without faith, you cannot proceed; even if there is a way.

Because you don’t know what dangers might be lurking in it.

Indeed. And every person seeks their own version of the single perfect book… that must exist somewhere.

Is your faith in it still adamant?

Maybe…

You lack certainty, unlike when you first began the journey. Why is that?

…I don’t know. I’m not even sure if I really know myself anymore. Do you believe it exists, Hokma?

My opinion is not relevant.

I suppose not.



That ‘one book’ can exist because of the strong faith that it exists. When that faith crumbles, so too shall the Library.

It exists because I believe so?

It is evident that the extent of faith differs on an individual basis. For instance, a lunatic’s faith will always be true to them no matter what anyone else may say. It’s not that one believes in the existence of something; the belief is what brings it into existence. And when one’s faith is broken, their soul expires in most cases. Things that have lost their reason to exist because people no longer believe in them shall disappear.

…

You, however, remained strong. You believed in Sir Ayin just like I did, and even when your faith was betrayed, you sought to start anew on your own two feet.

Perhaps your wish wasn’t limited to freeing yourself… You mayhap want all of us—librarians, and even Abnormalities—to lead their own lives rather than bind themselves to a role on an artificial stage. So that they can live in true independence without putting their lives in the hands of Carmen, Ayin, or anyone else.



It’s up to you to interpret it. Ironic, is it not. Sir Ayin and I irresponsibly created you and gave you life… And now you are irresponsibly trying to give life into our hands.

Say what you want, but you’re still going to stop me.

That depends on your decision. Until then, I shall trust you and wait patiently.

…

I’ll be going now.

Music: Lobby


Our final Abnormality Battle is over, and with it we're given the usual rewards—three Abnormality Pages to look at.



I just wish they were more exciting.

Martyr is another of those 'Adds a page to your hand' Abnormality Pages, and this time the page gives us a large bonus to Stagger damage dealt, at the cost of taking HP damage whenever we deal it. On average Health Hauler will let us negate the damage this deals to us, making it a chunky bonus to Stagger whenever we can play it. It's useful for guaranteeing a Stagger we'd otherwise miss, but because it becomes a part of the deck instead of always being on it's not as reliable as I'd like.

Penance is next, and it will give us all +1 Strength if anyone on the field is Staggered, limit 1 Stagger. This lets us follow up on advantageous situations by Staggering the enemy and then dealing more damage to them right after, but because it doesn't stack the +1 Strength is kind of lackluster for a level 2 Abnormality Page, particularly as we get further away from the massive 10-person melees we had earlier in Star of the City.

Lastly, we have A Nostalgic Sound. It's a straight 2-4 bonus Stagger damage for our entire team, making it the one page here that doesn't have any downside. However, we only get that bonus damage once every 3 turns after the first time we get it—and as a Level 2 Abnormality Page fights will likely be well in hand by the time it turns on for the first time, let alone the second. Hokma's Abnormality Pages continue to be rather underwhelming compared to some of the absurd stuff we got earlier in the game.



So anyways… how was the counseling sesh? You feeling better?

Nah, I'm still miserable. Just finally getting around to figure out why.

It isn't the 10,000 years of dying?

Well… why else.

Okay, that's enough Morgan. If you keep digging for information about it he's never going to go back.

Fiiine… In that case, what do you think's taking so long? You were already awake and on the floor by now.

Well, if you think about it, there were a lot of old employees attached to Blue Star. She may have had problems stabilizing them.

There were no such problems.



I spent my time taking stock of this place… a festering wound in the heart of the City itself, and a gathering point of the Light. It will do nicely.

Oh, it's you. Shouldn't you be down with Netzach?

Such small-minded thinking is typical… but wrong. No… I was guided here, to this spot, at this moment, by the hand of Mother. I can feel it, deep within my very soul. This is where I shall become one with the Light.

Hm. I appreciate that she isn't wasting any time.

Why's that? Because you're the last one to show up?

Ha, ha, ha…… Precisely. The Library is all but complete now…



The path is approaching its end, and soon the City shall know despair.

'A lunatic’s faith will always be true to them,' was it?

Listening in, were you?

Yeah. Let's just hope this guy didn't show up why I think he did. That would be a little too much faith for my tastes.

We shall see in time, I'm sure.

Next time, on Library of Ruina



We won't be meeting again for a while… so let's make this poll simple.

What color do you prefer: Orange or Purple?


Videos

Hokma 4

[NintenGunner]

Ahh, it's good to finally see Sephiroth again. I've been waiting a long time to see this guy.
I particularly like how you wrote out the Blue Star fight; makes an otherwise (in my opinion) mediocre fight much more engaging to read compared to actually playing it.

[TeeQueue]

The thread has spoken, and by an incredibly narrow margin Orange wins the vote. We'll be doing the far right node next.

Ahh, it's good to finally see Sephiroth again. I've been waiting a long time to see this guy.
I particularly like how you wrote out the Blue Star fight; makes an otherwise (in my opinion) mediocre fight much more engaging to read compared to actually playing it.

Ultimately, Blue Star is just Normal Library of Ruina with fancy filters pasted onto it. Seven to ten turns of that can absolutely get tedious. Honestly that's probably the worst thing about the game? Later standard fights can often outlive their welcome to a large degree.

[TeeQueue]

Book 45: R Corp—Chapter 1

Music: Lobby


Today we'll be finishing out the rightmost set of battles, finding out what happened with R Corp after we gave them that good trouncing.

VIDEO
Music: StoryJinji


Yes, ma’am.

Wanna bet which Myo will win?

I’m surprised you still aren’t sick of this. As much as I dislike that rabid hare… this is the one scene I don’t like to see.



We have to do this fuckery over more?

Stop whining, we’ve been through this many times already.

Let’s hurry up and decide the winner now.





I know that sufficient time and population are needed, but we cannot afford to wait any longer.

One day accelerated 100 times would be about three months.

And there’s about five thousand Myos.

Man, having to fight ten thousand clones of myself for a whole year was pure hell… We had it easier this time!

Shit! Shit! Shit!!!

That’s about half of us dead.

Reminds you of the old days, doesn’t it?

The first time I killed me?

My hands were shaking like crazy…

Keep killing if you have the time to chat!



As per A Corp’s rules, no more than one of an individual may exist in the City for longer than 7 days, clone or original. If R Corp. violates this rule, it will lose its qualification as a Wing and will be shut down according to B Corp’s regulations. The “7 days” here is measured based on the time scale A Corp. is on.



Crap! I’ve been feeding on human meat for two months… And it’s my meat, too.

Better than living on it for one year straight.

Why do we have to kill each other, why?!

You still don’t get it? It’s to produce the fittest Myo.

Some still lose their minds like that even after killing many others. It’s odd how clones of the same person can act so differently.

You’re telling me, most of us are thrilled to kill people now.

Because killing was literally the only way to survive!



Because L Corp. went down so suddenly, we don’t have enough energy suppliers to meet the demands right now. W Corp. is apparently in emergency for the same reason.

I suppose so. I heard from the supreme commander that L Corp. was extraordinarily generous about its offer.



Mmhmm. Shocked that I had to kill myself…

But after killing myself again and again, it became as easy as breathing.

If I can kill myself with ease, what’s to stop me from killing others.

And the joy of being the last survivor was something else.

It was piss annoying to wake up every time with all the memories of struggling to survive, though.



It’s not the strong who survive… It’s the survivors who are strong.

Khh~ The legendary Red Mist rescues me like a hero in the Backstreets, says that, and leaves… Wasn’t it awesome?!

You bet it was.

Let’s get back to business and see who survives now.

For the reasons stated, this will probably be the last time the Fourth Pack can hatch. If you fail again, there won’t be a next chance.

I’ve been expecting that. There wouldn’t be any energy left to use for us.



No need to hesitate. This is our last fight, so let’s end this with no regret.

Music: StorySimgak


It’s good to see you, rabbit.

What?! Why the hell would you greet me?!

Aw, shit!

…Hey, you guys made another bet, didn’t you?!

We did, Number 635. The tab’s on you next time we get a drink, Maxim.

I was so sure Myo #17 would make it. She seemed to have keen senses…

17 was a tricky foe, not gonna lie.

By the way, Maxim! You’re paying for my drink too, right?

…For sure. That’s the rule of the bet.

Hah… Alright, it’s payback time! Let’s wreck those librarians or some shit!

Music: Lobby


They said two of the same person can’t exist at once for a week. What is the reason they set such a peculiar rule?

Don’t ask me. I don’t wanna know the answer to that…

If it was possible to clone dead humans… Then why did he create me… And the Sephirot. He was willing to break any rules or conditions…

Well, that technology could have its fair share of flaws if we look at it in detail. Might need several preparatory steps, or some sort of permit, all that… It could be more complicated than it seems on the surface. Maybe what the person you’re talking about did was the best option for him at that moment.

Still, I’m astounded by it alright. There really is a cloning technology for humans. They can roll with it as long as no more than one of the person exists for longer than a week… What were they thinking there…

…This ‘clone’ business feels rather similar to what I’d gone through.

…I didn’t expect them to be used so ruthlessly, even if they’re clones.

Are they gonna be stronger than the versions that we received the last time?

I can’t say for certain. We’re facing elites that competed against thousands of themselves and came out on top… I imagine it won’t be a pushover.

Music: Entrance


This atmosphere makes me feel as though we’re in the Ruins.

A Star of the City is not much different from the Ruins in terms of danger.

And we all died here once.

Still though, aren’t you guys excited to graze some fresh grass?

Myo, please keep your mouth shut for five minutes.



Greetings. I am Nikolai, leader of the Fourth Pack of R Corp.

You’re saying the same thing as last time.

…Am I.

Been a while, Angela! I’ll drop the formality since the contract’s over.

…

Don’t you have any problem?

With what?

You… You’ve killed countless clones of yourself.

…So?

…Tell me, library director. How much do you know?

How can any of you remain sane? You are humans.

How is it possible that your mind hasn’t collapsed?



I see. This must be the power of the Library.

Are you surprised with our way of life? Perhaps it may seem so for a being that is staying in a sheltered environment like a precious flower. But this is nothing compared to what we have seen previously in our lives.

We have no problem enduring it.

You know nothing of my life. You’re…



We don’t wanna die here twice, y’know? I don’t care how you lived, and I don’t feel like wasting any of my time listening to it.

…Such is the life of the City.

You know it well.

May you find your book in this place.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: We might be a bit ahead of the power curve.


Videos

R Corp 3








Heeeey, Miss Binah?

Speak.

I heard the thingy about 'no more than one of a person for a week…' If we keep breaking that rule, then does that mean the Head's going to send a Claw?

So you are curious as to how a Wing is disbanded, are you? You should know by now, I do not have any such relevant memories left within me.

The by-laws of A or B Corp are so numerous it's hard to remember all of them regardless. There's the simple stuff like taxation and the ban on AI, but for weird cases like this…

Ooh! Do you know something?!

As much as any normal person.

That's why I dragged them over here! I sensed a relevant question happening.

Yeah, really love being dragged off for twenty questions. Anyways, there's no chance they'll send a Claw in here right now.

What?! Why?!

Is it against policy?

What happens to the people who are brought in here, again?

You refer to the quantization. Very perceptive of you to have noticed.

The quantiwhoozit?

The quantization. The way that people are turned into books.

Oh! The part where everything's fake. I remember that! Bishop was really sad when he found out the answer to all his pinboard questions were "it was a simulation."

I could hear him shouting all the way up here!

Anyways, what would happen if they sent a Claw in here?

Oh! They'd be put into that stasis and turned into a book!

Which would give the Library the knowledge about… the… OHMIGOSH. That means no matter what they won't send any Claws here at all! That's… that's..!

Reassuring?

TERRIBLE! How am I supposed to get an autograph from a Claw if they can't show up without becoming books?!

Right?! They're so cool and powerful, you just want to ask them all kindsastuff. And they have this aura that's vaguely…

Cutie-ish!

Yeah! You get it! And we're never going to get to see them as long as the Library's working?! Boo!!

Consider it our just punishment for being the worst.

_{Ugh… why did I even bother?} I'm going to go see if Zaida's got a good spot to scope out the fight.

[TeeQueue]

Book 45: R Corp—Chapter 2

Music: GuestBattle01


Changing things up a bit for the battle today. Chesed is bringing Raging Storm: Love with him, and our draw/light engine revolves around 3 copies of Will of the City—Xiao's starting 4 Light lets us open two Will if we have to, and if we don't have to we can play any of our 3-costs plus a 0-cost Light recovery page.



Nobody else is playing anything particularly unique today, though of special note are Ready Position and Eradication—I shouldn't have brought either of these because I've built the floor completely wrong for either of them to be properly useful.



Our first fight today is against the Reindeers again.



Rudolph has a few more HP to work with, but his SR is exactly the same, and his abilities and pages haven't changed at all.



The rank and file Reindeer, meanwhile, are the same as the first fight.



Music: ChesedBattle01


Alright… these guys may have beaten us once, but not a second time. Let's take them out.

Be on your guard, everyone. They may have powered up their strategy.

Hello hello..? I think you guys are hearing me right now.

Ah, I suppose we should have expected this.

Haha, how's that one, granny? I told you that the old comms frequency was worth a shot.

…C'mon, this was good intel! I can hear what they're up to and broadcast it to the rest of you.

It'll be a cold day in hell before my Reindeer need anything your weakass team can give us.

Haah? Maybe I'll just listen to-

We've all heard this one before! Angela, you didn't think to change the frequency after the last time?!

I did not think it would be an issue, as the only one who knew it was on our shelves.

…Huh. Fair enough.

Well I'll be damned… shouldn't you be on the battlefield, Gebura?

Not today. I'm here in an advisory capacity.

I came all this way, and I don't even get to fight you? What a waste.

Did that once already. You lost.

That Myo was out of practice and slow from all the pencil-pushing. Let's see you do it again.





Nothing has changed in this phase, so our most important priority is intercepting the Mind Whips. Without a good way to overpower them, I guide each one into a Block die to minimize the damage as much as possible.



Seems like this one's going to be a milk run…

In that case, let's get this handled nice and quick while Myo and Gebura talk.

Try and keep up, then.

Oh, that won't be a problem today. It's my turn to be captain.

Do I get a turn?

No.



Reindeer… prance all over them.



Huh… I expected more.

Attack diverted. Spear's a lightning rod.

Oh yeah, good point!



These are the things Netzach and company got wrecked by..? This doesn't hurt at all.

I think it's targeting your hair instead of the rest of you.

Ah, crap, that was expensive!



If you broke it, I'm selling those horns of yours off!



Seems like you've gotten my crew all riled up with that opening salvo~

It's a battlefield. Our goal is to kill you and move on as quickly as possible.

But hey, they killed you the first time so be a little more forceful this go around.

Oh, I'll show you forceful.



I dunno! I think we have a fair bit more force than your little reindeer! I mean, look at me! I'm a robot! What are you going to do to that?!



Don't they use electricity? I think that'd mess up your circuitry.

You expect me to believe those prescript fellows didn't didn't insulate their wiring?



Maybe they got a piece of paper telling them not to.

That's a remarkably good point. Okay, maybe don't zap me!



Our first Abnormality Page pick is putting Courage onto Twee. Courage itself will give her 3 Strength every turn, and because it's a Breakdown page she gets another +1 Power on all dice from Distorted Yan's passive.



How are they looking from up there, Gebura?

Pretty shaky, all told. One good push would knock any of them off their guard.

Oh, so you can see the status of our crew in realtime, eh? That's good to know.

All the information in the world's not worth shit if you can't act on it.




The enemy is threatening two more Mind Whips, so we steer them into Block dice again.



I also have Chesed fire off Raging Storm: Love. Mass Attacks are really good against R Corp, since they've got so many enemies to face in every Act.



Pictured: peak Library of Ruina gameplay. If you can follow where all of these arrows are going, you're better at this game than I am. :shepface:



Thankfully, most of them won't matter at all.



As Chesed Staggers three Reindeer in one move.



They have wide-area offensive options. Our data said only Gebura could use those..!

Oh come on, that was like four or five receptions ago. We're basically a whole new Library now.

But we came here within a week of our original deaths…



We work pretty fast! Speaking of… One down already.



I'm telling you, Tweeds. You've gotta' go faster than that.



Otherwise you're just going to keep falling behind.

Two already?! Seriously?



Wow, Rudolph… Your Reindeer suck.

Come down here and say that to my face.

Maybe later. Granny's saying you'd better not forget the plan.



The enemy's on the backfoot. Kill 'em.

My blades haven't even had time to warm up yet!

And here we see the problem with Sweet Pea and Evil Kit's builds: They're too slow. This is turn 3 and the enemy is already nearly gone—we don't have time to throw out Ready Stance or to get Evil Kit's blade unlocked. Even SeyserKoze's Charge gain may or may not be up before the fight's done—I built Chesed for incredibly fast play, and outside of Twee the others are using gimmicks too slow to take advantage of that speed.



I've set him on fire for you, Kit. Maybe that'll help them~

Looking at it objectively… there's no chance of stabilizing the situation right now.



MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Finally, I'm starting to warm up!

She says to do it, Rudolph.



Understood. Falling back.

He's getting away!



Leave him. It's not like the Library has ever let us go after escaping enemies before.

But their book…

If he can truly escape, we don't need his book yet.



We're done here, at any rate… Let's keep going.



Good, good. Wouldn't want you all losing before we get to my Rabbits. I'm going to drag you down here and make you fight me yourself, Gebura.

I told you, I'm advising today. Even if you do somehow get through Chesed, Binah's the one who has dibs.

Huh. Since when were you the type to hide like a frightened kitten?

Actually, we thought putting her on comms would distract you. And it seems to be working quite well.

And why the hell would you think that?

Ah… our next guests are here~

Music: GuestBattle01


Our second round is against a squadron of Rhinos, headed by Maxim like before. Unlike before, we don't switch up our team—Chesed's team didn't let the Reindeer stick around long enough to deal real damage.



Maxim, like Rudolph, has a little more HP/SR and is unchanged otherwise.



The Rhinos are exactly the same, being slabs of meat who will gain more Defensive die power as their HP goes down.



Music: ChesedBattle02


Target's right ahead of us, boys! Charge ahead and break through!



These ones are quite motivated…

Of course we are. Your guys beat us last time, so we're going to get our win back. Our survival depends on it, after all.



Your face isn't quite matching your words, dear guest~

Heh… guess you caught me.



After so long fighting myself, having a new opponent's a goddamn blast!



A proper battle junkie, huh?

If you're going to do something, you might as well enjoy it!



It's definitely one way of getting by.

Damn right! There's nothing like a good scrap to get the blood pumping.



People all feel differently about this sort of thing. I don't like this kind of open warfare, personally.

Makes sense. A fancybritches like yourself probably got to live a nice easy life in the nest. Never got a taste for it, eh?

Oooh, you're being called out, boss!



I suppose you just can't hide pedigree, can you?

You could, but you'd have to hide that full-of-yourself smell that you reek of.

Sorry for being so self-assured, I suppose~



Chesed's Nine Children of the Dragon has turned on for a +1 Power, and with Cardiae we may be able to save Light in future rounds… but honestly it's also a little too slow for our floor build.

I gotta' say, you guys are putting up an okay fight… but I think that the Red Mist was way stronger.

Right? There's no way she'd lose to this blue-haired fop.

Well, that's because Gebura would probably be down here engaging you guys in a straight fight. She'd be proving her strength with all of the power of a Color, just like always~

Alright, boss. I'm all ready!

What do you mean all ready?

Just watch: It's captain time.




Because I'm not strong, pardon me for using the tactics of a coward~



Raging Storm: Love alone was enough to put the Reindeer on the backfoot, and adding in a Distortion Blade is enough to win the fight for us. Putting this reception off for this long has done wonders for giving us tools to dismantle them.



Our first Mass Attack takes out one of the Rhinos, and Staggers the other three.

We're… tougher'n that..!

I know. Twee~?

Dropping the blade.



Our second Mass Attack wipes the remaining three Rhinos.

That only counts as one.

Ah, don't be a sore loser.

…Just me, eh? Well, I'm not done for just ye-!



I got him, guys!

Damn… We definitely underestimated these guys.



I pick up Emerald here, though we might not actually need to use it. There are a couple Combat Pages that are incredibly annoying, and since no enemy here has more than 2 Speed Dice this is a handy one-time "No" button for us to take advantage of.



I also take Logging, because Twee has +4 Offensive die Power which makes it go from 'good' to 'hilarious.'



Hey, Maxim. Granny's talking again…

Lemme guess, fall back?

You got it. Your boys couldn't cut it either.

Seems like they're going to try and escape again.

I have Evil Kit line up attacks here because his Emotion Level is the lowest. Like Rudolph, Maxim will run away once his HP hits a certain threshold—this counts as defeating him for the purposes of Emotion Coins.



Weren't you people the defensive specialists?

Well, there's that, but we have one advantage besides it.

Ohoho! Do tell!



This here's a bioelectric induction suit. If you know how to use it… you can do a couple of really useful tricks.



I might not have broken through your lines yet… but you can't catch up to me, either. Let's settle this on another battlefield!

MUAHAHAHAHA! So the vanguard runs away the fastest too, eh?!



Good work. You're making ground fast.

Don't get cocky, now. Rabbit team, prepare for some fresh grass!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Chesed's floor is stupidly busted, actually.

[TeeQueue]

Book 45: R Corp—Chapter 3

Music: GuestBattle01


Act 3 hits us with our first major change of the reception: Nikolai isn't here. She's been replaced by a fourth Rabbit, giving us a whole squad to take out.



Myo has a bit more HP and SR, but otherwise is also unchanged. Don't let her target someone slower than her, other than that she's just a Rabbit.



The Rabbits themselves are the same as last time. They gain Haste, which could be slightly annoying but they are both very fragile and lacking in Index-style focused targeting to really take advantage of it.



Music: ChesedBattle02


Hippity hop~! We've got some nice grass right here in front of us.

Be careful. Rabbits excel at quick strikes.

Maybe so, but nothing could outrun me in my prime.

It's a shame that you're not down here, then.



The enemy page we're looking out for in this phase is Pinpoint Shot. Since none of the Rabbits are using it yet, I decide instead to let Twee go ham with Logging.



You really want to fight me that badly, eh?

Of course. You may be a washed up toaster, but you're still the (former) Red Mist. Always wondered how I'd match up against her.

Not well.



That was the old desk jockey Myo—the Library was the first real action I'd seen in years. This is the new and improved me, fresh out of surviving the hatchery.



Which would explain why the terrain shifting around you doesn't concern you at all~

Why should it? All of you people are monsters, it stands to reason you'd do something like this.



Besides, that thing isn't directed at me anyways.

Hoh… her battle senses are keener than the last time. Stay sharp.



That'd explain one thing… I was wondering why the leaders got a little tougher while the regular soldiers felt about the same.

They were exactly the same, come to think of it…



Makes sense. They were the ones on the frontlines. Chesed wouldn't do great in combat either.

I'm pretty sure Gebura was the only one who could fight in those bodies~



So ultimately, they could run them through that Hatchery or whatever a thousand times…



They just don't have the heart to do any better!



Is that why these Rabbits are so weak?! I remember thinking they were powerful back when we were working at L Corp.

Maybe we've just gotten stronger?

I'll admit that wiping an entire Rabbit team is rare unless we're contracted to places like the Ruins…



But we're all still standing right here. I wouldn't get so cocky just yet~

Gunfire coming in. The good stuff.

Alright, everyone. Defensive formation~




This should mess their tempo right up!

I'm ready to intercept.

Realized that tanking hits is a good idea sometimes, have you?

That depends, did you realize avoiding the attack altogether works just as well?



Yeah… I guess I did. They can't hurt us if I stun them first, after all.



Your skillsets have blended together into something much more rounded than a single bean could come up with~

Blended..?

Everything's coffee with you, isn't it?

Guilty~



Alright, deploying the sword now.

That's the sword that wrecked half of Maxim's Rhinos? I mean, it's big, but…



Fucking hell!

They never look up.



No one randomly summons giant swords from the damn sky!



Weren't you just saying you shouldn't be caught off guard by what monsters do, or something~?

Ghh… There's a limit to that.



As long as a limit exists, it's a simple matter to win~



We just have to go beyond it, right?

Exactly.

Go beyond the limits, eh..?



Fine, fine… I hear ya', granny. I'm heading out.

Don't die before I murder you, you five~

Ah, dangit!

At this point, we were expecting something like that to happen. It seems clear Nikolai's got a plan of some kind.



Because Twee has a bunch of high-cost pages, I give her Oblivion. This will have the side-effect of giving her a second Breakdown page to turn on the bonus damage effect of her passive.



We see both Faded Memories and Homing Instinct on our second E.G.O draw. The question of which one we grab boils down to what our decks are better built to generate. We have much more light generation than page draw, particularly in the first two turns, so we want Faded Memories.

Music: ChesedBattle03


…Not that it matters this turn.



Alright, we're all cleaned up here. Let's move on.



So the three leaders all escaped, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of the boss yet… Seems pretty obvious what's coming.

Are you concerned for us~?

I wouldn't say 'concerned,' it just felt like the three of them were holding back.

We'll keep it in mind, ma'am.

Music: GuestBattle01


The final act pits us against Nikolai and the three team leaders.



Nikolai herself has the same HP/SR buffs as the others, but the other three are almost all the same: in this phase, all four of the R Corp leaders have their own ultimate Combat Page added to their decks.



For Nikolai, that page is Disposal. Disposal is a combat page that kills you. It is the least dangerous of the four commanders' special attacks, because while it deals an absurd amount of damage it can only deal that damage to one Librarian at the time.



Rudolph gets MIND CRUSH, a three-hit Mass Attack that deals a large amount of bonus Stagger damage on each hit. It's a must-block Mass Attack, as otherwise we'll wind up either outright Staggered or one hit away.



Maxim comes with Ground Crash, and if we see this page it's very likely that we'll be having to continue the fight with a second floor. Ground Crash is a base 23-32 in almost all circumstances, at the cost of all of Maxim's power. Maximum Crash still gives a +50% bonus to all Damage and Stagger damage Maxim deals with this page as well, so it's basically a Distorted Blade that hits even harder.



Myo, meanwhile, is the only one with actual stat changes. These two Passives give +1 Power to all her Slash and Pierce dice, to emulate the effect of her own unique page, Savage Mode. This page normally alters her battle sprite, gives her +1 Power to all dice, and forces her into melee combat only… so it's a little downtuned here, but overall she's still a bit more threatening than before.



Music: ChesedBattle03


So it's come to this…

Everyone else has been wiped out, just like last time. It's now or never.

This grassland's too dry and crunchy. I want to chop it to bits.

Well… ultimately, it's all still going according to plan, right?

It's as close to it as we could hope for, at least. I would have preferred to see one or two of them taken out by this point… But there's no point in hesitating.

I won't be giving you three a rousing speech. You already know the stakes. Move forward, and graze until the fields are barren.

On this first turn I finally notice one of the problems with those Abnormality Pages that add an additional page to your hand at the start of later Acts:



They effectively limit our first turn hand size to only 3 pages. This can be a problem unless we luck into some decent draw in our opening hand. Luckily, Twee hit into her draw Prescript so I was able to give Chesed a fourth real option to choose from. This does leave Twee with only three pages and a dead Oblivion…



But she'll be taking steps to solve that problem for the entire party.



It's here that we also run into a problem with Xiao's keypage: it doesn't start in E.G.O form no matter how high our Emotion Level is. This means that it also takes one turn to go into the +1 Power half-activated state, and then another one to unlock the special E.G.O pages.

Since my strategy is to beat the stuffing out of Maxim before he can get any opportunity to bring his Charge to 20, this means he too is a bit slow for the tempo that we're running at—Raging Storm: Love helps to tide that gap over, but we have to draw it first.



They're deploying E.G.O.

Any idea the kind?

No clue. My mind got wiped every time, remember?



This one is new anyways… you wouldn't have seen it before.

Both hits from Faded Memories give us a good start, but the two pages everyone will draw from it are much more valuable.



It's been a while since I really had to fear death…



Right, because you keep coming back. So, how is it?

I'd have too many regrets… so it seems I can't be dying here.



Gyahaha! Don't worry about it, Rudolph! Just a few more hits and my hammer will be all charged up and ready to go!



Looking forward to it, are you? It'd be quite a shame if you never got the time to charge up!



Don't falter. These bastards aren't invincible, and we're all at the very peak of our game.



You know, sometimes I did wonder how good you were in a fight.

Oh? Then come closer. I'll show you how we Rabbits really work, knife to gut.



Against a jagerstock? Did you really think I'd let you get in close enough to get away with that?

You weren't supposed to have a choice. Quick reflexes, huh?

Fastest on the whole floor.

Great.



That means I'll be able to weave circles around your fellows.

Hell, she's quick!

Myo's evade in this mode reveals that the Rabbit armor has little paws on its boots.



Hey, by the way, thanks for wearing that body. You have no idea how long I've wanted to dig a knife into it.

Myo…

Well it's not like I could do it while you're wearing it.



Thanks to them keeping Nikolai and Myo distracted, we've been able to handle our true objective nice and fast.

So I was your target, eh?



From the very start. Break the vanguard, and the rest'll fall after.



Sorry boss… the suit's malfunctioning. That pink-headed girl's gunk got all over the components.

We'll use your loss to ensure our victory.



We throw out a Mass Attack this turn, which should deal enough damage to guarantee Maxim's defeat while letting us avoid having to commit attacks to him.



The way they focused in on our strongest offensive option… This was deliberate.

That hammer was giving me a bad feeling, so I let them know beforehand to take care of him.

So even from all the way up there you're able to protect whoever you want… I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

It ain't that grand. I just listened to my instincts.

Instincts which I happen to trust. As long as it has to do with a fight, anyways~

Speaking of instincts… their boss has another big one coming.

It must be the same attack he's used before. Try to weather it.



Maxim didn't make it…



And looking at it… I'm not long for this world either.

Dammit… who's going to buy my drinks now?



If we make it out of here, I'll buy them myself!

I wouldn't count on that, miss guest.



Don't patronize me.

I'm not.



MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Your people are falling, and you haven't done much damage in return. This is a wipe.



A wipe, eh? Heh… you idiots don't even know what's in store for you.



I'm fully charged.

Give them hell.

I was telling, not asking.



Feral Knives is a special attack Myo gets in her Savage Mode state. It requires her to be at 20 Charge, and is a decent Mass Attack that deals a big chunk of bonus damage to whoever her initial target is. It is powerful, to be sure…



But we have Emerald, and Myo only has two Speed Dice.



What in the—what did you do?!

Just a little trick a lying friend of mine lent me~



To the very end, you cowardly bastards can't fight fair… You never had any intention of letting us do anything.

Yes… I'm a bit of a coward. I can't fight bravely like you and Gebura. When I stare into the abyss, I back down every time.



But I hope that after all these years, I've learned to use that cowardice to protect my teammates~



Coming at me in my own body… don't get cocky. I've killed hundreds of me.

Yeah… but how many of you fight like Rhinos?

Ah.



Nikolai's open. Finish her off!



Already done.

The one major problem with playing such a blazingly high-tempo style is that enemies don't get enough Emotion Level to drop a lot of books. In this case, Nikolai doesn't drop her own Complete Book at all—I have to go back and clear the fight a second time to get it later.



So this is it… I guess in the end, I wasn't strong.

…Gebura. You still listening?

Sure am.

Hey… So…

…



Nevermind. Read it later, or something. I'm out.



…Sure?



Well, discounting the parts where we played dirty I'd call that a clean win!

I was worried… But I guess my hair came through in the end after all. They were no threat at all.

So? I'd say I deserve that captain spot now, how about you?

Fine, you were retroactively captain today. But I get it next time.

Oh no, we're even. It's business as usual from here.



We completely steamrolled R Corp 2, but really the same strategy we used the first time will also work just as well. Once we start getting Mass Attacks, R Corp units simply can't keep up with the damage output, letting us melt through them quickly enough that they can't ever set up on us. Just be careful in the fourth Act—go in with a team of units with high Emotion Level, and try to avoid letting Maxim get to 20 Charge unless you like losing a whole floor.

Music: Result


…To the end, the boss wasn't honest.

Honesty's overrated anyways. She died like a badass—that's the most anyone can hope for.

Aside living, right?

Obviously.

I'm not sure what good duplicate books will do us, though…

These books are more complete than the originals. They include thoughts we didn't have before… and the information about R Corp's singularity. I'm sure we'll find some use for them.



VIDEO
Music: Lobby


Nope. I don’t think so at all, speaking as someone who got to see what kind of life you’ve lived—albeit indirectly.

…I’m starting to feel a little scared. I’m scared that the anguish I’m bearing might be something anyone can stomach and I’m making a big deal about it. They said they’d been through worse. That they can bear that much.

Is it actually because… I have no such experience…? Is that why I am suffering so much agony from what is virtually nothing to them?

Don’t let it bother you. The agony you’re carrying right now is the only thing that matters. You just have to remember the pain and keep moving forward. Don’t let what others say or might say about your pain get to you.



Are you saying that each person deals with it in different ways?

Well, that’s basically it. They like to set up standards and accuse some people of acting like a baby or making a big fuss over nothing… It’s better to just ignore that.

Thank you. That cheered me up a little.

Don’t mention it. I’m just telling you what I believe in.



With R Corp 2 over, we're approaching the end of Star of the City.



It's been a long road to get here, but there's only one stop left. Time to see what's waiting for us.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: These colors don't run… unless..?

Videos

R Corp 4


New Combat Pages



Rudolph Exclusive:

Maxim Exclusive:

Myo Exclusive:

Nikolai Exclusive:

[TeeQueue]

Appendix 37: Complete R Corp

R Corp. is particularly famous as a private military company. No matter how many combatants die in battle, we fill the vacancy with new soldiers in no time. It was natural for the Wings giving us requests to wonder what kind of Singularity we have to pump out so many mercenaries in such a short time frame. Besides, our soldiers weren’t lacking in combat prowess by any means, so there had to be more to us than just hiring many people. The mercenaries of R Corp. don’t fear death in the first place; they don’t hesitate to carry out any tasks. We’re big in numbers, casualties are replaced quickly, and we fearlessly proceed and get the job done. R Corp’s mercs were ideal for Outskirts explorations and other dangerous operations.

How could such a feat be possible, then? People started making guesses.
“There has to be only one answer: They must be cloning people.”
“No, they’ve got to be robots. R Corp. has been developing war machines in secret!”
“Won’t the Head arrest them if they tried to clone humans?”
“That’s a good point.”

At the end of the day people just laughed it off, talking about how nonsensical their hypotheses were and how secretive Singularities are. Maybe they had the right answer, though they missed the mark a bit.

It’s true that R Corp. uses cloning technology. For that, we had to make a promise with the Head: No more than one of the same person should exist in the City for longer than seven days. The first half I can understand, but I’m still not sure why they set a limit on how long. Is it related to some kind of ethic we aren’t aware of?

Oh, no, we don’t just clone humans and call it a day. We select the fittest one among them. Inside the Hatchery, dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of them fight to the death. We have to kill the clones that look just like us, eat them, and prevail. The larger the population is and the more time given, the finer a clone is made. And the scariest part of it all is finding myself beginning to think this way.

Think about it. Is it really an admirable trait to have no fear of death? I have to disagree. When you know that you’ll die someday, you don’t put off your duties forever. You’re bound to pick them up even if you rest for a day or two. And when your life is at stake, you try all kinds of things to survive. That’s when people feel that they’re alive. Maybe I said people guessed our secret right—because our lives aren’t much different from a machine’s. One thing I’m afraid of is that hell of a selection game. As time passed, my fear of it changed to weariness. Is this the real life?

The L Corp. that came before Lobotomy Corporation imposed unfair conditions, and many Wings weren’t happy about it. There’s W Corp, which had to raise admission fees and get less trains running because of the energy deficiency. Also F Corp, which wanted to experiment with Fairies to use ‘em in various ways, but failed to produce satisfactory results because they didn’t get enough energy… And many other Wings had a thing or two to say about the older L Corp, but they didn’t have the gall to say it out loud. There weren’t many alternatives that could provide such huge amounts of energy. These conditions soon became a hot topic among Wing employees and Cityfolks in general! “Who’s gonna be the one to change that miserly L Corp?” Then someone next to ‘em would say, “Who has the courage to do that? We all know that’ll lead to a war between Wings. No choice but to live like this.”

Though there was another reason to do something about that L Corp: It produced a massive amount of fumes. At first, it was thought to be a kind of smoke that’s no different from what factories chug out; but over time, people realized that this was affecting the residents around it negatively. Some people would suddenly start wishing for the happiness of some others, and still others would spend most of their time staring off into space. What’s more, people had signs of sicknesses all over their bodies, and they started wandering around L Corp’s Nest. Was like they were returning to their hometown or something.



One day, some rich person visited us and said that a war will break out soon. Said we’ll get some benefits if we helped her.

That gave us a bigger thing to worry about than an upcoming destruction. A war is about to happen? Nikolai collected her thoughts and calmly asked why a war was going to occur.

That person paused for a bit, then spoke in a languid tone. I was creeped out by how she said it like it was no big deal.

“When one person’s pure ambition and another’s tragic obsession join together, a dream is destined to be born.”

Long ago, there was a battle between huge Syndicates. I won’t bother saying when. Those kinds of things happen all the time in the Backstreets. And I had the misfortune of getting caught up in the middle of one. The fight was so fierce and intimidating, the young little Myo had to shiver in a corner. I couldn’t find a gap to run through, and there weren’t any hiding spots around me, either. All I did was crawl to a wall, crouch into a ball, and pray that no eyes fall on me. Stupid, wasn’t I?

My prayers didn’t work. A Syndicate member spotted me, and I closed my eyes tight, thinking this was the end. When I took a short breath in, I heard the sound of a sword cutting through flesh followed by the sound of a person collapsing to the floor. I thought swords like that would hurt a lot, but I felt pretty okay. The situation was so surreal, I was starting to believe that I didn’t feel my body hit the floor because a person’s senses are dulled moments before death. Then I realized I was staying conscious for too long for someone that just got cut with a sword. I mustered up the courage to open my eyes. I’ve got to see what’s going on at least, y’know what I mean? I slowly opened my eyes… to a scene I’ll never forget. A person covered in red massacring all the Syndicate members in front of me. She was literally chopping them up with her massive blade, and they were helpless against it. I was looking at it in awe, I didn’t even think to check my body.

Thud. With the last Syndicate member down, the street was open. She looked around, turned to see me, and… Wow… My face would’ve looked so dumb. I don’t even wanna remember that. Anyway, she pointed at an alleyway with that weird sword of hers and told me that I’ll be able to save myself if I ran that way, and that the rest is up to me. Instead of thanks, all that got out of my mouth was a stupid mumble like “Ah…” I leaned on a wall and barely stood up with shaky legs. I need to run before more people come this way… But I was so terrified. Even the person who saved me, she was red all the way and looked so scary.

While I was dithering, she sighed at me and approached me. Did I frustrate her? Is she gonna kill me now? Was my savior an impatient and ill-tempered freak after all? I collapsed on the floor. I mean, think about it. A scary humanoid thing fully covered in armor, walking toward you with a greatsword decorated with red flesh… It was a miracle I didn’t faint on the spot. She grabbed my arm, set me up right, and said in a dry voice: “It’s not the strong who survive, it’s the survivors who are strong.” Then she shoved my back, and I started running before I could thank her. I didn’t look back once. I was so embarrassed, comparing myself to her.



Ever since that day, I trained myself, aspiring to become like the hero that saved me that day; and landed a job at R Corp. I wanted to become a hero myself and save the lives of others… What I wanted more than anything, though, was to meet that person once more. R Corp. participated in most large battles in the City, so I expected to see her someday. I thought she’d have been alive all along since she was tough. I was going to thank her and show her how much stronger I had gotten since then if I did get to see her again.

But, I… well, yeah, I couldn’t tell her. Not just because I never saw the Red Mist again… or Gebura, as she is called now. We did meet each other after a long time, but that’s another story. I wouldn’t have been able to say it even if I met the Red Mist when she was alive and well. I got embarrassed of myself again. I thought I’d saved everyone, but after all, what I’ve been doing was far from being a hero.

Hey, what do you think a hero is?

In the past, the Fourth Pack was considered a thorn in the side of R Corp. In other words, we were a headache that they couldn’t find a good enough excuse to remove. Which was frankly understandable as we were a total foul-up of an army at the time, and it took a considerable amount of time for us to improve to our current state.
The Rhino Team: Powerful, but easily agitated and uses its strength to destroy everything all too often.
The Reindeer Team: Prone to suffer a nervous breakdown in prolonged battles, causing damage to its allies.
And the Rabbit Team: Their thirst for blood leaves no margin for sloppiness at the cost of killing civilians.
To put it in the nicest way possible, they had a unique niche only they could fill; and as a matter of fact, bringing them to orthodox battles would do more harm than good. Not so long after, I received the news that they were planning to destroy our Pack. Perhaps they deemed it a waste to spend any more energy on us.

The news of destruction didn’t come off as much of a surprise as I’d expected. Or maybe I was so panicked that my hair had turned white. There wasn’t much I could say. What more can I say to this person, who isn’t even part of R Corp. All I can do is humbly accept my fate. The guest, who had an impressive pair of red eyes and dashing brown hair, looked at me and gently smiled. Her demeanor took a sharp, cold turn. I wouldn’t have been able to tell that this person had a talkative and lighthearted side if I hadn’t seen her speak mere moments ago.



After a moment of silence, she slowly opened her mouth. A large-scale war was about to occur. If we made big enough contributions in that war, we might be able to avoid being destroyed. That wasn’t a suggestion or a plea for help. It was a semi-mandatory request. The reward: We get to avoid termination. Her attitude was something else; the way she confidently delivered her speech in front of me gave off a certain sense of conviction. It was as if she were saying she’s going to make the war happen. Baffled, I let out a bout of laughter. I knew we weren’t in the position to refuse it.

And she was right; a huge war broke out soon after. Thick smoke covered that Nest.

[wreck]

I beelined straight for R2 so I had heck of a lot more trouble than normal lol.

With the story of Myo's book and her special dialogue Gebura in the R, my headcannon is that this Reception is done with Gebura. The way Myo thanks Gebura for everything after being booked by her really does leave a bitter feeling. A young girl who wanted to be a hero all this time to follow in the steps of the one who saved her, to be slain by that same hero in the very end.

[TeeQueue]

Book 46: The Purple Tear—Chapter 1

Music: Lobby


Our final node in Star of the City requires only the Red Mist's book. Let's see just what's waiting for us behind it, shall we?

VIDEO
Music: StoryJinji


It’s all thanks to your advice, my dear mentor. Without your help, I couldn’t have come this far or joined hands with this wonderful crew of allies.

Come on, you’re flattering me. You’re not the type to say such things.

Wouldn’t you like to join us?

Sorry, but I’m just not cut out for music.

That’s a pity. I’d really love to return the favor somehow. You were the only one who showed me the light when I was lost, dear mentor.

Honestly, I thought you were little more than some deranged maniac until you came to me.

My, you’ve got no breaks on your mouth. So, how are things going for you?



I’ve gathered the members so sweetly. And we’ve nourished the Library just as you advised.

You were so quick about it, it’s almost obese at this point.

I’m so excited, you see? I can finally be myself soon enough…

I was lonely, to tell you the truth. So painfully lonely. The loneliness born from the belief that we could never understand each other.

The two of you suffered terrible things at such a young age, so the bond between you both must’ve been even more special.

You’re right. I had thought the only reason I lived was because my sister was alive… Because Angelica hadn’t died yet. But even after Angelica left me… I was terribly lonely, yet I wanted to live.

I just couldn’t give up my life with my own hands by any means.



That I had merely put the meaning of my life on Angelica and run from it. The performance that will soon echo through the City will be my journey to seek the meaning to live… and be the proof of my life. All of us will be freed from loneliness. It’s a farewell to this gloomy and solitary City. Like the Pianist, all of us can become one and perform together.

That’s touching.

A dirge for Angelica… Yes. You said the power of the Distortion would be needed if I wanted to spread the beautiful melody Angelica showed me through every corner of the City. Thanks to that advice, I managed to form a wonderful crew.

Take a look at the members of the ensemble, dear mentor. They can’t be compared to the humans corroded by the City.

They were abandoned, scorned… struggled in anguish and sorrow after what they cherished was taken from them… But they didn’t give up; they clawed their way out of the deep dark abyss, and found their truest forms…



With a crew like this… I’ll be able to inscribe that tune into every part of the City once again.

While I get that your mind is brimming with enthusiasm… It’s not a won game yet, though, is it? You still have to take the Library’s Light in your own hands.

Hahaha… Ah, you’re right. I was elated like a little child for a moment.

Even though it’s still not in my grasp just yet…

That light… I could almost touch it, but not quite snatch it…

…



Hadn’t you lost all meaning to your life ages ago? I’m pretty sure you’re lonelier than most. Yet you still refuse to join us.

That’s harsh, kid. I do have at least one reason to live, you know?

I wonder if it’s true that you know everything, dear mentor. I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart for you coming to me and helping us prepare our performance.

I thought you were helping me out of pity… I believed you were motivated by pure sympathy for me.



…The person in your heart?

Yes. She speaks to me in such a wondrous and clear voice, a voice I’d never ever heard in this world.

Now, Iori… Could she be speaking the truth?

Then, what’s the true motive behind my dear teacher’s assistance?

Dunno. My guess is as good as yours. Maybe looking at you reminded me of my son…

What? Hahaha… Ah, Iori… You’re such a tearjerker. Your son died more than 40 years ago…

…

…What’s your true motive in helping me?

I thought you’d always remain a dorky and naive little kid… Looks like you’ve grown smarter after making friends and stuff, huh?



Mhm. A place you want to go, is it. Where could you be wanting to go so desperately to treat me with such kindness… You have the ability to jump between dimensions, you should be able to go anywhere and know anything with ease…

Kid. This power isn’t as easily abusable as you might think.

Enough of this fluff…

I don’t want you living any longer, Iori.

…

You knew I was going to do this, didn’t you? What is my all-knowing mentor going to do now, I wonder…

Music: StoryNervous


…Pipe Organ.

That brain of yours you put to work was far inferior to my Thought Gears.

…Harp.

How about I break ‘er arms and legs before she can think about running away.

…Viola.

You’ve lost something precious to you… Surely you can understand us.

…Cello.

Aha! How about a snake show drenched in strawberry juice?! The fleshy fruit will make an explosive display!

Clarinet…



Horn… Tuba… Trombone.



First Violin…



…Percussion.



And Second Violin.

Iori… We don’t need you anymore.

That’s funny. Welp… It might have been but a brief moment to you guys, but for me, it was a long and valuable time.

Please don’t talk nonsense all of a sudden.



Sir Argalia! She has the invitation!

Tch…! Stop her!

Iori, let me ask you one question.

Angela! You have a guest waiting at the door!

…Can you sincerely not hear her mesmerizing voice?

Music: Lobby


I’m starting to see why he’s been up to his crazy antics now.

…

What’s with that face? Anything bothering you?

They said they’re after the Library’s Light. That means their aim… overlaps with ours.

I guess so. …Are you scared that they’d steal it from you?

No. You and the other librarians are handling receptions well enough. I have much faith in you. Though, I would be lying if I said I had no fear.

You can just say that you don’t trust us enough.

That’s not it. Something’s… different.



…You’re right. I wonder why. Most of the guests we’ve greeted so far had a vague purpose. They only sought to earn the books and get back. Not to have the books themselves, either… Most were planning to give them to their superiors, such as the leader of the Syndicate or the higher-ups of the Association. Of course, all of it was done on the premise that it’ll ultimately bring happiness to themselves.

But the Ensemble is different. They have a clear objective. And their goal is the same thing I seek. There’s a considerable contrast between those who act in the interests of others and those who act strictly for themselves.

I never had to worry about it being taken in the past, but the situation has changed now, hasn’t it?

So, what I’m getting at is that they scare you because their goal is taking the thing you’re gathering, and not because they might be too strong?

Yes. Now theft has become a concern of mine thanks to them.

Music: Entrance


Age hasn’t stopped my heart from still being so excitable. That aside, this place handles transportation pretty gently, unlike how I do it.



Everyone and their mother’s heard about you and your Library by now, so let’s skip the introductions. Since you probably saw what was going on out there… You have a basic idea of how things went, yeah?

…You’re rather knowledgeable.

Looking at the state of the Library… Guess I didn’t have to worry so much. And you seem to be making steady progress towards becoming a human, too.

…

All thanks to the kiddo being quick to set up the stage, huh?

Then why are you helping me?

Helping you?

You ensured the steady growth of the Library in substance. Am I wrong?



You want us to make sure that the Blue Sicko and his friends can’t get their hands on the Library’s power?

Take it however you will.

And extract a book from me. It’ll be pretty helpful. I have a fair amount of info in my head.

You’re asking to be killed nonchalantly… Are all Colors out of their minds?

Course I’m not. I’ll fight with all my strength. If you can’t best this old woman… I’ll ruin the Library in my own way. Although I can’t completely kill you, I do have a number of ideas for breaking a being that has become quite close to human.

I get what you’re saying. Why don’t you cut the nonsense and get inside now?

The director of a library where countless bits of knowledge are accumulated wants to part with her past memories… What irony.

Just focus on finding your book.

Gee, aren’t you cold. But if that’s what the library director says, I gotta listen. Oh, and one more thing…

May you find your book in this place.



He seemed pretty unstable back then… Still, I guess he also played a part in helping the Library expand so much, huh?

…

All right. Let’s see how great this Library place is, shall we?

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Iori disrespects the rules of the Library.


Videos

Purple Tear 1









*THUD*

_{That voice… no way. She was a Color?}

Uhh… Talow? You dropped your books. I know the visions can be a little sudden, but…

…

Earth to Talow?

_{A second. I need a second to figure this out.}

He is lost to us now… stuck within a prison of his own design, for who could say how long.

Translation?

If I had to guess… that was the voice of the person who stabbed him.

I… yes, but. How did you know that?

Why else would you have turned as white as a sheet?

In that case, I suppose we shall observe the fight.

Why are you being nice, old man?

I have faith that your journey to get here had meaning. By pursuing this path, we may find what that meaning was.

Not to mention we'll get to see how she uses those three swords. There's got to be lots we can learn.

_{You know she hasn't murdered me yet in this timeline…} Fuck it, I'm in. Maybe we will learn something.

Yeah.. and being in the observation box should make sure we don't get run through while we do it.

Always a plus.

[TeeQueue]

I beelined straight for R2 so I had heck of a lot more trouble than normal lol.

With the story of Myo's book and her special dialogue Gebura in the R, my headcannon is that this Reception is done with Gebura. The way Myo thanks Gebura for everything after being booked by her really does leave a bitter feeling. A young girl who wanted to be a hero all this time to follow in the steps of the one who saved her, to be slain by that same hero in the very end.

I like this story, which is why Gebura did the first reception.

But this time, Chesed needed to do some proper war crimes. You know how it is.

[TeeQueue]

Book 46: The Purple Tear—Chapter 2

Music: GuestBattle01


It's R Corp all the way for us, today—we're testing out the new unique pages we got from them last time. The Myo keypage doesn't have The Strongest today, I have other plans for it.



We only have one opponent today, but there aren't many opponents more troublesome than a Color.



The Purple Tear is beefier than even the Red Mist was, with the same HP and 20 more SR. She's a Shimmering opponent, meaning her hand will refill itself every turn—but unusually, her Light costs are not reduced. Manipulator of Odds makes her also reroll any die that comes up minimum, once per die—this weights luck heavily in her favor, meaning she'll clash deceptively well. Changing Stances determines what moves she'll be using and what kind of opponent she is, and lastly she can't be defeated in this first Act, being unable to go below 350 HP until Dimension-walker has triggered.

She's not as chaotic as Yan, nor does she have obvious rules like Xiao, but she's still quite capable of stomping the entire Library if we let her.



Music: BinahBattle01


Well hello again, there… I figured this was where you'd ended up.

Yes, it seems our paths have crossed once more. I take it you still seek without end?

I see you still ask questions others find troubling.

You… know each other?

She has been a Color since before my imprisonment. We were fated to become aware of one another in the course of our duties, much as two rivers may join and break apart once more as they run.

Wowsers..! So that means you know who wins, right?

…I wonder… Who shall gain the upper hand this time?

Ahh… now that's much more familiar. Good to see you haven't ultimately changed that much.

We shall see if your estimate is an accurate one.



Throughout the fight, Iori will cycle through various stances. Each stance gives a +2 bonus Power to dice of its type, as well as an additional effect—for Blunting, that effect is 50% bonus Stagger damage. The first turn she's in a stance she gains an additional +1 Power to dice of that type, and she remains in most stances for 2 turns. Her stances also dictate the pages that she uses against us, and these pages are almost all designed to work with the gimmick of that stance.



Blunt's pages work alongside her Stagger focus. Great Serpent's Impact will give +2 Stagger damage to all hits from Blunt dice this turn, while Strike Down will help her recover SR.



None of these have a counter die, though, so we're able to use Binah's most powerful strategy.

She's a Color… can we really do this?

She is incredibly skilled, with more experience than any of you. Some of you may fall to her.

What if we balled all our experience up into one big ball and threw that at her?

That's… a lot of experiences. Most of them, how to die.

I'll admit, it's been a while since I've been in the same room as anyone with the same amount of experience as me. But it's not just experience… show me you know how to apply what you've learned, eh?



Very well.

What, no grand speech?



It is an application of what I have observed.

Binah immediately slaps Iori with 8 stacks of Fairy, meaning that each die she rolls this turn will take 8 HP off of her—Binah's floor is at its best against solo targets with lots of Speed Dice, where she can stack up Fairy and let the enemies defeat themselves.



Well, let's see how you other kids are coming along.

Did time just hiccup for anyone else..?

Whenever Iori attacks, we'll occasionally see the dice take an extra second or two to roll. Whenever we see this, it means her Manipulator of Odds has activated. In this case, she went from a natural 8 to a 12, which… we would have lost this clash anyways, but there's nothing worse than seeing that extra pause before Iori wins by 1 or 2.



Not bad, kid, but I've seen those moves a few times in my day.

No, seriously, something was off just then.

It's… something to do with time. No, probability? I can't say for certain.

I'm sure you'll learn something if you transform me into a book. Give it your best, kids.

She can hear us… But I'm quite certain Angela changed the frequency after last time.



Here, Punished Mizu is setting up for Savage Mode. Unlike in the R Corp fight, we have to actually play the page to transform, and it's not very strong for a 2-cost. Thankfully, we drew it early.

She won't tell us in either case.

And how interesting you are… It's not every day I see something like this, either.

But you have seen it?

From time to time.

Oh oh oh! Deets me! I wanna know what happened!



I appreciate the enthusiasm there, kiddo… but don't just sneak up on people with a giant hammer, eh?

Oh, but I'm not supposed to put my hammer down here… should I yell at you really loud first?

That'll just cause more problems.



Then how about a stick?

Better, but you'll never get anywhere like that.

Oh, right! It needs to be like a broom! I blunt the radio…



And SMACK 'em with the brushy part!

So the three of you are independent, eh..?

Of course! What else would we be?



Well, it looks to me like the usual. It's all about using that troublesome Fairy to your advantage, and hoping to distract me with shields until they've ripped me apart.

Come now, such an antiquated form of thinking won't get you anywhere.

Some things are given time to age because they are effective. You understand this well, do you not?

Pretty bold of you to comment on my age.

Likewise, some may find it bold to call the children I have chosen for myself mere shields.



Iori's new attack this turn is Duel, which is a series of a Blunt and two Block dice, with the first being massive and the others being only okay. Each time one wins a clash it'll reduce her opponent's next die by 2. This page can quickly rack up Stagger damage on us thanks to her stance's passive, especially if we clash her Block dice with other defensive dice. I throw out Degraded Lock just to try and crush the first die, since Binah's fresh enough to take some SR from the second if she loses the clash.



Okee-dokie. I'll do the thing where I'm the vanguard, and bust her wide open!

Which leaves me clearing the way for the other two, doesn't it?

Then I'll get all charged up and ready to go!

…Everything in front of me. I'll stab it all. Stay out of my way.

Split apart like that, and they still have to communicate. Inefficient, isn't it?

You will find it matters little.

Because you can freely read my intentions and direct them, within a limited capacity. Right?

As ever, you know it well.







Another thing I've learned just now: Even if it's a Ranged page, the loser will still take the Stagger damage from the block die if it's defense vs defense.



It's not the first time I've faced someone with that kind of ability either, you know. Every crutch hides a weakened leg.

So you say.



Nuh-uh! Some people use crutches to like, pretend to be weak! And then they see what you're doing anyways, like BAM and BOOM!

Is that what you're trying to do, kiddo?

Mmhm! Is it working?



I think you should keep working on it.



Her defense is solid as a rock… as expected of a Color, I guess.

Right. So when faced with an opponent you can't outfight, what do you do?



That's obvious: we stab. And stab. And we continue stabbing… until what's left becomes a book.



The numbers game. Not a bad answer… but it's not me you're stabbing at, is it?

Anyone here who stands before me is my enemy.



I see. Well, I'll just take a quick breather. You guys can regroup too, if you like.

Is she even pretending to take this seriously?

Oh, I'm plenty serious. Pacing yourself is important once you get to my age.

Be that as it may, use caution. I doubt she's nearly as tired as she claims.



Guarding Stance is a special stance that gives us kind of a breather. In this mode, she'll only use Counter dice, and most of them are either Block or Evade—it's a chance to pour on the offense. She'll only stay in this stance for one turn, as opposed to the two she'll do for Slash, Pierce, or Blunt. It also says that it removes all status ailments, but this isn't quite accurate. It blocks her from gaining new stacks of status effects like Burn, Fairy, or Feeble… but things that are there still work fine.



This turn, she's using two copies of Serpentine Barrier and one copy of Parry. This gives her a total of eight counter dice, seven of which get a +3 to their rolls.



Because Fairy damage still works, she'll be taking 3 damage each die she rolls, so whether she blocks our attacks or they go through we come out ahead.

It looks like you're all done sizing me up.

Indeed. It would seem my Fairy would not be able to grow right now.

Of course. But you've got another plan, surely.

You speak as if you have seen it already.

Who can say?



Ultimately, it matters little. Seeing the wave coming does not mean it can be avoided, even by your hands.

For some reason, Degraded Chain's Seal slips right by Iori's Guard Stance protections.



Oh! Little slow there, kiddo. Almost had me.

It's fine. I'll strike as much as it takes. Hit back… I welcome it.

I see. You still haven't figured yourself out, have you?

I know enough. I know you're nearly out of defenses.

True, true…



But that could mean I've just been lining up an attack.

Geh..! How did she do that..?

Oh, she did the time slowdown thingy again?

A few times. I noticed it as well.




Sigh. Sigh!! She's clearly cheating, so it doesn't matter past that. We just have to beat her up!

If we could get to the root of her cheating, though, we'd know how to handle it.

Music: BinahBattle02


Pointless! Even the cuties that cheat suuper hard fall over if you just hit them harder than they cheat!

It's naive to think that a Color is on the same level as an Abnormality.

Yeah… even the Red Mist when she was weakened could defeat the Apocalypse Bird. They're not on the same level.

Because she's the heckin' strongestest! The Purple Tear ain't nearly that cool!!

If you're referring to Kali, I actually taught her a thing or two back in the day…

Argalia, and now the Red Mist, too? Is there any powerful being she doesn't know?

I've never met her.



Iori next moves into Slashing Stance. Slashing Stance is a chunky increase to damage, and adds on the ability to throw out her biggest die in this reception.



We get very lucky here, though, and her only attacks are two copies of Serpent Sword Technique. Draw is worthless to her, and the dice on these are incredibly weak.

She taught the strongest. Like I said, you can't underestimate her.

I just think we'll be fine as long as we all do our best!

Boo! None of you get it at all?

Loathe as I am to say it… I think Mizu's right, this time.

Hah! Booyah! …Wait, which one?

What do you mean—_{Right, there are three of you…} You. This time.

Hah! Booyah!

Explain.

Before that… could all of you use your strongest attacks, right now?



Don't have to tell me twice!



Oh! Uh… okie-dokie! Rhino maximum output, coming right up~!



I don't have the charge yet…

Same.

Pah! Slowpokes!

Got this old lady all figured out, do you boy? Come on then, let's hear the answer you've come to.

Yes… I would like to hear it as well.



Mind Crush begins with Mizu getting a massive headache…



Before launching three different Mind Whips at each enemy on the enemy field. It's… much more impressive when there's more than one opponent.



Finally! She was blockin' all my mind bullets!

And that hiccup... did you feel it?

Uh-huh! Like it was all unwound for a second or something!

Right. Now… the big one.



Ground Crash, meanwhile, is a giant hammer made of light.



Got 'er!

Just as I suspected…

Which she slams down over the entire enemy group. Iori takes no damage here, but only because she's already at the 350 HP gate.



The attack even leaves behind a crater, which I mention here because we get a full version of it in the artbook.



R Corp is so dedicated to branding that their craters generate the Rhino logo.



Colors aren't invincible, you know. If you keep her waiting much longer, she may not be in any condition to hear your answer.

So? What's your verdict, boy?

It's simple. Any technique we have has a number of ways it can be used. There's a difference between a slash at a twenty degree angle, or twenty-two degrees. Those differences can wind up making the difference between your sword slipping through their defenses, or being effortlessly deflected.



Sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss. And?

I think those "hiccups" are because she's doing both at once.

…oh?

She knows things she shouldn't know without having seen them. When an attack is going wrong, she can alter it on the fly and make it so it always went right. That let her block smaller strikes just fine… but a big enough attack completely overwhelms her power. On top of that, there's her demeanor. It's so detached… like she already knows how this will end.

If I put it all together… it sounds familiar, doesn't it?



Time travel?

Time travel.

I suppose you'd know.



Iori… you can travel the timestream to some extent. That's why you've gathered so much information, and how you can change the flow of an attack. It's also why you're not worried about dying here. You know you'll find a timeline where you escape eventually. It's meaningless.

So that's the conclusion you came to…



I'll give you 70 points for it, boy.

Music: GuestBattle02


…But only because you showed your work. It seems you're still inexperienced.

She just… teleported herself in here! That's not supposed to be possible!

Okay… that's definitely not time travel.

Uh, guys? She's pointing that sword right at me.

I'm sorry, Morgan. I don't think there's much we can do about this. None of us were prepared to battle.

When Dimension-walker activates, Iori will automatically teleport to a randomly selected floor in our Library besides the one she's in. This floor could be any of them aside Chesed or Hokma's floors—neither one was in a complete state when Iori's reception was first made, and Project Moon never went back and changed this setting.

Some of you may be asking how she teleported to Hokma's floor, given that this is the case. The answer to that is simple:



I know people. Don't worry about it.



Because our librarians aren't equipped for battle, any empty Combat Pages are replaced automatically with an assortment of the basic pages from all the way back in Canard. This also happens any time that we try to enter combat with 8 or fewer pages, but here it's a major problem because not even Focused Strikes can stand up against Iori's attacks.



So uh… Pretty sure I'm dead

Life itself is transient… fleeting. Let go of it, and become one with the planet once more.



Knowing when your number's up is pretty handy. Normally, you'd be able to run away, or at least beg for your life from the moment you knew you were about to die.

Are you praising me, or..?



Well, it's not as useful when you're not allowed to run. You'll get it eventually, don't worry.

Morgan! Don't worry, I'll—!



Hey, not so fast. Stand over there for a minute, would you?

Ghrhhhgh…



Such actions… don't get ahead of yourself.

Hey now, that tickles!



I don't understand precisely how you did this… but I must assume there was a reason behind it, wasn't there?

Oh, you know… faith without works and all that.

Just how much have you figured out..?

I think you have bigger things to worry about right now, don't you?



If you're going to be this evasive, I take it that means you won't say if you stabbed me or not, either.

You catch on quick.



After all, explaining things a hundred times to the same person would get annoying. Don't you agree?

This 'all-knowing mystery' act is starting to get on my last nerve.

Not so fun when someone does it to you, is it, boy?



The Abnormalities call… we shall answer.

I'll be frank: We aren't coming out of this alive. We'll use what time we have to deal the damage we're able… and face the end with dignity.

Music: GuestBattle03


Time puts the clock from Price of Silence's battle into the background, and it ticks down in the same way as in that battle. Thirty seconds isn't a long time for more intricate fights, but for this battle it's almost too much.

A clock… Oh, that one that powers you up.



Iori uses her final stance this turn, Piercing stance. In this stance, she inflicts double the stacks of any status effect that her Combat Pages will add on. Her Pierce attacks tend to inflict Fragile and Bleed, so she can pile it on incredibly fast to shred through our HP if we aren't careful.



She also starts using Mirage Storm. Mirage Storm is her unique Mass Attack, and it hits with one hit of Blunt, Slash, and Pierce. Blunt and Slash deal bonus SR/HP damage, and the Pierce attack deals 3 Bleed and 1 Fragile for this and the next turn—her current stance will double this to 6 and 2.



Her other two attacks this turn, Venomous Fangs and Snake's Prey, deal a bunch of Bleed and Fragile as well.



Alright. Let's wrap things up here. I have places to be.

Yes… let us bring this story to its close.

I quite agree. End this farce, dear guest.

…



Okay. Here I come~

This is another dramatic zoom-in attack like Grinder Mk. 2, with Iori dashing around and dealing single attacks to everyone rather than any single large strike.



Sorry guys… I didn't anticipate any of this..!

Worry not. None of us saw this coming.

I wonder about that…



Seems like one of you thought they may need to defend themselves after all.

Did you… see this before?

Of course not! I just thought I should keep hold of some good moves, just in case.



She's overpowering… Even Hokma has fallen.



And then there were two. Off-balance… barely moving. But you can still talk, can't you?

…Barely.

Right. Hold on.



I've got to remove the last spare.

Do… your worst. I am… eternal.



Now then. You were telling me about those moves of yours?

I wasn't telling you anything.

Right. Then I'll do the talking for us both. You're barely holding together at all, aren't you?

Oh, so now you'll talk..?

I can speak just fine, when it suits me.



Now that I've had a look at it up close, it's a really problematic ability, isn't it? Searching through dimensions one at a time, only going back when you die. And with such a pointlessly arbitrary anchor… you can't sample many possibilities like that.

Why, the only thing this would be good for is following after someone who could move sideways into a new dimension as well.

Gh… How..?

Still, it's not like you got nothing from it. Those instincts you've honed are sharp… if you acted on them more often, this might have ended completely differently.

I didn't ask for your advice..!

Well, take it or leave it. Up to you. Now then…



Let's see if this "anchor" fishes up something big, shall we boy?

Wha-?!

















Well, there's that done… busy, busy.

Now. Where was he..?



Ah… huh?!

Not one word. Just business as usual.

…yes'm.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: An old lady finishes running her errands.

[TeeQueue]

Book 46: The Purple Tear—Chapter 3

Music: GuestBattle01


Moving back just a couple of seconds, Iori only actually changes floors on her own once. We can pick other floors after that as normal.



Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Music: GuestBattle03


I gotta' say, I expected more people around here.

Yeah, well… the second we found out we weren't needed, all of them wandered off to do their own thing.

But you're quite prepared under that normal-looking outfit, aren't you?



Nothing gets by you, does it?

Quite so. Speaking of…



You have quite a promising little spy, here.

Ahh, crap.

You're… Nea? What are you doing here?

My job.



Iori uses her last Pierce attack here, Laceration. This is a bulky set of Pierce dice that inflict Bleed for the next two turns and Feeble to lower our attacks too.

Our goal with Nea here is to snatch both of them off of Iori to give Roland a bit of time on his first turn. She's also here to trigger Remembrance, guarantee Lies, and die horribly. To that end, I have given her The Strongest.



Fast…

I see. You planned to be out of here before anyone even noticed, weren't you?

The spotlight isn't where I belong.

I see, I see.



That just makes you all the more dangerous.

Dangerous..? I can barely remember her name.



That's exactly the problem.

I… don't follow.

People who stay out of the spotlight can be the most dangerous of all. Who knows what they get up to when you're not looking?



Ughh… whatever. I just have to kill you.

Sure enough. Come on, show me what you can do.



Bad rolls last turn bite me in the rear here, as we have 12 Bleed on us. Moreover, Iori's swapped to Blunt, she's using her Mass Attack…



Along with Duel, which has a first die that we can't reliably stop even with our 6 extra power.



Of course. You're a guest, just like anyone else.

Very good. That's how it should be done.



Kh… that opening strike is too fast.



But it's only three strikes… so after that…



You're finally wide open… and I can run you through.



So long… Purple Tear.



Pretty bold of you, killing me off like that. Come on, you didn't even get me through the heart.



I hit right where I was aiming.

That so? Then maybe you've gone soft.

Shut up.

Right, you usually prefer swinging that big sword, don't you?



A heavy attack like this seems on your level. Try to remember it for the right moment, eh?

Stop running your mouth..!



Ah, you kids… you're all alike.

Or maybe you just never change.

Oh, no, I'm changing all the time.



Let me show you another one.

That stance… This is bad.

Back in Slashing stance, Iori shows off her full repertoire of Slash pages.



Her heavy hitter page in this stance is Violet Blade. It's a single die, and while 5-15 is relatively anemic for a 3-cost page at this point in the game, it doubles all Power gain. The +1 Strength she's getting from her Emotion Level will stack with her +3 to all Slash dice this turn to give a total of +8, making it a 13-23, and she has the Light to throw two of them at us this turn.

But it gets worse!



In addition to her two copies of Violet Blade, she's using one Snake Slit. This page gives a +2 to all Slash dice she uses this turn, which doubles and makes both Violet Blades 17-27 behemoths. Even at a +5 Strength, we don't have a way to realistically overcome either one.



You sensed it from over there, did you?

…



It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Well, life's a funny thing.



You win some, you lose some. It's all about preparation, really.



Just try a little harder next time, okay kid?

Music: GuestBattle01


Now, let's see. Was there anything else..?

Nah. Let's get a move on and wrap this up nice and neat.



Music: BinahBatle02


Well hello again. Seems I can't leave unless I beat you all, as well.

Have you finished your errands?

Let's say so. No more distractions, Miss… It's Binah now, right?

That is correct.



Well then… show me what you've got.

We've seen all of Iori's tricks at this point (barring one page in Guard stance), so it's just a matter of surviving them. The plan is the same as before: Hit her with 8 Fairy immediately and let her melt to death. She's using a Duel this turn, meaning that there would be a possibility of her Counter die blocking any of Binah's ranged attacks.



I've got lightning beams! How 'bout you?

Just Mizu's opening hand had Mind Whip, though, which lets her handily break through that counter die.



Very well done, child.

Awww, shucks!

With 8 Fairy stacked onto her all at once, the rest of this battle is a foregone conclusion—we just have to survive for a few turns, and she'll be done for.



She's not holding anything back.

That's only natural, kid. I'm plenty warmed up now.



It's okay. This situation isn't out of our control.

The bigger question is if we deserve to win…

You're a serious buzzkill, you know?



Come to think of it… you seem pretty together, for someone who betrayed everyone.

Oh, that. Yeah, not my fault. Following orders.

We have a responsibility for the actions we take.

Do we, really? I mean—



BLARGH!

Very bold of you to hold a conversation while having a swordfight with a Color.

Don't worry. I'll leave you to it.



Geez, lady! If you could hit this hard from the start, why didn't you?!

Well, why do you think?

Um… is it… Oh!



You should stretch before you exercise!

That's certainly a very 'Mizu' way to think.

Thanks! I think so too!



Speaking of, what conclusion did you two come to?

We decided that it was more important to deal with the threat in front of us.

A typical way of looking at things.



Well, in that case I'll give you a threat to deal with.

Mirage Storm comes out on turn 2 again, this time accompanied by a Violet Blade and her 1-cost, which means the Violet Blade won't get any more buffs. Since it's targeting Binah (who is Endured/Ineffective against Slash attacks) I decide to just let it through.



Stand behind me, children. I shall grant succor from the coming storm.

Yes Miss Binah~!



Isn't it a bit late in the conversation for a customary greeting?

It is never too late to be courteous.

There are no clashes this turn. This is a calculated risk—I figure that we can put her down before she has a chance to do anything else if we go all in.



Now, let us see the manner in which you spend your final moments.



My final moments, eh..? You know, I've wondered about that for a long time.



Owie!!

Unfortunately, I have something I'm working towards… so I can't die until I get there.



Still up! All good!

You certainly have always fought towards a singular goal. Even I must wonder how you plan to arrive there, however.



I'd rather you didn't act like it's something so unreachable. You'll make an old woman cry.

Oh? I thought I was not to comment upon your age.

Yeppers… still… up..!

The attack's all over and done with, it's time to press the advantage!



Gyeagh!

Honestly, you four have a ways to go. If it weren't for your leader, I'd be able to clean up all of you without any real effort.



To you, though, I've got to give some credit. For shields, these ones work far better than those Claws you used to use.

My, such praise you are giving to the children.



We're better than Claws?! But they're the coolest of the cool! Head agents dispatched to handle stuff! With the faces! And the arms!



And the claw! Oh man, did I ever tell you I fought a Claw once? Well not quite a Claw claw but it was a Claw-like cutie-like thing! It was definitely like, between a cutie and a Claw on the meter of awesomeness!

Wait, we did that?! When did that happen! That's not fair!

Now, now. If you keep working your way across the City like this, you might wind up meeting the real thing yourself, you know.

You promise?!



Well… that's not really up to anyone standing here, is it?

You're correct. It isn't.

All I am able to do is behold the final moments of a legend. If you have any last words, I would hear them now.

Last words, huh..?



"You pass," I guess.

How interesting.



I shall be sure to hold on to them for you.



Hooray! Another step closer to Claws~!

The realization is going to crush us… a fitting penance, if still not enough.

Realization? Of what?

Don't worry about it…

Well that's terrifying.



The Purple Tear is incredibly powerful, but we have a minimum of ten people to throw at her, to her one person, and this gives us several ways to knock her off her game and beat her. Feeble inflictions can come in very handy as long as she isn't in Guard stance, and it's quite possible to solo her with The Red Mist. Add in how quickly Fairy can melt her or how we can use Full Stop passives twice against her with only one floor, and there's basically no reason why we should ever be fighting The Purple Tear fairly. She'll probably take one floor out, but that's all she can really do as long as we refuse to fight fair.

Music: Result


Ultimately, it was quite an enjoyable bit of exercise.

In what way was that exercise..? I must have lost a gallon of blood.

Don't be silly! We know exactly where it all is!

Mizu… That's not…

Don't bother. She won't understand the difference.

I wish for repose. My dears, see that her books are properly shelved..

Then I'll put the tea on~!

And I'll get ready to say hello to… the… oh right. The quantization. So Claws can't come…

Nooooooooooo!!!

And there it is. Crushed.



VIDEO
Music: Lobby


The ability to jump between dimensions… The Purple Tear didn’t appear to be interested in getting books. She came here because she didn’t want the Blue Reverberation’s band ganging up on her.

If she took shelter here to avoid death, I’m sure she could have thought of other ways to live… Yet the Purple Tear fought to the end, ultimately becoming a book.

She said peculiar things, like telling me to turn her into a book… Why was that, I wonder?

Wanting to avoid the Reverb Ensemble could be a superficial reason. The real reason the Purple Tear entered this place will be carried to the bookshelf with her. And, you know, the power might not be all omnipotent. I’m pretty sure there was a reason she couldn’t just leave here. Maybe there’s some kinda… barrier surrounding this place.

A barrier…



She was treated like an all-knowing sage… She might have been aware of her own future, at least.

Could she have knowledge about the Library as well?

Beats me. Even if the Purple Tear did know about it, there’s nothing she can do for it since she’s turned into a book now.

Yeah. You’re right.

You seem kinda unnerved as of late.

I suppose that’s part of the process of becoming a human.

When people feel anxiety, they tend to buckle up and prepare more thoroughly for what’s to come, you see? This is one of those times. It could be a chance for you to think deeper about things.

…And grow as an individual. Nevermind. I appreciate your hard work dealing with a Color.

I get that inviting powerful guests will promote the Library’s growth, but… Boy, receiving a couple more Colors or people on that level is gonna tire the whole Library out.

You still do a good job every time. I want to say thank you to you and all the other librarians, Roland. Please sort the books before you go.



Hey… are you guys… alive yet..?

Barely…

Such experiences are still difficult on my old bones.

It matters not. We are immortal… above the normal human.

A… aaaah……

Talow..?



No. No no no no nonono what did she do this isn't supposed to happen anymore..!

Is it another timeline? Then you must have died, right? _{But we can't die…}

Yes… no? I don't know. I think so? But it's… so many, and all at once… Geez, my head..!

Take some time and write it all down. We'll figure it out afterwards.

Before that… Important. The Library…

What about it? Are we in trouble?

At the start of everything… We're about to be declared an—



Next time, on Library of Ruina: Angela's plan is really good, you guys.


Videos

Purple Tear 2

New Key Pages



New Combat Pages






Purple Tear Exclusive:

[TeeQueue]

Appendix 38: The Purple Tear

If you’re reading this book, it must mean there’s something you want to know about me. I’m sure you have lots of questions, but I sadly can’t give out detailed answers. It’s hard to come up with a definition and explanation for a power that naturally emerged, you see? How should I put it, in that case…

I can travel through time and space and see a myriad of possibilities, too many for you to possibly fathom. It’s probably a little bit different from time travel as you commonly imagine it. The future self who experienced a certain past returns to it in order to change the future… Whatever is going on in the past, some kind of paradox is bound to happen to causality. Big or small. Little things can set off massive twists, like the flap of a butterfly’s wings causing a tornado… And even I’m afraid of bearing that risk. It could turn into a cycle of meaningless struggles.

Yeah. I guess it’s fairer to say that I travel to a completely different space. Ever thought about the possibility that an infinity of different versions of the world you live in might exist? Let’s say that you sidetracked on your way home and were killed by some Syndicate members that ambushed you. But in another world, you might have decided you wanna go straight home, and the assault would’ve never happened. Or, you might have noticed the Syndicate members as soon as you stepped into the wrong alley and quickly got back on track. Those small choices can add up, and result in countless worlds where countless outcomes unfold. …I know what you’re thinking; this isn’t logic that can realistically be proven. I know all of this sounds unbelievable. People can’t understand me because of that, and even I have difficulty explaining myself.

I made it sound grandiose, but this power isn’t almighty by any means, so I try not to use it carelessly. Not that I expect you to care for such details. It’s already complicated enough as it is, isn’t it? Just know that this power isn’t omnipotent. No power is conveniently given to you in this world, after all; there’s always a price you need to pay, and there is a world I yearn to reach, no matter that price. I’m doing this so I can find the world where I can see that possibility.

And in the many worlds I’ve been to while doing this job… I saw many people who were lost after losing their precious stuff, just like me. I couldn’t just pass them by. They looked so miserable and pitiful. Well… It wasn’t entirely out of goodwill. The fact that they were worth helping played a big part. Once again, nothing in this world is free. I didn’t quite pity them as much as I weighed up the favors they could give me in return. Thanks to that, I’ve become acquainted with quite a few Fixers… And as corny as it is to say this myself, some even started calling me their mentor, and became my devoted admirers.

Lots of people ask me what I’m going to such great lengths to see. A leading figure that commands powerful Fixers who are on the level of a Color? I dunno. All I want is to meet my son, whom I had to part with in the most unfortunate way. Meaning I don’t care about the ancillary stuff. I can see it so faintly… It almost seems to be within my reach, but it always ends up being a mirage.

Also: The Purple Tear has some unique interactions with people, so let's go ahead and put all her combat dialogue here!

Well, then… Shall I test your skills?

I wonder how big the Library has gotten.

Since we have the time, let’s slowly warm up.

I was hoping for more, but I guess you weren’t at that point yet…

That was pretty fun. Buuut… I guess you aren’t quite there yet.

Good… You’re growing strong, slowly but steadily.

You still haven’t figured yourself out, have you?

Hm, that was below my expectations.

You’ve done an excellent job holding out against me for so long. Too bad, though.

You should be better prepared the next time we meet, kid?

You’re pretty good. It’s been a long time since I got so much pressure in a fight.

My, and you sounded so confident… Is this really the best you could do?

Now, for the specific character interactions:

Well… It’s no surprise that you’re here.

I’ve seen you a few times before, so…

Even with a being like that, there was no difference.

Haha… Interesting for sure…

I thought things would be different this time.

Indeed. I know of you as well.

As expected… I cannot help but be astonished.

…

Her prowess was simply too great for you to endure.

Tis alright. Be relieved in your rest.

You held out for an impressive duration, still.

I can’t really consider you to be the same being that Kali was, can I?

Let’s see if you remember my teachings… Care to show me?

Kali. Your pupils were certainly a bit tricky to deal with.

You remember it well…

Figured your strength wouldn’t be the same as before…

…I won’t bother saying pointless stuff.

…

…She’s strong. And something about her is similar to me…

The rest of you can bear this for longer, right?

…A Color isn’t all that different.

Don’t get impatient. You’ll only make more mistakes that way.

Uh-uh, stay still, and don’t peep a word.

You’re doing pretty alright, I see.

Was that really your best?

…Yeah. You’ve shown me that sending you here was worth my while.

C’mon, now… You’ve gotten a lot softer.

…Hah.

…If you came here to see me ‘cause you were worried, it was wasted effort.

…

…Don’t be discouraged.

…

Let’s push on.

[TeeQueue]

Okay, let's do a general LP State of the Union. I feel like it's time. Side note, I'm very exhausted, tonight has mildly sucked.

So, for context... the Lobotomy Corporation LP started on 4/20/20 and ended on 5/11/21, so it took just over a year to finish.

Knowing that: I started this LP on 8/21/21, and it's now 2/17/24. That's about four days off of 2.5 years so far, and we're only just now hitting endgame—an endgame that is much more complicated than Lobotomy Corporation's was, even discounting the absurdist bullshit that I will inevitably be pulling out of my hat.

Moreover, we started Star of the City on 9/27/22 and officially finished it either today or yesterday, depending on your version of what "finished" is. That's about 1 year and 5 months, or ~1.4 years. Half of our time LPing this game has been spent in Star of the City, and frankly it being finished doesn't feel real yet.

Uhhhh, so anyways, I think that that's neat and I wanted to say it. Moving on.

Small Stories 3, 8, and 9 are still out there, looming menacingly, and due to some Problems with how they wind up showing up, I'll be interspersing them whenever feels appropriate throughout Impuritas Civitatis. We have no more General Receptions available, and polls are pretty much entirely done (There are only two left and I'm 99% sure I know how they're going to go.) To that end, the reader interaction portion of the LP is very nearly over, but hey I hope that at this point I've got you intrigued enough to stick around until the play's finale.

For the immediate future, I have the following priorities:
-Updating the goddamn fanart post tomorrow oh god it's been months and you guys made so much cool stuff kill me
-Doing Refraction Railway 3. I still need to hit my 83 turn count (this is important).
-Strawberry Farm event in maplestory (this is not important at all).
-Working on IC. I may or may not get the IC Prologue up before my usual weekend, but that's not a big deal in either case.
-Going on vacation. This is my last work week before I take a week off, and I don't work on the LP's main posts at home. I will probably be working on doing some recording and getting some videos cut and whatnot, just to set myself up to hit the ground running afterwards and do some neat stuff. I'll also be going over and setting up for some stuff on my end that'll make actually going through and writing the final chapter much less work. Yay!

Anyways uhh... the finale is coming, slowly but inexorably, and I look forward to showing you all the end of a story that will hopefully feel like a good ending point to these two threads. Until then, please enjoy the escalating insanity from both the game itself and the guy writing it.

Have a good one!