Post by Hayate on Apr 21, 2007 23:40:37 GMT -5
Using the power of the bracelet, Kite defeated Skeith. But instead of rescuing his friend Orca from the coma... Kite's victory actually lead to the birth of a new, frightening enemy, Cubia.
Kite looks around, suddenly a small rock lands on his head. Looking up he sees Cubia floating in the sky above him. Helba appears nearby and watches as Cubia hits Kite with a powerful breath attack. She uses her powers to teleport Kite away from Cubia and turns to look at the creature.
Helba: Cubia...
Helba gates away.
Lios, the system administrator at CC Corp., viewed Kite's behavior as potentially dangerous.
Lios: Welcome. I am Lios.
Kite was determined to do whatever was necessary to save his friend. But to Balmung, who represented average players, and to the system administrators, the ones who maintained "The World," the power of the Bracelet was nothing more than a cheat. In other words, an illegal engine mod.
Lios: But aside from that, to take immediate action to prevent the situation from worsening, it requires that you delete your character.
Kite: Delete it?! Why?!
Lios: You should know that your character violates the software usage agreement. Installation of an illegal effect. You do know what I'm referring to? I will delete you now.
Helba: Wait a moment.
Helba teleports in.
Lios: Helba?!
However, Kite's character was protected by powerful defenses and even the system administrators were unable to cancel his account.
Helba: I wonder what would happen if the boy were to use Data Drain, right here and now?
Kite: No way, I wouldn't do that!
Helba: I know. Since you aren't stupid. The stupid one is this pig-headed man. You don't even understand how it works. Yet, you'll delete it before finding that out? Or do you even possess the ability to delete it in the first place?
Lios: ...
Helba: The boy's character data is so well protected, the System Administrator can't even crack it. In spite of the fact that you developed a vaccine and disguised it as a rare item. Deleting those you cannot control is something that a pig-head would do.
Thanks to some help from a hacker named Helba, Kite was able to escape surveillance by Lios. Intrigued by Kite's powers, Helba told Kite of the relationship between Orca's coma and the Epitaph of Twilight. The Epitaph of Twilight was an epic poem that spread around the Internet and inspired the creation of "The World." The author, Emma Wielant, was no longer alive, and the poem fragments had been scattered all over. So the true nature of the poem was the subject of much debate among players.
Helba: If the design of this world was based upon writings in the "Epitaph of Twilight", it should provide you a clue.
Lios: Forget it!
Helba: Lios.
Lios: Yeah, what?
Helba: The code name given to a System Administrator... Were you remotely aware that it's the name of the "King of Light" that appears in the Epitaph?
Lios: It is?
Following the instruction of Lios, Kite set out to investigate an area infected by a virus.
Kite and BlackRose run through a dungeon. Suddenly, Innis appears in front of them.
BlackRose: Oh no! What now?!
Kite: That's it? What thing is the cause?!
That's where he defeated the 2nd Phase, Innis.
Skeith, Innis... yes. This was exactly the Morganna Factor that we were researching at Project G.U. After defeating the 2nd Phase, Kite found one of the segments Aura had been divided into, and liberated it. Following this, Kite made his way to an area Aura had told him about in an e-mail, where he encountered Cubia.
Kite and Mistral walk through a dungeon. The Aura segment flies out of Kite's bracelet transforming into Aura in the process. Aura's body silently floats above them.
Mistral: Whoa. That story you told me was true, wasn't it?
Kite: Yes it was.
Mistral: At any rate, this girl, she's beautiful, but... I don't know how to say this, but...she's not alive.
Kite's bracelet begins to shine. He walks towards Aura but stops as the area begins to shake violently. Aura fades away and Mistral and Kite find themselves standing on a glowing platform.
Mistral: Hey, what is this?!
Mistral looks up, Kite follows her eyes and sees Cubia floating
in the air above them.
Kite: That's the...!
Using the bracelet's power, Kite was able to fight off Cubia, for the moment. Believing that freeing Aura was the only way to solve the mysteries that had been plaguing him, Kite redoubled his efforts.
It was remarkable. Kite, this lone young man, was attempting to do by himself what we, the members of Project G.U., had spent countless man hours and huge amounts of money working towards. No special knowledge. No help from anyone. With only the strength of his own convictions, this young man, this Kite, pursued the mystery of the Epitaph of Twilight.
To that end, Kite contacted an information broker. Someone named Wiseman. From Wiseman, Kite learned about the Epitaph of Twilight and the Eight Phases of the Cursed Wave. He went to visit an unauthorized server called the Net Slum. This was a place within "The World" that wasn't part of "The World," a kind of gathering place for hackers, rogue A.I. characters, and other types of junk data.
Tartaga: Are you looking for Helba?
Kite: Yes.
Tartaga: It so happens that I briefly heard from her recently. The "Epitaph of Twilight." To sum it up in a nutshell, it is a tale. Or to elaborate further, it is a saga that recounts how the age of the spirits came to an end.
Kite: The tale of an end?
Tartaga: Indeed. However, the texts are scattered. Even if found, they are extremely difficult to comprehend. Yes. It'll be a very tricky business.
BlackRose: Say, uh, there's been something that's been bothering me. The people around here. They all look so different from anybody I've seen anywhere else.
Tartaga: This place was once where all of the unsuccessful non-player characters drifted. Sort of a sanctuary for failures. Those players who considered them amusing came up with their own variations of failed characters. Now the boundaries between player and non-player character is quite indistinct. Some of them simply don't know which category they fall in to. There are maybe even those who have lost their bodies on the outside. Mere memories, faded reminders of the individuals they once were. Only their character data remains intact and active as they wander the network. Yes, the same fate as Harald.
Hacker's Paradise. It was there that Kite reunited with Helba. If anyone could be called the creator of the Net Slum, it was Helba. In the Net Slum, Kite learned more about the original creator of "The World," Harald Hoerwick, and his goal. He also learned that at the heart of "The World" exists another consciousness, separate from Harald. Just then, Balmung and Lios appeared.
Helba: "Epitaph of Twilight." Both of you have succeeded in reaching it as well, I see. ...Oh, look. We have an unusual and unexpected guest. As a representative of Net Slum, I greet you. Welcome to Paradise.
Kite: Huh? Balmung.
Helba: You sided with Lios, I see. You cracked easily for someone who was so sure of himself.
Balmung: Don't judge! I'm not like you!
Helba: Stalking the boy is shameful behavior. You've disgraced the name of the Descendant of Fianna.
Kite: What? Balmung, you used us?
Balmung: It was necessary to restore order.
Helba: Order? There's an order that the world desires, and then there's the order that you desire. Which form should it take, Balmung?
Lios: The order that I desire, of course.
Lios gates in.
Helba: Our featured performer. Now, all of the actors have assembled.
Lios: Quit your yapping, woman! You are entities that unquestionably pose a grave threat to this world. I'll delete you all!
Oddly, "Lios" was the name of the King of Light mentioned in the Epitaph of Twilight and Helba was the name of the Queen of Darkness. During Lios and Helba's confrontation, another strange phenomenon occurred. This time in Net Slum. It was the 3rd Phase, Magus. The situation took a sudden turn.
BlackRose: A leaf?!
Once again, with the power of the bracelet, Kite was able to defeat Magus. But another problem was awaiting him. The town that had had its data destroyed.
Kite and BlackRose warp into Lambda Server's Root Town Carmina Gadelica. However, the data of the town has been seriously damaged, the graphics of the town have fallen away in places revealing untextured buildings and pieces of code. The two look around in shock.
BlackRose: What the hell happened?! You're kidding me, right?
BlackRose's sword clangs as it hits the infected ground.
Kite looks around, suddenly a small rock lands on his head. Looking up he sees Cubia floating in the sky above him. Helba appears nearby and watches as Cubia hits Kite with a powerful breath attack. She uses her powers to teleport Kite away from Cubia and turns to look at the creature.
Helba: Cubia...
Helba gates away.
Lios, the system administrator at CC Corp., viewed Kite's behavior as potentially dangerous.
Lios: Welcome. I am Lios.
Kite was determined to do whatever was necessary to save his friend. But to Balmung, who represented average players, and to the system administrators, the ones who maintained "The World," the power of the Bracelet was nothing more than a cheat. In other words, an illegal engine mod.
Lios: But aside from that, to take immediate action to prevent the situation from worsening, it requires that you delete your character.
Kite: Delete it?! Why?!
Lios: You should know that your character violates the software usage agreement. Installation of an illegal effect. You do know what I'm referring to? I will delete you now.
Helba: Wait a moment.
Helba teleports in.
Lios: Helba?!
However, Kite's character was protected by powerful defenses and even the system administrators were unable to cancel his account.
Helba: I wonder what would happen if the boy were to use Data Drain, right here and now?
Kite: No way, I wouldn't do that!
Helba: I know. Since you aren't stupid. The stupid one is this pig-headed man. You don't even understand how it works. Yet, you'll delete it before finding that out? Or do you even possess the ability to delete it in the first place?
Lios: ...
Helba: The boy's character data is so well protected, the System Administrator can't even crack it. In spite of the fact that you developed a vaccine and disguised it as a rare item. Deleting those you cannot control is something that a pig-head would do.
Thanks to some help from a hacker named Helba, Kite was able to escape surveillance by Lios. Intrigued by Kite's powers, Helba told Kite of the relationship between Orca's coma and the Epitaph of Twilight. The Epitaph of Twilight was an epic poem that spread around the Internet and inspired the creation of "The World." The author, Emma Wielant, was no longer alive, and the poem fragments had been scattered all over. So the true nature of the poem was the subject of much debate among players.
Helba: If the design of this world was based upon writings in the "Epitaph of Twilight", it should provide you a clue.
Lios: Forget it!
Helba: Lios.
Lios: Yeah, what?
Helba: The code name given to a System Administrator... Were you remotely aware that it's the name of the "King of Light" that appears in the Epitaph?
Lios: It is?
Following the instruction of Lios, Kite set out to investigate an area infected by a virus.
Kite and BlackRose run through a dungeon. Suddenly, Innis appears in front of them.
BlackRose: Oh no! What now?!
Kite: That's it? What thing is the cause?!
That's where he defeated the 2nd Phase, Innis.
Skeith, Innis... yes. This was exactly the Morganna Factor that we were researching at Project G.U. After defeating the 2nd Phase, Kite found one of the segments Aura had been divided into, and liberated it. Following this, Kite made his way to an area Aura had told him about in an e-mail, where he encountered Cubia.
Kite and Mistral walk through a dungeon. The Aura segment flies out of Kite's bracelet transforming into Aura in the process. Aura's body silently floats above them.
Mistral: Whoa. That story you told me was true, wasn't it?
Kite: Yes it was.
Mistral: At any rate, this girl, she's beautiful, but... I don't know how to say this, but...she's not alive.
Kite's bracelet begins to shine. He walks towards Aura but stops as the area begins to shake violently. Aura fades away and Mistral and Kite find themselves standing on a glowing platform.
Mistral: Hey, what is this?!
Mistral looks up, Kite follows her eyes and sees Cubia floating
in the air above them.
Kite: That's the...!
Using the bracelet's power, Kite was able to fight off Cubia, for the moment. Believing that freeing Aura was the only way to solve the mysteries that had been plaguing him, Kite redoubled his efforts.
It was remarkable. Kite, this lone young man, was attempting to do by himself what we, the members of Project G.U., had spent countless man hours and huge amounts of money working towards. No special knowledge. No help from anyone. With only the strength of his own convictions, this young man, this Kite, pursued the mystery of the Epitaph of Twilight.
To that end, Kite contacted an information broker. Someone named Wiseman. From Wiseman, Kite learned about the Epitaph of Twilight and the Eight Phases of the Cursed Wave. He went to visit an unauthorized server called the Net Slum. This was a place within "The World" that wasn't part of "The World," a kind of gathering place for hackers, rogue A.I. characters, and other types of junk data.
Tartaga: Are you looking for Helba?
Kite: Yes.
Tartaga: It so happens that I briefly heard from her recently. The "Epitaph of Twilight." To sum it up in a nutshell, it is a tale. Or to elaborate further, it is a saga that recounts how the age of the spirits came to an end.
Kite: The tale of an end?
Tartaga: Indeed. However, the texts are scattered. Even if found, they are extremely difficult to comprehend. Yes. It'll be a very tricky business.
BlackRose: Say, uh, there's been something that's been bothering me. The people around here. They all look so different from anybody I've seen anywhere else.
Tartaga: This place was once where all of the unsuccessful non-player characters drifted. Sort of a sanctuary for failures. Those players who considered them amusing came up with their own variations of failed characters. Now the boundaries between player and non-player character is quite indistinct. Some of them simply don't know which category they fall in to. There are maybe even those who have lost their bodies on the outside. Mere memories, faded reminders of the individuals they once were. Only their character data remains intact and active as they wander the network. Yes, the same fate as Harald.
Hacker's Paradise. It was there that Kite reunited with Helba. If anyone could be called the creator of the Net Slum, it was Helba. In the Net Slum, Kite learned more about the original creator of "The World," Harald Hoerwick, and his goal. He also learned that at the heart of "The World" exists another consciousness, separate from Harald. Just then, Balmung and Lios appeared.
Helba: "Epitaph of Twilight." Both of you have succeeded in reaching it as well, I see. ...Oh, look. We have an unusual and unexpected guest. As a representative of Net Slum, I greet you. Welcome to Paradise.
Kite: Huh? Balmung.
Helba: You sided with Lios, I see. You cracked easily for someone who was so sure of himself.
Balmung: Don't judge! I'm not like you!
Helba: Stalking the boy is shameful behavior. You've disgraced the name of the Descendant of Fianna.
Kite: What? Balmung, you used us?
Balmung: It was necessary to restore order.
Helba: Order? There's an order that the world desires, and then there's the order that you desire. Which form should it take, Balmung?
Lios: The order that I desire, of course.
Lios gates in.
Helba: Our featured performer. Now, all of the actors have assembled.
Lios: Quit your yapping, woman! You are entities that unquestionably pose a grave threat to this world. I'll delete you all!
Oddly, "Lios" was the name of the King of Light mentioned in the Epitaph of Twilight and Helba was the name of the Queen of Darkness. During Lios and Helba's confrontation, another strange phenomenon occurred. This time in Net Slum. It was the 3rd Phase, Magus. The situation took a sudden turn.
BlackRose: A leaf?!
Once again, with the power of the bracelet, Kite was able to defeat Magus. But another problem was awaiting him. The town that had had its data destroyed.
Kite and BlackRose warp into Lambda Server's Root Town Carmina Gadelica. However, the data of the town has been seriously damaged, the graphics of the town have fallen away in places revealing untextured buildings and pieces of code. The two look around in shock.
BlackRose: What the hell happened?! You're kidding me, right?
BlackRose's sword clangs as it hits the infected ground.
Interim Report 2
Author: Jun Bansyoya
Author: Jun Bansyoya
