....
The world is at chaos. It is neither fair nor sensible. It wrongs heroes and breeds scum. It is rife with ugliness without a trace of beauty. The malice of the world shall be sundered.....by the villain.
~Otto Apocalypse
....
Carl knew that this side story of his would only truly move players who had experienced the previous Elysium gas.
New players who had only played Oath might be completely lost.
But putting aside the fact that most Oath players had played earlier titles in the Elysium series.
Even if so new players could not understand the plot, that would not matter as long as the story was exciting and moving enough.
Countless lore channels and story-analysis creators online would definitely rush to turn this side story into explanation videos and discussion posts.
At the sa ti, Carl would also screen the players who received this side quest in advance, making sure their ntal fortitude was strong enough to handle this kind of story.
There would be no situation where soone scread, "This is a 12 rated mobile ga! Don't put such a dark story in it!"
In the end, Carl did not expect his side story to move every single player.
As long as it moved a portion of them, that would be enough to prove his ability to Elysium.
Although, strictly speaking, it could not really be called writing ability.
It should be called his ability to cause emotional devastation.
And when faced with Carl's request, Artemis, the grim reaper, was soone Carl had originally assud to be a kuudere-type character.
But now, an extrely conflicted frown had appeared on her face.
"Summoning the dead back to the world of the living... In principle, that is not permitted," Artemis answered.
If it was not permitted "in principle," then that ant it was permitted in practice, right?
Carl noticed her hesitation and did not stand on ceremony. He directly swept his hand across the ga table beside him, and in the next instant, a playing card appeared in his hand.
The mont the grim reaper lady's indigo pupils saw the playing card in Carl's hand, they instantly narrowed into snake-like vertical slits.
Her little blue tongue also flicked out with a hiss, making it obvious that she was hungry.
The playing card Carl had materialized was none other than a fragnt of Oath Cards' main body.
Over the past twenty-plus days, more than a thousand players had spent who knew how many hours grinding through sleepless nights in Oath Cards.
Carl did not know whether the genuine joy they felt while playing Oath Cards could be preserved.
But judging from Artemis's burning gaze, there should still be so emotional residue left on it.
"Looks like I guessed right! If the players' negative emotions can worsen the symptoms of the Calamity Virus in your bodies."
"Then the players' positive emotions are the cure for the Calamity Virus!"
As Carl spoke, he tossed the playing card in his hand to Artemis.
She did not stand on ceremony either. After catching it, she directly curled it up with her extrely long tongue and swallowed it into her stomach.
"This is also why Elysium has always presented its world to humans in the form of video gas, right?" Carl asked.
"That is correct."
After enjoying this little dessert, one that had already gone cold for quite so ti but still tasted excellent, Artemis answered Carl's question.
"Then help complete this script!"
Carl no longer hid anything and directly made his demand to Artemis, or rather, to Elysium itself.
"I can't guarantee anything else, but I can guarantee this. For the residents of Netherworld Village who participate in this story performance, I will absolutely cure the Calamity Virus in their bodies!"
Although the gas of the past could also allow Elysium to absorb the players' positive emotions and suppress the Calamity Virus...
Unfortunately, for so unknown reason, those gas always started out fine during the early stages of operation. But once they had been running for a long ti, the infection rate would always begin to outpace the suppression rate.
But Oath was currently capable of suppressing it effectively, and the results were excellent.
The players were having a great ti.
This was also why Elysium trusted the Oath developnt team so much.
As for Carl, he could be considered... an unexpected bonus for Elysium.
Artemis fell silent for a while after hearing Carl's request. Then, as if she had received permission from sowhere, she asked Carl directly.
"Who... do you want to summon back to the world of the living?"
So Elysium had nodded and allowed it?
Carl quickly opened a webpage from the real world and began searching for information on the previous Elysium-series online ga that players had once played.
As for copyright issues, this online ga was also a work made by the sa company behind Oath. It had simply been developed by a different production team.
On top of that, Elysium also held the creative rights to these ga characters, so there was absolutely no issue with Carl making a crossover side story.
After Carl found the relevant information, he quickly glanced through the online ga's character popularity rankings.
Very soon, Carl's eyes landed on the character ranked third in popularity.
Sophia, the Adventurers' Guild receptionist in the largest main city of that online ga.
In this character's promotional art, she was an extrely beautiful and cheerful village girl.
Because she had served as the players' beginner guide, even though this online ga had already been updated for several years, her popularity among the player base remained high.
The only question was this.
The Sophia currently active in the main city of that online ga, how many tis had she been replaced?
Which generation of "her" was she now?
And the one Carl wanted to find was the very first version.
The original beginner receptionist Sophia, the one who had grown familiar with the players during the earliest version of the ga.
"Does the original receptionist Sophia still retain her reason?" Carl asked.
"You really... know how to choose."
Artemis complained.
A stream of data flashed through her indigo pupils, as if she were searching for sothing.
Then she said, "I found her. Fortunately, the first version of Sophia still retains her complete reason. It is just that her current appearance may be... not very pleasing to the players."
"As long as she still has her reason and can communicate, that's enough! Summon her over."
Carl did not mind what that receptionist had beco.
Artemis pressed a finger against her lips, raised the scythe in her hand, and swung it.
The space behind her was instantly split open.
From the spatial rift Artemis had cleaved open... a layered mass of indescribable things rolled out.
Carl first glanced at the beginner receptionist Sophia on the webpage interface.
Long silver-gray hair, dark red eyes, and a small, adorable appearance.
The promotional art also gave off the approachable feeling of a lively, enthusiastic, incredibly friendly girl next door.
But what about the current Sophia?
Carl looked at that mass of sothing that gave off a strange, inhuman feeling.
From the lump of flesh, he could barely make out which parts had once been the girl's beautiful eyes, which parts were the silver-gray hair she still retained, and which part was her hand, and which part was her foot.
"This place... is the world of the living... I... why would I..."
Sophia's once-charming voice had also beco twisted and distorted.
"This is Carl Agata. He is preparing to create a side quest that will allow you to reunite with the players who once went on adventures with you."
Artemis seed to have long since grown used to the appearances these late-stage Calamity Virus patients evolved into, and she still spoke in a flat tone.
And Sophia.
When she heard that she could finally reunite with the players she had thought about day and night, her first reaction was not joy.
It was terror.
"I... don't want to!"
As if trying to hide her layered body, Sophia quickly rolled toward the spatial rift.
"I don't want to et them like this, Lady Artemis. Let ... go back into the darkness!"
"I... don't want the players to see like this..."
"This version of only needs to stay in the darkness and rot away, until the players completely forget !"
Carl could understand why Sophia was so terrified.
The only thought keeping her alive in this world might have been this.
In the players' hearts, she would forever remain at her most beautiful mont.
Although the Sophia accompanying the players now... was no longer her.
When Carl saw that she was about to flee back to Netherworld Village, he hurriedly spoke up to stop her.
"Miss Sophia!"
"No matter what you say... I still won't..."
Sophia had just been about to firmly refuse Carl, but his next words made her freeze in place.
"Miss Sophia! No matter what you've beco, the players... your players, will absolutely never despise you! Believe !"
"...I... don't believe you," Sophia answered softly.
"You don't have to believe , but... please consider this."
Carl handed a large stack of Oath Cards to her.
No.
It was not simply a stack of cards.
It was the thing these NPCs had always been pursuing.
The players' happiness.
Carl placed all of that happiness into Sophia's twisted hands.
Sophia also sensed the familiar joy contained within them.
Her body trembled slightly as she stood there in a daze.
"As long as you cooperate with and finish acting in this side quest, I swear to you... I absolutely have a way to restore you to your original appearance!" Carl said.
"...I... actually no longer hope... that I can return to my original appearance."
Sophia looked at the emotional flow in her hands.
It was the emotional flow she had once been so familiar with, the happiness the players had shown when spending ti with her.
"But... all right. If I can see them one more ti, then I am willing to cooperate with your... performance."
"Thank you."
After successfully recruiting his first crossover actor, Carl had Artemis continue pulling in new crossover actors.
The grim reaper lady clicked her tongue in complaint.
But she still cooperated and brought over the original NPCs familiar to the players of the previous ga, one after another.
The blacksmith uncle the players had first t in the starter village.
The soldier lady who had fought side by side with the players.
A thief who was also a codic character, one with such a mischievous personality that players could not help liking him.
The rcenary group's big sister, who had served as the players' beginner ntor and once drank heartily with them in the tavern.
One after another, Carl persuaded seven or eight characters from the previous ga to participate in this crossover side story.
Although all of them had beco unrecognizable under the effects of the Calamity Virus, they still accepted Carl's invitation.
Their reason was simple.
They wanted to see the players one last ti before they died.
After gathering the actors he needed, Carl began his pre-battle briefing.
"All right! Everyone, I have already finished writing the script-related content. The performance will take place ten days from now! When the ti cos, I guarantee that all of you will definitely..."
"Bring endless surprises to the players!"
Artemis sat to the side, gnawing on the Oath Cards relics Carl had given her while making clicking sounds with her tongue.
The side story Carl was writing right now...
Rather than saying he was handing the players a knife...
It was more like Carl was driving a dump truck, ready to ram straight into the players doing the side quest and kill them on the spot.
But how should one put it.
The stories that players liked in ani-style gacha gas, or rather, the stories in all gas, were basically divided into two types.
The first type was sweet stories that made players grin like proud aunts, the corners of their mouths rising no matter how hard they tried to hold them down.
The second type was painful stories that made them cry no matter how many tis they watched them, left a deep impression, and gave them a refreshing, full-body catharsis after they cried their hearts out.
What Carl was currently making had a little of the first type.
But it had much more of the second type.
Very painful.
But very satisfying.
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
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