>New Game Load Game Quit
[New Game Loading]
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"We did it! We did it!"
Even though the hero had lost an arm, nothing could rival their happiness in that moment.
They finally defeated the Dark Lord.
They could go back home to their sister. Everything would finally go back to normal.
"Indeed, you did well Hero."
Their sword, a gift from the gods, was their guide, their north star.
"But I ask you this: Do you not think too much innocent blood was shed? Haven't you lost companions, your family, a lot to this?"
"I-I-" The hero faltered, a bitter taste in their mouth.
"There were too many casualties. Too much loss where we could have avoided."
"I know. I know. But I cannot turn back time. I cannot." Bitterness seeped their every word.
"You cannot, that is true. But I can. Hero, listen to my words. It is the will of the divine to avoid so much loss. You will go back in time, and avoid the loss of so many lives. You can avoid losing your companions."
"Wait-I-"
And the world turned to black.
There were infinite voices in the darkness, chants in languages beyond them.
And in whispered tones, they heard: “I will do a perfect run bro just you wait."
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There was blood.
And then there was light.
The hero woke up with a start, at the shrine as they knelt.
" Rise O warrior! You have been chosen to defeat the Dark Lord. Go forth into the chamber and receive your prophecy!"
They were almost pushed into the chamber. Perhaps they had seen the terror on their face and decided the public didn't need to see their new hope in despair. It didn't matter. The doors were closed behind them, leaving them in the pitch black except for the wispy blue light emanating from the sword.
"Welcome back hero." Hero lunged at the sword.
"Why? Why did you- why?! We had defeated him! The world was saved! My sister was saved!"
A force repelled them, pushing them to the wall. The energy grew ominous.
"I am the mouth of the divine, Hero, and you must treat me like such, no matter our history. As the divine willed it, you must save more people. It is your purpose."
They were heaving, eyes blinded with rage. It wasn't fair.
"But being killed by the dark lord isn't fair to those people either." Its tone turned soft, as if comforting a child.
"I know you Hero, you have regret in your heart. Let this be the turn to relieve yourself of that."
They deflated, all the rage leaving their body. They had sworn an oath to protect all they could. They had chosen this path.
"Fine!"
They took in a deep breath.
"Fine."
[>Restart game?]
[Restarting….]
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They were better this time.
They almost resented the fact. Perhaps they still held a grudge at their life being taken away.
But the sword was right.
And victory tasted sweeter this time. Perhaps it was the baker giving them a cake for saving her husband. Perhaps it was the smile of their kid.
They defeated the Dark Lord again. Cleaner this time.
"It was worth it, to turn back time." He finally smiled at the sword.
"Perhaps, Hero. But not enough. It is not enough."
A familiar thrum of energy swirled around them.
"No! This is enough! Please!"
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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Blood. Then light.
Begging, pleading never worked. The divine was firm in their decision.
So, they picked up the sword again.
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No celebrations this time. Just a single question: “Is it enough?"
There was the familiar swirl of energy.
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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There was blood.
And then there was light.
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Then there was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Time felt lucid.
It had no meaning.
There was only blood.
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They heard voices at time. In that space.
Perhaps it was purgatory.
They couldn't understand any words except:
"Perfect run."
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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"Please! Please! I beg you, let this be the last time. Please!"
The Hero's companions looked at the them, confused. In this moment of victory, the Hero was on their knees, pleading to the sword.
The Hero did not care about their reputation. They did not care if they were going to be branded as mad. All they needed was to reach the ending.
"You know the Divine's will, as do I."
There was a familiar swirl of energy.
"No! NoNO! You cannot keep doing this! Please! "
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
And in the darkness the voice echoed: “I told you there's a secret dialogue."
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There was more blood this time.
The Hero was more precise. Better. Stronger.
But also, more ruthless. Precise strikes as if pulled by a puppeteer.
Their companions were scared of them now. They were less human and more an automaton.
All chasing the will of the divine: "Perfection".
Blood. Darkness.
Blood. Light.
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They gained the nickname of the mad hero this time around.
The ruthless hero, ravaging through the Dark Lord's army, singlehandedly destroying legions.
At the end of each battle, they stood there, drenched in blood and staring at their sword, screaming at it.
"Is it enough now?! Is it?!"
There were no companions this time around.
Just a hero gone mad and their sword.
The defeat of the Dark Lord was quieter this time. All who could witness it were told to hide, leaving only a ravaging maniac and a sword quenched in blood.
They didn't even ask this time, just laughed like a maniac as the energy swirled.
"You can be perfect Hero. We will achieve it."
They plunged the sword in their stomach, still laughing.
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
The voice echoed again. “Woah that's a super-secret cutscene!"
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The divine was punishing them for a reason.
If one was an imperfect vessel, they could never be enough.
Was it the fault of the vessel, or the one who used it?
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There was blood.
And then there was light.
The sword was angry with them.
"You have been chosen as a carrier of justice. Do not act beneath your station."
'Do not send me back again' they wanted to say, but bit their tongue.
It was of no use anyways.
The divine willed it; an eternal loop for their eternal servant.
And there was nothing they could do about it.
They picked up the sword again, struck down the Dark Lord again.
It wasn't enough.
There was a familiar swirl of energy.
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
________________________________________
Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
________________________________________
Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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Blood. Light.
Blood. Darkness.
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The world was grateful for the Hero, destined to defeat the Dark Lord.
The world was scared of the Hero, strong enough to kill the Dark Lord.
The world was scared for the Hero, the one gone mad killing the Dark Lord.
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The Hero couldn't give up in any world.
The Hero was a normal farmhand once. The Hero had a mother and a sister. Their mother was killed by the Dark Lord's army and their sister was put in a magical coma.
The Hero had saved their sister countless of times.
Each time she beamed with joy at them.
And every time was turned back, it was her beaming face that kept them going.
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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The voices were becoming clearer each time. Their faint whispers turned to clear words.
Perhaps following the divine's will like that made them closer to them.
They could see glimpses of them. A boyish face with strange contraptions in his hand, always muttering about the perfect run and 100 per cent.
The will of the divine was something they knew but could never understand.
Perhaps that was their failure; One could not be perfect if they did not know how to be.
There was blood.
And then there was light.
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They began to carry a list.
Every casualty in each village, listed with their name.
They began to read it over obsessively.
200 casualties, then 150.
The baker was delivering bread to the castle, died on the route.
The washerwoman travelled to a different river this time, encountering the soldiers of darkness.
Everything written down, read over and over like it was a prayer.
There must be one, the one who if they could save, perhaps they would not need to return this time.
They failed every time.
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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110 casualties this time.
The sword seemed to encourage them, pulling out the record each time.
"We saved 10 more people this time. We can do it perfectly."
They hated the damn sword.
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Fighting became like dance for them, perfected over thousands of lifetimes.
Step here, block there. Turn and stab and kick the one approaching from behind.
Like a choreography to song never ending.
Stab and slash and run and kill.
Save the world and kill the evil.
Do it till you die and then repeat.
They still weren't perfect.
When could they be perfect?
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
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There was blood.
And then there was light.
They accepted the sword again, dread weighing down their every move.
"Hero, listen to me. A new revelation has arrived from the divine. I see the end of this cycle. I have found what you must do to satisfy them."
"What is it!? Tell me, tell me this instant-" They were thrown back by the sword.
"Wipe that crazed look from your face. Thousands of lifetimes and yet you do not act according to your station."
They did not care for the taunts, or the open disdain. They would give everything for this to end.
"I will tell you when you defeat the Dark Lord. This must happen after it."
The Dark Lord was defeated within the month, the Hero ravaging through his legions like a mad dog.
"Tell me. Tell me now." Their hand was bleeding now, gripping the blade itself. The pain was nothing.
"Return to your home. In your own hometown lurks the hidden evil."
Their eyes blazed with fury as they rode through the forest.
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"Sister! You killed the Dark Lord! I'm so glad I -"
The Hero's sister was the only thing they cared about at this point. And to think there was evil around here?
"I will explain it all later sister." They pushed her away, gripping the sword again. "Tell me now, who is the hidden evil? Tell me."
The sword simply tilted towards the sister, pulling the hero's arm.
"Kill this girl. She is the final evil. I will make it easy for you."
The sword moved on its own.
"NO!"
The hero jumped in front of it.
There was blood.
And then there was darkness.
And in the darkness, the Hero swore to themselves.
This would be the last time.
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There was blood.
And then there was light.
The sword's hilt flew at their head.
"How could you let your feelings overtake?! She is destined to cause great harm, no matter if she's your sister. If you do not kill her this time, there will be consequences."
The hero simply smiled.
There would be blood.
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The Hero relished killing this time around, collecting trophies.
A goblin's blood, a lycan's tooth, a witch's hair.
All tied to a string, swinging from their neck.
A trophy from each creature defeated.
"Throw those away. How morbid for a hero to carry around trophies. you are a hero, not a warlord."
She ignored the sword.
And when she struck down the Dark Lord, she took his jewel, her final trophy.
She mixed all the trophies in a bottle.
"Let us go. I'm ready to put an end to this."
The Hero's smile was too wide, but the sword did not notice.
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They stood outside the hut, the sword thrumming with excitement.
"You are about to fulfil your purpose hero. You will finally put an end to this. Strike down this door, and strike down your sister, for the betterment of your kind!"
"No."
The sword thrummed dangerously.
"You cannot get cold feet now."
She stood, unwavering.
"If you are unwilling, then I will. I always knew you were a coward." It moved on its own, towards the door.
The hero grabbed the sword and broke the bottle against it. The dark sludge ran down to the hilt, bubbling and eating away at it all.
"This ends here. Nobody can survive against this."
"You fool! Your own arm is being eaten away! How dare you! I am a divine weapon I am-"
"A piece of metal I should have thrown away long ago."
As the slivers of the broken metal fell all across them, the hero took a knife and cut her own rotting hand off.
She knocked at the door, drenched in blood and shrapnel.
"Sister, I'm back! "
...
.......
...........
[Connection lost.]
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New Game > Load Game Quit
[You have no saved games.]
[You cannot turn back time again.]
[PROGRAM CRASHED. Analysing the cause…...]
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