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16 Apr 2023
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Meimona: Wait, was he always this stubborn?

  • Meimona: Huh? Um... look!
  • Meimona: Maybe it's possible to come down, since you're here now...
  • Meimona: But it doesn't mean going back up is also possible, right?
  • Meimona: We should be careful!
  • Yuness: Mona.
  • Yuness: Don't you trust me?
  • Meimona: What? Of course I do!
  • Meimona: But I've made sure that I can't go back up multiple times, so...
  • Meimona: Let's not be reckless!
  • Meimona: It would be bad if we waste our divinity by flyi-
  • Yuness: That's ENOUGH, you annoying child!
  • Meimona: ...W...wuh?
  • Yuness: You seriously don't trust your own brother?
  • Meimona: W-what? No, I do!
  • Meimona: But you're talking like you don't trust me!
  • Meimona: I told you I tested it already, so why don't you believe me?
  • Meimona: Without any divinity, we won't ever go home, Yuness...
  • Meimona: It's not worth risking it!

Yuness?: She's not as gullible as she seems, y'know.

  • Yuness: Come on.
  • Meimona: Uwah! No!
  • Meimona: I'm not using my wings, no matter what you say!
  • Yuness: JUST FOLLOW ME ALREADY.
  • Meimona: No! YOU come down already!
  • Yuness: I don't get it, what's your deal!?
  • Yuness: Is this face and voice not enough?
  • Yuness: Am I not family that you longed to see for years and years?
  • Yuness: Yet you still stubbornly reject me.
  • Meimona: W-what are you talking about?
  • Yuness?: God, I can't even put on a performance anymore.
  • Yuness?: You're seriously annoying.
What's up with him? He should know how risky it could be to fly for the both of you!
Was he... misleading you with a lie to waste your divinity?

Then, that's not Yuness... is it?
Yuness was sometimes a bit of a bully, as some older siblings tend to be... but he was never malicious! He wouldn't try to hurt you, not in a million years!

But who is it, if not him?

Meimona: Something is not matching up here.

To try tricking you with a familiar face and voice...
Isn't that what Aria and Reed mentioned before?

The scenery begins to twist and morph like a painting. What was once there now dissipates like a mist... so, even the oasis was part of the trick!?

-/-/-/->

  • Meimona: You're... you're a spirit, aren't you!?
  • Spirit: Took you long enough.
  • Meimona: Stop pretending to be Yuness, you lowlife!
  • Meimona: He wouldn't do any of this...
  • Meimona: He would never ever want to hurt me!
  • Spirit: Right. I'm just about done playing that stupid role.
  • Spirit: Really, they just had to send me after the most annoying of the bunch.

-/-/-/->

  • Meimona: You lured me here with illusions!?
  • Meimona: You'll pay, you evil conniving villain!
  • Spirit: Heh... are you trying to be brave?
  • Spirit: But this face makes you shake and tremble so easily, doesn't it?
  • Spirit: So I think I'll keep it on just a while longer.

Meimona: Hesitantly begin ENCOUNTER.

Dammit, you're powerless like this!
Right now, you can't hope to achieve attacks on the same strength level as you've done before. All because there's nobody to believe in you, nobody at all...

The only thing you have left is your speed.

Maybe... that can still be handy.

Meimona: FLEE.

  • Meimona: S-stay back!
  • Spirit: Listen, I'm doing you a favor, little crow.
  • Spirit: You'll get to pass away staring at the face of a dear family member!
  • Spirit: You should thank me, hahahahah!

-/-/-/->

  • Spirit: Ha, are you just going to run away?
  • Spirit: What's wrong? Afraid to hurt your brother?
  • Spirit: You really can't do anything as long as I have this mask on, can you!

Meimona: Taunt.

  • Meimona: You're too slow, idiot!
  • Spirit: Ergh... get back here, you annoying child!
Despite how much the spirit's gloating, its movement and attacks seem slow. Perhaps casting and maintaining an illusion on an entire area was a taxing act for it. And now, chasing you around only seems to exhaust it even more.

Which means that these things have limited stamina!

-/-/-/->

So then, the moment it's weakened enough...
It'll be time to go on the offense.

Meimona: COMBAT.

  • Meimona: I'm not a coward like you think!
  • Spirit: GAH... agh... huh!?
  • Spirit: You... ran away on purpose?
  • Spirit: Clever girl.

Meimona: Follow up with the strongest hit you can manage!

This is it, the killing blow! Err, hopefully, that is!

You block off all your worries and focus, focus, focus, on the fact that this is an enemy, even if it has the face of your dearest family member. Yes, despite that... no, because of that! For daring to do such a thing...

You've got to make it pay!

-/-/-/->

  • Spirit: That's not enough to matter, though.
  • Meimona: Uwah!

-/-/-/->

Ow... w-what just happened?
Something hit you, somewhere....

But you didn't see the spirit do anything.

Meimona: Inspect injury.

A sharp pain spreads through your body.
Your right leg... it hurts.

What looks like a strange branch has pierced through it.

-/-/-/->

  • Spirit: Arrogant thing.
  • Spirit: For daring to trespass into her domain...
  • Spirit: You'll get what you deserve.
Crap, crap, crap, you can barely move through this intense pain!

No way around it now...
You'll have to fly to avoid its attacks.

Meimona: Evade!

-/-/-/->

  • Spirit: TOO SLOW, IDIOT.
  • Meimona: O-ow!

-/-/-/->

  • Spirit: Heh! Like swatting a fly out of the air.
  • Spirit: Looks like you really did forget how to use those wings properly.

Spirit: COMBAT.

    I know what you're thinking.
    That you're the shame of this family.
    The one that could never measure up to the rest.
    Granting the wishes of others...
    Living up to one's given title...
    Making mother's choice to even pick you a worthy one...
    It's all impossible for you, isn't it?
    You've long since given up on achieving such feats.
    Without a goal to cling to...
    What worth lies in this life?
    So I'll do you the biggest favor and end it here.

-/-/-/->

  • Meimona: Yu...
  • Meimona: Yuness... no...
Not with that face, please don't...

-/-/-/->

    Don't worry.
    I'll make this painful and slow.

Hero: Execute.

  • Urgh! UUUUUGH.... RRRRRRRRRRRGHH...!
  • W-WHO... WHO... WHO DARES...!?
  • .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .- .-

Spirit: Fall.

  • Nino: Ugh, thank god I made it in time.
  • Nino: Damn worthless excuse of a spirit.
  • Nino: Get lost and stay down, you hear me.
  • Meimona: N... Nino?
  • Meimona: Oh my gosh, Nino!
  • Nino: Mei!
  • Nino: Are you alright?

Meimona: Try to reach Nino.

  • Meimona: I'm... o-ow!
  • Meimona: Uah, I'm not fine...
  • Meimona: It hurts a lot.
  • Nino: Were you injured?
  • Meimona: Yeah... here.
  • Nino: Damn, what a deep cut!
  • Nino: Let me take a look at it, yeah?
  • Nino: I'll heal you right away.
  • Nino: My healing takes some time to work, though...
  • Nino: So stay still and wait as I do my thing, alright?
  • Meimona: Okay...
  • Meimona: ...Sorry... for the trouble.
  • Nino: Huh? Not at all!
  • Nino: This is practically my job as leader, Mei.
  • Nino: Don't worry about a thing! Just leave it all to me.
  • Meimona: ...Thanks.
So he did end up in the same place as you after all. Thank god.
You didn't want to be completely alone.

Nino chased after you back there. Even though it meant straying away from everyone else, he still decided to... huh?

You suddenly realize that something's missing.

Meimona: This could be bad for him!!!

  • Meimona: Wait!!!
  • Nino: Hm? What's wrong?
  • Meimona: What happened to you disguise, Nino?
  • Nino: My disguise...? Oh!
  • Nino: Uh, wow! I totally forgot about that!
  • Nino: Is it gone? I didn't realize that it was gone.
  • Meimona: T-then we can't do this here!
  • Nino: Huh?
  • Meimona: Don't just sit still out in the open,
  • Meimona: You totally look human, we can't have you get spotted!
  • Meimona: Come on, let's go somewhere less visible first... ow!
  • Nino: Hey, you'll hurt yourself more if you move with that injury!
  • Meimona: But, you're not disguised...
  • Nino: It's fine! Let me treat it first, Mei.
  • Meimona: You said this takes time!
  • Meimona: If a monster sees you, it'll be all my fault, and...
  • Nino: The chances of running into anyone in a desert are low.
  • Nino: I mean, it took me this long to find you!
  • Nino: So you have nothing to worry about.
  • Meimona: But...
  • Nino: Come on, I insist!
  • Nino: All of this is my fault for not holding onto you well enough back there.
  • Nino: I'm sorry, Mei.
  • Meimona: Oh... no, don't apologize!
  • Meimona: I'm, I'm the one who let go...
  • Nino: Still, I messed up by letting you get hurt by such a nasty spirit!
  • Nino: Just let me make this up to you, okay?
Reed: Follow but question him.
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latadeatun
latadeatun
11 months ago

In >Spirit: COMBAT there is text in color, if you arrange in colors, you have this:

Red text: thinking of the other even in end.Blue text (Meimona): family that wishes you all cling to lifePurple text: the measure of one's impossible goal lies here
such interesting fact i see...

nevermind3476
nevermind3476
11 months ago

Mei: Nino here seems a little off... but are you really in any state to get away?

Amamber
Amamber
11 months ago

WHAT, WHAT THERES- THERES TWO OF THEM. WE HAVE TWO NINOS???

Lunk
Lunk
11 months ago

That spirit could be an Umbra. (Like Lune) The abilities it's using definitely aren't normal spirit abilities, and it seems to be connected to the same Umbra purple color as Lune.

nevermind3476
nevermind3476
11 months ago
Reply to  Lunk

It's not quite the same purple as Lune, but is suspiciously close for sure (lune's text is 6830a5, spirit's is 642a9e)

Lunk
Lunk
11 months ago
Reply to  nevermind3476

The other spirits that have shown up recently haven't changed their colors, such as the Nino and Aria spirits, as shown by the victory text on the next page. The change is probably important. It's possible the color is different because this is a different Umbra.

redaer
redaer
11 months ago

Nino's pretty good at those last-second rescues, isn't he? Even when he has to be in two places at once.

Also, that rock formation looks kinda like the Pillars of Creation.

^