'>>5955470
>Smash the only barrier between you and freedom.';

'>>5955470
Couple of things before we start:

-I have no idea what the fuck am I doing, winging it with every post after ditching my original methodology thanks to anons on QTG
-I will try to update once a day
-Sorry for any mistakes in advance ( like that missing fucking bracket)
-IP might change depending on where/when I post so just look at the trip!
-Have fun!';

'>>5955470
>>Smash the only barrier between you and freedom.';

'>>5955517
>>5955476
CRASH

Your weak punch had barely done anything to the door, in your pitiful state, you were harming yourself actually. Still, The force generated from your punch had caused the door to fall flat on the dusty floor from how rusty the hinges were.

You didn’t recall anything about your current location or the events that had led to your unfortunate imprisonment. Unfortunately, your legs were in such a horrible state... a couple of steps had winded you already and so you sat down on top of rusty Mechnos for a brief respite.

“...?” The world outside of your prison cell was a sea of nothingness. Pitch black darkness laced with a faint purple hue like a drop of ink on the ocean. It was only your cell, a couple of brick foundations floating in the void. No, there something else...

A mirror

After centuries of solitude, you could see your own reflection. You too were a Mechnos, a highly advanced one in an clear state of deterioration. You had cracks and dried blood on your armour... your eyes, yellow as Amber it were One could easily mistake you for a human being with your short black hair and soft skin. You were unable to express any sort of emotion what was the word for it again? Ah, yes : you were a stoic person. Somehow, you had this innate knowledge telling you that the mirror before you was a gateway of sorts. Someone must have gone into great lengths to trap you here. This had to be the way out.

As you were about to touch the mirror, the Binding brands had manifested over the gateway. These sigils were bestowed by the Six themselves. You would bind yourself to one of the gods ruling the world above, their powers were against everything your creator had stood for. What should you do?

>Touch the Mechno brand [Recommended]
Grants the power of Cog manipulation and mastery over various technologies. Very compatible with your body, Makes you vulnerable to Alchemo

>Touch the Alchemo Brand
Grants the power of change through your life essence. Anything is possible with the fine art of Alchemy by one’s side. Makes you vulnerable to Hemo.

>Touch the Hemo Brand [Not Recommended]
Grants the power of blood altering your seemingly Immortal body to that of a Messas . You will no longer remain a Mechnos after your transformation. With such immense power, you ought to satisfy your thirst or else the consequences might be dire. Makes you vulnerable to Mechno

>Touch the Umbro Brand
Grants the power of the darkness turning your into a mechanical menace to all who feared any danger lurking in the shadows, makes you vulnerable to Luno.

>Touch the Luno Brand
Grants the power of the cleansing light. The weak shall praise your name while the undead shall flee from your mere presence. Makes you vulnerable to Sicho

1/2';

'>>5955550
>>5955517
>>5955476

>Touch the Sicho Brand [Not Recommended]
Grants the power of madness. The voice would grow louder and louder until you would lose your marbles, the potential for said madness could be devastating to your foes, Makes you vulnerable to Umbro.

>Shatter the damn mirror and pass through. You would carve your own path without the Six’s aid.
No gods, No masters.';

'>>5955552
>>Shatter the damn mirror and pass through. You would carve your own path without the Six’s aid.';

'>>5955552
>Shatter the damn mirror and pass through. You would carve your own path without the Six’s aid.
I mean, if the gods were against everything our master stood for, what other choice do we have?';

'>>5955552
>>5955607
>>5955615
This is the only sensible choice.';

'>>5955552
>Shatter the damn mirror and pass through. You would carve your own path without the Six’s aid.';

'>>5955550
>Touch the Umbro Brand';

'>>5955550
>>Touch the Mechno brand [Recommended]';

'>>5956167
>>5956106
>>5955706
>>5955631
>>5955615
>>5955607

This time, your punch was full of hate. You did not remember exactly *why* the Six gods of the surface were considered to be tyrants by your creator. Nevertheless, you had refused to taint your body with their influence. You took a deep breath before crossing the other side into the unknown.


Darkness had awaited you. Suffocating darkness filling your mechanical lungs with something so viscous and uncanny. You were drowning in the void surrounded by the vast emptiness. This... this was the great Syiphr , you could feel it in your bones. You belonged here in the oppressing darkness. If so, then why were you so afraid ? You were almost tasting death in its most primeval form. You should be relieved and yet you continued to cling to the life you wished to discard all those centuries. Well, it was no use pondering over it while your systems were failing one by one. You closed your Amber eyes to embrace deat-

SPLASH

A..... golden hand?

================================================

“ This should go here... ugh, definitely should replace this rusty cog...” You hadn’t perished , it seemed. That or you were in some kind of Mechnos afterlife. Most of your functions were disabled while someone was rearranging your innards. A woman in a golden diving suit with what appeared to cosmic hair merging with a cloud of stars surrounding her. She had stripped you naked as well, you couldn’t help but to feel vulnerable, violated even because of her constant meddling.

“ This is the last time I will fish out a Sinners for free. Mnnngh...” Muttered the woman to herself. It seemed that she had not noticed your flickering eyes just yet.

>let her finish whatever she is doing to you
>Say something to her [specify ]
>Slowly regain your motor functions then stab her with anything within your arm’s reach
>Examine your surroundings
>Write in';

'>>5956192
>>let her finish whatever she is doing to you';

'>>5956192
>>Examine your surroundings';

'>>5956207
>>5956268

It was not like you could do anything about the mysterious woman tinkering inside your chest cavity as she saw fit. You had left her to her own devices while examining your surroundings. It was dark out there save for a couple of dimly lit spots in what appeared to be a very spacious foyer riddled with various debris and broken marble statues. Two things had caught your eyes in this unorganized mayhem: a majestic set of stairs leading downwards to the unknown and some sort of a diving station made from brass, it had different tubes attached to an unknown cog-powered device. The small station had a round pool mired with black sludge and other filth. Judging by the trail of tar-like substance, the unknown woman had dragged you out of there.

Clink-Crrrank

GASP

"....!" A surge of power had run through your naked body causing you to spring from the floor uncontrollably with your open chest firing beams of pure energy. You could take on the whole world with this...p-powe....r....


BBBZZSST

FFFSSHHH

Overheating Detected, Shutting down non-vital operations....

==========================

" What a drag..." A familiar voice had rung through your ears. It was the diver woman tending to your piping hot body once again " Oh, you are awake. How about that. I suppose I should have expected this outcome from a powerful Sinner like you."

"....?" Confused, You tilted your head in the comfort of an actual bed.

"Look, time is of the essence here. All you need to know is that someone from the surface had asked for a favour involving you and some White book in the third floor . I will answer all of your questions when you return. For now, let's gear you up for your first Aybaine Dive. "

A small arsenal of weapons were waiting for you on a nearby table, all of which were equally rusty " Pick one, don't get cocky... your system can only master one weapon so be thankful."

1/2';

'>>5956207
>>5956268

>" I demand answers." [ Ask her about____]

> "My bare fists are lethal weapons. I don't need anything else."
>"I will take the sword and shield I like their reliability."
>"I will take the leadspitter. I like its range."
>"I will take the bow. I like its precision."
>" I will take the Claymore. I like its might."
>" I will take the mace. I like its savage nature."
>"I will take the dagger. I like its finesse."';

'>>5956396
>" I will take the mace. I like its savage nature."';

'>>5956396
>"I will take the Halberd. It is the coolest weapon."';

'>>5956396
>> "My bare fists are lethal weapons. I don't need anything else."
Damn. Waifu got hands.';

'>>5956396
> "My bare fists are lethal weapons. I don't need anything else."
Pugilist run is a go';

'>>5956396
>" I will take the Claymore. I like its might."';

'>>5956399
>>5956402
>>5956447
>>5956399
>>5956450
Voting will be closed in five minutes so we can get it move on. Currently unarmed is king.';

'>>5956399
>>5956402
>>5956412
>>5956447
>>5956450

You haven't utilized your vocal cords in centuries. The sounds vibrating from your throat onto your tongue felt bizarre. Well, At least the strange woman didn't leave you naked. You felt safer with your armour on.

"Eh, it is your funeral." The diver shrugged "My name is Nisehi by the by. I assume you don't recall your name, correct?"

"Affirmative." You nodded as you got out of the bed. This part of the foyer was slightly tidied up almost resembling a cluttered residence.

" Lucky for you, That someone from the surface had called you Ancea . Do you like your name?"


"..." You were indifferent by such knowledge.


"Right, come with me to the Maw of Syiphr . You *will* need some backup for your dive." Nisehi had guided you through a small labyrinth of broken marble and granite statues back to where She was originally fixing you up. In the mean time, you couldn't think of anything but the White book and the precious girl possessing the seed of Divinty. This was your purpose, this was the reason behind your creation.

" I don't need 'backup'. I am fine on my own." You stated what was on your mind. The idea of requiring aid had made clench your fists in anger. You were not weak.


" Believe you me, you do need some help especially since you had foolishly rejected the gift of the gods." The woman with the cosmic hair had scoffed at your previous choice " There are other Sinners who are trapped in the great Syiphr just like you, they will complement your weakness with their actual brands. I will get the displeasure of fishing them out."

1/2';

'>>5956399
>>5956399
>>5956402
>>5956402
>>5956412
>>5956447
>>5956450

+30 Syiphr's Sigh

"Here, Courtesy of the our mutual 'Friend'. This the air I breathe down there. Unlike you, I am not guaranteed to find a living Sinner. Most just perish in their sad little cell often by one form or another of suicide." You were given an intangible object of myriads of colours swirling around itself. This Sigh could be fed into the strange device overseeing the Maw of Syiphr. This was your sole chance for potential allies. Fingers crossed.

============================

BANNER I: Risus veneni intinctus ( FOUR SESSIONS LEDT)

CHARACTERS:

Saivatolli ( Sicho)
" I always get the last laugh, always."
Sin: Regicide, Defilement of Saint Monico Costala
Focus: Boss slaying, backstabbing ( friends or foes depending on the general mood)

Al-Haddiah (Umbro)
" O Twelve stars below, I shall become your Shepard."
Sin: Blasphemy, Obstruction of justice.
Focus: Exploration, Floor layout manipulation

Casia (Alchemo)
" My delicate flowers, My lifework..."
Sin: Aiding a fugitive, Forbidden Knowledge.
Focus: Horticulture, Healing

RULES:
-One roll per post, you can roll over and over until you run out of sights OR you can ABSTAIN to save your rolls for the next banner.
-d1000 with the following gets: 100, 200...900 for 4 stars. 666, 13 and 1000 for the 5 star.
-5 Star guarantee is after 100 rolls, 4 star guarantee is after 30 rolls. Pity gets reset after winning either 4/5 star.

>ROLL ( expecting 30 different posts for each roll on the account of guaranteeing a 4 star)
>SAVE FOR LATER';

'>>5956506
Well shit, guess 4chin can't handle star symbols.

Saivatolli is 5 star, Al-Haddiah and Casia are 4 star.

Anything other than 4/5 stars will turn into various loot for Ancea';

'Rolled 712 (1d1000)

>>5956506
>ROLL
5 star here i come';

'Rolled 238 (1d1000)

>>5956506
I will roll once. And only once. Because I will roll well.

I will say it might be better to allow a certain cap of rolls at once instead of requiring one per post. If you had three people active at a time it would take five minutes of posting to actually get 30 rolls. Or longer, I forget what the actual post cooldown is off the top of my head.';

'>>5956515
I want to be somewhat fair since some might roll everything at once. Also this can be an incentive for other lurkers to roll. Few can resist the allure of rolling/being a gachabrain';

'>>5956514
>>5956515
Reminding you again that you can roll more than once until we run out of sighs';

'Rolled 48 (1d1000)

>>5956506
Casia get!';

'Rolled 442 (1d1000)

>>5956514
>>5956524
I will roll 1 more time since 99% of gamblers quit right before they win big';

'Rolled 306 (1d1000)

>>5956506
>>5956524
I can't sit here and pull the lever constantly kek.';

'Rolled 253 (1d1000)

>>5956506';

'Rolled 767 (1d1000)

>>5956526
>>5956506
This gacha system is some bullshit, give me the flower girl healer you stupid dink.';

'>>5956536
>>5956532
>>5956526
>>5956514
>>5956540


I see the problem. Well, in that case. Instead of 1d1000 let's make it 3d1000';

'>>5956541
I mean, it is in the name right here. We will get her, eventually.';

'23 rolls left by the way';

'Rolled 439 (1d1000)

>>5956506
164, calling it.

>>5956542
I mean it works if you expect to have them over the course of the day. Or if people are just glued to their computer for a while. Or phone, if they're phoneposting. It is very gacha in that way.';

'Rolled 522 (1d1000)

>>5956506';

'Rolled 646 (1d1000)

>>5956545
I don't know what I'm doing, but here's a pity roll.';

'Going to bed so goodnight,!';

'Rolled 586 (1d1000)

Let's a roll';

'Rolled 651 (1d1000)

Let's a try again';

'Rolled 843 (1d1000)

>>5956506
755';

'Rolled 9 (1d1000)

>>5956506
Might as well';

'Rolled 885, 880, 215 = 1980 (3d1000)

>>5956542';

'Rolled 724, 465, 385 = 1574 (3d1000)

>>5956542';

'>>5956589
>>5956567
>>5956589
>>5956590
>>5956664
>>5956832

Want me to roll the last ten sighs?';

'Rolled 706, 164, 435 = 1305 (3d1000)

>>5956874
I can roll three for u';

'Rolled 940, 418, 355 = 1713 (3d1000)

>>5956542
Suffering.';

'>>5956880
>>5956899
Four more!';

'Rolled 15 (1d1000)

>>5956903
I can do one more, before I must sleep.';

'Rolled 705, 474, 205 = 1384 (3d1000)

>>5956905
Fine, I will do it myself. Witness me!';

'x1 Uznu Phial
A volatile concoction made form the rancid remains of Unzu's shades. Removes death's door status/debuff.

×1 Grinning Matusubarahi
A Clay figure with a mischievous look on its face. Shatter it to return back to the Foyer.

x27 Syiphr's whispers
The last words of those who had drowned in the great sea of nothingness. Someone might find these words valuable.

×1 Casia ( 4 Star, Alchemo)
A Young Mechnos with a passion for growing a plethora of flowers and herbs. Trading her mechanical life essence had caused her body to slowly deteriorate over time.

Status:

HP: 10/10
Talent 1 ( Houthbane Spray, normal attack, +20 DP) : Casia damages enemies with a the extract of an artificially created mechanical flower.

Talent 2 ( Casia-minnosuem, x3 Use Talent per floor, +0 DP) : Heals one party member with a miniature version of herself for a small amount, doubles the healing amount if any party member is at death’s door.

Talent 3 ( Mechanical Roots of Mipos, x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +30 DP) Using her own cogs, Temporary doubles the health of one party member at the expense of halving her own health.

Death's door Talent ( Floral Rugalia, x1 use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) :Fully Heals the entire party while lowering the DP of all enemies by half through the rare flower seed within her mechanical heart.

Passive Talent ( Rusty Thumb) : Randomly harvest one type of flower/Herb per floor.

Sinless Path upgrades (Duplicate 4 stats) : 5

Next Upgrade: Increase the number of harvested plants per floor by 1

1/2';

'DP= Dice power, bonuses for combat and some exploration prompts.
Death's door/DD talent: when HP reaches zero, Sinners don't die right away, They trigger their DD special talent. If hit again , they will get coinflipped with a d2, DD will add various so it is for the best to remove it with other talents and items. More on that later.


>>5956987
>>5956911
>>5956905
>>5956903
>>5956899
>>5956880
>>5956832
>>5956664
>>5956647
>>5956591
>>5956590
>>5956589
>>5956567
>>5956552
>>5956547
>>5956546
>>5956541
>>5956540
>>5956536
>>5956532
>>5956526
>>5956515
>>5956514

The Cosmic diver was gone for a long time.... could she have also drowned? No, Nisehi looked like a very capable person. You just had to wait it out.

Several minutes later, the murky pool had revealed the faceless woman wrapping her arm around a powered down Mechnos in a light purple sundress, she was clutching dearly to a bundle of lavenders as if her life had depended on it. The girl had a more inferior design compared to yours. Her face was practically falling apart by the looks of it.

" I don't consider a cripple to be a valuable asset to me." You aired your blunt thoughts to Nisehi who was rebooting her.

"You were a cripple too, remember? Don't blame me. Bring me more sigh if you are not satisfied with today's catch.

"Can you fix her?"

CRANK

CRRRNNK

"Nope. She got the The Rotblight . Branded Alchemo Mechnos always fall prey to this unhealthy combination. Oh, she is waking up..."

"W-where I am?" Asked the young Mechnos.

"The Spire of Aybaine. Welcome home, Sinner. You can't really escape so you might as well help the big brute on my left out. Ancea is the one responsible of bailing you out of your cell by the by."

"R-really? Thank you Ancea-Tekshi. I am Casia, I will do what I can to help you..."

Tekshi, what was an honourary title of sorts? You had no idea.

>"You are useless."
>" Don't get in my way, you will be left behind. I wait for no one."
>"Try to keep up."
>[Say nothing, head for the stairs]
>Write in';

'>>5957008
>"Try to keep up."';

'>>5957008
>>"Try to keep up."';

'>>5957040
>>5957048

"I-I will." Her spirit was unaffected by her crumbling body. You doubted that she would do anything meaningful by your. Still, she could be a useful cog shield soaking up blows in your stead.

Before delving into the unknown, you stared at your own fists. Yes, you would bring death and destruction with them. The real question here was: how?


CHOOSE

Status:

HP: 30/30
Talent 1:

>One-two ( normal attack, +40 DP) : Ancea punches one enemy in rapid succession, +10 DP per subsequent One-two in a single combat.
>Full sweep (normal attack , +20 DP)
Ancea goes for legs affecting all enemies, small humanoid enemies has small chance to skip their turn.

Talent 2

> Skullsplitter ( x4 Use per floor, +50 DP)
Ancea devastates a single enemy with her fist. Small chance for insta kill if the enemy is at low health.
>Heartstopper (x2 Use per floor , +60 DP)
Ancea goes for the heart for a single enemy. Ignores any shielding.
Talent 3

>Overloading stance ( x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) Greatly enchances normal attacks doubling their bonuses at the cost of -3 HP loss per turn.
>Bombarding Stance (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +100 DP ) , Ancea charges up for two turns before launching into the air stomping all enemies under her heels. Ancea is prone to take extra damage during this stance.

Death's door Talent

> Last resort (x1 use per Aybaine dive, +1000 DP) : Ancea will have a meltdown inside her heart core causing a massive explosion damaging ALL enemies and allies. Allies will be at death door while most enemies will be outright killed. Furthermore, Ancea will receive a permenament -3 HP from irreversible damages.
>Desperate Countermeasures (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) , Ancea will act once after everyone's turn , once this battle would be over. All talent bonuses will be halved for the rest of the Aybaine dive


Passive Talent

>Mechnoship : +25 DP for Ancea per each Mechno party memeber
>Search and Destroy: Each completed Floor in the current dive will give +10 DP';

'>>5957084
>One-two ( normal attack, +40 DP) : Ancea punches one enemy in rapid succession, +10 DP per subsequent One-two in a single combat.
Oraoraoraora
>Heartstopper (x2 Use per floor , +60 DP)
>Ancea goes for the heart for a single enemy. Ignores any shielding.
>Overloading stance ( x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) Greatly enchances normal attacks doubling their bonuses at the cost of -3 HP loss per turn.
We do have a healer to offset the cost
>Desperate Countermeasures (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) , Ancea will act once after everyone's turn , once this battle would be over. All talent bonuses will be halved for the rest of the Aybaine dive
DDing the rest of the allies just seems counterproductive
>Search and Destroy: Each completed Floor in the current dive will give +10 DP';

'>>5957084
>One-two ( normal attack, +40 DP) : Ancea punches one enemy in rapid succession, +10 DP per subsequent One-two in a single combat.
>Heartstopper (x2 Use per floor , +60 DP)
>Bombarding Stance (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +100 DP ) , Ancea charges up for two turns before launching into the air stomping all enemies under her heels. Ancea is prone to take extra damage during this stance
>Desperate Countermeasures (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) , Ancea will act once after everyone's turn , once this battle would be over. All talent bonuses will be halved for the rest of the Aybaine dive
>Search and Destroy: Each completed Floor in the current dive will give +10 DP';

'>>5957102
>>5957170
Anyone else here to break the tie?';

'>>5957084
>>5957102
I will back this guy. Losing two turns is bad news. With the "may take extra damage" it's worse. Especially since we only get one activation of them per dive. Being able to boost our DPS for a boss battle is probably better than having a big wave clear.

Or not. I don't know.';

'>>5957084
>One-two ( normal attack, +40 DP) : Ancea punches one enemy in rapid succession, +10 DP per subsequent One-two in a single combat.
> Skullsplitter ( x4 Use per floor, +50 DP)
>Bombarding Stance (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +100 DP ) , Ancea charges up for two turns before launching into the air stomping all enemies under her heels. Ancea is prone to take extra damage during this stance.
>Desperate Countermeasures (x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +0 DP) , Ancea will act once after everyone's turn , once this battle would be over. All talent bonuses will be halved for the rest of the Aybaine dive
>Search and Destroy: Each completed Floor in the current dive will give +10 DP';

'Rolled 12, 9, 2 = 23 (3d12)

>>5957102
>>5957170
>>5957274
>>5957317


+Astral compass

Yes, you felt ready to face the whole world but not before being stopped by Nisehi one last time.

"Almost forgot, take this so you can find your way back to the Foyer. It will guide you through the madness down below by showing the trapped twelve stars of Aybaine . A friendly warning: the deeper you go, the more disjointed things will become. The compass should work in the first ten floors... I think."

"How many floors are there?" You asked while Casia was tending to a lone white flower thriving here against all odds.

"A Hundred or so . It is a loonng way down. Good luck!" With that said, The two of you had approached the foreboding stair for your very first Aybaine dive...

================================

The Astral compass show you the path...

1= Sicna, The Foolish star of mischief
2= Yushoth, The Ichor star of knowledge
3= Vstrau, The Silver star of revenrence 4= Diua-Soln, The Half-eaten star of duality
5= Essieclle, The Everlasting star of brilliance
6= Hoob Al-Noor, The Scarlet star of ecstasy
7= Maoe, The Chained star of defiance
8= Wutsuri, The Fleeting star of solitude
9= Tor-Tarought, The Ailing star of rot
10= Kenisus, The Fleeting star of rebirth
11= Yona, The White star of change
12= Satium, The Black star of death

1F [ 3Rooms + 1 fixed room]

1/2';

'>>5957102
>>5957170
>>5957170
>>5957170
>>5957317
Our talents are

-One-two
-Heartstopper
-Search and Destroy
-Desperate Countermeasures

Tie between bombarding and overloading stance, want me to break the tie?';

'>>5957102
>>5957170
>>5957170
>>5957274
>>5957317

"I-i don't like this..." said Casia while hiding behind your larger frame. The first floor had greeted you with the festering stench of death, the long hallway was littered with bloated corpses of headless men which in turn were home to dozens of beady-eyed rats observing your unwelcomed intrusion in silence. None would dare to meet the glow of your amber eyes, though. Other than the bloated corpses, there wasn't really anything out of the ordinary. You had this feeling that you shouldn't linger under the shadow of Satium for too long.

( Rusty Thumb)

It seemed like your Mechnos companion had spotted some flora of some value but she was too afraid to take the initiative be it from the rats or from the possibility of stepping out of line. What should you do?

>Encourage Casia to Harvest something useful
>Save her keen senses for somewhere else, move onto the next room.
>Ask Casia to harvest the most valuable flora she could spot on the floor.
>Clear the hallway of its opportunitic rats first [ Combat encounter rating: HARD]
>Write in?';

'>>5957365
>Encourage Casia to Harvest something useful';

'>>5957344
May as well.

>>5957365
>>Save her keen senses for somewhere else, move onto the next room.
Rats? Rats make me crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with rats. Rats? Rats make me crazy...

>immediate death and rot
How ominous.';

'Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5957344
1=Bombarding
2=Overloading
>>5957373
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQwx1EolD8

Ratssss';

'>>5957365
>Save her keen senses for somewhere else, move onto the next room.
the shadow of satium comment worries me about staying here for too long, although that may be due to my own cowardice';

'>>5957365
>Save her keen senses for somewhere else, move onto the next room.';

'>>5957371
>>5957373
>>5957387

[The Fetid Feast]

The stuttering Mechnos had followed your lead silently towards the next area which was wholly different from before. The two of your had found yourself under the shadow of a ruined windmill, its rotors were covered with freshly flayed skin, the source of which was a group of old crones dancing in jubilation without a care in the world.

" Join ussssss, the Feast awaits us all.." you were met with toothless grins as they had led you to said feast behind the windmill. This feast was on a long table in the form of decomposing corpses of more skinless hags. The sight of maggots infesting their bodies was making you sick.

" There are no six down here, only the twelve kyhahahaha!!" This crone was shoved aside by a goliath of Mechnos hiding behind rotten skin and chunks of blackened flesh as a poor attempt to imitate a human. This one seemed to be the leader of this twisted macabre.


" Rotblight, my favourite..." The sight of Casia was making her drool " Kind visitor, Join ussss and Tor-Tarought will bless you. Elsewise,
begone. "

"Ancea? I am scared..." Despite their disturbing visage, none had laid a skinless finger on you. You eyes had darted over a very large cauldron, it already had a couple of Mechnos stewing in caustic sludge.

(Rusty Thumb)
>Yes
>No

AND

>Offer Casia to the Goliath. Anything would be better than her.
>Sit down and 'join' the feast.
>Attack the cannibal [Combat encounter rating: medium]
>Politely decline the invitation, leave
>Write in?';

'>>5957774
>No
>Politely decline the invitation, leave';

'>>5957774
>No
>Politely decline the invitation, leave';

'>>5957806
>>5957927

[Riddles of three]

You had avoided what could have been a disaster with your soft spoken words. Luckily for you, the skinless crones were too preoccupied with their feast to care about your sudden departure. It made little sense how disconnected each part of the floor was... whatever, you ought to clear your mind from such nuisances.

"Ancea-Tekshi. Do you think we can escape this place? I want to tend to my precious flowers. They nee-"

"Shut it." You had little time for useless drivel. Instead, you focused on the most peculiar floor made entirely out of books.

"O-okay." Her feelings were irrelevant to your mission. What mattered was the girl and her white book. Nothing else "Em, do you feel something strange?"


"...!"

"Don't look down."


"Why wo-EEEEEPPP!!!" The two of your were technically walking on the ceiling. Meanwhile, the actual floor had dozens of dusty skeletons with fractured spines and hips. The more you continued walking down this path, the more sticky the books would become eventually dripping out a mercury like substance. None of you were inclined to touch the gravity defying liquid.

WWWOOOOOOSH

The sole exit to this bizarre place was blocked by a red eyed creature with a body of a woman and a marble lion except for her withering flower mane and long dark blue hair. She had to the following to say:

?ydaer uoy erA .rohcI fo tfig eht eviecer yam uoy dna eerhT ,dedrawer eb yam uoy dna owT .dehtacsnu evael yam uoy dna noitseuq ym rewsnA .htohsuY taerg eht fo mlaer eht ssap llahs dnim suoucav a fo enoN !tlaH"

Her words didn't make a lick of sense much like the strange architecture of a Librarian's nightmare. You saw what appeared to be a clump of sighs and a naked woman suspended in a transparent bubble in between her large claws.

"
?meht ecaf ot dedeen noitisopmoc lamitpo tsom eht si tahw...omehclA eno dna omeH eno , onuL enO . owt fo ytrap ruoy fo yaw eht ni gnidnats erew dednarb eerhT :noitseuq tsriF"

(Rusty Thumb...here?)
>Yes
>No

AND

>Say something to the creature [Specify]
>Make a run for it to the exit
>Slay whoever is standing in your way [Combat rating: Medium]
>Write in?';

'>>5958083
>>Say something to the creature [Specify]
Sicho and hemo I guess. Since we're only a party of two. We don't have a third to be a mechno and having sicho and hemo means we aren't weak to any of the three opponents.

Not that it matters since we can't understand her.

>Yes
Yeah, tend to the flower mane. How could this go wrong? kek';

'>>5958083
>Say something to the creature [Specify] omeh eno dna ohcis eno
I don't know if I have to write in reverse as well but might as well';

'>>5958098
>>5958099
+10 Syiphr's Sigh.


" You may pass." satisfied with you answer. The feline creature had uncoiled its tongue as she had moved to the side " You may test your wits with two more questions at your own risk. I don't take wrong answers lightly."

"Let's go." You didn't wish to tempt fate any further. You took one step forward only to find the stupid girl dangerously close to the marble beast.

"Are you... in pain?" The Mechnos was reaching out for the wilted pain without any fear in her heart.

"Casia,don't-"

"...!!" Both you and the creature were shocked for different reasons when Casia had revitalized the sorry state of her mane by a simple touch at the cost of more cogs falling out of her face.

"Such kindness..." The creature was taken back by her selfless act " You do not have much time in this world, blighted one."

"I know." replied the girl softly " That's why I am helping Ancea-Tekshi so we can get out. I must finish my lifework while I still have time."

x1 CustodIan flower.
A fresh flower with the distinct smell of old books. Summons the custodian for one devastating attack.

×10 Syiphr's Sigh

" You... have answered my question, well done. As the custdoian, must reward you." The marble beast had relinquished the first prize for a question she didn't even ask. Was this her way of expressing her thanks? She had also slipped something in the midst of your reward.... a flower?

>Try your luck with the 'third' question.
>Move on. Don't risk it.
>Attack the Custodian while she is at ease [Combat encounter rating: easy]
>Write in?';

'>>5958108
>Congratulate Casia
>>Try your luck with the 'third' question.

Also, I'd love to learn more about out party member';

'>>5958108
>Congratulate Casia
Move on. Don't risk it.';

'>>5958108
>Congratulate Casia
>Try your luck with the 'third' question.';

'>>5958108
>>Attack the Custodian while she is at ease [Combat encounter rating: easy]';

'>>5958134
>>5958145
>>5958356
>>5958201
"Oh, it is nothing." You could tell that she was proud of your small compliment, maybe she wasn't that worthless after all. Afterwards, you went for yet another question.

" Very well." The custodian had cleared her throat for her third question " Shapeless, Formless leech I am. I bring death and the promise of safety upon all, my hunger is limitless despite my fleeting time. Who am I?"


"Oh, That is an easy one. It is...fire!" The Rotblighted Mechnos was the first to answer. Was it the right one though?

" Correct." nodded the marble beast " Here is your reward..."

- Weomyr, the corvid knight ( 4 Star, Umbro) had been added to the next banner!

The naked woman had sunken into the floor, swallowed by the great Syiphr. You wished she would have just joined you outright. Oh well, you ought to find plenty of allies further down below.

"See you soon, Miss CustodIan!" Casia had waved innocently on her way out. You had a feeling that you would meet this enigmatic being again in the near future.

===============================


"So sticky, ugh...." The two of you were inside a series of tunnels with several twists and turns. Black silk had covered every inch of this place slowing you down.

"Look,look... someone is trapped in there." The Mechnos had pointed at someone ensnared by bulbous and hairy grey worms. Their black silk had glued him to the wall.

Yeah, the bloated creatures stood no chance against you. They were ambush predators by the looks of it. Too slow to pose any threat in a fair fight... perfect target practice should you feel like obliterating flesh with your bare fists.


>Move onto the next floor [2F, not recommended]
>Squash these oversized bugs [Combat encounter rating: Trivial]
>Squash these oversized bugs [AUTO combat encounter, use limited talents/items? Y/N?]
>Write in?';

'>>5958467
>Squash these oversized bugs';

'>>5958467
>>Squash these oversized bugs [Combat encounter rating: Trivial]';

'>>5958489
>>5958490

COMBAT (+50 Exrta DP bonus from disparity in strength)

40/40 Health pool
Ancea (Non-branded)
Casia (Alchemo)

VS

10/10 Health Pool
Wolfworm A (Non-branded)
Wolfworm B (Non-branded)

Ancea
>One-two
>Bombarding Stance
>Desperate Countermeasures
>Defend
>item
>Flee?


Casia
>Houthbane Spray
>Casia-minnosuem x3
>Mechanical Roots of Mipos x1
>Defend
>item
>Flee?

Roll1d200, best of out 3. 1 party member = d100, 2= d100 etc';

'>>5958489
>>5958490
Extra DP will also be added depending on the talent chosen.';

'Rolled 126 (1d200)

>>5958499';

'Rolled 136 (1d200)

>>5958499
>One-two
>Houthbane Spray';

'>>5958527
>>5958530
One more please';

'Rolled 17, 79 = 96 (2d100)

>>5958499
Slap';

'Rolled 101 (1d200)

>>5958499
>One-two
>Houthbane Spray';

'>>5958527
>>5958530
>>5958537
>>5958548


+110 DP
!!!!OVERKILL!!!!

CRUNCH

SPLATTER

LOOT:

x1 Syiphr's Sigh
x1 Sicho pebble
A stone imbued with the power of madness, deals light damage to one enemy.

The silky floor was painted with their greyish entrails. You had reduced them to a fine paste with some help from your ally. Yes, you liked that feeling of dominating your foes... you should slaughter more enemies. It felt natural to you.

Without delay, you and Casia had freed the man tangled in black silk. The moment he had dropped on the floor, he had arched a very wide grin as he had extended his arms to his saviours.

"Dalahan, friends! Praise be the Six!" Before you stood, a bald dark skinned man donning an outlandish garb, he would have gone for a sincere hug had it not been for your emotionless stare and Casia's affliction which wasn't exactly contagious but still.

"Who are you? Will you be of use to me?" You skipped the pleasantries.

" But of course!" His infectious smile was forever plastered over his face " I am Banfoudli, a merchant of sorts. This inverted Spire is full to the brim with treasure... perfect for ambitious individuals such as myself, I will be rich ahahahaha!!"

"Um excuse me, how did get here in the first place?" Casia was a tad curious.

" I drew the Alchemo god in her fully naked glory during the Iktabar-Swaeel to become a Sinner." The man sighed "Alas, the portrait was confiscated when-"


"You are lying. Zihrii Al-Layal would have your head for such insolence." The name of the Alchemo god had flared up in your mind for some reason.

"Huh?" Banfoudli was puzzled for a second " What are you talking about,friend? Bashya is our Alchemo god. A woman of reason, she is."

"..." Something didn't feel right to you. Your silence had lingered a few seconds while thinking about it. Who was this Bashya?

"Friend, I need to set up shop, will you escort me back to the Foyer?"

>Return back to the Foyer together [small chance for enemy encounter of trivial-medium rating]
>Have Casia escort him by herself, , move to 2F [medium chance for enemy encounter of medium-hard rating]
>Leave him to his fate, move to 2F
>Use Grinning Matusubarahi on ___ [ Specify, up to four persons at once]
>Write in';

'>>5958558
>Have Casia escort him by herself, , move to 2F [medium chance for enemy encounter of medium-hard rating]
These lore bits are spiking my curiosity so much.';

'>>5958558
>>Return back to the Foyer together [small chance for enemy encounter of trivial-medium rating]';

'>>5958558
>Have Casia escort him by herself, , move to 2F [medium chance for enemy encounter of medium-hard rating]';

'Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d12)

>>5958664
>>5958697
>>5958706

"I-I will do my best." Casia had given you a thumbs up. She should return back to the Foyer without too much trouble, right?

================================

The Astral compass shows you the path...

1= Sicna, The Foolish star of mischief
2= Yushoth, The Ichor star of knowledge
3= Vstrau, The Silver star of revenrence 4= Diua-Soln, The Half-eaten star of duality
5= Essieclle, The Everlasting star of brilliance
6= Hoob Al-Noor, The Scarlet star of ecstasy
7= Maoe, The Chained star of defiance
8= Wutsuri, The Fleeting star of solitude
9= Tor-Tarought, The Ailing star of rot
10= Kenisus, The Fleeting star of rebirth
11= Yona, The White star of change
12= Satium, The Black star of death

2F [ 2 Rooms + 1 fixed room]

1/2';

'>>5958664
>>5958697
>>5958706

[Beautiful Bask
-3 HP!
27/30

Once you had steeped into the new floor, your whole body was subjected to a scathing light that was burning away your skin. It was unbearable to wander around in this hellish landscape. Even the red sand beneath your feet was melting into glass from the immense heat.

"Aren't I beautiful? I am absolutely radiating! HAHAHAHAHA!!" the arrogant voice all around you was the source of your sizzling misery. You wished nothing but to choke the life out of that narcissistic woman.

>Retreat back to the Foyer. Some paths ate not worth to tread alone [medium chance of combat encounter of easy-medium rating]
>Use your Grinning Matusubarahi
>Crush the windpipe of the woman bathed in light [Combat encounter rating: HARD]
>Write in?';

'>>5958761
>Use your Grinning Matusubarahi';

'>>5958761
>Use your Grinning Matusubarahi';

'>>5958761
>Crush the windpipe of the woman bathed in light [Combat encounter rating: HARD]
We can dump limited use abilities into her, and we have the bonus for traversed floors';

'>>5958761
>>Retreat back to the Foyer. Some paths ate not worth to tread alone [medium chance of combat encounter of easy-medium rating]';

'>>5958761
>Crush the windpipe of the woman bathed in light [Combat encounter rating: HARD]
Power word : Fist';

'Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5958801
>>5958851
>>5958866
>>5958925
>>5958972
Tie breaking time!
1=grinning
2=fight!';

'Combat bonuses
Trivial= +50 DP
Easy= +30 DP
Medium= +0 DP
Hard = -50 DP
Impossible= -100 DP


>>5958801
>>5958851
>>5958866
>>5958866
>>5958851
>>5958866
>>5958972


COMBAT (-50 DP bonus from disparity in strength, +10 DP from search and destroy)

27/30 Health pool
Ancea (Non-branded)
VS

" I am beautiful, BEAUTIFUL! SAY ITTT!!!!! "

50/50 Health Pool
Woman bathed in light (Luno)
Passive (Sorching Radiance): Deal 10% Max HP Damage to all foes once per her turn

Ancea
>One-two
>Bombarding Stance
>Desperate Countermeasures
>Defend
>item
>Flee?

Since we are alone, roll 1d100 best out of three!';

'>>5959395
Forgot pic!';

'Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>5959395
Heart stopper?
>heart stopper
Fucking glowstick munching twat she is.';

'Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>5959395
Heartstopper, if can't be used 1-2.';

'>>5959433
>>5959485
One more roll!';

'Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>5959395
>Heaetstopper, Desperate Countermeasures then Heartstopper again';

'>>5959433
>>5959485
>>5959511

-19 HP
(31/50)


You focused all of your might in single punch to the chest despite the intense heat stemming her body that had burned a few hair strands of yours. In return, she had retaliated with pillars of light which had glassed a good chunk of the landscape. You were almost obliterated by one of those pillars, the following maelstrom of glass shards had shredded you real good... you could still fight...

-3 HP (26/30)
-9 HP (17/30)

" I AM PERFECTION!! BEHOLD MY MOST RADIANT GIFT TO THIS WORLD!!" The unhinged egotistical woman had floated in the air with her newfound wings made from pure Luno energy, chunks of glass were getting ripped from the ground only to gravitate towards her. you might want to brace for impact...

Ancea
>One-two
>Bombarding Stance
>Desperate Countermeasures
>Defend
>item
>Flee?';

'>>5959523
>>5959485
>>5959433
>>5959523

Damn my bad, desperate Countermeasures is a DD skill, it should be:


Ancea
>One-two
>Heartstopper x1
>Bombarding Stance x1
>Defend
>item (doesn't require rolls)
>Flee?';

'Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>5959528
>Heartstopper again';

'Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>5959528
>Hearstopper again';

'Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>5959528
>>Heartstopper x1';

'>>5959647
Clutch roll';

'>>5959647
>>5959692
Indeed.
With RNJesus by our side, we made the right call.';

'>>5959747
Nah, still about to get assblasted by the "You might want to block this" skill she's using.';

'>>5959532
>>5959611
>>5959647
>>5959747
>>5959813

-20 HP
(11/50)

" I will end you." You tore through one of her light wing for a powerful punch that had hammered her back to the ground.. the maniacal grin on her face was brief and full of confidence for the wrong reasons...


-3 HP (14/30)
-12 HP (2/30)

The shards of glass had perforated your arms, legs and belly. Mechnos 'blood' was trickling from your injuries painting you in black. Your vital organ had narrowly escaped the same fate by a thread. You could only watch as your foe would slowly stand up grabbing you by the throat the moment after.

" Say it..." demanded the deranged branded.


>"You are... beautiful."
> "You are...dead!" [ Surprise attack, 1d100, automatically enter DD]
>Write in?';

'>>5959828
Forgot
>item';

'>>5959828
>>5959829
Let's use that sicho rock we got from the plant sphinx. She's weak to it, right?';

'>>5959831
Luno is weak to Sicho, yes.';

'>>5959831
+1';

'>>5959828
>"You are...dead!"';

'>>5959831
>>5959847
>>5959867

-6x2 HP (Weak!)


You bashed her head with the power of Sicho that was stashed in your pocket this whole time. The rock imbued with madness had burrowed inside her head like a hot coal sinking in butter until her head had exploded in one gorey mess. Heh, so much about being beautiful...


LOOT
x4 Syiphr's Sigh
x10 Syiphr's whispers
x1 Vi's eyes
A pair of eyes which belonged to a Sinner who had been trapped here for a long time. Eat them at the expense of your wellbeing to detect any hidden rooms within a floor.


As much as you hated to admit it, you were about to collapse from your recent injuries. Recuperating back at the Foyer seemed like a very tempting idea right...


>Push onwards
>Return back to the Foyer [medium chance for combat encounters of medium-hard rating]
>Use Grinning Matusubarahi
>Write in?';

'>>5959883
>Return back to the Foyer [medium chance for combat encounters of medium-hard rating]
Take the win, go back home. We have still a couple options to make it through.';

'>>5959883
>Use Grinning Matusubarahi
If anyone forgot, it teleports us to the Foyer. Let's not risk a medium chance of a medium-hard encounter';

'>>5959883
>>Use Grinning Matusubarahi
3 HP and a dream is a nightmare.';

'>>5959934
>>5959997
>>5960123

Wooosh

You were whisked away the moment you had crushed the clay figure. Time to return back to safety....

================================

"H-hello Ancea-Tekshi. How was your progress?" Casia waved innocently upon your arrival.

"It is going well, what is this?" You noticed that all of your wounds had disappeared on their own while you stood next to a strange black obelisk engulfed in ghastly white flames.

"Oh, this? Banfoudli had cleared out some space here with the help of his scary looking golem as a token of his gratitude. He had set up shop here too!" The Rotblighted pointed at a small stall guarded by a brutish creature made from sand and obsidian.

" Did you fight any monsters on the way back?" You were curious.

"Yes. I-i am not really a good fighter but I managed to defend myself just fine. I almost forgot..." After a quick face-palm, Casia had pulled out the following from her pocket.

×5 Syiphr's whispers

x1 Slippery tentacle
A still-living piece of meat which belonged to a perverted creature in the darkest reaches of the Spire. Useless when it is raw.

x1 Engorged 'Finger'
A still-living piece of meat which belonged to a perverted creature in the darkest reaches of the Spire. Even after being severed, it retained its innate desire to burrow inside tight spaces of any kind. Useless when it is raw.



"You are back." The Cosmic diver had taken notice of your presence " Got any sighs for me? You look like you need more allies."

>Chat by the Obelisk
>Maw of Syiphr ( new banner! 15 SS available)
>Banfoudli's tantalizing trove of treasures
>Go for another Aybaine dive
>Write in';

'>>5960289
How many sighs do we have QM?';

'>>5960291
15';

'>>5960289
>Chat by the Obelisk';

'>>5960289
>Banfoudli's tantalizing trove of treasures
Let's wait with pulling until we have at least 30 SS for a guaranteed 4*';

'>>5960316
Yeah, and the more we wait, the more SS will be added, right?

>Banfoudli's tantalizing trove of treasures';

'>>5960313
>>5960316
>>5960331

"Dalahan, friends! Praise be the Six!" The dark skinned merchant had greeted you enthusiastically " Welcome to my shop, do you like what I did to this place?"

" This is adequate, yes." You weren't as overjoyed as he was.

"Friend, what do you think of my Golem? I Call her Ginyaha. She is as delicate as silk don't you agree?"

"..." The creature was perhaps more monotonous that you were staring at you with her soulless-like eyes intensely.

"I assume she cleared out the debris. You lack the strength for such task."

" Right on the Kinar, friend." Banfoudli gave the golem thrice his size an awkward pat on her left arm since he couldn't reach her shoulders " Speaking of which, I will take those lovely whispers of yours. They are very valuable to certain scholars out there. A fair exchange, I promise!"

-x 42 Syiphr's whispers
×4200 Kinar

" What do you have for sale?" You asked bluntly.

"All sorts of trinkets and baubles. Can't really show all of them to you at once, secrets of the trade and all, make sure to stop by every now and then, yeah?"


Banfoudli

CURRENT STOCK

] Clear more space [I] ( 1000 Kinar)
Motivate the obsidian golem to empty the heavy debris and other clutter. All funds goes to pristine sand for her picky diet.


Mobile Cooking station (1500 Kinar)
A mysterious cooking pot and other utensils that can be set up in empty rooms of the Spire. Make sure to have at least two ingredients!

Grinning Matusubarahi (500 Kinar, 3 in stock)

Intricate key (300 Kinar, x10 in stock)
An amorphous putty mimic that was cursed to only assume the form of a mimic, will snarl if there is a nearby mimic in the room. Upon turning into a key, the mimic will perish.

Miniature Obelisk ( 1000 Kinar, x2 in stock)
A shard which had 'accidentally' got chipped off the main oblesik in the Foyer. Use it in an empty room in the Spire to partially heal the entire party.

Mystery Meat ( 200 Kinar, x10 in stock)
Some kind of meat packaged in leather wrapping, open it to reveal one random meaty ingredient.


Mystery Flora ( 150 Kinar, x10 in stock)
Some kind of fruit/vegetable/omusgroom packaged in leather wrapping, open it to reveal one random floral ingredient.


1/2';

'>>5960331
>>5960316
>>5960301
>>5960291
" Pick whatever your heart desire, friend. Hmm..."

" What’s wrong? Something on your mind?" Casia asked.

"Oh it is nothing. The artist in me wishes to draw fine ladies such as yourselves without curtain of fabric and steel, the barrier imposed by civility and society. I don't suppose any of you are interested in naked paintings. It will be for free."

" It will be a waste of time." You frowned after correcting him.

"My body.... I-i don't think it is painting-worthy." Casia looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

"I see beauty in everyone and everything around me. You shouldn't be ashamed for what you are. You, my Menchos friend, are beautiful."

"..." The stupid girl was actually blushing. It mattered little to you. Should you buy something from this man?

>Buy ____
>Donate ____ Kinar
>Commissjon a specific item [ price will be multiplied depending on how rare the item is, pay upfront, item will be available after the next Aybaine dive]
>Leave [Specify where to go next ]
>Ask him to draw a painting for free [Specify the model]
>Chat
>Write in

And

What to do next?';

'>>5960361
How do mechanical beings even blush?
>Grinning Matusubarahi (500 Kinar)
Very useful, as we've seen.
>Mobile Cooking station (1500 Kinar)
We have those pervert parts, and Casia can forage herbs
>Miniature Obelisk (1000 Kinar)
>Intricate key x2 (600 Kinar)
3600 total
I like your setting, QM';

'>>5960368
Oh, and next we dive again.';

'>>5960368
Supporting shopping list and going back to the dungeon';

'Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>5960368
It just works !
thank you
>>5960369
>>5960374

"Thank you for the purchase. Do come again, friend." With that done, you retraced your steps back again to the ever-changing floors of Aybaine.

===============================
1F ( Already explored)

(Rusty Thumb)
>Yes?
>No?

The Astral compass shows you the path....

1=Nothing of Value
2=Nothing of Value
3=Nothing of Value
4=Nothing of Value
5=Nothing of Value
6=Nothing of Value
7= You feel a chill down your mechanical spine...
8=Nothing of Value
9=Nothing of Value
10= A treasure chest had caught your eyes...
11= A pit of fleshly tendrils is blocking your path...
12= An empty room, a place for respite';

'>>5960368
>>5960369
>>5960374

CLINK-CLANK

The frigid air was stifled with a sense of dread and helplessness. You felt like the very walls were closing in on you and your ally.

An unnerving fog had manifested all around you. It had obscured something truly evil: a set of red eyes with unsatiated bloodlust. You had reawakened your memories the moment an ominous figure had stepped out of the fog....

This was The Warden

A cursed skeletal husk of bones and steel fused together, her eyes and her long wavy grey hair .... Yes, that was her. You fought her in your prime and she had obliterated you. She was cursed to forever wander the Spire in search of Sinners who had somehow escaped their cells, it was her duty and....and... you could not remember the rest.

"Ancea-Tekshi, W-we should run..." For once, you had agreed with her. Although the woman before you was a terrifying menace, she was slower than a snail bound by the curse that had kept her alive this whole time. The deeper you went , the faster and the stronger she would become....


>Flee to the second floor [1d1]
>Flee back to Foyer [1d1]
>Fight the Warden [You will die]
>Write in';

'>>5960407
>Flee to the second floor [1d1]';

'Rolled 3 (1d12)

Huh, thought there would be more votes by now.

>>5960475

You had fled the scene. Facing the Warden should be done in the future when you would get stronger. It was no cowardice by any stretch of imagination. Onto the next floor.

=================================


he Astral compass shows you the path...

1= Sicna, The Foolish star of mischief
2= Yushoth, The Ichor star of knowledge
3= Vstrau, The Silver star of revenrence 4= Diua-Soln, The Half-eaten star of duality
5= Essieclle, The Everlasting star of brilliance
6= Hoob Al-Noor, The Scarlet star of ecstasy
7= Maoe, The Chained star of defiance
8= Wutsuri, The Fleeting star of solitude
9= Tor-Tarought, The Ailing star of rot
10= Kenisus, The Fleeting star of rebirth
11= Yona, The White star of change
12= Satium, The Black star of death

2F [ 1 Room + 1 fixed room + 1 empty room]

1/2';

'>>5960475
>>5960475
>>5960673

The walls have sprouted strange hands after someone had rung a bell in the distance , some of which had bite marks while others were missing good chunks of flesh instead. According to their gestures, they were interested in trading something in your possession for twinkling gems in the firm grasp of a few selected hands. You saw no malice or any sign of aggression within them. What you would you?

>Trade an item for it [Specify]
>Offer Casia to the hands
>Offer yourself to the hands
>Ignore them and move on
>Pry open one or two of their precious gems
>Write in';

'>>5960685
I'll be here to vote, QM (until I have to go sleep)
>Try to trade the pervert parts';

'>>5960704
I'll support that';

'Gotta go now, see you later.';

'>>5960704
>>5960723
>>5960738
The hands were unimpressed with you sloppy slabs of meat. Nevertheless, they felt obliged to give you something in return.

×2 Syiphr sigh.

It was no rare gem but still, this was indeed a valuable exchange. You stayed away from their grabbing range out of caution and pressed onwards silently.

================================

You and Casia had stumbled upon a most peculiar mirror inside an abandoned carriage with the mummified remains of the horses and their driver stenching up the air. The potrait sized mirror was oozing blood from its lower border. Furthermore, red hair strands were seemingly attached to the mirror itself as if they were coming out of it.

"What should we do?" asked Casia.

"What else? We leave it be." You were eager to continue down the path.

"Ancea-Tekshi, I have a feeling that this mirror will help us later. We just don't know how....maybe Banfoudli will provide some insight about it?"

"This is pointless. The mirror will surely break in combat ." You had shot her idea down.

"B-but-"

"And I am not willing to waste time returning back to the Foyer when...." You had fallen silent when you saw some movement *inside* the mirror. Your pride had forced you not to say anything to Casia. At times like these, you really wished for a teleporting device. Maybe such contraption would be found further down below....

(Rusty Thumb?)
>Yes?
>No?

>Leave the bloody mirror be, continue.
>Shatter the mirror with your bare fists
>Take the mirror with you at the risk of shattering it while fighting
>Return back to the Foyer with Casia [small chance of combat encounter with easy-medium rating]
>Use Grinning Matusubarahi on Casia? You and her?
>Send Casia back to the Foyer with the mirror alone [medium chance of combat encounter with medium-hard rating]
>Write in';

'>>5961046
>>Send Casia back to the Foyer with the mirror alone [medium chance of combat encounter with medium-hard rating]';

'>>5961046
>Rusty Thumb
>Send Casia back to the Foyer with the mirror alone [medium chance of combat encounter with medium-hard rating]

We'll really need to expand our team further. Thus, we'll need sighs';

'>>5961046
>Rusty Thumb
>Send Casia back to the Foyer with the mirror alone';

'>>5961066
>>5961069
x1 Bloodmint
A herb that grew in areas with high Hemo energy. Useless when it is raw.

"Got it. Stay safe, Ancea-Tekshi." Once again, you continued your trek on your own.

=================================

The final area of the current floor was an empty field. You might have been able to cook something if you had more ingredients . The vast emptiness around you made you ponder about the bizarre state of the Spire.... you had already witnessed a village full of cannibals before. Was Aybaine a series of segmented domains unrelated to each other or was it something entirely different? No use thinking about it, you ought to reach the girl with the white book as fast as possible.

=================================
The Astral compass shows you the path...
3F ( 1 Fixed labyrinthine room)
You feel something stirring and snarling in your pocket...

"..." You happened to be somewhere underground. It was an ancient waterway by the looks of it. Five sluice gates had their corresponding levers around you except for the fifth one, it was missing its top half for some reason. While the gates were closed, a small stream of water was pouring from every one into one large pool of water up ahead. Still, every stream was somewhat different from each other. It went something like this:

-The first stream was mired with a black oil-like substance. If you had to guess, this was Mechnos 'blood'.

-The second stream was as one might expect from normal sewage... piss and human wastes and other refuse had made this one a murky green mess.

-The third stream had different shades of red with headless corpses floating on the surface, all of them had once belonged to voluptuous women.

-The fourth stream was infested with small gelatinous blobs. purple bolts were seen dancing on the surface. One unfortunate rat was shocked to death when it attempted to cross the other side.

-The fifth stream had white golden feathers, nothing else.

The Sulice gateway control room seemed like a safe place you could return to if things were about to be dire. You felt some significance in this particular floor. It probably would stay the same during your next dive .

What should you do?

>Open the ____ sluice gate.
>Examine the control room further
>Return back to the Foyer. You might need some back up on this one ( Grinning or by foot?)
>Empty room actions? ( Miniature obelisk, cooking...etc)
>Write in';

'>>5961098
>>5961103';

'>>5961103
>Open the second sluice gate.';

'>>5961103
>Examine the control room further
Hoping there's a hint to this puzzle';

'>>5961103
It looks like the streams correspond to elements. In order, Mechno, Alchemo(?), Hemo, Sicho or Umbro, Luno.
>Let's open the 1st, 2nd and 3rd gates
Those elemens are weak to each other, maybe something will happen';

'>>5961103
Wait, stirring and snarling?
>Check our mimic key, is that it's doing?';

'Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5961131
>>5961140
1=first vote
2= second';

'>>5961131
>>5961144
>>5961147

Well, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the control room. The unholy mixture of all the streams would be drained in this whirlpool. You did spot something shiny lodged between two larger crates. Even if you were a good swimmer, the violent whirlpool would suck you to your doom. Better avoid your intrusive thoughts for now.

Your left pocket had one angry intricate key. It was snarling at something or someone in this floor.

As for the sulice gates, you had opened the first three ones together only for a rush of water to pour in violently. Meanwhile, the fourth stream had dried out completely deprving the blobs from their precious habitat. Soon, it would fizzle away leaving its tiny purple cores behind.

"What’s this?" A small bridge had extended from where you were standing to the closed sulice gate. You could finally see a visible walkway that was hidden by the stream on both sides.

>Open/Close the ____ sluice gate.
>explore the fourth path
>Return back to the Foyer. You might need some back up on this one ( Grinning or by foot?)
>Empty room actions? ( Miniature obelisk, cooking...etc)
>Write in';

'>>5961168
>explore the fourth path
>loot the cores';

'>>5961168
>explore the fourth path
>loot the cores';

'Dang, one vote only....
>>5961172
Although the cores might have possessed some value in the right hands, you regretted grabbing one; not only did you receive a nasty shock upon the slightest touch but also the stench was downright unbearable like rotten eggs left inside a pig's carcass. You were not taking something that had smelled like death's armpit with you. Not a chance.

Moving on, the path beyond the fourth sluice gate was pretty straight forward. No obstacles or anything of that sort was waiting for you. Someone had set up an alchemo laboratory in a large open area adjacent to the waterway, a sophisticated one by the looks of it too. The place was mostly rummaged through, you were careful not to step on broken glass or these meaty patches of malignant growth. Nothing had really caught your eye here except for two things: what appeared to be a part of the level you were looking for and a blood stained report, you squinted real hard to make out some of it as the rest was smudged to oblivion.

' Subject No.I

-Physically fit for the task but with the mental capacity of a child. The Novus seed has rejected his vessel. Subject is being dissected to learn more. Too much Alchemo in him. He.....

Subject No.V
Subject had turned into a mass of writhing flesh consuming several Subjects as well. It is essentially Immortal. Nothing can outpace its regenerative abilities. Can it turn into stone by her?

Subject No.XXXII
-The mixture of Hemo and Umbro has created a nymphomaniac who has very violent tendcies in bed depending on her partner's performances.Subject must NOT interact with anyone, her alluring charms are nearly unavoidable. The Novus seed has rejected this vessel. She...

Subject CVII

-Subject is deemed to be very unyielding for the Novus seed. Her sharp intelligence could be utilized in other fields, Subject's increasing faith in the twelve is rather alarming. She....

Subject No.CDLI

One step closer to perfection, Subject is originally a mimic who was branded with Umbro. She has long lost her ability to assume any form other than her current human one. There is an uncanny resemblance between her and the Eres. She can potentially act as a vessel for the Novus seed if her body isn't too unstable. Subject needs a steady supply of Syiphr's sighs to keep her body from breaking apart. Subject is currently suspended in time. Note to self: without administrating Syiphr's sighs or any of its more refined alternatives, Subject CDLI will perish a few seconds after being free. '



1/2';

'Dang didn't see your vote, sorry.
>>5961172
>>5961397

x1 Lever part

There should be three or four pieces left for the lever. There was a good chance that you might find said pieces beyond other sulice gates but first, you had to make sure that the path was clear first.

>Open/Close the ____ sluice gate.
>Return back to the Foyer. You might need some back up on this one ( Grinning or by foot?)
>Empty room actions? ( Miniature obelisk, cooking...etc)
>Write in';

'>>5961434
Hmmm. Could one of the subjects refer to the girl with the white book?
>take the notes if we didn't
>open gate 4 and close gate 1';

'>5961434
>Open up the closed sluice gate to restore room
>Check for mimics using key';

'>>5961479
The key is probably reacting to Subject CDLI, who is somewhere nearby. But the key only reacts with the accuracy of "somewhere in the room" as far as I understand.';

'>>5961445
>>5961479
You took the notes with you before leaving. The intricate key in your left pocket wouldn't stop snarling, supposedly danger lurked someone in the floor. Anything beyond that was unknown to you.

The bridge had shifted towards the first sluice gate after some lever pushing from your end. Another path had revealed itself. This one had led to a den of rats made out of cogs who appeared to excel at slaughtering Mechnos by the dozens judging by the ominous pile of mechanical arms and limbs in the distance. Were they raised in these tiny rusty cages in the past? They had definitely outgrown their small cages breeding wildly without supervision.

The Den mother was larger than an ox while her two eldest daughters were a tad smaller. They hadn't noticed your approach just yet. The trio were teaching the rest of their kin where to find the more juicy part in a dead Mechnos.

Another piece of the lever was right behind him in a pile of junk that was built across years if not decades. You were certain that you would find some neat valuables there.

>Fight the Mechnos killers by yourself
>Retreat for now. Do something else [Specify]
>Write in';

'>>5961534
>Retreat for now. Do something else [Specify]
Check out path #2
We could stealthily chsrge up our AoE, but if it doesn't OHK the rats we're screwed. Better to return later, maybe once we pull a tank char.';

'>>5961574
Yeah let's do that';

'>>5961574
>>5961914
The stench down there was somewhat manageable compared to the rotten cores, you had avoided the brown logs on the slippery path that wasn't washed away after tampering with the sluice gate lever. Interestingly enough, the source of normal sewage water was coming from a pipe shaped like a malformed dragon. What was up with that?

Trash, trash and more trash had awaited you in this enclosed space . There was the possibility of other paths in the area but they were clogged by a copious amount of junk. No way forward for sure.

As luck would have it, you had no need to venture forward into more filth for there was actually a shiny pristine lever in perfect condition right under your feet. You had no idea how didn't you notice it earlier.

This level was composed of four interlocking parts, it was definitely what you needed to open the final sulice gate. You did notice a tarnished lever piece mostly buried in a massive dung pile with skeletal remains poking out of the main putrid mass. You wondered what the size of creature responsible for this mess....

>Pick the fifth lever and move on
>Stick your entire arm in dung to retrieve the much less appealing lever piece
>Pick up both, you might need them later.
>Pick none, return back to the control room
>Write in';

'>>5961941
>Pick up both, you might need them later.';

'>>5961941
>>Pick up both, you might need them later.';

'>>5961960
>>5962053

×1 Lever part.

Sticking your entire arm inside actual dung was one of the most disgusting things you could recall. You had dipped your arm in green sewage water to wash off the revolting chunks still clinging on you. The Foyer better had somewhere you could take a proper bath.


When that was done, you bent over to pick up the cleaner lever only to realize how heavy and dense it was. Unfortunately for you, this was no lever....


It was one clever mimic in disguise.

CHOMP

"URGH!" You had fallen for its elaborate ruse, the amorphous monster had reverted back to its more traditional chest-like form with long and spindly arms and legs ready to tear you to pieces in a moment’s notice.


COMBAT (-50 DP bonus from being ambushed)

26/30 Health pool
Ancea (Non-branded)
VS


25/25 Health Pool
Subject LIX (Non-Branded)
Passive (Blind Loyalty): Does x1.5/2/2.5/3 more damage depending on the total number of lever parts in Ancea's inventory.

Ancea
>One-two
>Heartstopper
>Bombarding Stance
>Defend
>item??
>Flee?';

'>dudes fell for the "suspiciously perfect object" mimic when they already knew there was a mimic in here
lol. lmao.';

'Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>5962118
>>Heartstopper
Clear up the DP malus right quick. Poke its fucking uvula.';

'>>5962118
>Defend and drop the lever parts we have';

'Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5962153
>>5962162
1= heartstopper
2=defend
>>5962162
Please one action, also Ancea as a character doesn't know about the passive.';

'>>5962153
>>5962162
-8 x2.0x0.5 HP
18/30

You braced for a mace-like swing from its throbbing tongue that had sent you flying. The creature's sharp claws were raised in the air for an upcoming slash meant to disembowel you. You couldn't stay on the defensive forever, perhaps you ought to use the flower given to Casia by the custodian in such dire times?

Ancea
>One-two
>Heartstopper
>Bombarding Stance
>Defend
>item??
>Flee?';

'>>5962175
>Flee
We have our lever parts';

'Anyone else?';

'>>5962175
>Heartstopper
We're no mimic bitch';

'Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5962178
>>5962234
1=flee
2=heartstopper';

'>>5962178
>>5962234
-5 HP
13/30


Discretion was the better part of valor as the saying went. After taking a nasty slash to the back, you ran for it expecting some sort of a chase but the creature had stayed put despite its murderous urges. You didn’t know what exactly was bounding it to this particular spot, whatever it was, it was a much favourable outcome for you.

KRRRMMMMMMM

A sudden quake had almost plunged you to you to the whirlpool of death. It was a direct result of this rift right in the middle of the control room. Yes, you recalled more bits of your past. The inverted Spire of Aybaine was swimming in the Great Syiphr . These rifts were a brief reminder of this fact.

The rift had spewed something or someone enshrounded in darkness. Who/what was it?


1=Nothing, it was your wishful thinking
2=A small bounty of Syiphr's whispers
3=A decent sum of Syiphr's whispers
4=An overflowing collection of Syiphr's whispers
5=A person of some renown (4 star)
6= A person of immense power (5 star)
7= A clump of Syiphr's Sigh
8= A small mound of Syiphr's Sigh
9= A celestial-like vial of Syiphr's blood
10= A portal to your past
11= A rare chance for an audience with the twelve
12= An object of great power';

'Rolled 8 (1d12)

Fun fact: this mini event had one in a hundred chance, I have been secretly rolling for it after our first dive.
>>5962255
Da roll';

'>>5962255
>>5962178
>>5962234

×30 Syiphr's Sigh

Nisehi could use this. Part of you had expected something with
more grandeur to it. Oh well.

>Open/Close the ____ sluice gate.
>Return back to the Foyer. You might need some back up on this one ( Grinning or by foot?)
>Empty room actions? ( Miniature obelisk, cooking...etc)
>Write in';

'>>5962264
Let's try the third path';

'>>5962264
Try the third path.';

'>>5962294
>>5962620

Despite the sheer number of headless corpses, you couldn't help but to feel somewhat flustered . You couldn’t really explain it but smething in the air was making you feel that way.

The trail of corpses had ended with a massive bed of pulsating flesh mangled together in a moshpit of degeneracy. All of the missing heads were used to decorate the border of this morbid bed. The mound of flesh had a grinning abomination burrowing her lower half in the mumble-jumble of flesh and broken bones. Why was she too... alluring ?

" A Mechnos, eh? I can work with that~" The tri-horned beauty had licked her mouth with her forked tongue " Are you looking for this? Of course you do."


"..!" The deviant woman had inserted the lever part somewhere between her legs. The more you stared at her, the harder it was to think.

" Join me in bed and you can have it only after a good time. Refuse and I will add your head to my growing collection. Your choice."

>Join her in bed. You can't resist, you can't...
>Snap out of it and slay the vile temptress [d100]
>Snap out of it and flee the scene lest she will enthrall you [d50]
>Write in';

'>>5962641
>>Snap out of it and flee the scene lest she will enthrall you [d50]

Let's get back to home. Roll for a new banner.';

'>>5962642
Eh, everyone is probably sleeping rn so roll 3d50, I guess.';

'Rolled 35 (1d50)

>>5962641
>Snap out of it and flee the scene lest she will enthrall you [d50]';

'Two more rolls';

'Rolled 47, 29 = 76 (2d50)

>>5962675';

'>>5962642
>>5962651
>>5962677
" Leaving so soon? I will be waiting ~" With some dillfficultly, you had managed to break from attractive visage retracing your steps back to the control room. You probably should come back to the rats and the fleshy bed with proper back up next time.

>Open/Close the ____ sluice gate.
>Return back to the Foyer. You might need some back up on this one ( Grinning or by foot?)
>Empty room actions? ( Miniature obelisk, cooking...etc)
>Write in';

'>>5962682
>Return back to the Foyer. You might need some back up on this one
By foot. Take care of 1st floor unkillable slow monster';

'>>5962687
Your ascension back to the Foyer was devoid of any encounters but most importantly, you haven't crossed paths with the Warden. Otherwise, she would have slaughtered you.

================================

"Ancea-Tekshi, you are back!" Casia had greeted you with her soft voice "You don't look so good, come on, rest by the Obelisk. Don't overexert yourself."

Your wounds had fully healed before your eyes. A sigh of relief had escapes your lip as you continued the conversation with your fellow Mechnos " What about you, Casia? Any intresting news?"

"Not really, I haven't faced any monsters on the way here."

"And the mirror?"

"I showed it to Banfoudli. He told me that mirror has someone trapped inside it. The mirror needs more space to set up. I don't really understand how, he told me about how 'folded' the mirror was... supposedly, dozens of mirrors were occupying the same space." Casia had scratched her exposed head showing some signs of confusion.

>Maw of Syiphr ( new banner! 47 SS available)
>Banfoudli's tantalizing trove of treasures
>Go for another Aybaine dive
>Write in';

'>>5962693
>Maw of Syiphr ( new banner! 47 SS available)
We need a tank. And also someone not attracted to women.';

'>>5962693
>>Banfoudli's tantalizing trove of treasures';

'>>5962695
1
>>5962706
2';

'Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5962725
Da roll';

'>>5962695
>>5962706

"Dalahan, friend! Praise be the Six!" The jubilation merchant had welcomed you to his shop "What do you need?"


Banfoudli (800 Kinar available)

CURRENT STOCK

Clear more space [I] ( 1000 Kinar)
Motivate the obsidian golem to empty the heavy debris and other clutter. All funds goes to pristine sand for her picky diet.


Hemo Golemoid (3000 Kinar, x1 in stock)
A short statured mini-golem meant to to deployed once in a combat before breaking apart. Not the most ideal replacement for Sinners, though.

Grinning Matusubarahi (500 Kinar, 3 in stock)

Cursed Loot (100 Kinar, x1 in stock)
An enigmatic dark orb with something precious inside of it, curses the entire party for a random number of unexplored floors so it could reveal the loot inside of it.

Miniature Obelisk ( 1000 Kinar, x2 in stock)
A shard which had 'accidentally' got chipped off the main oblesik in the Foyer. Use it in an empty room in the Spire to partially heal the entire party.




>Buy ____
>Donate ____ Kinar
>Commissjon a specific item [ price will be multiplied depending on how rare the item is, pay upfront, item will be available after the next Aybaine dive]
>Leave [Specify where to go next ]
>Ask him to draw a painting for free [Specify the model]
>Chat
>Write in

And

What to do next?';

'>>5962733
>Buy nothing
The only things we can afford are the GM, which we have, and the cursed loot, which seems too dangerous
>Go for the Maw of Syiphr';

'>>5962733
Supporting
>Buying nothing
and
>Going to roll at the Maw of Syiphr

I'm interrested in clearing space of course. We don't have funds for that.';

'>>5962793
Hemo golemoid may be useful against the rats, since I expect them to be Alchemo if they prey an Mechnos';

'>>5962745
>>5962793


BANNER II: Stamina fatorum rego ( FIVE DIVES LEFT)

4 STAR PITY:0
5 STAR PITY: 30

CHARACTERS:

Pilphanè ( Umbro, 5 star)
" The world is my little stage, care to join me, puppet? ."
Sin: Rubdeoan Genocide, Crimes against humanity and nature.
Focus: Overwhelming enemies, quantity over quality.

Weomyr (Umbro, 4 star)
" I will reclaim what is rightfully mine."
Sin: Vow-breaking, treason.
Focus: Ambushes, Life drain.

Vodrica (Hemo, 4 star)
" On your bloody knees!."
Sin: Drinking divine blood
Focus: Denying enemies their turns, enthralling weaker enemies.

Mother Kpirtza (Non-branded, 4 star)
" The Six may forgive your sins but I won't...."
Sins: Banditry, Homicide, stealing
Focus: Enduring Deathdoor, Soaking up damage.


RULES:
-One roll per post, you can roll over and over until you run out of sights OR you can ABSTAIN to save your rolls for the next banner.
-d1000 with the following gets: 100, 200...900 for 4 stars. 666, 13 and 1000 for the 5 star.
-5 Star guarantee is after 100 rolls, 4 star guarantee is after 30 rolls. Pity gets reset after winning either 4/5 star.

>ROLL ( expecting 30 different posts for each roll on the account of guaranteeing a 4 star)
>SAVE FOR LATER';

'Rolled 371 (1d1000)

>>5962815
Rollan!
Though I propose we roll several dice at a time';

'Rolled 42 (1d1000)

>>5962815
Is one of these characters the one we've got from the sphinx?';

'Rolled 702 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 425 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 218 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 676 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 453 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 912 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 896 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 923 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 579 (1d1000)

>>5962815
Statistically I should've rolled someone by now';

'>>5962816
Right, I forgot, 3d1000 please!';

'Rolled 484 (1d1000)

>>5962815
Not my first string of bad rolls';

'>>5962833
35 rolls left!';

'Rolled 186, 518, 172 = 876 (3d1000)

>>5962733
Is this the point where the game temps us to pay real money?';

'Rolled 599, 201, 98 = 898 (3d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 82, 443, 421 = 946 (3d1000)

>>5962836
Missed by 1 twice. The dice are mocking me';

'Rolled 582, 51, 890 = 1523 (3d1000)

>>5962837';

'Rolled 469, 649, 824 = 1942 (3d1000)

>>5962840
Reminds me of another quest where we failed 8 rolls in a row';

'Rolled 328, 875, 461 = 1664 (3d1000)

>>5962841';

'Rolled 854, 43, 518 = 1415 (3d1000)

>>5962842';

'Rolled 1000, 197, 734 = 1931 (3d1000)

>>5962843';

'>>5962844
HOLY SHIIITTT';

'>>5962844
WITNESS ME
Probably stop rolling for now.';

'>>5962844
11 SS left
4 Star pity : 6

Will continue later goodnight !';

'>>5962873
Can we pull several chars in one banner? And what is the maximum size of our party?';

'>>5962875
Yep we also got a 4 star, just too tired to continue. Max is 3';

'>>5962879
I don't think we pulled a 4 star, unless the pity was miscalculated';

'>>5962918
We rolled 36 times, 4 star guarantee is at 30 rolls';

'>>5963047
The pity was miscalculated by me.';

'Rolled 676 (1d1000)

>>5962844
Lisan al-Gaib! As it was written!';

'Rolled 167, 764, 426 = 1357 (3d1000)

Lisan al-Gaib!
Just came back from Dune, thanks for leaving a bit Sigh to me';

'>>5963207
>>5963079
>>5963058
We still got 7 sighs left , would anyone like to roll more or are we saving them from another banner?';

'Rolled 371, 340, 959 = 1670 (3d1000)

>>5963689
I will pull mad bitches. Just this once.';

'Rolled 128 (1d1000)

>>5962815';

'Rolled 295, 573, 970, 101 = 1939 (4d1000)

YORO';

'>>5963753
>>5963765
>>5963766

x45 Syiphr's whispers


×1 Pilphanè ( Umbro, 5 star)
A manical young child who had perfected the art of soul weaving after killing her master in cold blood. She had fashioned puppets out of her victims including the special creations of the Alchemo god after they had found her inches away from death in the desert...just what was she looking for in the middle of nowhere?

Status:

HP: 40/40
Talent 1 ( Merry Marionette, +60 DP) : Pilphanè creates one soulless puppet as an extra party member for two turns, if the soulless puppet kills a non-boss enemy, its soul will be entrapped inside the puppet turning it to a useable item at end of battle ( Max 3 soulless puppets)

Talent 2 ( The Fetid box of Thl'ek'aa , x1 Use Talent per floor, +0 DP) : Ejects the other party out of the battle until all the puppets of Thl'ek'aa (PoT) are destroyed. A random number of 1-5 PoT will be summoned. Current PoT are:

-Ogrum, the Vacuous ( +10 DP)
-Shosaha, the Brave (+20 DP)
-Feritrii, the Nimble (+30 DP)
-Dekmeon, the Stewart (+40 DP)
-Old Yuvka, the Master (+50 DP)


Talent 3 ( Soul Strings, x1 Use per Aybaine dive, +?? DP) : Pilphanè fashions a new puppet on the spot and transfer the soul of a party member inside it (with or without their consent) , the abilities of this new puppet depends on said party member.


Death's door Talent ( Deulge of F'ekr'olth +0 DP) : All puppets on the field gain +10 extra DP as long as Pilphanè's HP is at zero

Passive Talent (The Stage is set) : Special action at empty rooms with different rewards.

Sinless Path upgrades (Duplicate 5 stars) : 3

Next Upgrade: +1 Talent usage

1/2';

'>>5963753
>>5963765
>>5963766
>>5962918


" I can stand up by myself, thank you very much." The grey haired child had curled up her lips the moment she was rescued from her cell " I suppose I ought to thank you for freeing me like a good little girl, right?"

"Yes." This little brat didn't sound as grateful as Casia was.

"By freeing me, you have unleashed a scourge upon these lands, puppet. I killed Zihrii Al-Layal's little 'children' and I will do it again and again. You are no match for me." Puppets imbued with darkness would spawn all around her " The only form of gratitude you will get from me is sparing your lives. Out of my way."

The arrogant child continued to roam the Foyer looking for an exit, none of which was available "W-what is the meaning of this? Why is this place in ruins? Where is the Aluab gate and its serpentine gatekeeper ? I will kill you all if I have to!"
>" There is no way out."
>"Fight with me or die. Your choice."
>Attack this unyielding child
>Write in';

'>>5963809
>>"Fight with me or die. Your choice."';

'>>5963809
>" There is no way out, except via Aybaine dive"
I'm appreciating Casia right now.';

'>>5963800
Also how do you wrangle almost normal hands out of the generator?';

'>>5963820
? I don't get it.';

'>>5963821
Isn't this picture AI-generated?';

'>>5963825
Ah, of course it is. Well, I just got lucky before bing would get neutered to hell and back';

'Question :
>Do we get a pity in addition to our 1000 for the amount rolled?';

'>>5963829
5 star pity is reset after getting a 5 star.

4 Star pity : 17/30
5 Star Pity: 13/100';

'>>5963809
This is a prison, i'm looking for an exit. Come with me or rot here.';

'>>5963831
>>5963819
>>5963817

"That is an unfortunate turn of events." Pilphanè wasn't speaking like someone of her age. That was very suspicious indeed.

"I won't waste my precious talents in a miserable sty like this. Fine, I shall accompany you on one condition: whenever I see a soul with this certain glint to it, it will be mine and mine alone. Do we have an agreement?"

"Yes." You had no choice but to agree.

"Excellent." Her Umbro wooden squad were gone the moment after "Lead the way, puppet."

Before you could say anything, it seemed like the cosmic diver had caught another one. Who might this person be?

==============================

×1 Weomyr ( Umbro, 4 star)
A corvid knight of the Order of Thelythemos who was tasked to kill Unzu shades born of the previous Umbro's hatred of mortals. After discovering a dark secret of her past, the Knight was hellbent of doing what it took to be labelled as a Sinner so she could reclaim something in darker depth of the Spire of Aybaine.

Status:

HP: 50/50
Talent 1 ( Shadow strike, +20-80 DP) : Weomyr readies a blade born from her own negative emotions to slaughter one enemy, deals more damage if depending on whether other party members would defend or not.

Talent 2 ( Murder of crows, +0DP, x2 talent use per floor ) : Weomyr split her essence into dozens of crows. portion of dealt damage dealt this turn will heal the entire party Weomyr can not be damaged in this state.


Talent 3 ( Melikotanum Corvosa , +0 DP, x1 use per dive) : Weomyr is consumed by her hatred transforming into a dark malicious cloud afterwards, for 2 turns any WEAK damage will deal four times the usual amount instead of two times.If the enemy is ambushed , the bonus damage will be multiplied by five instead of four.


Death's door Talent ( Thelythemos' retaliation) : instantly kills one enemy before retreating back to the Foyer (if it is a boss/special enemy, deals a set amount of damage instead).

Passive Talent (Brutal ambush) : Once per floor, Ambushes an unsuspecting enemy for some damage.

Sinless Path upgrades (Duplicate 4 stars) : 4

Next Upgrade: Death Talent will now force Weomyr to return after this combat encounter would be over at 1 HP

1/2';

'>>5964116
>>5963829
>>5963828
>>5963819

"You...." The knight with glowing eyes was basically crawling out of the thick sludge towards you " Please, help me. I must reach the seventeenth floor post haste."

" And in return, what should I expect of you?" You asked half-suspicously.

"My undying oath to your cause, I will be your knife in the dark, your silent shadow. Nothing will harm you as long as I draw breath."

"Very well. I accept." You helped her to stand on her feet.

"Covrid Knight Weomyr at your service."

"Hmph, look at her.... more pathetic than a dog snivelling at its master’s feet for scraps." Pilphanè scoffed froma distance " Such a shame you bring on your Umbro Brand..."
>Chat by the Obelisk
>Maw of Syiphr
>Banfoudli's tantalizing trove of treasures ( specify?)
>Go for another Aybaine dive (Max 2 party members, choose!)
>Write in';

'>>5964128
>Maw of Syiphr';

'>>5964128
>Chat by the Obelisk
Ask Banfoudli about the Six he knows. Apparently the Hemo goddess was replaced? What about the other deities? How long have things been like this?
Then
>Go for another Aybaine dive
With both Umbros. Prepare yourself, Hemo succubus!
Btw, does the party have to include us?';

'>>5964182
Let's go';

'Rolled 6 (1d12)

>>5964256
>>5964182
>>5964131
"Oh, you do want to know about the Six, friend? Praise them all!" The smiling merchant sat by the uncanny warmth of the oblesik " My knowledge only lies in the art of bartering and haggling, I am afraid, I will do my best..."

According to them, the current Six were:


- Bashya , the Alechmo god. She is a humble one sharing her knowledge with her people.
- Levidallo , the Lumo god, and his holy mother Franncheska who was the caretaker of her divine child.
- Kazumagara , the Sicho god, the Lord of crimson madness trapped in her own Palace. No one who would enter her Palace would come back.
- Siefiryr , the Umbro god, enshrouding her nation is in eternal darkness.
- Estemotep , the Hemo god, the saviour of her people, the sanguine providence.
- Xitzipaque , , the Mechno god, striving to reach immortality for her mechanical people.

All of these gods had a more tyrannical predecessor. Very little was known about them. Only sages and historians were aware of their existence.

===============================

1F ( Already explored)

(Rusty Thumb)
>Yes?
>No?

The Astral compass shows you the path....

1=Nothing of Value
2=Nothing of Value
3=Nothing of Value
4=Nothing of Value
5=Nothing of Value
6=Nothing of Value
7= You feel a chill down your mechanical spine...
8=Nothing of Value
9=Nothing of Value
10= A mysterious figure had finally decided to step out of the shadows
11= Nothing of Value
12= An empty room, a place for respite';

'>>5964665
I wonder whether these new gods are also against everything our master stood for.
>Rusty Thumb
But we left Casia behind?';

'Shoot, no Rusty Thumb!

>>5964182
Yep, we must be in the party.
>>5964131
>>5964256
3F

The three of you had finally arrived to the sluice control room. It has been a very awkward descent so far.... Weomyr wasn't exactly a talkative person while Pilphanè had this haughty aura around her. You had already missed Casia.

"I sense a powerful soul in this floor." the yellow eyes child had finally uttered something after long silence " It is mine, puppet. Do not forget your promise to me..."

>Open/Close the ____ sluice gate.
>Empty room actions? ( Miniature obelisk, cooking, the stage is set...etc)
>Write in';

'>>5964684
>the stage is set
Let's see what it does
Then
>Open the third gate and confront the succubus
Brief our party on her ability. It's highly probable Pilphanè's puppets will have to fight her without us.';

'>>5964684
>Promise the Succubus soul to the pupetteer
However, we want that lever piece.';

'Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5964691
1
>>5964703
2';

'>>5964757
These two votes don't actually contradict each other?';

'>>5964758
The set the stage bit, maybe other players might want to use it later.
>>5964691
>>5964703

"You mean what is beyond yonder? Hmph, a small fry." The puppet mistress would frown at your suggestion " I will slaughter her, regardless."

Once again, you had returned to the bed of desire. This time, you weren't as flustered you previously were. The presence of your allies by your side had bolstered your confidence and resolve.

" You..." The temptress had shown her true colours once she was threatened by the corvid knight and the puppeteer with her wicked grin. All of the heads pinned into the bed had crawled out of there to form a malicious centipede serving the vile creature. It was high time for bloodshed...


>Fight Subject XXXII [ Combat encounter rating: trivial]
>Fight Subjext XXXII [AUTO]
>Flee the scene
>Demand the lever piece or else...
>Write in';

'>>5964786

We are going to streamroll through the next couple of encounters after getting Pilphanè. The QM in me really wants to make the following encounters harder but that will be too dishonest. We deserve some W ,i guess. ';

'>>5964786
>Fight Subjext XXXII [AUTO]
Damn, the star gap is huge in this game.';

'>>5964786
>>Fight Subjext XXXII [AUTO]';

'>>5964786
>Fight Subjext XXXII [AUTO]';

'>>5964793
>>5965179
>>5965381



×1 Lever part
x1 Syiphr's invigorating thought
An empowering thought from the sea of nothing. Someone might turn it into something more useable and tangible.
×10 Syiphr's whispers.

"Ohhh, I will enjoy this..." said the soulweaver as she had charged forth with her small army of puppet while Weomyr was dealing with the head centipede. You had found yourself standing idly in the mean time.

SPLAT
CRUNCH

"Is this what you were looking for, puppet?" Pilphanè had pulled out a small bloodied metal object straight from a gash in Subject's XXXII womb. That child was the manifestation of the word unhinged after a live demonstration of her capabilities. As for the corvid knight, she was quite the opposite kneeling over the slain body of her foe. She was....praying?

"Let’s go." said the masked knight calmly. Before the three of you would move on, the same den mother and her two daughters from earlier had arrived to the scene not to fight but rather to bargain for their lives and the lives of their kin through a peace offering: the last lever part needed along with a sizeable treasure. You noticed small holes in the walls around you with tiny rats watching in total silence, they had probably witnessed the recent onslaught, the rats would have been next assuming they wouldn't make the first move.

"Ugh, I detest rats. They love to nibble through the flesh of dead little girls..." For the first time, Pilphanè had showed genuine anger in her words " I want them dead. *All* of their filthy kind."

"No, Ancea. I might have betrayed the order of Thelythemos but I still adhere to their code... we do not kill the meek unprovoked. We should accept their peace offering and leave them be."

>Spare the rats, take everything
>Spare the rats, only take the lever part
>Kill them to the last disgusting pup';

'>>5965713
>Reveal what we've seen and heard the last time
They are only pretending to be meek, they're vicious killers who would not spare a thought for us if they had the advantage
>Kill them to the last disgusting pup';

'>>5965732
Damn, was hoping for another vote.';

'>>5966014
Timezones, probably';

'>>5965713
>Kill them to the last disgusting pup';

'>>5966168
Yep
>>5966222
>>5965732


x1 Level part
x2 Syiphr's invigorating thoughts
x10 Syiphr's sigh
x1 Kinar's idol
An idol made from gold and silver. A symbol of immense fortune for merchants around the globe.

×1 Nine-knotted tail
A special tail allowing one to understand the scheming tongue of ratkind.


You were the first to stomp on the den mother's head. What followed next was an unfiltered carnage throughout this portion of the third floor. Every last one of them had met a gruesome end. You did find a strange artifact at the end of their den. Several squeaks had came out of your tongue almost involuntarily after touching said artifact....did you just say something in rat tongue?


Click

All the parts of the level had been assembled allowing you to enter the final unexplored area of this floor. It was much tidier compared to the other parts of this place. Someone had lived here long time ago.... could it be the same person who was conducting there horrible experiments?

"Ahhhh, there we are...." Pilphanè had arched an unsettling smile as she had wrapped her arms around a large glass container that had housed a naked girl suspended in mid air while being surronded by six rings made from all the elemental energies "...my new puppet. I *want* her."

"..." There was something uncanny about her, she looked human alright but her proportions were slightly off. Furthermore, her skin was pale as death with dozens of strange marks on her whole body. It looked like she had been injected with something hundreds if not thousands of times.

"That’s a mimic." Weomyr stated with a hint of concern "Unzu shadows loved to possess them. I know one when i see it."

"Who cares? She will make a fine addition to my collection." The soul weaver didn't care. Her eyes was on the prize.

You had inspected the strange bronze contraption around the container. It also had the black sludge found in the maw of Syiphr. The sighs in your pocket were reacting to black sludge as if they wanted to jump out of your pocket into the contraption. There was one thing you were certain about: this was not the girl with the seed of divinity for you couldn't find the white book anywhere around here. The two were inseparable.

>Fulfill your promise, shatter the glass container for Pilphanè's new puppet.
>Insert more sighs into the contraption to free the girl with hollow black eyes [-10 SS]
>Write in.';

'>>5966844
Poor subject CDLI
I don't understand the difference in the votes though. Would inserting the sighs not lead to her becoming Pilphane's puppet?';

'>>5966854
Yes';

'>>5966844
>Fulfill your promise, shatter the glass container for Pilphanè's new puppet.
Sorry CDLI, we need our OP 5*.';

'>>5966844
>Fulfill your promise, shatter the glass container for Pilphanè's new puppet.';

'>>5966909
>>5967240


Without thinking, you had smashed the container using your bare fists. There might have been a more elegant solution for freeing the naked girl but you were not known for your patience. This so called mimic had collapsed on the floor like a dead slab of meat. Was she really still alive? She was extremely cold on touch.

"Hehehe, that's a good soul right there..." The soul weaver had conjured a wooden puppet with no discernable features as well as a curved knife riddled with white eyes and a dark malignant growth that had covered the entirety of the knife except for the sharp edges "Let me show you how it is done, puppet."

GASP

" F-Forfifon? Forfi..."" Suddenly, the mimic girl had awakened from her prolonged slumber. She couldn’t move at all with a wicked knife a few inches above her chest. She was trembling while black tears would trickle from the bottomless pit that was her hollow yes.

"What is she saying?" You asked Weomyr who had more experience with mimics.

"Few mimics would attain our level of intelligence. They usually learn to utter a few words in order to attract more unsuspecting preys. Something like 'help me' or 'Over here' like a good parrot. I doubt that creature even understands what she is saying." Explained the corvid knight " Put her out of her misery already, Pilphanè. I loathe unnecessary suffering."

" Stop ruining my fun, beak lady or you will be next..." This wasn’t some hollow promise, the derranged child did mean what she had just said.

"Forfifonforfifonforfifon!" The dying mimic girl was seemingly begging for her life while Pilphanè was drawing occult-like symbols on her chest before she would plant the knife deep into her flesh. The mimic girl had reached her hand for you... or rather the sighs in your pocket that might have save her from certain death.

>Look away , let it happen.
>Witness the soul weaving process
>Stop Pilphanè at the last moment [-10 SS]
>Write in';

'>>5967294
Fuck, I can't.
>Stop Pilphanè at the last moment [-10 SS]';

'>>5967294
>>Witness the soul weaving process
Captcha : S00T';

'>>5967304
>>5967633
Don't Make me break the tie';

'>>5967294
>>Look away , let it happen.';

'Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5967304
1
>>5967633
2
>>5967865
3';

'>>5967304
>>5967633
>>5967865
You had ignored her last pleas as Pilphanè would plunge her wicked knife into her bare chest. Everything under her fragile exterior was black... her blood and flesh even her bones as well.

It was a gruesome process to say the least. The soul weaver had no problem carving up a seemingly harmless girl so she could rip her heart out before stuffing in her victim’s mouth. Meanwhile, the ordinary looking wooden puppet began to twitch, its form was beginning to morph into a miniature version of the dead girl.

Upgrade!

Talent 2 ( The Fetid box of Thl'ek'aa+1 , x1 Use Talent per floor, +0 DP) : Ejects the other party out of the battle until all the puppets of Thl'ek'aa (PoT) are destroyed. A random number of 1-5 PoT will be summoned. Current PoT are:

-Ogrum, the Vacuous ( +10 DP)
-Shosaha, the Brave (+20 DP)
-Forfifon, the Lost (+20 DP , Kills 1 random summons/reinforcement)
-Feritrii, the Nimble (+30 DP)
-Dekmeon, the Stewart (+40 DP)
-Old Yuvka, the Master (+50 DP)

"Thank you, puppet. Shall we continue?" The master puppeteer had casually walked away while being mired by black blood.

"A moment, Ancea." Weomyr had pointed at the source of the golden white feather. They were trailing off from... a wall? Ah, this was an illusory one .

"Good eye, how do we dispel it?" The Corvid knight had answered your question by slashing through the illusion. It was that easy, huh?

The hidden path had led you to a small dinky chamber which had what you were looking for...

The white book and the girl.

"I-is this who you w-were looking fo...r?" Pilphanè had actually fainted on the spot. Weomyr had also collapsed on the floor. This was the white book's doing and yet you didn't feel threatened by it.

"My sweet Ancea..." The floating book was speaking to you in a soothing tone.

"M-master?" It was her voice without a shadow of doubt.

" No, only a small fragment of her. It had been so, so long. I fear that she might have already died."

"Master can cheat death. She is resourceful." You refused to believe the words of the book.

"What matters now is the safety of Eres, she who is the vessel for the Novus seed, the seed of divinity. She must reach the lowest level of this accursed Spire to become a God... to end the tyranny of the Six... to reclaim the ancient powers stolen by vagrant usurpers." The book had briefly glanced over the sleeping child protected by a white barrier " Can you do this for me, My sweet Ancea?"

"Yes, Master." You nodded.

" Ahh, obedient as ever. Please, Always keep her close to you and Trust no one. The immense power of the Novus seed might tempt the closest of allies. Her death was usher a dark age upon us all. "

"M-master?" The white book was slowly turning to ash.

"...protect Eres with your life, My sweat Ancea...."

1/2';

'>>5967865
>>5967633
>>5967304

Your allies were waking up the moment the white book had vanished. You saw hunger in the eyes of the soul weaver after she saw Eres.

"Something wrong, puppet? Ohh, don't you worry. I can tell how close you are to the sleeping girl. I have already had my fill with the mimic girl." The wicked child had leaned a bit forward for a quick whisper "Besides, None of my puppets can house her powerful soul anyways. Don't share my shortcoming to anyone or I will turn you into a puppet, you hear?"

"..." Weomyr had crossed her arms waiting for you to finish your business here. Something was on her mind but she remained silent for the time being.

Suddenly, the red haired child was waking up with a long yawn, her eyes were brighter than the star upon noticing you.

"Mother! I knew you would come to save me! I knew it, I knew it!!!!!" The little girl went for a hug that barely reached your midsection.

> "I am not your mother, child."
> " You are safe with me, child."
> Hug her back
> Use Grinning Matusubarahi to return back to the Foyer.
> Write in';

'>>5967892
>"I have no time for this."';

'>>5967892
> "I am not your mother, but you are safe with me, child."
> Hug her back
No point in returning now, if we really need to keep her close at all times. I wouldn't be afraid of Casia doing anything to her, but the Custodian or Banfoudli...
Actually, maybe we could task Casia with protecting her back at the Foyer? Though Casia isn't really a combat juggernaut.';

'Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5967900
>>5967912';

'>>5967900
>>5967912
"Oh...I understand, Mother. You are under a lot of stress." Eres had justified your cold reception as she took a few steps away from you "Mother, why are you accompanied by bad people? They are scaring me."

"You are in no position to judge me or my actions, little girl." Weomyr had retorted, her tone was a bit sterner than usual.

"Bad people? Do you *really* want to see my bad side? Hmmm?" Pilphanè had taken a few threatening steps towards Eres only to be stopped by your silent gaze.

"Teach your 'daughter' some manners, I won't be so lenient next time, puppet."

>Continue onwards to the fourth floor
>Empty room actions?
>Back t0 the Foyer ( By foot or grinning?)
>Write in?';

'>>5968179
>The stage is set, then to the 4th floor
>>5967900
Why are you so cold, anon?';

'>>5968179
>The stage is set, then to the 4th floor';

'>>5968179
>>Continue onwards to the fourth floor';

'>>5968184
>>5968709
There was some time for a brief respite before moving onwards. Pilphanè used this rare opportunity to make use of her puppet for something other than senseless violence.

" Let me tell you a tale of my past... have you heard of Ogrum the Vacuous? Of course you haven't... that oaf was as famous as the pebble in your shoes. But I digress.

Ogrum was my brother with a heart of gold. A simple minded lump of lard who was a lousy beggar for his poor little sister. One day, a man approached us in our sleep. He promised me a new life under his guidance. Little innocent me asked him why, he blabbered about seeing some great potential in me... but first, I had to be branded. The Umbro god must see the wickedness in my heart first

'Kill your brother. Turn him into a disembodied soul to weave.' Said the man, he gave my this very knife. I slit my brother’s throat from ear to ear. It...felt *really* good. The look on his eyes, priceless.

I was branded in a flash, I could house souls in puppets. I have surpassed my master's expectations, he had taken me under his wing. Together we have left my brother’s cold coprse in the alley and move on. He was the first of my many many victims...."


The Stage is Set (Ogrum) : reflect one instance of damage at the start of the enemies' turn.

"Heartless..." muttered Weomyr after this morbid puppet show was done "Let’s move on."

1/2';

'Rolled 10, 9, 1, 8 = 28 (4d12)

>>5968184
>>5968709
>>5969023
The Astral compass shows you the path...

1= Sicna, The Foolish star of mischief
2= Yushoth, The Ichor star of knowledge
3= Vstrau, The Silver star of revenrence 4= Diua-Soln, The Half-eaten star of duality
5= Essieclle, The Everlasting star of brilliance
6= Hoob Al-Noor, The Scarlet star of ecstasy
7= Maoe, The Chained star of defiance
8= Wutsuri, The Fleeting star of solitude
9= Tor-Tarought, The Ailing star of rot
10= Kenisus, The Fleeting star of rebirth
11= Yona, The White star of change
12= Satium, The Black star of death

4F [ 4 Rooms]';

'>>5968184
>>5968709
>>5969023
>>5969037
>>5969032

[Sea of change]

"Ooooh, the beach! I love it!" Pilphanè had shown a bit of her childish self in the first portion of the fourth floor. The party was walking on a calm strip of land surrounded by mercury-like water from both sides. Eres would have played with Pilphanè had it not been for the horrible tale she had heard a few minutes ago. Instead, she had chosen to stick to your side.

"It is too peaceful around here." Weomyr waiting for any ambush. Nope, nothing of that sort here.


"Up there." You notified everyone of a lone figure at the end of the isthmus: A crying woman who was surronded by mercury bubbles while playing with her harp.

"Stay behind me. Child." You should trust no one. That was the rule.

" When will it stop? When will I be free?" The ghastly woman was talking to herself.

"No,no, her soul is too slippery like a fish for my puppets." Frowned the Umbro branded child after a quick inspection "I don't mind killing her, though. "

"Quiet you." The corvid knight hushed your ally "You there. What business do you have here?"

" Me? I am waiting for my lord's heavenly descent." Sighed the woman, her tunes were sadder than her words " I was tasked to offer a chance for accursed souls to be reborn, flesh, bones and all. Hmm? "

"..." Eres had hidden behind when her curious eyes had met with the stranger.

" Such burden, such hardship... poor child. Let me , the rib of Kenisus, mold you into something anew. All deserves a second chance in life."

>Decline her offer, move on
>Offer yourself to be reborn
>Offer Eres to be reborn
>Offer _____ to be reborn
>Attack the stranger
>Write in';

'>>5969032
...we need another 5* to replace her.

>>5969053
>Decline her offer for now, move on
I assume we can come back later? Maybe we can get Casia reborn to cure her condition. Or resurrect the mimic girl.';

'>>5969053
>Decline her offer, move on';

'>>5969059
>>5969372

"Close your eyes, child." This grim and sickly forest that your party was currently had a pack of vicious hounds carving up a gutted giant snake. Both sides were also skinless for some reason....well, for the part. The hounds weren't flayed at the bottom of their maggot-infested bellies causing two bloody skin flaps to follow wherever their mangled paws would take them. It seemed like the dead snake had swallowed something shiny prior to its death.

"Careful, we shouldn't tangle with them." Weomyr had given you a stern warning.

"What? Are you scared of a few wretched mutts?" Pilphanè had anatogized her as always.

"No, these beasts are clearly diseased. We might catch something from our brief encounter with them ." She had turned her attention to you "Your call, Ancea."

>Keep watching the pack in silence.
>Attack the diseased pack of hounds [ AUTO/Brutal Ambush? Y/N? ]
>Sneak past them, move on.
>Write in';

'>>5969697
>Sneak past them, move on.';

'>>5969697
>Attack with puppets only. Puppets don't get sick.';

'Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5969725
>>5969847';

'>>5969725
>>5969847

You had followed Weomyr's solid advice. It was for the best not to engage with these disease addled beasts.

POOF!

After crossing a certain point, you felt like you were walking in the lands of giants. The fact was, you and your company had been.... transformed into cats!

" Ooohooho! What a TRAGEDY! a booming voice shook you to the bone "Hope you don't mind a bit of TOMFOOLERY from my end GYAHAHAHAHAA!"

"Meow, meow meow? Meow!" You couldn't understand what you were saying! Other ally-cats were in a similar situation.

"Oh, sweet kitten. You are oh so vulnerable, I could just snatch you and RIP OUT the little seed inside you... no, my lord won't be pleased." said the unknown voice in the skies. The smallest kitten in the group would hide herself under your soft and fluffy fur.

"Have fun, sinners! You can reutrn back to your place of refuge LIKE COWARDS... or your venture forth until my lord will be pleased with your progress. Then you will be rewarded with a Sinner just like youuuu! Your choice!"

"Meow, meow meow..." The cat with the corvid mask had pointed upwards.

"Meow? Meowwwww, Meow!" The final cat of the group had was moving towards the final portion of the floor instead.


>"Meow! Meow, meow meow. Meow meow."
>Meow back to the Foyer on your paws [ high chance of combat encounter of hard-impossible rating]
>Continue playing with your Grinning Matusubarahi until it works
>Meow forward';

'>>5969895
>Meow forward';

'>>5969895
>Meow forward
Who are the fucking lords of this dungeon?';

'>>5970140
>>5970176

As a humble cat, you didn't have anything offense at your disposal save for your kitty claws and one bad attitude. Nevertheless, you and your party had marched on to the unknown.

The next area of the floor had no towering enemies or some unholy obstacle for your feline paw to transverse... just an endless stretch of nothing as far as the eye could see. The howling winds were your fourth companion.

"M-meow..." The smallest cat in the group was shivering already seeking your dwindling warmth instead. It was pretty cold out here in the open.... should you find some shelter to rest a bit?

Well, there weren't many options around. The flat lands didn't provide any help either. Wait, what was that over there? A graveyard?

Curiosity had gotten the best of you as you had approached this strange site. It wasn't actually a graveyard, instead, you found dozens of rusty swords sticking out of the ground. Some of the which had the following engraved on them:

' Banished
Bound to roam
Betrayed
Be it by the morrow or...
A curse upon them
A curse upon their children
A curse upon their children's children
Duodeviginti unus'

Well, that sounded a bit ominous. You rested by the largest sword until the party was ready to continue their descent.

1/3';

'Rolled 4, 8 = 12 (2d12)

>>5970140
>>5970176

The Astral compass shows you the path...

1= Sicna, The Foolish star of mischief
2= Yushoth, The Ichor star of knowledge
3= Vstrau, The Silver star of revenrence 4= Diua-Soln, The Half-eaten star of duality
5= Essieclle, The Everlasting star of brilliance
6= Hoob Al-Noor, The Scarlet star of ecstasy
7= Maoe, The Chained star of defiance
8= Wutsuri, The Fleeting star of solitude
9= Tor-Tarought, The Ailing star of rot
10= Kenisus, The Fleeting star of rebirth
11= Yona, The White star of change
12= Satium, The Black star of death

5F [ 2 Rooms + 2 Fixed Room]';

'>>5970140
>>5970176

[Serpentine Lies]

"Meow?" The only way forward was blocked by a rather friendly multi headed serpent waving at you with its tail. It had four heads: black, red, green and blue in that order.

"Hello little kittens, do you wish to passssss?" This head had sniffed the air staring at the ceiling with its clouded white eyes.

" A dangeroussss endeavour, yes,yes." a sticky drool would trickle from its mouth.

" C-climb into the right throat and you shall passssss." It had licked fresh blood and grime under its nostrils.

" three throatssss will send you to y-your doom. Which o-one shall you choose?" This head had several scars and a more intimidating presence.

"MEOW! Meow, Meow! HISSSS" The second smallest cat had objected fiercely.

" Sssssorrry, we have forgotten our riddle firsssst. I can only tell half truths... the right throat is not in the middle, It stutters the most."

" It isss in my nature to lie, the oldest head despises violence against hapless creatures."

" My tongue speaks the truth. Do not trussst the messiest of us."

" I mostly speak lies. I want to ssswallow you whole, you won't regret it. Don't fall for black lies. I will lead you to sssafety. I promisssse"

>Climb in ____'s throat.
>Fight the abomination [ Combat encounter rating: impossible]
>Play with the Grinning Matusubarahi
> Write in';

'>>5970206
Ooh, I like this one. Give me a bit of time.';

'>>5970206
Alright, here's what I got:
The truthful head will say it's truthful. Since black was the only one to do so, it must be truthful.
Green can't be truthful or liar, because it will lead to a paradox. So it lies only sometimes.
Black stutters the most (twice vs once by green)
Blue seems the messiest (green is messy too but it tries to groom itself)
So blue is not the correct head.
Now either blue or red is the liar, but blue told the truth at least once ("A dangeroussss endeavour"), so the liar must be red. Which means the correct throat is one of the middle ones (red or green) and doesn't stutter the most (i.e. isn't black, which matches)
Blue and green are partial liars. Let's count their statements
Blue:
" A dangeroussss endeavour, yes,yes." - truth
" I mostly speak lies" - ?
"I want to ssswallow you whole" - truth?
" you won't regret it. " - lie
"Don't fall for black lies" - lie
"I will lead you to sssafety. I promisssse" - lie
If " I mostly speak lies" is the truth, it would make it 50/50 lies and truths, actually, but if it's a lie, it would make it true and lead to a paradox. This could be resolved if the blue head doesn't actually want to swallow us whole, maybe it will chew on us instead?
Anyway, it seems the blue head mostly lies, as it said.
Green:
"It isss in my nature to lie" - lie if we take it as a confession to being a total liar, but truth if it's a confession to lying sometimes
" C-climb into the right throat and you shall passssss."- depends on your interpretation of "right". The rightmost head will not let us pass.
"the oldest head despises violence against hapless creatures." - here's where it gets complicated. It seems that green head speaks half-truths by exclusion. Then this statement is also a half-truth and can be read as "red head despises violence but will commit it anyway", and green is the safe one. But that blood on green's face makes me unwilling to bet on it. Another reading is that green tells an equal amount of truth and lies. Then it would be one lie, one half-truth and one truth, and the red head would be the safe one.
I'm more inclined to bet on red. What do you think, other anons?';

'>>5970229
I would say that you should focus on the snake's dialogue at the start of the riddle and the description/position of each one. First four dialogues are introducing us to the riddle.

And thank you for taking your time to post your analysis.';

'>>5970249
I did focus on that though. If I mussed something, I don't even know what';

'>>5970229
I'll choose red too.';

'>>5970249
Yeah, I tried to come up with a different answer, but I couldn't. Go red, but send Weomyr alone first to check.';

'>>5970255
>>5970524
>>5970893

"Meow, meow." The cat with long beak mask had shook her head a as a response to your feline suggestion. All of you should step into danger together.


"Hop innn~" It was a hard choice but you had settled for the red head. At the end of the fleshly tunnel was....

A pool of acid.

To avoid getting digested alive, you played with the Grinning Matusubarahi until it had whisked everyone away at the nick of time.

=================================

"Praise be the Si... oh." The dark skinned merchant was the first to greet your party with you and Weomyr being piled on by Eres and Pilphanè.

"Meow, me... we are back!" Everyone had reverted back to their original form. It felt strange to talk normal again.

"Ancea, you idiot! You had almost gotten us killed!" snarled the soulweaver " Why did I trust such a blabbering buffoon?"

"My apologies." It was probably a miscalculation on your part. That or the snakes were lying to you from the very start.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" Weomyr asked tilting her head to the left.

"I..I didn't know you all want me to draw you at the same time. I will bring a canvas, just a moment, friends."

" What are you ...?" At this moment, you all had collectively realized that your brief stay inside the serpentine stomach had melted off most of your clothes.


"EEEEEEEEPPPP!!!"

WHAM

SMACK

POW

Even the gentle Casia and the nonchalant Nisehi had joined you beating down the perverted merchant until he had been knocked out cold.

Luckily, the cosmic diver had exact copies of your attire that were fished from the Maw of Syiphr. As for Banfoudli, he would probably be fine by after your next Aybaine dive.

>Maw of Syiphr ( 10 SS left)
>Aybaine Dive';

'>>5970255
>>5970524
>>5970893
it was green ';

'>>5970905
>Aybaine Dive';

'>>5970905
D:
>Aybaine Dive';

'>>5970905
What turned me away from the green head, even more than the blood, was the phrase "It isss in my nature to lie". I couldn't imagine how this can be a half-truth, rather than straight truth or lie.';

'Rolled 5 (1d12)

>>5970918
>>5970976

The Astral compass shows you the path....

5F (partially explored)
1=Nothing of Value
2=Nothing of Value
3=Nothing of Value
4=Nothing of Value
5=Nothing of Value
6=Nothing of Value
7= You feel a chill down your mechanical spine...
8=Nothing of Value
9= Someone might need your aid...
10= You feel a chill down your mechanical spine
11= Nothing of Value
12= An empty room, a place for respite';

'Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>5970976
>>5970918
>>5970906

1= Sicna, The Foolish star of mischief
2= Yushoth, The Ichor star of knowledge
3= Vstrau, The Silver star of revenrence 4= Diua-Soln, The Half-eaten star of duality
5= Essieclle, The Everlasting star of brilliance
6= Hoob Al-Noor, The Scarlet star of ecstasy
7= Maoe, The Chained star of defiance
8= Wutsuri, The Fleeting star of solitude
9= Tor-Tarought, The Ailing star of rot
10= Kenisus, The Fleeting star of rebirth
11= Yona, The White star of change
12= Satium, The Black star of death

5F [ 1 Room + 2 Fixed Room]';

'>>5970978
>>5970918
" I don't like this..." You and your allies were down a bloody path littered with hundreds of empty husks who were disemboweled one way or another. The repulsing scent of gore had invaded your nostrils. Pilphanè didn't mind the scent of death, infact, she breathed a couple of whiffs in like a chief with their perfect dish.

"MOTHER!" Suddenly, chains had sprouted from the ground claiming Eres' limbs before you could even act. Every fibre of your body had chased after the chains dragging her to a towering monolith made out of wicked flesh and bones.


" I DEMAND BLOOD, I DEMAND VENGEANCE!!" bellowed the monolith as it had spreadeagled the little girl " THIS ONE WILL DO!!"

"MOTHERRRR, IT HURRRTS" The chains were stretching out her petite limbs during your mad dash towards her

" NOT TODAY, WHELP. I , THE GREAT MAOE, SHALL BATHE IN HER DIVINE BLOOD. YOUR MANGLED CORPSE WILL JOIN MY DISCPLES, REJOICE AND DIE WELL!! The fallen husks around the monolith began to twitch, you saw dozens of them heeding their master’s call and priming their bloodlust at you. In the distance, you saw both Weomyr and Pilphanè's cutting through a growing horde in order to reach you and Eres.

>Fight defensively until back up would arrive.
>Go all out no matter the cost.
>Abandon the girl and your allies. This is a losing battle.';

'>>5971215
Is Eres a member of our party? If so,
>Command Pilphane to use The Fetid box of Thl'ek'aa
It ejects the rest of the party from combat, so Eres will be freed.
If she's not a party member, then
>Go all out no matter the cost.
The girl must be protected.';

'>>5971300
Supporting. Nice thinking of Fetid box';

'>>5971300
>>5971342
Yeah, I am at the end of my ropes here after losing an update that had reached the world limit (Eres would have broken free, novus seed activates, hint about Eres' main mission to kill the twelve before reaching the final floor).Neat concept (gacha, elements of randomness) but god awuful horrible execution and pacing and being way over ambitious had killed it for me.This was intended to be a one-shot too. When my writing session had become a chore, I think it is high time to call it quits in true QM fashion on the 4chinz. I sincerely apologise for wasting your precious time like I did many times in the past.

Insult me as you wish or share some random thoughts with me. Every tenth floor would have a door that would require that blood of a dead Sinner to be opened. Idea here was to sacrifice 4/5 star the more we delved deeper into the Spire. Depending on previous choices, character might have accepted their fate or they would turn on the party ( amnesia bomb afterwards, only Ancea would remember what happened at 10th floor).

Fuck me, i feel bumped out. That 5 star get was amazing , anon who pulled it should have bought some lottery tickets. Should stick to one shots from now on';

'>>5971376
Think what you want about the execution, I liked this quest a lot and am very sad to see it go. Thanks for running!';

'>>5971376
Thanks for running. Indeed, once it turns in a chore it' not worth it.
Thanks for telling us you're dropping instead of ghosting us away.
Liked it much, although the dreaded Personal Life made it hard for me to interract as much as I would have liked.
What would had happen if we enlarged living space and setted up the mirror?';

'Did you have any fun with qming? Would you try it again? Did the mechanics tire you out';

'Sorry got busy the last few days.
>>5971381
Thank you for playing and sorry again , right idea, wrong execution
>>5971909
We would have summoned a vampire with hemo brand who would have used the invigorating thoughts to increase our health/ power up talents etc.

I had about 7 hub npcs planned. So much for that.

>>5971933

I actually hate rolling with passion. It stalls the narrative. If anything, all the rolls would be behind the scene.';

'>>5973022
Oh and for our hemo characters, she would have sold blood vials too.';

'>>5971376
Hey, I just randomly came across this in the catalogue and read to the end. I liked the characters, the art and the glimpses of the world building you did. Thanks for making an afternoon more pleasant with a good read, I hope you run something again.';