With a bated breath, and a newfound companion, you open the door. It's stuck a little, but with some effort, you kick it down, entering with your sword drawn. Mako follows suit, readying her crossbow. Then Edgie, holding a flame. Finally, Toby, his arm in its cannon form, ready to fire. There is silence on the other end. In fact, there's nothing - the walls are adorned with black bricks, with cyan neon lining the edges. Thanks to fluorescents, you're able to see a variety of desks and computers lining the walls, all unlabeled, all off. It seems to stretch on nearly endlessly, the same patterns repeating over and over again. Then you see her. **The Lady.** Standing in the center of the room, with a dress as red as the blood she's forced you to spill, glittering. She differs from all other people in the room by the strange, fleshy protrusions just under her neck. She is alone, and yet, the confidence in her smile scares you. "Ohoho~ Well, if it isn't Era and his rag-tag group of half hearts? I presume you're here to kill me? Finish it all off? End your suffering?" You give the thought pause. You were told that is what your mission was - remove her from the throne, and let On High take care of the rest. Your knowledge is now *encyclopedic*, and so, you draw from what you know... ``` THE LADY POWER: Drawn from the Rift HEALTH: Peak physical condition for a Synth; Driven well beyond her limits The Lady, leader of Synth City. Has angered The Knights, facturing the local sun, causing the city to riot and become much more dominating over its inhabitants. She's begging for you to stab her. ``` Hold on, what? You find that last part odd. But, there she is, holding your blade against her chest, in between her strange fleshy bulbs, kneeling on the floor, smiling at you. Her words are taunting. "I know why you came here, Era. I know what you want. This is *exactly* what you want. What I trained you for. You'll be nothing but a ruthless killer. I've never touched a blade, never killed a soul myself, only ordered *you* to do it. *You* made the desert. *You* did all the killing in *my* name. Why not one more, for the road?" You're conflicted. I'm conflicted. Your team waits to see what we do. No, no - they're waiting to see what I would do. I'm done resting. I'm done sleeping. I need to make up for what I've done to you. My band brows, forming a hand, grabbing the sword out of your grasp, before forming into something more humanoid, flipping over The Lady, landing on her other side. "N-no! That's impossible! You can't just- Era can't make new lifeforms!" I hold her mouth shut with a tentacle. I look up at you. Mako's holding your hand. Good. "Her name is **Ika**. And she is more than a ruthless killer! She is a wonderful human being that doesn't need to be in the grasps of the likes of *you*. All you've done is make her feel worse and worse over the aeons." The Lady rips the tentacle off, standing up, almost snarling, but I keep her back with your blade. "H-how would you know?! You're *nothing* like Era!" "I was deigned with the title before we arrived. I am the new Era, and I will be the end of *you*." With a fell swoop, I engulf her in my body, keeping her trapped in a prison that you designed for yourself. ``` --[Notice!]-- Non-Canonical Ending reached. Given Title: Shadow of Blight GAME OVER! ``` ``` YOU: Wh... game over?! But didn't it say we would win when The Lady was eliminated? She was clearly killed here. JE: idk man, maybe its the wrong path JE: like it says "noncanonical YOU: " JE: bruh JE: but anyways yah it says it's not canon JE: maybe a different route has something JE: plus theres the whole social elimination thing YOU: But the game said- JE: this isnt really a game JE: im not havign fun im just taking notes YOU: Fair enough... JE: plus like, this feels a little anticlimactic, right YOU: You have a point... I mean, whatever that shadow is - though it's clearly the narrator, they just... slice her head off? What does that prove? JE: that ur a dork lmao YOU: Come on, take this seriously. This could be happening outside. JE: i do hear lazers out there JE: im sure its nothing though JE: why dont we run it back? try something else idk YOU: Alright, sure. ``` ### -> [[Play]]