The Promised Canaan Episode 3 Part 1

Narration starts off with a hypothetical. Say you see someone drowning in front of you while hanging onto an armful of gold. If they don’t let go, they’ll be dragged down by its weight. But despite that and the pain they suffer, they won’t let go of it. Most people would laugh at such a person and call them a fool blinded by greed while thinking themselves as different.

However, most people might not realize they’re also sinking while laughing at that original person. Some might be clinging to the weight of a brilliant dream. Others might be holding onto the weight of a brilliant love. And yet some other group might be sinking due to the weight of a promise made long ago.

Everyone sinks to the depths because of the weight of their endless desires. Their breaths choke and their bodies get heavier. Despite gaining what they wanted, they don’t understand why it is they suffer. Eventually they realize they’ve reached the inescapable abyss. They lament how far they’ve fallen.

And yet still no one will let go. They’ve already obtained what they wanted once, yet they still cling. They get bound by mad delusions at the bottom of this cruel world, Dagon narrates. But still Dagon waits there for your awakening, as if dreaming while at that undersea city where time is distorted. The Promise he made back then still is in his hands.

Title card pops up, and this chapter is called Exchanged Cast Roles.

Camera then tunes back into the present as the tribe mobs greet you in the morning and tell you a bath and a change of clothes are ready for you. They also apologize for doing this without your say so. They also say there’s a lot of people who want to see you and assure you that they can protect you.

The shadow mob reports that he’s warmed up your shoes for you and is happy to serve, so you don’t need to worry about them. The world mob says the three will split up for the day, where one of them will be guarding you from close by but out of sight while another takes care of things in the house while you’re out.

Scene shifts a bit as you meet Tangaroa, where he greets you and says he wanted to see you. He apologizes for being late since he was busy with kingly duties until then. Just looking at you makes him feel better. You can then say you wanted to see him, say you’re glad he could come, or immediately bail at full speed.

Going B, he says he’s personally happy to hear you say that. Up until he met you he spent all his time living as Yam the great king as desired by the people. It’s when he’s with you that he can just be himself, like he’s just a regular person. Then he asks if you’ll spend some time with him.

Scene shifts again as Nomad walks up to you in town, saying you shouldn’t loiter around. He gets a little mad as he asks you how long you think he spent looking for you. You can either say you thought he’d come for you, ask if he really was looking for you, or again bail at full speed.

Going A, Nomad calls you a precocious brat and asks if you’re super self-conscious. He seems happy for a bit before covering it up as he tells you he needs you for his plans as an accomplice, then asks if you understand. If you do you should stop wandering around the other guys’ places.

If you betray him, he’ll really have it out for you, and you nod at that. With that out of the way, Nomad starts telling you to keep warm and invites you to warm up at his palace. He tells you not to lie to him because he’ll consider that betrayal, and you warns you against testing him, all while the background says this is supposed to be him being flirty.

Scene shifts again as you go see Asterius, who is surprised that you did. He was thinking of going to your place actually, then says he was worried that going over everyday would cause you problems. You either say you’re happy to see him, say he can always come over, or choose to bail out for the third time running.

Going A, Asterius is happy and laughs a little. He says that just seeing you makes his chest feel warm inside, then approaches as he says he got a lot of food ready for you. Asterius prompts you to pick something and says he can feed you it.

Asterius then asks you to accept his feelings and says you can throw them away later as he hands you a Promise Shell. You take it for now and thank him or ask if it’s okay to take him seriously. In C he gets excited and promises he’ll treasure you.

Time skips again to a bit later back in town. You either say you spent all day hanging out with the guys, be shocked you spent all day running, or wonder when Astarte will be back. In any case Dagon’s flunkies come by to talk to you. It takes you a moment to recognize them, and you ask what they’re there for.

The two tell you they’ve been looking for you, the new Beloved. Dagon is asking to see you, so they ask you to go to the palace. You’re surprised by this and worry that he’s found out what happened.

Scene shifts to Dagon’s palace as he welcomes you there as the Beloved. You either keep rolling with it or decide you can’t keep it going anymore and spill the beans. Either way Dagon says he already knows about how you switched roles with Astarte. You either get alarmed at that, try to explain yourself, or try to sell Astarte out.

Dagon says it’s fine if this is what you two wanted. If you two made a promise based on love, then he has no place to say anything about it. You’re free to sink to the abyss with your own feelings. But having said all that, Dagon says there’s something he has to tell you as someone from the world where love is everything. It’s also something he needs to say as the World Representative who forced Astarte’s class and concept onto her.

Dagon starts by talking about how he remembers that you were filled with power when he first met you. But by this point there should have been some changes affecting your mind and body. You probably noticed already, and he asks to make sure if you have. You do realize what he’s talking about, and Dagon asks you to take his hand so he can look at you better. You either decline and choose to just talk, take his hand, or let him hug you.

Going B, Dagon gently holds your body in his hand. He says he can feel the passion within you and compares it to unquenchable flames that burn even hotter down here. You either ask what he was looking into, ask what’s going on with you, or ask him to do as he likes.

Not going C, Dagon informs you that nothing has changed inside your body. Your mind however has changed with how Astarte’s was, which means you are unable to win against anyone in Canaan. You either react with alarm, ask what he knows, or stay quiet.

Baal walks in to ask Dagon to cut down on the secret meetings with you since he won’t let even him do that. As you are the Beloved, you might be his future spouse. You may or may not remember who he is, and Baal gives you his name either way and introduces himself as the last of the four kings to see you. Then he politely greets you.

Dagon is surprised to see Baal there, though Baal deflects rather than explain his presence. Dagon doesn’t pursue the point, so Baal takes it upon himself to continue with Dagon’s explanation. So, as the Beloved, your inability to win has been grafted to the other side of that role. You either ask about that, ask about how the inability to win leads to being loved, or say nothing.

Baal talks about how losers can easily get sympathy and pity while winners can easily get awe and envy. What happens with someone who gathers affection then should be obvious. What many people recognize will give rise to a hierarchy, which relates to a world’s System. Baal then gets back to the point to say that someone fated to lose will be the most loved.

When you switched places with Astarte, you took on the part about being the most loved person in the world. At that same time, that means you took on the part about being the one who isn’t allowed to win. You either ask about that or stay quiet. Baal guesses that you’re very surprised but asks you to relax. They’ll protect you after all. You either shout your disbelief, say you’re going to check that out, or just leave without saying anything.

Dagon calls after you, and Baal comments that you seem less upset than he had guessed. He talks about losing something after having it hurts worse than never having it to begin with. Given your reaction, he wonders how much he’ll have to alter his plans. Dagon is about to ask Baal something after referring to him by a bunch of titles, but Baal cuts him off and asks him to stop talking like that. Baal then asks if Dagon is borrowing someone else’s body as a vessel.

Baal says he’s the opposite in that he’s borrowing someone else’s memories and comments on that tidbit. Dagon doesn’t respond. Baal then asks Dagon to stop looking at ‘Baal’ that way and says he just wants to retrieve what he lost. He excuses himself at this point saying he needs to go back to his palace, and the camera lingers a bit to show the world tribe mob watching before he leaves.

Camera shifts away to where you are now and you try to summon your sword. Its weight drags you down a little as you comment on it not shining. You are unable to swing it as things are, and you wonder if everything you were told was true after all.

Tangaroa is around nearby calling and looking for you. Nomad and Asterius are as well. Narration says that your powerless condition has changed your situation from being protected to being unable to live without protection. Unease from that turns to turmoil, which then turns to terror, and you break off running.

Eventually you run into a forest, and you wonder why you did that and what you’ll do now when you stop. You’ve run far enough away that you can’t see the lights in town, lost in the deep, vast forest. In your isolated state, every creeping sound and impenetrable darkness terrifies you and causes your heart to race. You either voice this fear, say you can’t win if something happens, or say you can’t do anything if you get attacked.

Astarte flashes into your head, and you say you’ve finally understood her feelings a bit. Rustling stirs up as plants start advancing on you. As you cannot muster the power to fight, you shout for anyone to come help you.

Thankfully Robinson is around to intervene, and after he shoots the vines away he says he made it this time. There are still other plants around, so Robinson tells you to get behind him. You exclaim at his presence, and the episode battle starts. More story happens afterwards.

After the battle, Robinson takes a breather as he checks to see if you’re okay. He chokes for a moment when he actually looks at you before finishing his warning to be careful. You thank him and ask who he is.

Robinson introduces himself as Aqhat, the prince of a small remote country a little ways away from the forest. You remember the name and are surprised by it, and Robinson is mildly surprised as he wonders how famous he is. Your legs give out around now, so Robinson catches you and asks if you’re okay. You either say you are and thank him, talk to yourself about how you could have won, or hug him.

Going A, Robinson says nothing as he stares. He apologizes when he realizes what he’s doing and says he’s a little charmed by you. He tries to say it’s not meant in a weird way but more a wow you’re pretty kind. Robinson also notes how weak you are and how that makes him want to protect you. It reminds him of someone he saw a while ago, except they were super strong.

You ask Robinson about this person, and he asks if you know them and brings up the name Astarte. Scene then shifts back to Dagon’s palace as he’s surprised to see Astarte there. She greets him and says she took some time off.

Dagon starts trying to talk to her when he can feel the power coming off of her, what with the dramatic thunder and dragon silhouette thrown in. Anyways, Astarte says she has a request. She asks to be added into the battle for World Representative. On that note the episode half ends.