A giant city lies beyond the door, and the ceiling looks like the night
sky. Everything is made out of gold.
Marfik: oh my god is this...?
Alphecca: the City of Gold that people say was once our kingdom's
capital?
Akashi: omg
Rutilix: why is something so pretty inside this maze?
MC: why is it so deep inside?
Marfik: we do have examples of cities being made hard to get to for
whatever reason like Machu Picchu and Tenochtitlan
Akashi: so you're saying this place is like those cities too?
Marfik. Hmm. This is much too unnatural. We're so far in that starlight
can't get here, and there's a maze with traps and a layout that
sometimes changes. Also lots of monsters to block the way. It's hard to
believe a city like this would have that many people in it.
Alphecca: I've heard stories of this place back in the kingdom capital.
There's no records, but if the stories are true...maybe this place was
moved away from the capital?
Marfik: but this city is made of gold and gold is heavy. how'd they do
that?
Alphecca: I dunno. But if it's true, I should examine the place. Let's
go take a look.
Rutilix: I-I'll go with you!
Akashi: Professor we should go too!
Marfik: ...
Marfik: monsters appearing, views from nowhere, heroes transforming on
their own, and a maze of unknown material changing its structure...hmm
MC: u-umm, aren't we going?
Marfik: oh whoops, I was thinking about stuff. Let's go.
Akashi: Yeah I'm dumb but even I can tell there's so many weird things
going on here. I can feel someone watching me like MC and Rutilix
mentioned they felt too.
MC: Yeah / Kinda scary
(B)
Akashi: don't worry I got you. I promised when I became a hero. Stay
close
And so Marfik, then you and Akashi soon follow Rutilix and Alphecca into
the weirdly silent city.
Alphecca: wow this is a nice city. it's more developed that our capital
city now. The water's dried up but I can tell how people lived here.
Akashi: y'know I haven't seen a dead body since we got here, not even a
dead bug. But it still feels like something's here. Creepy!
Marfik: the marketplace looks like it was set up and just left alone for
forever. The city itself looks like it hasn't fallen apart for some
reason, even though it should have. It's like people left town a day
ago.
Akashi: maybe it's not that old? I mean I don't see dust anywhere.
Alphecca: that can't be. The capital has been around since at least when
I was born. If this place was moved since then I'd remember it, but I
haven't heard a thing like that in my 30-something years of life.
Akashi: oh. now it's even MORE weird.
Rutilix: (sniff sniff)
Alphecca: what's wrong?
MC: you smell something? / lions have good noses
(B) Akashi: wow you know that? I wonder if it's true for Rutilix
Alphecca: Rutilix does come from that race. They're sensitive to sounds and scents. So what are you smelling anyway?
Rutilix: ...hmm. This way.
Rutilix leads you to what looks like a restaurant, then takes the lid off a pan inside the kitchen.
Rutilix: There's food here
Akashi: wtf are you just hungry or something?
Rutilix: N-no! Think, you muppet!
Akashi: I dare you to say that again!
MC: Calm down guys
Alphecca: ...the food doesn't look rotten at all
Akashi: hey wait that's true. it doesn't look like it's preserved food
either.
Rutilix: this is a traditional dish in our kingdom, but you have to eat
it within the day before the taste and smell spoils. There's no signs of
that happening here though. In fact it still seems slightly warm.
MC: huh, he's right / looks good...
(B) Akashi: don't eat it! It'll make you sick!
Marfik: still warm food but nobody around. This is like the Mary
Celeste.
Akashi: wat
Marfik: legendary ghost ship found on Earth in the 19th century. There
were signs that people were on board just before discovery, but no one
was there. Warm food and coffee was still there. That last bit might be
an urban legend people added later though.
Alphecca: well that does sound similar. but that's fiction right? This
place seems like a recreation of our legends of it.
Marfik: That's what makes it so unnatural. With the Mary Celeste, the
sailors finding it can buy that everyone on board jumped off for some
reason, but this city is inside a maze. How could we not have seen
anyone else? Either there's a secret way out we haven't seen, or this
place has been cut off from the timeline.
MC: what does that even mean?
Marfik: doesn't this place remind you of anything?
MC: umm
Marfik: we came in around noon and have been in here for like four
hours, but the ceiling here looks like outer space. There's a bunch of
eyes on us we can't see, and a city that looks untouched by time, like
it's a recreation from someone's memories.
MC ...wait omg
Akashi: hey wait a minute I've seen something like that too, back when
me and MC were kids and got eaten by that monster!
Marfik: well I can't prove it yet, so time to look for proof. If I'm
right, we'll find it in the center of town.
Alphecca: y'know the city looks laid out the same way the capital is.
The center is where the palace is, so we should go to the palace in
here.
MC: hey look I see it
Marfik: let's go. If I'm right, our way out is over there too.
Rutilix: !? (swings around with his sword up)
Alphecca: is there a monster or something?
Rutilix: ...no, but I did feel one. weird.
Inside the golden palace
The ether crystals on your robe react to the giant monster core in the throne room
MC: OMG
Rutilix: a monster core!
Alphecca: the light shining from it is beating like a heart
Akashi: first time seeing one this big. how big must the monster be?
Marfik: I was right, this explains everything
MC: so we're inside a monster right now?
Marfik: yep
Marfik: the maze is some fortress or whatever that the monster ate a
long time ago. Parts of it became indistinct as the monster broke it
down, but it regenerated when we came to look at it. That's why it
changes when we aren't looking at it and it turned into a dungeon with
traps in it.
Marfik: all those eyes we feel on us? people the monster ate. There must
be Observers among them too, which is why we can transform on our own.
The monsters that popped up in here are like the big monster's cells
come to break us down like food.
Marfik: I bet the monster swallowed the golden city whole, just like the
cities in Southern Kanto and that one nationally symbolic mountain in
Japan. And I don't know why, but I bet whoever was left in the city
tried to escape through the maze but got eaten by the smaller monsters
in there.
MC: Time stopped only for the city? / I don't get it
(A) Marfik: (shrug)
(B) Marfik: same. but it makes sense
Marfik: that was all guesswork but I'm like 95% sure I am right
MC: uh huh
Akashi: wait, I know it explains a bunch of things, but why would the
monster keep this place going!? Don't they piss off back to monster
space after they're done eating if a hero doesn't beat them up? Why
would this one just lie in a wasteland with its mouth open?
Rutilix: hey yeah. Far as we've known about this place, the monster's
sat here the whole time instead of getting up to wreck cities like a
good kaiju. Is that really a thing with them?
Marfik: I dunno. Maybe it went to sleep its meal off like regular
animals do?
MC: They do that? / Maybe that is what it's doing
Alphecca: Right, so if we want to get out we have to break the core. I
hear that's also the only way to save anyone the monster's eaten. That's
what we have to do then.
MC: Right. I wonder if we can destroy it
Akashi: won't it wake up once we start attacking? that can't be good
Rutilix: ...we have to do it! If there's anyone to save, then we have to
do it! We have to if we want to get out anyways! Transform!
Rutilix: die monster!
Akashi: no wait!
Big monsters pop up like daisies
Rutilix: oh no!
Akashi: they're behind us too!
Marfik: we're surrounded by a ton of them! But we could've seen this
happening if they're here to protect the core!
Akashi: but we haven't even hit it yet! (transforms)
Akashi: hey wait why is the ground shaking!?
Marfik: look!
The city of gold is crumbling, and the ceiling starts falling
MC: the monster is waking up!
Marfik: it sensed danger to the core! we don't have time to wait
anymore, it's going to go where people are gathering in the kingdom!
At a fortress at the edge of the capital
Soldier A: EARTHQUAKE!
Soldier B: no you dumbass we aren't near any volcanoes or fault lines!
Soldier C: look!
Over to the west, a x00m tall monster rises and roars
Soldier: OH NO
Soldier: it's huge we're so screwed!
Soldier: evacuate the people!
Back to the party
Alphecca: we'll lose the kingdom too at this rate! I can't have that happen as king!
Akashi: but there's only three of us!
Alphecca: ...no, four. I can't keep it a secret anymore if it's come to this! ARADICIA STAR POWER!
Rutilix: !?
Alphecca: I am Tuxedo Mask King Alphecca Genma the 21st and I
will protect my kingdom and people with my life!
MC: omg it really is him! / Finally!
Marfik: I see you made your decision
Alphecca: I'd say I had to, but there's no point in keeping it secret
anymore. We have to get out of here for my country's sake, so I can't
sit back and watch.
Rutilix: so it really was you
Alphecca: oh you noticed? ...well I guess I can't expect to fool your
ears. Sorry for secretly joining you in battle when I'm supposed to be
good and be protected by you earlier.
Rutilix: no, you wanted to be a knight too, right? I'd have done the
same thing. I know a dream you've always had isn't something you can
just give up and stop with.
Alphecca: Rutilix...
Rutilix: I'm honored to stand by as another warrior. let's do this!
Alphecca: ...indeed!
Marfik: okay, time to get started. We gotta destroy the boss soon since
the others keep popping up!
Akashi: bring it! MC, your orders!
MC: live battle, ride on!
Party: Yeah!
BATTLE START
No comments:
Post a Comment