Drake: All right, all right... let's take stock here. Like I said, I have all four Cosmic Eggs now and didn't have to kill anyone I know to get them. Hell, we even took two fewer demon casualties since two of the egg guardians agreed with me and just handed them over. I... I think we can actually win this! Everyone... I've never liked to kill. Never liked the sight of death. We're here to save our fellow man; the least we can do is not kill anyone else in the process...
Moloch: Pfft. Wimp. What kind of soldier hates killing?
Drake: For a god of war you can't have met very many good soldiers, Moloch. My whole family was military; granddad was a three-star general before he retired, even. Heh, granddad. He told me one I got into the Corps, then again when I got my commission, the reason soldiers fight is to stop those who want a future of nothing BUT fighting...
Kama: So contradictory, yet makes such a vast amount of sense... fufufufufu... you really are a puzzle, Drake! I love it!
Okay, it's time for the long, boring slog down to the bottom of Horologium where nothing much plot-related happens. First, though, we make a pitstop in Grus to unlock one of the more "secret" quests in the game. If you return to Mastema's Sanctum and go to the room where he was, he'll be gone, but there'll be an Archangel there. Since Drake is Lawful, he'll offer him an invitation to some sort of ritual taking place in the sixth basement of Horologium. More on this later...
Drake: I certainly don't remember this from last time. Maybe... maybe this is a sign I'm making a difference in time?
(DRAKE turns around, and notices MOMUNOFU, KINGU, and MUSHUSSU making "cuckoo" signs with their various limbs)
Drake: You cut that out!
Anyway, head to the first floor elevator in Horologium. When you get there... a Surt promptly smashes it. Mini-boss fight go!
=MINI-BOSS: SURT=
Level 63. Drain Fire, Weak Ice, Null Light, Null Dark
Spam ice and it dies.
What's interesting about this Surt is that he actually gets a bit of development, much more than his Neutral counterpart Skadi, and he talks about Jimenez a bit and how Mem Aleph showed him that humans are irredeemable and only a return to the state of nature will save the planet.
Drake: Hmm... Jimenez. That's another thing work as a soldier is good for: making friends. Nothing like risking your lives together to strengthen the bonds people have... I still remember that time I had to beat him awake in Eridanus, heh heh. I don't want to fight him, but... if he wins, I'm not sure there'll be any bonds at all. No one will ever be able to have a Jimenez, or a Zelenin, or a Dent, a Tanaka... a Gore... any friends at all. Everyone'll just be enemies all the time. That's why I have to win here!
Mithras: How... oddly convincing...
Anyway, now it's time for the slog. I gave directions for how to get to the bottom of Horologium in the Neutral run, but I'll point out some of the more irritating parts, just for posterity.
- First off, once you get to the second elevator, avoid Basement 1; it's a dead end for now.
- When you get off the second elevator at Basement 2, head west to the third elevator. Get off this one at Basement 4.
- The door to the rest of Basement 4, once you get there, is annoyingly hard to find. You have to wade through some poison tiles, and then some lava tiles to get to it. Take the fourth elevator up to Basement 3, then get to the stairs to reach the other part of Basement 2.
Drake: Ugh... that poison... n-not good, not good at all.
Garuda: Well, then it's good you have ME! GARUDA THE INVINCIBLE! Also I can cure poison. Fifty Macca.
Drake: Wait, what? None of my other demons charge me to use their skills...
Garuda: ...I'm kidding, you doof. Ohoho, I'm a fan of Order myself, but some of you champions of it can be such fuddy duddies. There you go.
Garuda's here, by the way. Perhaps you remember him from the IV liveblog. He is, as before, the top Avian, and comes with Amrita, which can cure every single status ailment in the game. Handy!
What's less handy is a conveyor belt maze, so I'll just give directions. From the start, head south and take the first belt you see east. Keep going straight and then ride the next belt north. From here, take the belt to your right north again, then the belt to your left after this one. Take the one-square belt to your left again, then head north until you see another one-square belt going east (right). Take this one and the next two east again, then head south until you get to the next east-going belt. This will get you out of the difficult part; there are a few more conveyors but most can be figured out by looking at the direction they're going.
Drake: Whew. That was-
(DRAKE notices HUA PO, UBU, and MOH SHUVUU riding the conveyors for fun)
Hua Po: WHEEEEEEE!
Drake: Wait a minute, don't-
(DRAKE notices MOMUNOFU, JUEYUAN, YAMAWARO, and SPRIGGAN also riding the conveyors)
Spriggan: WHEEEEEEEE!
Drake: ...never mind...
The rest is just a straight shot down with no real gimmicks. Apart from the infuriating full moon puzzle (which I maintain is almost literally impossible without knowing about it ahead of time), which I already covered. Eventually you get to the staircase leading down to basement five and Zelenin will call warning of a powerful demon below...
Frost Ace: Bum bum bummmm!
Drake: One moment, First Lieutenant Zelenin... could you tell me a bit about what your world will be like? I want to... know, before I face... the guy down there...
Zelenin: First off, you may dispense with the formalities and call me "Irina." I shall in turn call you "Sinclair." We are equals now, as soon will be everyone. That is the world I - no, we - desire. I hope that answers your query.
Drake: Huh... equals. I can't really... think of any downsides to equality...
Mithras: I'd imagine there are a few. In any case, I'm sure you know what dwells beyond those stairs, no?
Drake: Mm... You never want to end up on the opposite side of a war as someone you're close to. But... we soldiers fight for equality, and freedom, and... Jimenez chose his path, but I can't imagine what waits at the end of it will be pleasant for anyone. Won't... all the ties between people lose all meaning then?
Kama: Fufufufufu... I think you'll find, my man, that EVERYTHING in this life is open to interpretation...
CRASH
To be continued...
Comments
- First off, Omegaradience requested more angst re: Jimenez from Drake, and he was right, I did sort of neglect him on Neutral. If you're reading this, hope you liked this chapter.
- What's this, some past from Drake? I don't see any reason why this can't apply to his Neutral self too, by the way.
- Ladies and gentlemen, the first of two original lines Zelenin will say in this liveblog. I tried to make her sound cold and dare I say it, robotic.
