Noah The Pilgrim
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'Noah.'
You can't feel your body, you try to move but receive no feedback from your arms and legs. You open our eyes, or were they always opened? It's difficult to tell when only darkness surrounds you.
'You're here again.'
It's that same voice you heard before waking up in that pod. You try to speak but fail. It feels like you left your body behind, existing only inside your mind.
'Allow me.'
From the dark, a circle of light emerges, filling your vision. The light is not blinding, nor is it too bright to obfuscate the dark, it's just bright enough to reach your eyes without prompting discomfort.
It's the Star. That much, you know for certain.
Normally, you'd feel hopelessly scared, but somehow, all you feel is soothed by its light.
'I remember telling you we wouldn't see each other for a long time. Why are you here?'
Although you wished to answer the question, you could not. Both because you have no control over your body, and because you don't know the answer.
'...'
You recall the AI telling you the purpose of the ship you're in. It was to study this star.
Why? What's so special about this particular star? Sure, it's on the very edge of the ever-expanding universe, but aside from that, it's just a star. A very odd-looking star, but a star nonetheless.
'What's so special about me... Nothing.'
A shiver runs down your spine. It feels as though you've forgotten a significant thing about yourself, and you're sure this star has something to do with it.
'How are you feeling, Noah?'
Like shit. That is what you wanted to answer.
You've been going with the flow ever since you woke up in that pod, not asking yourself neither how or why you've been put in that place, only nodding your way to the bridge.
You've been bombarded with memories that you're sure aren't yours, but your own memories also feel shrouded in a thick haze, and yet, you didn't bother to even think about why it was, only accepting that as truth without understanding this strange phenomenon.
When confronted with things beyond your current knowledge you refuse to acknowledge it by not asking yourself what it is, or by illuding yourself into thinking it's a dream.
Even now, you refuse to acknowledge this impossible place you've found yourself in.
'Why is it that you turn away?'
What to blame for that? You didn't even feel the need to ask anything about yourself. Randomly remembering things as though you were reading them off a manual, taking whatever FYARN says as an absolute truth, and not even reacting to the abhorrent state of the Odyssey.
When FYARN told you about the relationship between the alien and the human races, it told you how superior humans were, and it also told you that the human race lost the war. You didn't bother to call out that clear discrepancy then because you felt as though it didn't concern you, despite being clearly at the forefront of that conflict.
When FYARN asked what you remembered, you simply stated you didn't remember nearly anything, and yet you've made no strive to fix that issue, accepting it as the absolute truth.
All there was left to blame was yourself.
'You're doing it again, turning away from the truth.'
Was it because your situation was impossibly bizarre?
Waking up in a half-blown spaceship could be enough to drive a man to the brink with how random and impossible that notion was. Especially when that man was just a salary man, living month to month, working an unfulfilling job, all while being called the best.
'Perhaps. But I believe that the issue lies much, much deeper.'
The utter darkness shifts and contorts unexplainably. Moving shadows take formless shapes before you. From black to grey, and from grey to different shades of it. Those shapes of impossible geometry cast shadows downwards, as the star stared at you from above.
The shapes expanded and contracted into euclidean and understandable structures. Tall rectangular towers filled the horizon, decorating a path akin to buildings in a busy city.
On the foot of one of those structures, you see a man dwarfed by the sheer size of the scenery.
'Who do you think that is?'
You approach him.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. Your brown eyes stare back at it, analyzing the bags beneath his eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, hastily combed to hide the laziness behind his look. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
He's wearing a white tuckered-in buttoned shirt with a pair of jeans. A black backpack weighed on his back as he walked through this empty street.
A position you could imagine yourself in, every day of the week.
If you had failed to piece together who that was, it became clear once you noticed the empty look on his face.
It's obvious who that is.
He is a man whose bright dreams have been crushed under the weight of mankind.
How cruel, to be forced to gaze into a dirty mirror...
'You are starting to see it. Let's go further.'
The ractangular towers floated away, as the man continued to walk into the grey void.
Four white walls covered both you and the man, grey shapes transformed into a chair and desk, inviting the man to sit on it.
It was a plain desk and a plain chair, and when the shapes stopped transmogrifying themselves, a plain computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse rested atop the desk.
Fitting for a plain man. You watch him sitting down in the chair, putting his backpack on the floor beneath the table.
From the backpack, he conjured a notebook and a set of pencils and erasers. He quickly turned the computer on.
This was his job.
The monitor remained grey despite how the man typed on the keyboard. The notebook remained grey despite how the man scribbled on it with the pencil.
A humanoid figure came to be from the geometric mess of grey nearby. It passed by the working man. "G'day Noah." It spoke, as he vanished into the white walls that surround you.
The man didn't bother to respond, he didn't bother to stop his work, and he didn't even bother to look up from his notebook.
Another humanoid figure passed by, holding what looked to be sheets of paper. "Hey Noah, could you sort these documents out for me? I'm swamped today..."
The man looks at the thick collection of papers in the figure's hands. He just started his shift and already lacks the energy and motivation to keep going with his day.
And despite that, he did not want to disappoint.
He points to the empty space on his desk, motioning for the figure to leave it there.
The figure places the paperwork on the man's desk. "Thanks, I owe you big time for this!" After saying that, the figure disappeared into the white walls of the room.
He did not speak a singular word.
You recall this... Feeling.
'Do you remember their names, Noah?'
You could not.
'Do you remember their faces, Noah?'
You could not.
'These people, you used to see them every day. Why do you not know who they are?'
What was the point of it? Why did it matter? Why did they matter?
'Because they are people.'
To you, those figures were nothing but placeholders for those who did the same thing as you. They were nothing special, just like you. So why bother to recall their faces?
'We must go further.'
The white cubicle ceased to be, alongside the man in plain clothing.
The towering rectangles swiftly returned, and with it came a young adult in his early twenties.
Your brown eyes stare back at his. The short dark hair looked as though it was combed for hours until it was perfect. You see a trimmed beard, neatly cut with a blade most sharp. You see that his face has been recently subjected to a daily skin-care regime.
This young man looks to be full of energy.
He's wearing a white tuckered-in buttoned shirt with a pair of jeans. A black backpack was strapped to his back as he walked through this empty street.
Again, you know who this is, yet you don't have the guts to accept it.
'...'
The ringing tune of a cell phone came from the young man's pockets. He promptly picked it up.
"Hey, Noah!" You hear the voice coming from the other side of the call. "The boys and I are going to throw a party today in my place to celebrate finishing high school. You better show up tonight!" It sounds like the voice originates from a man. He is yelling at the phone.
You watch as the young man smirks. "You can bet I'll be there." He answered. "I'll be done with today's interview and head there as soon as possible."
"Great... Something came up, catch you later bud!" And just like that, the call ended. The young man pocketed his phone.
You know how the rest of that day went. The young man passed the interview and secured his spot in a large IT company, then he went to his friend's place and had the best night of his life.
Those memories were the ones you revisited endlessly.
The grey shapes and humanoid figures vanish, returning to utter blackness.
Once again, all you see is the star.
'What happened, Noah?'
You couldn't say. Maybe it wasn't some big thing that happened, but rather a large quantity of small things that eventually crashed down upon you like an avalanche that built up for a long time.
Friends leaving to live their own lives.
Underappreciation of your career.
Your incapacity to form meaningful relationships.
The feeling of being small in the greater scheme of things.
The notion of your life being wasted for nothing.
A lack of accomplishment that was caused by a lack of problems.
You letting your physical appearance go.
But, even amongst all of those aggravating motives, there was one thing that always pained your heart to even recall. For that reason, you refused to acknowledge and even think about it. A trend that would continue for the upcoming years of your life.
Your dream.
Once adulthood came and expectations weighed on you, you had to choose. Live a comfortable life, or throw it all away in exchange for an idea that probably wouldn't even work, to begin with.
You refused to let go at first. Holding unto what little hope there was left for that dream of yours.
In three short years, your life shifted completely.
Friends grew distant, and now all you had as a replacement for them were faceless figures who spoke to you about a job you never really wanted.
Those very same figures held you in high regard, always saying how talented you were or how impressive your skills were. In truth, you never felt like what you did was worth the effort or the praise.
All you ever did in that company was half-assed at best, yet they praised you like their savior. You grew complacent under those who put you on a pedestal.
Your salary increased, and so did the responsibilities, but never were it challenging or engaging. It felt tasteless and odorless.
You refused to even respond to small talk from those people. How could you? If you did, they would shower you with praises you didn't deserve. That theory was proven time and time again.
All you did every day was sitting on a chair, eyes glued to the screen to meet an assortment of numbers and labels. This was nothing. There were people out there, changing the world, fixing the real problems, and you're there, sorting out numbers for a company created to sort out data for a company created to sort out data.
A null uroboros.
Twenty-eight years of a human's life, and for what? To waste away like a gear on a machine?
You remained ignorant of your ignorance. There were no problems since you had more than enough money from your ever-increasing salary you felt you didn't deserve.
You couldn't even bring yourself to quit, afraid to face the consequences, afraid to be replaced. A fact you understood fully well, yet you refused to acknowledge.
Clinging to a feeling of guilt, you couldn't help but hold on to this life. Your life, Noah.
You longed for a change, but wouldn't bring yourself to change it.
Your dream that you lived for so long ago, is something you couldn't even remember. You hid it away in a dark corner of your mind, hoping to never face it again, or else you would break down.
That is what happened.
The coldness of the world is what happened.
You wouldn't go as far as to say that you were a victim of fate.
Instead, you'd say you were a victim of yourself.
'And yet, you're here now. In an impossible place. In an impossible life.'
Are you to waste away on this place as well?
'You had conviction, but lacked guidance.'
Can you even muster that much courage? You fear what the future could bring.
'I presented you this chance for a reason, so you may show them that your soul is the brightest of them all.'
Fear is born for there is hope, but bravery is born for there is fear. You recall someone telling you that once, but...
'Remember this, Noah.'
Where does the courage to take a step forward come from? When it's so dark that you can't see the path ahead, how should one muster enough courage to make the right call?
'Whenever you feel lost, or alone; Whenever you feel like there is no way forward;'
Your vision starts to blur. The star begins to fade.
'So you may never lose your way again;'
Looks like it's time to return to reality.
'I, am your...'
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be two to three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.

Carved Brink

NexusMods Link: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/24351
- Haem Projects

Carved Brink sends the player into a realm of Oblivion - Faceted Stones, to unearth the mysteries of a lost race and discover the troubles facing the goblins living there.

Playtime: 4-6 hours
Content warning: None.
Horror: None.
Recommended level: 10~15
Recommended third party patches:
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/36916
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/119642
Visual Design - 10/10
Carved Brink is the most visually impressive mod I’ve played with Skyrim, with a design that is unique and an attention to detail that is unmatched by most mods.
There are two main zones in the mod, with plenty of smaller zones each with their own unique aesthetics, creating a wide array of breathtaking vistas to soak in.
The design of Carved Brink is also focused. There is the same visual leitmotif that appears again and again throughout the mod, giving these zones unique identities that sets them apart from generic vanilla locations. Some games and mods give the player grandiosity but ultimately lack a unique language with which it speaks to the player. This mod avoids that.
The visual design in this mod rivals many modern AAA games when it comes to delivering a unique visual identity and eliciting a sense of awe from the player. In a word, it is beautiful. Yet apart from the grand, the mod also adds a ton of clutter with the same visual language, such as its own unique versions of soul gems and potions, reminiscent of Project AHO.
Such details make the world come alive. And together the visuals of the game encapsulates the tone of the Faceted Stones and The Pits very well.
Story and Characters - 7/10
The main plot of this mod is, unfortunately, very weak. Character motivations are confusing, and there is little momentum to push the plot forward. Worse still, it seems like the writers intend for this confusion based on dialogues from the NPCs, but they do so in a way that is unsatisfying and unconvincing. Perhaps the writers were too ambitious - it is extremely difficult to deliver a plot where intentional player confusion is the point without it coming across as accidental. The dialogues of two of the characters suggest some meta-irony going on in the plot, but if so it wasn’t very well-executed.
However, the worldbuilding is on point. The goblins have their own language that has an internal logic and the mod manages to give them a sense of culture. I had fun deciphering what they were saying and learning about their history.
There is also a backstory that evolves throughout the mod involving a few different factions. Some of these, like the Khajiit you meet at the very beginning of the mod are left completely unresolved, but others add to the tone of the Faceted Stones very nicely. Imp and the goblins were highlights for me. The writing together with the vocal performance deliver an unforgettable cast, something you’ll not see much in other mods. In short, while the plot of the mod is weak, the writing is superb.
Technical - 9/10
With the Carved Brink fix mod, I encountered very minimal issues with it. One of the flashbacks, however, causes repeatable freezing that I had to manually debug (if you get a black screen after talking to the Stranger, try this).
The mod is compatible with huge modlists - I’ve tested this on a modlist with 2700+ plugins full of gameplay-altering mods.
Audio - 9/10
The voice acting of Imp and the goblins were simply a delight. Imp is, however, way too loud, relative to the other NPCs (this is in part because it’s not actually an NPC at first). The voice actors nailed Imp’s accent and delivered a wonderful performance for the goblins. It’s more the more impressive that multiple voice actors delivered a consistent accent and tone for the goblins.
The music of the mod is also great. However, the soundscape of the mod leaves much to be desired, in part due to the subpar pacing with the encounter and dungeon design. Due to spending so much time in a single zone, you might quickly get tired of the same looping soundtrack again and again. The mod would be better improved on this front if there was some transition in the Faceted Stones cell, such as between the goblin villages and the wider Faceted Stones.
Encounter Design - 5/10
I’ve played through most of the mod on Master with a bunch of difficulty-enhancing mods. There are two bosses in the mod, but they were very, very underwhelming (though the visual design is excellent). Boss design is not this mod’s strong suit to say the least.
Dungeon and Quest Design - 6/10
The dungeons in Carved Brink are very tedious. There are way too many locked chests and way too many trash mobs (mostly some shades and hoppers). It is way too repetitive. No dungeon should make you fight through the same two or three low-level mobs thirty times. Enemy variety is also very poor in the main two zones, although there is some welcome reprieve in a few subzones. The mod might honestly have been better improved by removing 80% of the trash mobs. They are unchallenging and a chore to fight through.
A standout of the mod, however, is the traversal mechanic (True Path). This was a true joy to use. It sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly fun to teleport from island to island. It’s also technically very well designed and I had no issues with the mechanic. Although simple, the traversal mechanic adds a new dynamic to exploration and it remained fun to use all the way to the end of the mod.
Overall: 7/10
Carved Brink is visually impressive and it creates a mysterious and detailed world, supported by its top-notch writing, voice acting, and worldbuilding. The traversal mechanic makes exploring this beautiful realm enjoyable. For these alone it’s worth a playthrough. However, the main plot is confusing, perhaps even deliberately so, and there is a lack of gravity throughout the mod. Enemy encounters are also way too simple, repetitive, and it borders on spam.
If you want to look at screenshots of the mod, check them out here: https://skiros.substack.com/p/skyrim-carved-brink-review I also talk about some aspects of the mod with spoilers there.

Useful contextual information: “in-house” refers to employees hired and employed directly by the company rather than a 3rd party contractor.
After almost 5 months of planning with the General Manager and Board of Directors while working as a supervisor for a contracted 3rd party that staffed a department: I recently was hired as the manager of the newly staffed department after leading the reorganization of staff from the privately contracted employees of this department to in-house employees.
This new department is vital to the function of the company. This change comes at a time just before the busy season approaches. Simply put, I am almost irreplaceable at this moment in time. Beyond just timing working to my advantage and making me vital to the operation of the company, the last 2 people to take on my department manager role have failed miserably due to lack of proper screening from the previously contracted company. I am often told I am the best department manager the company has had in many years.
My salary as supervisor for the previously contracted company was $41,600 per year. The proposed rate of my new in-house position was $43,680 a year and I successfully negotiated a salary increase when changing to manager of the newly created in-house department from the proposed $43,680 a year to $49,920 a year.
8 months ago, the administrative assistant of the General Manager quit, and a new administrative assistant was hired. The workload of the administrative assistant role was deemed to be too much for the new hire as they are on the brink of quitting. Essentially, she would assume my basic responsibilities that are pretty mindless and public facing while taking on the same sort of soft-ball responsibilities from her previous administrative position role. I proposed that I take on the role of Assistant General Manager. Many similar companies in the area have an Assistant General Manager role that assumes my current responsibilities in my department manager role, as well as taking on responsibilities of the Administrative Assistant and General Manager.
The Board of Directors wants me to be groomed to be the next General Manager, a role that currently pays around $140,000 a year. He plans to retire in the next 5 years and would be similarly impossible to replace. I would pick up the legal documentation side of her role and actively train to pick up responsibilities of the General Manager as they are delegated to me by him. He is in favor of me taking on the General Manager position when he departs as well.
Additionally, I am making a significant personal commitment to the role by relocating to a residence less than a quarter mile from the workplace. This allows me to be on call for the 24/7 department I manage in case of major emergencies
Highlighting your commitment to being readily available for the demands of the job can further strengthen your negotiation position.
I would like to negotiate the compensation of the proposed Assistant General Manager role to $80,000. Do I have strong enough leverage to ask for an additional $30,000 per year?
Whist working for the last year at this company I have:
Worked on crutches whilst recovering with a broken ankle. (This one was extremely tough for me so that’s why I listed it so high up)
Picked up hundreds of hours of overtime for the last year to ensure adequate coverage, often at the detriment of personal affairs and mental health.
Simultaneously learned and assimilated data from legacy database to new computer database system for company - ongoing
Various quality of life improvements for the department staff including updating forms and painting the department’s work area
Picked up many extra responsibilities in the last year beyond my role as 3rd party contracted site supervisor including bureaucratic tasks, IT support, network troubleshooting, customer app tutorials etc
Was the key component in staff restructuring: as explained above, a department that was formerly contracted employees by a 3rd party was restructured to in-house employees, saving the company north of 90,000/yr. Duties included monitoring applicant metrics to ensure the best cost to applicant ratio, screening applicants, preforming background checks, interviewing, hiring, and training new department employees.

• Often I worked from home to ensure hiring deadlines and employee standards were met.
  • Interpreted and integrated materials provided from company Rules & Regulations, outdated employee manuals, and relevant bylaws/policies to create an easy to follow training plan for newly hired department employees

Hey guys! Thought this sub would be interested in this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Long-Live-Evil-Time-Iron/dp/0316568716
Summary (copy pasted from Amazon):

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both "brilliant" (Holly Black) and "supremely satisfying" (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation. When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale. So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

THIS IS A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…
I got my hands on an ARC and am midway through, and I'm having a blast haha. I feel pretty confident that SRB has read The Villain Turns the Hourglass, maybe Death is the Only Ending, and Scum Villain's Self-Saving Manual.
I'm a big fan of SRB from her fanfic days (over a decade ago...) so this was a treat!

-NINTENDO-
Gameboy Dr mario play action football
gameboy color Pokemon pinball
Gameboy advance pacman collection super Mario advance 4 kingdom hearts: chain of memories
Nintendo DS art academy (cib) brain age (sealed) elite beat agents (item only)
Nintendo 3ds animal crossing happy home designer (cib) batman: Arkham origins blackgate (cib) yokai watch (cib)
N64 grey N64 with 2 controllers banjo kazooie blast corps Diddy Kong racing Gameboy transfer pak gex 3 Pokemon snap Tony hawk 1
GameCube I have 2 black GameCubes, one with cords one without need for speed underground 2 (cib) Rayman 3 (generic box) soul Calibur 2 (generic box)
wii black Wii family addition crash mind over mutant (cib) links crossbow training (game only, no bow) Mario kart Wii (cib) namco museum megamix (cibs) nights journey of dreams (cib) sonic colors (cib) Mario Galaxy (cib
Wii u black 32 gb Wii u
-PLAYSTATION-
PS1 cool boarders 2 (cib) grand Turismo (cib) Lego island 2 (cib) namco museum volume 3 (cib)
PS2 black PS2 slim crash bandicoot the wrath of vortex [greatest hits] (cib) gran Turismo 4 [greatest hits] (cib) jak 3 (cib) kingdom hearts (cib) megaman x collection (cib) ratchet and clank up your arsenal [greatest hits] (cib) ratchet deadlocked (cib) sonic heros [greatest hits] (cib) sonic mega collection plus (cib) virtual-on marz (box and manual ONLY) Wallace and gromit curse of the were rabbit (cib)
ps3 black phat ps3 40 gb infamous collection (cib) ratchet and clank a crack in time (cib) ratchet and clank all 4 one (cib)
psp black psp 1000 coded arms (cib) daxter (generic box) locoroco(cib) Lord of the rings tactics (cib) medievil resurrection (generic box) megaman powered up (cib) tokobot (cib)
-MICROSOFT-
original xbox dark summit (cib) dead or alive 2 ultimate (cib) elderscrolls 3 Morrowind (cib) mechassult (cib) oddworld Munch's oddysee (cib) sega gt & jet set radio future (cib) soul Calibur 2 (cib) splinter cell (cib)
Xbox 360 black Xbox 360 E 4gb banjo and kazooie nuts and bolts & viva pinata (cib) brink (cib) end war (cib) persona 4 arena (cib) portal 2 (cib) skate 3 (cib) sonic riders (cib) terraria (cib) the orange box (cib) viva pinata (cib) zumas revenge (cib)
feel free to make an offeask about anything, the worst I can do is say no

Hi guys, I hope this finds you well ! Just looking for some advice from the PC crew. I have been teetering on the brink of installing a few mods (mainly chat and invoice management / item safety) and was wondering if it’s pretty safe to do so?
If so would you recommend manual installation or via Vortex (I would be using my Nexus account).
I’m hesitant as I have more than a thousand hours logged and would devastated to lose my account so just looking for some reassurance it’s all good to start dropping these in and best way of doing so.
Thanks so much fellow Wastelanders !

My Aventurine is capped in defense as well as his shield trace, yet my team is constantly on the brink of death. I don't get it. He barely ever uses his skill, even with plenty of energy, and if he does, my team is already low life. Don't get me started on the 200% shield maximum. He NEVER stacks the shield for me.
I can't be alone in this experience, right? He is amazing on manual play, but the vast majority of time I (and most people, to be fair) am on auto. So, he kinda sucks. And it's disappointing.
Please fix this man's auto programming. PLEASE.

Hey guys I formed this together for myself. Just wondering if anyone sees any issues or such please let me know
Halo 4 Terminal 1 - War 107,000BCE
Halo 4 Terminal 2 - Lord of Admirals 107,000BCE
Halo 4 Terminal 3 - Charum Hakkor 106,000BCE
Halo 4 Terminal 4 - Flood 106,000BCE
Soma The Painter (SS) 97,700BCE
Halo: Cryptum (Book) 97,446BCE
Halo: Primordium (Book) 97,446BCE
Defender of the Storm (SS)
Halo: The Flood Adjunct 6 (Book)
Halo: Silentium (Book) 97,446BCE
Halo 4 Terminal 5 - Knights 97,446BCE
Halo 4 Terminal 6 - Justice 97,446BCE
Halo 4 Terminal 7 - Cryptum 97,446BCE
The Cradle of Life (H3 Marketing) 97,446BCE
Halo CEA Terminal 2 - Halo 97,446BCE
Rebirth (Audiobook) 97,446BCE
Promises to Keep (SS) 97,446BCE
Untitled Fractures Story (SS) 97,446BCE
Halo CEA Terminal 4 - The Silent Cartographer 40,000BCE
Halo CEA Terminal 5 - Assault on the Control Room 40,000BCE
Halo CEA Terminal 6 - 343 Guilty Spark 40,000BCE
Halo CEA Terminal 7 - The Library 40,000BCE
Halo CEA Terminal 8 - Two Betrayals 40,000BCE
The Duel (Short Film) 2142
Halo Reach Data Pad 1 2310
Halo Reach Data Pad 2 2362
Halo Reach Data Pad 3 2381
Halo Reach Data Pad 4 2415
Halo Reach Data Pad 5 2491
Halo Reach Data Pad 6 2491
Halo Reach Data Pad 7 2508
Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp (Comic 1)2513-2517
Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp (Comic 2)2517-2525
Halo: The Fall of Reach Animated Series (Show)Act1 2517-2519, Act2-3 2525
Pariah (SS)2517-2528
Halo: Contact Harvest (Book) 2524-2525
Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp (Comic 3-4)2525
Halo Reach Data Pad 8 2525
Halo Reach Data Pad 9 2525
Halo: Collateral Damage (Comic) December 2525
Halo Reach Data Pad 10 2525
Halo Reach Data Pad 11 2525
Halo Reach Data Pad 12 2525
Halo: Silent Storm (Novel) March - April 2526
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (Movie)March - April 2526
Halo: Oblivion (Book) June 2526
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 1 (Book)
Halo Reach Data Pad 13 2528
Halo Reach Data Pad 14 2530
I Kissed a Boy Once (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2530
Spirit of Bloody Fire, Cutter Bloody Hell (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2530
I Have a Bridge to Look after here (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2531
Privilege (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2531
The Day Before (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2531
Sit Down and Strap in (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2531
Homecoming (Short Film)2531
Attacks (Halo Wars Strategy Guide)2531
Halo Wars Genesis (Comic)2525-2531
Halo Wars (VG) 2531
Halo Reach Data Pad 15 2531
Prototype (Short Film) 2532
Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian (SS) 2532
Birth of a Spartan (AD) 2533
Halo Reach Data Pad 16 2535
Halo: The Cole Protocol (Book) 2535
Halo: Rise of Atriox Issue 1 (Comic)
Something Has Happened (Comic) 2537
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 4 (Book)
Halo: First Strike Adjunct 1 (Book)
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 2 (Book)
Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp (Comic)
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 3 (Book)
The Babysitter (Short Film) 2542
The Package (Short Film) 2544
Halo Reach Data Pad 17 2547
Halo: Battleborn (Book) 2548
Halo: Meridian Divide (Book) 2549
Cortana and Solipsil (Conversation) 2550
Halo: Winter Contention (SS) 2551
Headhunters (SS) 2551
Halo: Rise of Atriox Issue 2-3 (Comic)
Halo 2A Terminal 14 - Beholden 2551-2552
Halo Reach Data Pad 18 2552
Halo Reach Data Pad 19 2552
Halo: Helljumpers (Comic) January 2552
Deliver Hope (Trailer) April 2552
Blunt Instruments (SS) July 2552
Halo: Blood Line (Comic) July 2552
Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant (Comic1 2525, 2 2525-2552, 3-4 2552)
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 7 (Book)
Halo Reach (VG) 2552
Halo The Fall of Reach (Book)Sect1 2517, Sect2 2517-2525, Sect 3-6 2552
Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion (Comic)
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 5 (Book)
Halo: The Fall of Reach Adjunct 6 (Book)
Unggoy Conversation August 2552
Transmissions August 2552
Halo First Strike (Book) August-September 2552
Dirt (SS)September 2552
Stomping on the Heels of a Fuss (SS)
Black Box from Sacred Promise (convo)September 2552
343 Guilty Spark LogSeptember 2552
The Flood BookSeptember 2552
Halo CE (VG) September 2552
Halo Fireteam Raven (VG) September 2552
HALO CEA Terminal 1 - The Pillar of Autumn September 2552
HALO CEA Terminal 3 - The Truth of ReconciliationSeptember 2552
Breaking Quarantine (Comic) September 2552
The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor (Comic) September 2552
Halo: The Flood Adjuncts 2, 4 and 5
HALO CEA Terminal 9 - Keyes
HALO CEA Terminal 10 - The Maw
HALO CEA Terminal 11 - Threshold
Halo 2A Terminal 4 - Monitor report: Heresy indeed
Halo 2A Terminal 5 -Monitor report: Containment
Halo 2A Terminal 7 - Monitor report: Unequal Union
Halo 2A Terminal 9 - Monitor report: Divine Inspiration
Halo 2A Terminal 11- Monitor report: Age of Doubt
Halo 2A Terminal 13 - Monitor report: False Journey
Halo 2A Terminal 1 - ONI file: : Target Profile
Halo 2A Terminal 2 - ONI file: : Honor Bound
Halo 2A Terminal 3 - ONI file: : Particular Justice
Letter from Supposition (convo Book)
Sangheili Conversation (Convo book)September 2552
Letter from Truth(Convo Book) October 2552
Armor Testing (SC)October 2552
Letter to the master Chief (convo book)October 2552
Halo 2A terminal 15 - unyielding October 2552
I Love Bees (Audio Drama)
Halo 2 (VG) Oct-Nov 2552
Another Day at the Beach (Short Film)October 2552
Palace Hotel (SS)October 2552
Second Sunrise over New Mombasa (SC)October 2552
Sadie’s Story (Meta game) October 2552
Halo 3: ODST (VG) 2552
The Mona Lisa (SS)October 2552
Halo: The Flood Adjunct 1
Halo 2A Terminal 6 - Covenant Record: Will of the prophets
Halo 2A Terminal 8 - Covenant Record: Taming the hunters
Halo 2A Terminal 10 - Covenant Record: Unggoy rebellion
Halo 2A Terminal 12 - Covenant Record: The Great Schism
Wages of Sin (SS)November 2552
Halo: First Strike Adjunct 3
Halo: Ghost of Onyx (Book) Sec1 2531, Sec 2 2531-2551, Sec 3 2552
Halo: Uprising (Comic)November 2552
Human Weakness (SS)November 2552
Halo: Landfall (Web Series)November 2552
Halo 3 (VG) 2552-2553
The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole (SS)December 2552
Halo: Glasslands (Book) 2553
Halo: Initiation (Comic)2553
From the Office of DR. William Arthur Iqbal (SS)2553
Halo: Shadow of Intent (Novella)2553
Breaking Strain (SS)2553
Halo: The Thursday War (Book) 2553
Halo: Mortal Dictata (Book) 2553
Halo: last Light (Book)2553
A Necessarily Truth (SS) 2553
Halo: Retribution (Book)2553
Duality (SS)
Hunting Party (SC)
Halo: Rise of Atriox Issue ⅘ (Comic)
Tug O War (SS)
Petra (SS)2553
Lesson Learned (SS)March 2554
Halo: Hunters in the Dark (Book)2555
Halo: New Blood (Book) Ends in 2555
Halo Nightfall (Show)2556
Origins (Short Film)2556
Anarosa (SS) March 2556
Into the Fire (SS)January 2557
Halo: Smoke and Shadow (Novella)January 2557
Halo: Broken Circle (Book)Prologue 860BCE, Part 1 851-850BCE, Part 2 2552
Halo: Lone Wolf (Comic)
The Glass Horizon (Comic)
Halo: Saturn Devouring his Son (SS) 2556
Halo 4 (VG) July 2557
Halo Spartan Assualt (VG) 2557
Halo: Spartan Strike (VG)2557
The Next 72 Hours (Escalation 8-10 Comic)
Halo: Epitaph (Book)
Dominion Splinter (Comic)
Halo: Renegades (Book) 2557
Halo: Saints Testimony (SS)January 2558
Knight Takes Bishop (Comic)January 2558
On the Brink (Comic) January 2558
Spartan Ops (VG) Feb-March 2558
Halo: Vertical Umbridge (SS) Febuary 2558
Halo: Escalation 1-7 (Comic)
Fireteam Majestic Poker Night (SS)
The Fall of New Phoenix (Comic)
Hunt the Truth Season 1 (Audio Drama)2558
Exposure (escalation 11-12 Comic)
The Janus Key (escalation 13-16 Comic)2558
The Absolute Record (escalation 19-24 Comic)2558
Oasis (SS)July 2558
Halo: Envoy (Book) September 2558
Halo: Legacy of Onyx (Book)September-Oct 2558
Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual (Book)
Hunt the Truth Season 2 (Audio Drama)Oct 2558
Halo 5: Guardians (VG) October 2558
What Remains (SS)Oct 2558
Halo: Bad Blood (Book) 2558
Halo: Sunrise of Sanghelios (SS)
Undefeated (Comic)2558
Rossbach’s World (SS)2558
Halo: Point of Light (Book)
Halo Mythos (Reference Book)
Halo Wars 2 (VG) 2559
Halo Wars 2 - Operation Spearbreaker (VG) 1 Month Later
Halo: Fireside (SS)
Halo Wars 2 - Awakening the Nightmare (VG) 5 Months After Spearbreaker
The Return (SS)
Sacrifice (SS)
Halo Infinite: Memory Agent (Audio Drama)
Halo: Shadows of Reach (Book) October 2559
Halo: Divine Wind (Book) October 2559
Halo: Outcasts (Book) November 2559
Halo Infinite Season 2: Lone Wolves (VG)
Halo Infinite Season 3: Echoes Within (VG)
Halo: Battle for the Blood-Moon (SS)
Halo: Hippocratica (SS)
Halo: The Rubicon Protocol (Book)December 2559
Halo: Trial of Reckoning (SS)
Halo Infinite (VG) 2560
Precipice (SS)
Halo Encyclopedia 2022 (Book)
Believe (AD) 2610

My wife is at her wits end, she had been a type1 since she was 13, I have known her for the last 10 years and she had been excellent at keeping on top of her levels. She has used a pump for the last 15 years, she has the current model medtronic. And she also has a dexcom CGM (I follow her). For the last 3 months her blood sugar has been out of control. It seems to range wildly. She has been to the hospital with a DKA at least 4 times, and 3 other times when it was at 22. I have pulled her back from the brink when she was hypoglycemic (1.4 was her lowest) at least twice, the most recent was 6 days ago.
I did question her following and staying on top of it. At one point they thought the pump malfunctioned,.they replaced it twice. She went manual for a couple of weeks and it was worse.

• changed infusion sets tons of times, including last night.
  
• has tested manually incase the dexcom was off (it wasnt)
  
• her baseline insulin was recently increased from 1.2 units to 1.4units
  

This week for what seemed the first time, she was in range for 2 days straight. Then Tuesday night it raised to 16, hit 22 at one point, it did come down to 16 - 17mmol . In the last two days she has given herself extra boluses and injections but it remains steadily high.
She has some other comorbid health conditions like high blood pressure, some neuropathy. She takes a number of meds but they have not changed since all this started.
She does have long covid but I have not heard of a connection with diabetes
The Dr's are at a loss, they have nothing to say and probably suspect she is just not taking tight enough control.
Any help, any insight, questions etc would be very very appreciated.
*** wow, just wanted to say I really appreciate the advice given, very thoughtful and extensive. I have asked for advice on other medical related subs and you guys are the best***

Got an infinite loading screen so I decided to use it to write down the tips. Tried to categorize them for easier reading:

• Lore
  • Managed Democracy is a cornerstone of advanced civilization.
  • Don't worry -- stims have zero addictive properties!* *Study paind for by Permacure. Permacura: put your life in our hands.
  • If an enemy ever attempts to engage in diplomacy, SHOOT THEM. We mustn't believe their lies.
  • The Ministry of Science is responsible for continuous scientific progress, augmenting our moral superiority over our enemies with technological superiority.
  • Remeber to fill in your C-01 permit before any act that could result in a child.
  • Super Earth has many holidays, but the most important is October 26th -- Liberty Day!
  • The Ministry of Prosperity managens Super Earth's economy and ensure a steady flow of resources to the most deserving.
  • The Ministry of Humanity maintains healthy, productive voters by managing education, healthcare, social grading and gene management.
  • Super Earth recommends spending at least 2.4 seconds per mission enjoying the scenery. A happy Helldiver is a deadly Helldiver.
  • Every citizen is equally important to the war effort, but Helldivers are the most important.
  • The Ministry of Defence is responsible for the defense of Liberty against all enemies, human and non-human, realized and potential.
  • The Ministry of Unity ensures that all of mankind is united as one by protecting us from internal threats, such as deviant behavior and expression of dangerous ideas.
  • Helldivers travelling the galaxy might come across ancient ruins and other curiosities. Just remember: Only a traitor is curious about alien artifacts!
  • Don't worry, if you fail an objective, you will NOT be sent to a freedom camp. This is merely a dissident rumor.
  • The Ministry of Truth is responsible for keeping all citizens well-informed and mentally equipped to withstand our enemies' vile propaganda.
  • If you notice a squadmate sympathizing with an enemy, report them to your Democracy Officer. Thoughtcrimes kill!
• Gameplay
  • Choose your loadout carefully to ensure your squad has all the resources it needs. Democracy depends on it!
  • When the mission timer runs out, the Super Destroyer will leave low orbit and you'll lose access to stratagems and reinforcements.
  • If the enemies just keep coming, find out where they're coming from and unleash hell. Big hive? Destroy! Bot factory? Destroy!
  • Don't go it alone -- join a squad on order to unleash maximum libreration!
  • On a mission alone and dying to have someone liberating by your side? Use an SOS beacon to call in a fellow Helldiver.
  • Rare Samples only available on more challenging missions.
  • If a squadmate dies during a mission, make sure you pick up their dropped samples. There will be time for mourning later!
  • Each faction presents unique challenges. Mix up your gear and try new tactics!
  • If at first you don't succeed, dive, dive again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
  • While the Helldiver training program is undeniably infallible, you can always repeat your training from the game menu.
  • The Super Destroyer can only stay in low orbit for a limited time -- watch that mission clock!
  • You have a limited amounts of reinforcements available in a mission. If you run out they will be replenished slowly on a timer.
  • Mission difficulty is determioned in part by the types of enemy units in the area. Make sure you bring the appropriate weaponry!
  • Armor isn't just for looks -- heavier armor makes you more resilient to attacks but slows you down and affects your stamina.
  • The Galactic War is a united effort. Only by working together can we ensure planets don't fall to the enemy.
  • Missions and filled with unexplored points of interest. Check them out -- you never know what you might find.
  • Unhappy with who you are? Change your appearance and voice in the customization chamber. It's that easy!
  • Make sure to pick up your fallen squadmates' sample containers. They're critical for our collective scientific progress!
  • More challenging missions yield greater rewards!
  • Want to show off how firmly you support capitalism? Spend medals on a Warbond!
  • See a planet that's on the brink of falling under enemy control? Rally your fellow Helldivers and mount a defense. Every mission counts!
  • Collect medals to progress your Warbond. No rush though -- Warbonds can be completed at any time.
  • Watch out for alien storms. Super Earth scientists have officially classified many of them as dangerous. And freaky.
  • Place markers on the map to help your squad navigate.
• Stratagems
  • All stratagems have their strengths and weakbnesses. Choose your Stratatagem loadaout to best fit the mission and your squad coimposition.
  • Eagles are fast-response strike craft, with much shorter call-in times than Orbital fire support.
  • For budgetary reasons, Hellbombs require manual arming. But don't stick around unless you're looking for a spot on the wall of martyrs.
  • Remeber that armored enemies require heavy weapons. Bring appropriate equipment for your selected difficulty.
  • The closer you are to the edge of tghe map, the steeper the angle of incoming orbital bombardments. Physics!
  • Use the Eagle Rearm stratagem during calmer periods to ensure you have those Eagle Strikes available when you needs them.
• Combat
  • Kill bugs before they get close. Remember, nothing protects your personal space better than bullets.
  • Tired of missing your target? Use First Person View (FPV) to make long-distance shots.
  • Difficult terrain inhibits your movement. Best practices recommend avoiding Snow, Mud, Water, Shrubberies, and Lava. For a complete list, see Manual Section D.198-2.
  • Friendly Fire isn't.
  • Your stance ahas a significant impact on accuracy. The S.E.A.F. manual lists the following stances in order of least to most accurate: Moving < Standing < Crouching < Prone.
  • As a last resort, you can use melee attacks to fend off enemies. Remember: death is better than cowardice!
  • Most weapons have different fire modes or functions -- hold Reload to access them.
  • It pays to be a straight shooter -- angled fire might glance off your target or even ricochet into your squadmates.
  • Arm injuries reduce your ability to handle recoil and will cause your aim to sway more.
  • Reloading discards the remaining rounds in your magazine.
  • When your stamina is depleted, your sprint speed is slower and you accuracy is worse.
  • Use Stims to heal your injuries and replenish your stamina -- or that of your fellow Helldivers, in a pinch!
  • Most enemies have both weak spots and armored spots. The S.E.A.F. traning manual recommends aiming for the weak spots.
  • Being prone makes you less susceptible to explosions. When in imminent danger, dive!
  • You can pick up active grenades and toss them away before they explode. Give it a try, it's fun!
  • Weapons like pistols and submachine guns can be used with one hand -- perfect for when you need to carry object in the other hand.
  • Hold a grenade before throwing to "cook" it. Time yor throw for an air-burst detonation! (Note: waiting too long may lead to unintended death.)
  • Diving to the group can be a life-saver, but it also makes you an easy target for melee units.
  • When you're up against the bots, remember the 3 Cs: Cover, Courage and more Cover.
  • Nine out of ten doctors agree that a wound to the chest will make you bleed out if unattended.
  • Hellpods have basic steering capabilities. Try to drop in on your enemies!
• General
  • Don't panic.
  • Don't drink and drive.
  • When in doubt, don't think -- simply shout "For Democracy!" and charge head-first into your problems.
  • Remember: Freedom!
  • Don't die!
  • Pay attention to these tips. They've been carefully calibrated to ensure your success.
  • Did you know tips are shown during these transition sequences?

LMK if I missed something.

-NINTENDO-
Gameboy Dr mario play action football
gameboy color Pokemon pinball
Gameboy advance black gba sp Kirby and the amazing mirror pacman collection super Mario advance 4 kingdom hearts: chain of memories
Nintendo DS art academy (cib) brain age (sealed) elite beat agents (item only) Kirby superstar ultra(cib) wario ware touched (cib)
Nintendo 3ds animal crossing happy home designer (cib) batman: Arkham origins blackgate (cib) Kirby's extra epic yarn (cib) yokai watch (cib)
N64 grey N64 with 2 controllers banjo kazooie blast corps Diddy Kong racing Gameboy transfer pak gex 3 Mario kart 64 Pokemon snap Tony hawk 1 Zelda ocarina of time
GameCube I have 2 black GameCubes, one with cords one without need for speed underground 2 (cib) Pikmin 2 (cib) Rayman 3 (generic box) soul Calibur 2 (generic box)
wii black Wii family addition crash mind over mutant (cib) links crossbow training (game only, no bow) Mario kart Wii (cib) namco museum megamix (cibs) nights journey of dreams (cib) sonic colors (cib) Mario Galaxy (cib
Wii u black 32 gb Wii u
-PLAYSTATION-
PS1 cool boarders 2 (cib) grand Turismo (cib) Lego island 2 (cib) namco museum volume 3 (cib)
PS2 black PS2 slim crash bandicoot the wrath of vortex [greatest hits] (cib) gran Turismo 4 [greatest hits] (cib) jak 3 (cib) kingdom hearts (cib) megaman x collection (cib) ratchet and clank up your arsenal [greatest hits] (cib) ratchet deadlocked (cib) sonic heros [greatest hits] (cib) sonic mega collection plus (cib) virtual-on marz (box and manual ONLY) Wallace and gromit curse of the were rabbit (cib)
ps3 black phat ps3 40 gb infamous collection (cib) ratchet and clank a crack in time (cib) ratchet and clank all 4 one (cib)
psp black psp 1000 coded arms (cib) daxter (generic box) locoroco(cib) Lord of the rings tactics (cib) medievil resurrection (generic box) megaman powered up (cib) tokobot (cib)
-MICROSOFT-
original xbox dark summit (cib) dead or alive 2 ultimate (cib) elderscrolls 3 Morrowind (cib) mechassult (cib) oddworld Munch's oddysee (cib) sega gt & jet set radio future (cib) soul Calibur 2 (cib) splinter cell (cib)
Xbox 360 black Xbox 360 E 4gb banjo and kazooie nuts and bolts & viva pinata (cib) brink (cib) end war (cib) persona 4 arena (cib) portal 2 (cib) skate 3 (cib) sonic riders (cib) terraria (cib) the orange box (cib) viva pinata (cib) zumas revenge (cib)
feel free to make an offeask about anything, the worst I can do is say no

Story: It's hard adapting to a new world, especially to an ancient one. So when Lei found himself in a Xianxia world, he thought the best thing to do was to go against all these strange things with the only thing he knew -- Cooking. Though he had to admit, the hovering screen before his eyes that told him to 'Feed People' certainly helped in that decision.
Come along, and watch as Lei starts with a makeshift stall, then dives into a sect full of cultivators, and conquers the heart of these cold-blooded people who can command the winds and the skies with his tasty, a touch too strange for this world, dishes.
This is not a slice-of-life story.
Our MC will cultivate, although a touch more different than others.
The LitRPG elements will be light. There won't be any stats.
[First Chapter] - [Previous] - [Next]
Chapter 11 - The Library
Lei stumbled back on his heels, mind still reeling as he tried to come up with a sensible explanation about what just happened. Fatty Lou was on his side, waving stupidly a hand to Elder Brother Chen as the man strolled away from the stands.
All around him, the wind whistled, uncaring, and the sky carried the color of a burning sun, clouds painted in crimson as the day slowly gave way to the night. Trees rustled, disciples crowding round the Mission Stele left, group by group, to go about with their missions, or whatever these cold bastards did when the day left them. Only his cooks remained, and they remained a sorry-looking bunch.
Found myself in a cliche, yet I don't feel like laughing.
Lei breathed in deep, checking himself as if the wind left him an unwanted surprise or not. When he found himself in good condition, he went on to check Fatty Lou. Other than some bruises around his neck he was fine, though his eyes seemed like they were looking, but not hoping to see anything.
"That was Elder Brother Chen." Wang Fei slapped a hand across the table, a great deal of sinew bulging out from his neck. "Elder Brother Bai had once crippled one of his Elder Brothers some years ago."
"What?" Lei raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean one of his Elder Brothers? How many brothers or cousins does this bastard have?"
Wang Fei gave him a side-eyed glance. "Thousands, I've heard, but not all of them are in the Nine Nails Sect. Scattered about the other sects, too. All molded in the same way, these people, spiteful, venomous snakes waiting for an opportunity to stab you in the back."
"So that's what this was all about, then? Elder Brother Bai's old enmities biting us in the ass?" There was a sour taste in his mouth as Lei stared about himself to see if Elder Brother Bai's watching. "You could've at least told us before all that effort."
"Can't say I didn't try," Wang Fei said, shaking his head. "You're too caught up in your old ways, unaware of the facts of this place. They would've killed each other, even those cousins, had they been given the opportunity. One less man means less competition in the Inner Sect exams."
"We're not even cultivators," Lei said, finding this whole deal way too unreal, but then everything was unreal about his life after he'd opened his eyes to a new world.
"This isn't about being a cultivator or not. Look at us," Wang Fei said, waving a hand to other cooks. "Half of us worked our way through all those tests to get into the Outer Sect, poured our sweat and tears to earn the right to call ourselves disciples of the Nine Nails Sect. But it isn't easy climbing the ranks when there are hundreds of people waiting to rob you of your hard work, taking the pills and spirit stones every month out of your hands."
"Seems to me you're not doing yourselves a favor trying to cook for these people," Fatty Lou said, seemingly having come out of his stupor. His eyes were cold. "And Elder Brother Bai is certainly not helping you."
"You don't know what you are talking about!" Wang Fei hissed at his face, jaw set tight. "You don't know what we've been through, so keep your mouth shut! He made every effort to save us from these vultures, took us to his side where we can at least be at ease, rather than live like rats scrambling out on the streets."
Bullied. Beaten. That makes sense.
Lei nodded against the reddened face of Wang Fei. It seemed to him that Elder Brother Bai had established a sort of safe place for these cooks, and took in the outcasts to his side, caring for them in his own way, but Lei couldn't tell if it was working or not.
Could've worked if the guy didn't act like he is such a bipolar case. Can't reason with him when you don't know what to expect.
He'd thought being a chef in this world would be easy enough, considering he'd been one back on Earth. That was the plan after he opened his eyes, and saw that damn screen hovering before his eyes. Just being a cook, how hard could it be? But then, he found himself in the middle of all this drama.
It was a slap across his face, now that he thought about it. And the tales… Now they weren't lying, were they? These cultivators were surely not that different from the way those lowly mortals thought them to be. Bloodthirsty, unreasonable, and complete nut jobs.
I should've seen it coming.
Soft footsteps sounded to his left.
A short, brown-haired girl strolled toward them, her face strained with a forced smile. Shallow dimples on both her cheeks spoke about her youth, blue robe smooth and flowing with colorful embroidery. There was something soothing about her, too, as if she carried the spring winds about her at each step.
But then, two eyes glared out from behind her, bloodshot eyes carrying a look that said 'I'd told you this would happen.' Elder Brother Bai came trudging with his fists clenched, peering out through the Mission Stele, sharp eyes locked at the back of Elder Brother Chen as the man walked out into the woods.
"You are Lei, right?" the woman said, looking him up and down as doubt creased her face. "I'm here to bring you to the Outer Sect Library, as a gift from Grand Elder Hao for your… What did he say? Ah, yes! Heartwarming soup. Such a tasteful little dish that made him…"
"Made him what?" Lei said as they exchanged a strange look with Fatty Lou.
"Can't tell you, sorry." Mei scratched the back of her head before motioning with her hand to join him. "Shall we?"
"Cooks with passion, don't forget that." Elder Brother Bai glared from behind, eyes drilling painfully into Lei's skin. "Get your manual, and then we'll cook a feast for the Elders. Grand Assembly is no laughing matter, isn't that right, Little Mei?"
Mei jumped a step as she snapped her head back toward Elder Brother Bai, green eyes widening at the sight of him. She nodded, and cleared her throat, inching away and pointing with her eyes to Lei as though she was in a rush to get out of there.
"A manual?" a thick, trembling voice said. "A cultivation manual, is it?" It continued, with feverish excitement. "A manual that lets you breathe the spiritual energy in the air inside your meridians, allowing you to become much more than a mere mortal. An immortal, perhaps? Or some sort of magical being, demonic beasts feeding on the flesh of people, I've heard. The so-called stepping through the threshold of another world, was it?"
Lei glanced hesitantly at Fatty Lou who stared at Mei, eyes bulging as if they were about to pop off from their sockets. Then those eyes swiveled to Elder Brother Bai, making him flinch in uncertainty as Fatty Lou took a step toward him. "I'll be joining these two if you won't mind."
"The reward is for the cook. You've done nothi—"
"Look, Elder Brother Bai," Fatty Lou said, raising a hand at him. "I get it. I understand completely. I'm willing, too, if that's what you are thinking. I'm willing to work my fat off in those Kitchens…"
"Good!" Elder Brother Bai said grimly. "Then you better—"
"As long as you let me cultivate," Fatty Lou finished as the knuckles of his hands turned white from clenching them a touch too hard.
Do or die. It's beyond stopping, now. He's either going to get what he wants, or he will die trying. Good for you, Fatty.
Lei gave him an encouraging nod while Elder Brother Bai stood in his place, eyebrows pinched together in a deep scowl. He took a step, and the air grew heavier for a second, making the ground seem way too close to Lei's eyes than it should.
"You're going to cultivate, is that so? You think you're capable enough, eh? You think—"
"You'd seen it, hadn't you? That damn woman stole the breath out of us, making us kneel before her like she was some sort of princess! Don't you think that's courting death, eh, Elder Brother Bai? Don't you think it's only fair for us to gain the strength to rise against these bastards?" His eyes glinted as though he thought something clever, fingers shaking with passion. "They don't give a damn about our food! We're all working in the Kitchens, aren't we? At least let us try to protect our own people."
"It's not as easy as you think," Elder Brother Bai said, raising a thoughtful hand to his chin. "To cultivate one must first need resources; pills, elixirs, and spirit stones. And you can only get those if you can become an Outer Sect disciple."
"Let me try." Fatty Lou raised his chin, staring him down. "There's nothing to lose here. Nothing to lose—"
"I can't just give you a cultivation manual, Fatty!" Elder Brother Bai waved his hand at him, shaking his head. "I don't have the authority. Only Elders can do such a thing, and even then they have to present their signatures to make it official."
"I have a signature," Mei said, making all heads turn to her side. That sent her eyebrows dancing as she blinked at the sudden attention. "I mean… Nobody has to know, right? We can just say the Grand Elder decided to reward the two newly brought kitchen workers for their efforts instead of just Lei."
Fatty Lou sprung forward, towering over the woman with his big bulk. If eyes could flash, then Fatty Lou's eyes would've showered her with gratitude right on that instant. "Would you do that for me?"
Mei flinched back, that forced smile straining at the edge of her lips. But still, she made an effort to crane her head and look toward Elder Brother Bai, waiting for his word.
Elder Brother Bai frowned in thought as all eyes stared at him. Seconds passed, but he held the pose, face creasing as if he was having a hard time to decide.
Then with a long sigh, he nodded. "Very well. I think we can see this as another lesson for both of you. Youngsters these days… I'm not a heartless man, but it's your fault for thinking you have all the answers, that everything will be easy for you."
Fatty Lou almost jumped at the words, holding Mei tight round her arm, making her wobble a couple of steps. Then he clapped Lei on the back, like a kid who found his toy after a long and painful search. His joy was contagious, to the point that all the cooks, even Wang Fei, staring at the back couldn't help but smile.
"L-Let's go," Mei said as she managed to save her arm from Fatty Lou's strong grip. "The Grandy Assembly will gather tomorrow, I don't have all day."
…….
"Such a waste."
Was the first thing Lei heard when they stepped in through the wooden doors of the Outer Sect Library. A single sentence, followed by an exaggerated sigh seemingly came from all around the place.
"It's nothing, don't worry," Elder Brother Bai said, sneaking a glance from the seated, ancient man who seemed more like a shriveled corpse flung over on a broken chair.
And the Library didn't seem much different than him. It was fighting a losing war against the dust, bookcases all rotten and teetered on the brink of collapse. Some stood leaning into each other, one push away from crashing over onto the ground, booklets dangling dangerously close to the edges of the shelves.
A couple of disciples were busy whispering amongst themselves as they stood before a bookcase, this one looking a touch more better than others, waving fingers as If they couldn't decide what to pick between them.
The choices were plenty, and that was a good thing. Plenty of choices, all regulated and managed by an ancient man dozing off to one side, his thin arm hanging listless on a broken chair. He had his face twisted up with hundreds of wrinkles, half-closed eyelids squirming and mouth twitching as though he was too deep in some hellish nightmare.
"Should we—"
"Trust me, he's not asleep," Elder Brother Bai said, shaking his head at Fatty Lou who was about to tap the old man by the shoulders. He stepped back uncertainly but went with a nod when Elder Brother Bai urged him from behind.
They made their way toward the lines of bookcases, silent and carefully picking their steps so as not to slip across the dust-choked tiles.
There were other floors to this Library, stretching further up until everything became dark and dreary. Sunlight filtered through the stained windows, unattended, and smeared with streaks of blood like a car that flattened a flight of birds with its front windscreen. Feathers hung limply over them, casting wavering shadows on the murals painted to the walls, pale colors making it hard to understand what sorts of scenes they were depicting.
Once they were deep enough, away from that skinny old man, Mei led them through the lanes, pointing her finger as she explained the basics of cultivation.
"Actually, the cultivation manual itself doesn't really matter," she said with a sing-song voice, much too comfortable here that she'd been with them outside. It seemed she had a different connection with this dust-filled, old place. "If you're a Qi Refiner, that is. You can always change the manual, but it's best to use the same one between the stages. Choosing a different manual during, let's say, the Seal Breaking Stage can be difficult, as you would have to adapt the new pathways and the nodes of the technique."
"Pathways and nodes," Fatty Lou said, his face a picture of focus. Lei was sure if the man had had a notebook in hand, he would've taken all these notes down in the manner of an honor student. "Do continue, Elder Sister."
Mei's smile wavered as she went on. "There are nine seals in the Seal Breaking Stage, spiritual seals placed within our bodies by the Heavens, locking our potential. To break these seals one has to use spiritual energy, guided by one's chosen cultivation manual, for an unguided, rampant wave of spiritual energy can break any cultivator's body in a matter of seconds."
"Seconds." Fatty Lou nodded.
"Break the body, you've said?" Lei wished he could get some of that enthusiasm spilled out in waves from Fatty Lou.
"After that comes the Foundation Realm, the Realm all cultivators hope to achieve, but unfortunately, most die while facing the Foundation Tribulation."
"Die facing the tribulation," Fatty Lou mumbled.
"What do you mean they die?" Lei raised an eyebrow at her.
Mei's eyes lost their glint as she continued. "The Foundation Tribulation is a terrible thing, believe me. It's more deadly than a blizzard and cruel like a Master's whip. Nine bolts of lightning, all carrying the wrath of Heavens, will unleash themselves upon the cultivator, one for each Seal broken. That's why many see the act of cultivation itself as defying the Heavens, to wage war against the Allseer."
"We don't have to push through all these stages, right?" Lei said. To him breaking a couple of seals seemed enough. He didn't see a point in him being a Cooking God or some Immortal Chef. A touch of spiritual energy, with three or four, maybe five, seals would be more than enough.
Right?
"That's… an option," Mei said but didn't look that sure. She waved a hand to a bookcase as they turned a corner, stopping before the booklets. "Anyway, I suggest you choose the Soaring Hawk Cultivation Manual. It's the signature manual of our Sect Master. Most people, myself included, actually think he's a Jade Hawk born from the natural energy of the world itself, making this manual a nature-born treasure."
"Treasure?" Elder Brother Bai snorted. "You've sounded just like those weaklings, thinking they can achieve the same things with our Sect Master. The man is what, five thousand years old? How can you possibly think you're going to be the same as some Jade Hawk who was born ready to soar high into the skies? We're just people, simple human beings!"
Mei giggled while Lei and Fatty Lou stared grimly at Elder Brother Bai.
"Then why did you choose Empyrean Sage's Stoneflesh, Elder Brother Bai? You know he was a Fiendgod, right?"
"Hmph." Elder Brother Bai narrowed his eyes and pulled Fatty Lou closer with a quick hand. A sound akin to stone's breaking echoed as his fingers changed colors, curling round Fatty Lou's arm as they turned into a thick brown, and so did Fatty Lou's face changed as he stifled a scream. "See this? This is the real strength of a Body Forging expert. We're not like those fickle sticks calling themselves Qi Refiners. You grab them by the arm, twist it round, and pull until it clicks."
It clicked, but Fatty Lou managed to whisk his arm free, face dotted with drops of sweat. And yet his eyes glinted with awe. "A Body Forger?"
"Rebirthing from a drop of blood." Elder Brother Bai nodded. "Bearing a thousand men with nothing but your chest. Seeing the despair in those faces as they understand, slowly, and painfully, that there is nothing they can do to hurt you. That's a Body Forger, all right."
"I think I'll be a Body Forger," Fatty Lou said, shuffling excitedly on his feet as his gaze wandered off to the bookcase. "A Body Forger."
"It is certainly true that in the same stage, a Qi Refiner can't hope to overcome the threat of a Body Forger. But that's why the Body Forging Path is way harder, and more painful." Mei splashed some cold water over Fatty Lou's head with her words.
"Painful as in?" Lei asked doubtfully.
"Their ways are… way too complicated than Qi Refiner's meditations. A Qi Refiner will simply breathe in the spiritual energy, attacking the threads binding the seals to your body one by one, cutting them clean with the precision of a sharp scalpel."
"Like a surgeon…" Lei mumbled.
"But a Body Forger demolishes the seals with brute force," Mei said, looking at Elder Brother Bai. "For example, Empyrean Sage's Stoneflesh will have a cultivator absorb different kinds of minerals through his body rather than the spiritual energy in the air."
"Doesn't sound that bad," Fatty Lou said.
Mei shook her head sadly. "Your flesh needs to be in contact with these minerals. Flesh, you've heard me, not your skin. So you have to stab them through the skin, plunge them deep into your flesh, or in some cases, when the said mineral is small enough, you'll simply eat them. Then you'll have to turn the spiritual energy into divine energy using your meridians, for the Body Forgers doesn't have an energy dantian like Qi Refiners. Their whole body is a weapon, honed by hours of painful training and extreme methods."
"Soaring Hawk Manual, it is," Lei said without hesitating. It went without saying that he didn't have the highest pain tolerance, considering even a needle would make him shiver.
"Good call!" Mei smiled and nodded as if she was expecting this. Then, she reached for the bookcase, to the green booklet shining bright amongst the other dusty manuals.
Just as Lei was about to take the manual from her hands, a shiver down his spine made him stop. His fingers started shaking, heart thumping in his chest. He stared around him, trying to understand, but heard his own blood, coursing through his veins. Mei said something to him, waving the manual to his face, but Lei couldn't register the words, nor could he see her face. It was a blurry world, everything twisted up in a senseless mess, with him trying to blink his eyes to clear his head.
That's when he heard a voice, punching into his ears.
[Great Mother, forgive this child…]
And another screen opened before him, words too distorted for him to make any sense.
…….
A little longer than I had intended, but it seems working the way it should. Can't cook a spiritual dish without a special flame, right?
[First Chapter] - [Previous] - [Next]

Part 14.1

H. T. Trismegistus Loses his Daughter

As H. T. Trismegistus surveyed the desolate scene, the remnants of Alice's once vibrant existence lay scattered before him, a cruel tableau of her tragic demise. With trembling hands, he gathered the grisly fragments of her being – brain matter, skin, eyeballs, and jaw – desperate to reconstruct the semblance of his cabal leader.
"T-this can't be happening... Alice, my dear Alice..." he whispered, his voice choked with emotion as tears mingled with blood.
In that moment, he felt the crushing weight of loss, a father mourning the untimely loss of his cherished daughter. Memories of Alice flooded his mind – her laughter, her joy – and he was consumed by a profound sense of emptiness.
Yes she was a tyrant but she was close to that butler's heart.
"But Alice, dear Alice... Why did fate cast you into the gates of hell? Why did God or the Devil crown the most violent as his champions…" his voice quivered, a fragile whisper within the desolation, as if the very air recoiled from the weight of his sorrow.
She had been his anchor in a world of chaos, his beacon of hope in the darkness.
And now, she was gone, leaving behind only fragmented memories and shattered dreams.
Amidst the devastation, one truth remained unshakable: Alice was Alice, irrepressibly unique and endlessly irreplaceable.
But that's the truth that crushed him even deeper into the pits of despair.
"I WILL NOT REST UNTIL I'VE KILLED CHRISTIAN ROSENCREUTZ!!!!!!!" His cry shattered the silence, reverberating across the empty consulate like thunder, "For you, Alice... I will make him suffer, I will take his life." he whispered, his voice a solemn oath in that shattered illusion.
For Alice Anotherbible, and for all those whose lives she had touched in The Bridge Builders Cabal he would stop at nothing to bring her killer through those same gates of hell he had plunged her into.
Hermes Thoth Trismegistus would return the life he had brought into this world.

CRC and The Symbolic VS The Literal

Author Note: This part is slightly different as it serves to provide an example of how the Rewrite would actually read if Kamachi made GT9 exactly how I'm saying because I'll be taking narration straight from the OG novel and just changing things slightly.
Christian Rosencreutz leisurely strolled through the world of screams, red, and explosive flames alongside Citrinitas.
He stopped when he saw the young officer.
And this was in a world where anywhere that drew his attention would explode.
“Do you want me to stop? But what here could be more entertaining than crushing everyone in my path? If you know of something, I would love to hear about it.”
It all came down to that.
In his world, the mobile game sticker on a drink bottle was just as valuable as a human life.
For a brief moment, the smile vanished from CRC’s face.
“But if you do not, then this is the end for you.”
He slowly held out his hand.
The same hand that had easily blown up a tank and brought down an attack helicopter.
“Ah…ahh.”
There was nothing the Anti-Skill officer could do.
He tried to speak while trembling and unable to move, but…the Citrinitas creation that was next to Rosencreutz turned him into sand.
“Not so fast,” someone else said.
A boy, a nun and a small fairy had arrived.
There may have been one thing that gave Kamijou an advantage. He stood before an exceedingly powerful foe, so focusing on that problem helped distract him from his sorrow.
Without that, the shock of losing Alice Anotherbible may have devasted him.
And the shock of arriving too late, causing the Anti-Skill officer to be turned to sand. He could always just break Citrinitas’ symbol right?
So should he be thankful?
Hell no.
“…”
The sunset dyed the city red.
Kamijou Touma vs. Christian Rosencreutz.
Othinus & Index vs. Citrinitas.
The collapsed Anti-Skill officers didn’t seem cognizant of the fact that a perfectly ordinary high school boy was confronting that silver monster one-on-one and that a fairy on a nun’s shoulder was confronting a sand creature. Their minds had already yielded to the idea that such a thing wasn’t possible.

Fast Forward

“The humans must die! Every last one of them!! If they can’t be trusted to keep their promises, the only solution is to go around slaughtering them all. Hwa ha ha! And then all the cats can be happy!!!”
“What the hell is wrong with- shit!?”
Kamijou started to shout back on reflex, but he quickly swung his head to the side.
He felt something wet on his temple: his own blood.
He could guess it was some kind of magic, but he couldn’t analyze it even after being hit by it. If he hadn’t moved at the last second, it would have taken off his head.
Still weeping, Rosencreutz shouted out loud.
He had not reduced his deadly strength.
“Death to all humans!!”
“~ ~ ~! Give a thought to how powerful you are, you dumbass!!!”
(At least it seems my initial impressions were accurate,) he mused quietly, his gaze lingering. (He does seem to have a kind soul deep down. Another reincarnation of Christian Rosencreutz must've been an animal right’s activist.)

Fast Forward

“TGTITOE – TCM (Thou gets trapped in thy own egg, Thou cannot move!!” The silver girl in the nun habit used Spell Intercept.
Citrinitas was entrapped by a shell that resembled the shape of an odd egg. Created from its own yellow sand.
Citrinitas had been stopped easily by Index.
Despite how strong Darris Hewlane was in Los Angeles Index Librorum Prohibitorum could solve this puzzle.
That meant Othinus and her could help Kamijou.
“Sorry, CRC, but I have too much pride as a god to quake in fear of your legend. I am the Norse war god, so my magic is not built with your rules at the foundation.”
They all scattered.
Whatever happened, the air in a straight line out from CRC rapidly heated and scorched. A pedestrian bridge far behind them was sliced apart and soared through the sky.
Apparently he wasn’t guaranteed a hit whenever he held out his palm.
Gathering his attention was far too dangerous.
That alone could mean death.
Even if the silver young man himself didn’t intend for it.
After all, not even Kamijou’s Imagine Breaker could fully negate CRC’s magic. Defense was out of the question. Evasion was the only option. If your legs froze up in fear of the approaching deadly attack, you would be instantly consumed.
There had to be a real reason Kamijou had been saved.
“TBSR – TCKU (Thy body shifts right – thou cannot keep up)!!”
“Oh?”
Index had folded her hands and raised her voice in what sounded like a song, but it wasn’t.
That was Spell Intercept.
By analyzing the structure of the enemy magician’s spell and randomly rearranging the incantation or symbols into something extremely similar but with an entirely different meaning, Index could throw off the enemy’s focus.
She had only diverted his aim by the smallest amount this time.
But when she really worked at it, she could cause the magic to malfunction or even harm the enemy magician.
But reality could not keep up.

Fast Forward

As Christian Rosencreutz delved into Index's past through his Miniature Garden, a devilish grin crept across his lips.
His eyes gleamed with sinister anticipation as he unearthed the intricate details of her life and her connection to modern magic.
“Kee hee hee. Oh, how delightful! Such fun!! Is this what modern magic is like? It is missing a lot, but I see you have made a number of changes to make up for that. You could even call it a brand new genre of original recipes. This type of creativity is far more interesting than Kingsford who continued to use the musty old secret arts!!”
Christian Rosencreutz was probably being entirely honest.
But Index still clenched her teeth.
He was saying she had insufficient data and that all her knowledge was a distorted version of the original. She had dedicated her life to memorizing more than 103,000 grimoires, so his words were a humiliating insult to her.
He might as well have tried the finest dish of a chef who had worked his ass of training in French cuisine and then scoffed, calling it an amusing Japanese twist on the dish.
That man had to be well versed in ways to make people suffer.
And he used them for no more than his own amusement.
“Index, cover for me!” Kamijou yelled as he ran to Rosencreutz.
Was the boy stupid?
CRC held out his right palm.
“TRAMU (Thou right arm moves up)!!” said the girl in a nun habit.
She wasn't finished, “TBWPE (Thou barrier’s weak point is exposed)!!”
Rosencreutz’ seemingly invisible and distanceless attack veered from Kamijou’s path.
He could punch him now.
“Gaaarghhh!” Kamijou was blown several meters across.
Rosencreutz had met him head on again and grabbed the spiky-haired boy’s head and smacked his forehead forward into Kamijou’s forehead.
Then he punched him with superhuman strength, “Ah, ah, ah, did you think your glass container and your library attempting to malfunction my magic would really be your win condition?” he asked, smirking.
Index’s instructions weren’t working enough?
Her Spell Intercept was enough to throw off Rosencreutz’s aim but did nothing about making his seven-walled tomb backfire on him to distract enough for Kamijou!?
“Hm? Weird. This doesn’t match my grimoires!?”
“Kee hee hee. Of course it doesn’t.”
CRC cackled gleefully.
He looked like he was resisting the urge to hold his sides.
“Does flipping through a recipe book make you a chef? You are a library, a collection of book knowledge, while this old man is steeped from head to toe in real knowledge and skill. We may be drawing on the same wisdom, but there is a vast gulf between what we can actually use. Hee hee ha ha ha. Did you think your lines of text on paper could outdo what this old man truly performs!?” You had my attention so I played along at first with your little symbol scramble. My magic is before your time!!”
Hadn’t he done this exact thing after Alice Anotherbible died and his mind went blank? Index had used the full knowledge of all her grimoires and told him not to use Imagine Breaker here. It didn’t matter what evacuated from the area by the martial law?
But Kamijou didn’t even consider that question.
The world quaked. A single attack caused the towering pile of rubble to crumble away.
Hearing the cacophony was enough to know it would soon no longer function as a barrier.
The original rule stood before him.
Evasion was the only option.
It didn’t matter what had worked in the past – he must not think of trying defense this time.
A pair of eyes shined bright beyond the collapsing pile.
He was smiling with amusement.
“Is that all you can do? You gather all your strength and it buys you a measly 10 seconds?”
“!!??”
Terror squeezed at Kamijou’s stomach.
Before they could try anything else, that abnormal joy pinned Kamijou and the girls’ feet to the ground.
Rosencreutz’s approach could not be stopped.
He was coming to them!?
“Heh heh. No, no. Surely you can do more than that. You bothered to stand in this old man’s path, so you had better entertain me a while longer!!!”
CRC's expression changed suddenly.
He grabbed what seemed like a card from his person.
As Christian Rosencreutz held aloft the transparent card, a single crystalline puzzle piece that shimmered with an ethereal glow, the air around him seemed to crackle with an otherworldly energy. His silver hair and beard glistened in the light, a stark contrast to the crimson robe that draped his form.
“???” Was the expression the boy made.
“……” The two girls were silent.
Legend spoke of this artifact, this miniature model of the world, as a tool of unfathomable clairvoyance. With it, Rosencreutz could delve into the annals of time and unravel the mysteries of the past, present, and future.
But as the young man's gaze fell upon the nun, a fleeting moment of curiosity crossed his features.
"I see. How intriguing.” The silver man only said that before he- extended his arm up and created a- what?
A mass of burning destruction that seemed invisible?
With a dull sound Index Librorum Prohibitorum was utterly destroyed.
Christian Rosencreutz had killed her.
With a swift and merciless stroke, CRC left behind a gaping void where once her vibrant essence had existed.
“HUUUUMAAAAAAAAAAN!!!”, The mass of destruction interacted with the wind and blew away former Magic God Othinus, sparing her from death and sending her flying.
Kamijou couldn't even react to the gust of wind hitting him as he saw someone that he cared for so much….just die.
He was her caretaker.
His eyes widened in horror at the sight of her lifeless form, a surge of emotions erupted within him like a tempest unleashed. "No... Index..." he whispered, his voice choked with disbelief.
In the place of “Index” was a writhing mass, a grotesque amalgamation of red and black hues barely clinging to the semblance of form. No longer did it resemble the girl he protected and saved so many times; instead, it bore the marks of an abomination, a perversion of nature’s design. From its rent flesh oozed a vile ichor, and the very sinews that held it together quivered in grotesque unison. What remained of its shattered frame lay sprawled upon the ground, a macabre puzzle of twisted limbs and torn sinews. Where once a face might have been discerned, now only a gnarled visage of agony remained, obscured by the carnage wrought upon it. If that boy could look at it straight on, such horror would break his very core, for within those mangled features lay the abyssal depths of despair and desolation for Kamijou Touma.
But what secrets did CRC uncover as he peered through the lens of the World Crystal Map? What visions of the past, present, and future danced before his eyes, whispering tantalizing truths and foreboding prophecies?
Only time would tell, as Christian Rosencreutz set the pieces in motion of removing the stopper and seeing how much 'it’ has grown. And with Index's demise, a ripple of chaos echoed through the corridors of fate.
"Why?! Why the fuck did you do that you piece of shit?!" demanded Kamijou, his voice tinged with desperation and anger.
"Ah, the boy speaks again. Your friend's demise was merely an inconvenience. A distraction. There are greater matters at hand," Rosencreutz responded cryptically, his tone dripping with indifference.
"You killed her out of boredom? What did you see in her past, present, future, or whatever the hell dammit?!" Kamijou pressed, his frustration palpable.
"Her past and future? Oh, it was quite revealing. But that is none of your concern, boy. Your role in this grand design has yet to be determined," CRC replied with a chilling nonchalance.
"You are a monster!!!!!!" spat the spiky-haired boy, his accusation ringing through the air.
"Perhaps. But in the grand scheme of the world, morality is but a fleeting notion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to visit the pet store; I'll need to free Citrinitas manually so he can find me that human I'm seeking," Rosencreutz declared dismissively, his attention already shifting to his next whim.
“I'll kill you”, that didn't come from Kamijou Touma himself. It came from a voice inside that boy’s head.
But the wielder of Imagine Breaker couldn't help but agree. At least this time.
“I'll kill you, Rosencreutzzzz!!!!!!!” that spiky-haired boy spoke with such abhorrence and disgust in his threat.
"Oh, you're going to fight me now?" Rosencreutz taunted, his voice dripping with contempt. "Then come at me and face utter death at the hands of the one who represents the hidden stone, and who rises from his coffin to heal this world's sickness. But I'd recommend you lose the right arm first, as it's in the way."
Christian Rosencreutz wasn't even afraid of what was beyond the right hand.
"But I'd hate to face you while you're still this immature, demon slayer," he continued, his tone mocking and derisive. “I prefer my snake of sin that offers humanity free will cooked evenly.”
That unlucky boy wasn't even listening to that silver man anymore.
He couldn't.
His disbelief quickly gave way to seething anger, coursing through his veins like molten lava. "You...sick bastard!" he spat, his voice trembling with rage.
A primal urge rose within him—a hunger for vengeance, a thirst for justice and ego.
Without hesitation, he reached for the vial in the shape of a spear, the Shrink Drink nestled on his person, his fingers closing around it with a vice-like grip.
With an abnormal roar, he hurled the vial spear towards Christian Rosencreutz, his left arm moving with the force of a hurricane. "I don't know if this works on all magicians or just Transcendents but the Bridge Builders Cabal can even kill Magic Gods so I don't doubt this can rip your life apart like it's ripping apart Anna!!!!" he shouted, his voice echoing across that civilianless part of the city.
But Rosencreutz was no ordinary monster.
With a speed that defied his supposed age, he intercepted the vial spear spiritual item with a swift motion of his right fist, shattering it into a thousand glittering fragments. "Foolish boy," he sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "Do you truly believe you can kill me with such feeble attempts?"
Kamijou's eyes burned with an intensity born of fury and hatred. "You won't see the end of this day, Rosencreutz. I'll make certain of it," he growled, his voice low and menacing.
Kamijou Touma felt it again.
That burning sensation in his right arm.
“Arrrrgh!!!”
The same one he felt when he fought Albedo.
He could feel a slithering something going up and down his right arm trying to break free.
After his encounter with the Ruler of Purification some bones in his hand broke, weakening the seal.
(This again huh?) The boy asked himself.
“That's the way, Kamijou!!!!!!” That devil dripped in the Rosy Cross was laughing.
He wasn't afraid like Albedo.
He was excited.
He was preparing another invisible attack that seemed to burn oxygen.
“NOW SHOW ME THE CORE OF THE BEING THAT IS-”
When Christian Rosencreutz shouted, the color white filled the world.
For a moment, Kamijou’s memories refused to link together.
Like film cut apart with scissors that wouldn’t fit together again.
Had CRC’s great attack influenced him mentally as well as physically?
No.
“Gh,” Kamijou groaned, a dull ache in his temples. Yes, this reminded him of the pain felt when looking at the sun for too long.
In other words…
(A powerful flash of light? Did Misaka produce some powerful sparks to try and dazzle Rosencreutz’s eyes? Was she the one who took me out of there?)

Hamazura Shiage confronts Christian Rosencreutz

In the bustling streets of the city, under the harsh glare of the midday sun, Hamazura Shiage and Takitsubo Rikou found themselves in an unexpected conversation with Christian Rosencreutz. The three sat on weathered benches salvaged from an abandoned stand, indulging in the simple pleasure of hotdogs amidst the emptiness of Martial Law.
Those two adolescents had encountered Rosencreutz as they were searching for a proper disaster shelter.
Rosencreutz found Hamazura Shiage hilarious due to his amazingly stupid good luck to not die at the hands of his attacks.
They even hung out at an empty carnival for a while, played games, and ate cotton candy.
Takitsubo Rikou unfortunately felt like a third wheel during that one-sided fun CRC was having with her and her boyfriend.
"Hey, CRC, can I ask you something?" Hamazura's voice cut through the clamor of the city, his tone tinged with curiosity.
The question lingered in the air, heavy with expectation, as Hamazura gathered his thoughts. "Why'd you give up on us humans if you're supposed to be this great savior? I mean, legends and all that."
A wry smile danced across CRC's lips as he prepared to unravel the complexities of his disillusionment with humanity. “Ah, the ignorance of youth. Very well, I shall indulge your curiosity. Humanity, in its folly, has proven itself unworthy of my efforts. Allow me to elucidate you. When humanity is but one species among many, it stands out as the most sinful. Ha ha ha! Philanthropy, you say? Ha ha ha ha ha! How much wisdom did you draw upon when hunting tigers and crocodiles for their skins? Is it wrong to hunt elephants for their ivory, yet what deeds has humanity wrought while I slumbered? Humanity has spread its sins far and wide, attempted to rectify its errors, then criticized its own actions as if that absolves them! What worth lies in protecting such a species? What merits their support through my endeavors? The concept of righteousness has lost its luster, and humanity's folly renders them unworthy of guidance. If righteousness maintained its simple, noble essence of refusing subjugation, none of this would have come to pass. Perhaps the initial error was when humanity assumed control of righteousness in God's absence. Though humanity wisely refrains from invoking God's name too readily, they treat goodness and righteousness with careless disregard.” His words flowed with a mixture of disdain and amusement, each syllable dripping with scorn for the follies of mankind. “Ha ha! If all life is equally valuable, consider the microscopic organisms used to ferment wine and cheese. Human arrogance knows no bounds, evident in their classification of themselves as 'primates.' Shameful, indeed! Recall what Adam consumed and what knowledge he gained! Humanity will not find perfection in this age. To claim equality with other life forms, they must regress to the state of apes and return to nature. Even an ape learns from touching fire, a lesson humanity struggles to grasp. Are you to claim the unique thought patterns found in humanity are of such importa—”
As Rosencreutz delved into his diatribe against humanity's sins and shortcomings, Takitsubo's gentle interruption brought a temporary reprieve from his tirade. “Um, sorry to interrupt, CRC-san, but you're kinda going off on a tangent there.”
Rosencreutz seemed annoyed, “What insolence! I shall not be silenced—” CRC raised his palm up ready to kill that ditsy girl, yet, undeterred by her interjection, Hamazura urged CRC to continue, his unwavering resolve mirrored in the intensity of his gaze. “Hold up, Takitsubo doesn't do well with too much information at once. Go on, CRC. We're listening.”
The exchange unfolded against the backdrop of CRC's philosophical musings, “Very well. Humanity's sins are manifold, their virtues scarce—”, But within the cynicism and condemnation, Hamazura found a glimmer of truth, a kernel of wisdom buried beneath the layers of scorn and contempt.
"You're spot on, CRC," Hamazura interjected, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Humanity right now doesn't deserve saving. We're just too selfish and mean, not only to each other but also to the innocent critters we share this planet with."
In the dim light of the abandoned stand, Christian Rosencreutz, his demeanor imposing yet enigmatic, beckoned Hamazura Shiage to articulate his thoughts. “Do enlighten me, funny human.”
As the conversation between Hamazura Shiage and Christian Rosencreutz reached a critical juncture, Hamazura's impassioned plea trembled through the air, his words laced with a mixture of defiance and resignation.
"Our lives are short, yet we're always chasing after fleeting thrills, even if it hurts others," Hamazura's voice rang out, cutting through the tension like a blade. His words carried bitter experience, a testament to the trials and tribulations of humanity's tumultuous journey.
With each syllable, Hamazura peeled back the layers of humanity's collective sins, laying bare the raw truth of our existence. The cycle of hurt and injustice, the relentless pursuit of power and progress – all were laid bare in his impassioned plea for understanding.
"We're a messed-up bunch, capable of some pretty awful stuff in the name of progress and power," Hamazura continued, his voice tinged with a hint of sorrow. "But can we really expect to be saved? So we don't need you to rescue or judge us," Hamazura continued, his voice carrying a tone of liberation and acceptance. "No expectations from us." His words were a declaration of independence with the resilience and strength of the human spirit.
"Enjoy the simple beauty of an untouched island," he urged, his voice soft yet unwavering. "The Bridge Builders Cabal are history, so go enjoy the beauty of nature." There was a sense of finality in his words, a closing of one chapter and the beginning of another.
"Christian Rosencreutz, you're free to live your best life," Hamazura concluded, his words echoing through the quiet streets like a whispered promise. "An old man like you deserves to retire."
"Okay, now you're running your mouth too much, Hamazura," Takitsubo's voice was calm yet firm, her words a gentle reprimand aimed at her partner. In her tone, there was a hint of admonishment, tempered by a touch of amusement at Hamazura's boldness.
Her words served as a gentle reminder to Hamazura to temper his zeal, to tread carefully amidst the delicate intricacies of their conversation with Rosencreutz. In the face of uncertainty and tension, Takitsubo Rikou’s steadying presence offered a sense of balance and perspective, a guiding light amidst the swirling currents of emotion.
Yet beneath her words lay a deeper truth – a recognition of the complexities of their situation, the delicate balance between defiance and diplomacy. In her quiet admonition, Takitsubo sought to bridge the divide, to navigate the treacherous waters of their conversation with grace and composure.
That boy paused but he knew he had to continue.
He had to.
“Look, We're not perfect, but we're trying,” Hamazura's voice wavered with emotion, his words fragile like mankind itself. "Sometimes we screw up, but other times, we surprise ourselves. We're capable of good stuff too, you know?"
But CRC remained unmoved, his skepticism etched into the lines of his weathered face. "Doubtful," he scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain for humanity's frailties.
And yet, amidst the skepticism and cynicism, there lingered a glimmer of possibility – a faint ray of hope amidst the blackness of depression.
The air was strongly compressed. Tension simmered beneath the surface, thick with unspoken truths and uncharted territories. Hamazura Shiage's candid words made a tremor through the silence, punctuating the stillness with a sense of urgency and resolve.
"Believe what you want," he continued, his voice steady despite the size of his words. "But here's the deal. We don't need a hero to save us." His words carried a sense of rebellion, a refusal to be bound by the expectations of others. "Let us figure things out on our own, sink or swim. No expectations or judgments from us for you to be some grand messiah. Just let us be. If we end up killing ourselves then so be it. You deserve to be happy away from us if that's your perspective."
Christian Rosencreutz's response was measured, his tone reflective as he considered the implications of Hamazura's words. "And what of you, Hamazura Shiage? Do you speak for all humanity?"
Hamazura's response was simple yet profound, "Nah, just speaking my mind," he replied, his words laced with a hint of humor. "But seriously, CRC, why not take a break? Leave us to sort ourselves out. You've earned it, old man."
In that moment of quiet contemplation, Christian Rosencreutz's stoic facade faltered, a flicker of uncertainty betraying the depths of his thoughts. "...Perhaps not all humans are irredeemable trash," he conceded, his words a whisper against the backdrop of unsureness.
Hamazura Shiage breathed a sigh of relief, a wave of gratitude washing over him. (Phew, dodged a bullet there), he thought to himself, he felt a sense of relief. "Hey, CRC, enjoy retirement, okay? The world's got enough problems without you stressing over us. Live your best life, pal."
In that moment of fleeting understanding, amidst the chaos and uncertainty of the world around them, a bond was forged – it was made via the enduring power of empathy, understanding, and the unwavering compromise of humanity.
That thug was able to forgive and redeem even Mugino Shizuri. The #4 who had gone insane after the events of Battle Royale and had killed Frenda Seivelun in her rage and psychopathic behavior.
If anyone could reach this monster’s heart it was someone who had already redeemed a powerful darkness in the past.
Maybe all Christian Rosencreutz really wanted was for his individuality to be appreciated.
“But aren’t you disrespecting my existence as an individual if you demand I unconditionally save all of humanity?”
To be cherished just for who he is without any grand accomplishments to his name.
In that moment of tense confrontation, Hamazura Shiage's genuine empathy shone through, offering CRC a glimpse of understanding and the freedom to choose his own path.
And in that fleeting moment, betwixt the shadows of uncertainty, there existed the possibility of a new beginning – a chance for Christian Rosencreutz to embrace the beauty of a life unencumbered by the weight of expectation and judgment.
Suddenly
A gunshot was heard.
Shattering the fragile semblance of peace that had momentarily settled over the scene. Hamazura Shiage's body slumped to the ground, the life draining from his eyes as a sense of finality descended upon him.
In that fleeting moment of violence, the harsh realities of their world came crashing down on them, a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the relentless march of fate.
Another casualty in a city plagued by strife, another soul lost to the relentless tide of suffering that threatened to engulf them all.
For Hamazura Shiage, there would be no second chances, no miraculous resurrections to defy the hand of fate.
His life, like so many others, had been snuffed out in an instant, a casualty of circumstances beyond his control.
The Anti-Skill unit responsible for the fatal shot stood frozen in disbelief, their actions driven by a desperate bid to end the chaos that threatened to consume them all.
Yet, in their haste to confront the looming threat of Christian Rosencreutz, they had unwittingly become perpetrators of the very violence they sought to prevent.
As the realization of their actions set in, a wave of remorse washed over the gathered officers, their hearts heavy with the weight of their choices.
The knowledge that they had sacrificed one life in the pursuit of justice weighed heavily upon their hearts.
The life of a child no less.
And amidst the confusion, Christian Rosencreutz stood in silent witness to the unfolding tragedy, his impassive facade betraying none of the turmoil that raged within.
In that moment, the lines between perpetrator and victim blurred, the boundaries of morality and justice cast into doubt by the specter of violence that compressed the air.
For the first time in who knows how long, Christian Rosencreutz's individuality was respected, his humanity acknowledged in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Yet, even as the city grappled with the consequences of their actions, the scars of their collective sins remained etched upon the fabric of their beings, a reminder of the delicacy of life and the ever-present specter of violence that lurked in the gaps of corruption.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
And as Christian Rosencreutz & Takitsubo Rikou recoiled in horror at the senseless loss of life, a primal scream echoed through the streets, a haunting lament for the fallen and the forsaken, a cry of anguish that reverberated through the very depths of the human soul.
As the life ebbed from Hamazura Shiage's eyes, Christian Rosencreutz stood amidst the chaos, a lone figure in a world consumed by flaws. In the final moments of his existence, Hamazura's words echoed through the caverns of Rosencreutz's mind, a haunting reminder of the fleeting nature of human connection and the bitter sting of betrayal.
“—Yeah everyone tells me I have great luck hahaha!”
“—Nah, just speaking my mind.”
“—But seriously, CRC, why not take a break? Leave us to sort ourselves out. You've earned it, old man.”
In the silence that followed, a torrent of emotions surged within Rosencreutz's chest, a tempest of rage and despair that threatened to consume him whole. In the face of humanity's callous disregard, he found himself torn between the desire for vengeance and the longing for redemption.
"I see now," he whispered, the words hanging heavy in the air, "the folly of my momentary hesitation. You, Hamazura Shiage, with your empathy and your naive belief in humanity's potential, dared to offer me understanding in the midst of my rampage. Yet, what did it earn you? A bullet from the very hands of those you sought to save."
With each syllable, the weight of his words grew heavier, a burden that threatened to crush his weary soul beneath its weight. In the depths of his despair, Rosencreutz grappled with the agony that threatened to consume him, a shadowy specter that loomed large in the recesses of his mind.
"Was Hamazura's demise a manifestation of the inherent darkness within humanity, a confirmation of my long-held beliefs?" he pondered, the questions swirling like a maelstrom within his troubled thoughts. "Would I have abandoned my destructive path because one boy dared to challenge my beliefs?"
In the tumult of his emotions, Rosencreutz's resolve hardened, a steely determination forged in the crucible of adversity. With a deafening roar that echoed through the streets of Academy City, he unleashed the full fury of his wrath upon those who dared to stand in his way, his hands dripping with the blood of his enemies.
He ripped the Anti-Skill unit’s flesh and bones; dismantling them all.
"No, for the fate of this world was sealed long before I walked its grounds," Christian Rosencreutz intoned, his voice a solemn echo in the chaos that surrounded him. "God's will, they say, predetermined since the dawn of time, since Adam tasted the forbidden fruit."
His words carried the weight of centuries, a testament to the inexorable march of fate and the immutable laws that governed the universe. In the face of humanity's folly, Rosencreutz saw only the stark reality of their existence, a tapestry woven with the threads of sin and suffering.
"In their own flawed existence, humanity already sealed its fate," he continued, his voice tinged with resignation. "The futile pursuit of salvation was nothing but a charade, a game played by beings condemned from the start. Humanity is not worthy of salvation. Their flaws, their atrocities, they render them unworthy of redemption."
With each word, Rosencreutz's resolve hardened, a steely determination born of bitter acceptance and grim resignation. In the crucible of his despair, he embraced the inevitability of destruction, a final reckoning for a world consumed by futility.
"And so, I choose destruction," he declared, his voice ringing out like a funeral dirge, "not out of spite or vengeance, but out of acceptance of the inevitable. So, let the world burn, let the flames of destruction cleanse the rot within."
In the midst of the inferno, amidst the chaos and the carnage, Christian Rosencreutz stood as a solitary figure, a harbinger of doom and a symbol of humanity's folly. In his eyes burned the flames of a thousand suns, casting shadows upon the shattered remnants of a once-proud civilization.
"The grand narrative, shaped by God's design or the consequences of Adam's forbidden fruit, left no room for redemption," he proclaimed, his words a grim epitaph for a world teetering on the brink of oblivion. "In this chaotic dance, I would revel until the final curtain fell, casting aside the feeble hope that anyone or anything could salvage the wreckage of humanity."
In a blaze of righteous fury, Rosencreutz unleashed the power of Hell itself, a cataclysmic inferno that consumed all in its path. As the flames licked at the sky, casting shadows upon the shattered remnants of civilization, Rosencreutz stood as a harbinger of destruction, a dark angel of vengeance unleashed upon a world consumed by chaos.
“I blame no one. This world simply serves no purpose except serving my passions and whims.” In the heart of the inferno, amidst the flames of his own creation, Christian Rosencreutz roared, a primal scream that echoed through the city, an audible form of the enduring legacy of humanity’s folly.

Part 14.3

Before we get into it, yes I know it's cheap. Keep the "you get what you pay for" in your pants, thanks.
I have a brand new Hiboy S2, it literally is still in it's 30-day return period. I've driven it to/from work maybe 10 times to date. Today I had to use the manual brake for the first time when a Brinks truck turned in front of me without an indicator (welcome to Miami lol).
Thankfully I stopped with a few inches to spare from collision, but my rear wheel has some immediate changes. Not only is there a consistent "scraping" or "grinding" noise as the wheel turns, but it now rides bumpy regardless of the road I'm on. Sort of how you'd feel it if your bike had a nail in a tire, or something like that. Like a rhythmic bump in the wheel.
I took a look at both wheels and there's nothing stuck into the rubber or in between grooves. Any idea what could be happening here? Or what I should do, other than emailing their support team (done, waiting on a reply)? Unfortunately I actually really enjoy this thing and got rid of the box, so returning it (even though it's in the return window) is harder...and and little unethical given it's clearly no longer in perfect working order.

Wooo boy! Slavery discussions are up and about again. Apparently.
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Just to preface: I absolutely abhor slavery and any opinion attempting to justify its existence or continuation. My bloodline is from a country that's been historically enslaved multiple times.
Our families were part of the groups instrumental in preventing our part of the country from falling into spanish, japanese or american hands, though this fact seems to be overused within the remaining noble houses to justify a somewhat xenophobic and anti-christian perspective (I also am very confused as to how we are simultaneously xenophilic and xenophobic in certain situations to certain ethnicities). I'll have to attend the next meeting of the local sultans to tell them that ain't it if we want to be taken seriously in the international stage.
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I also write stories and worldbuild in my free time, and if you hear about the 'Revolution of the Magic Stones (RotMS)' around the internet, I am its author.
Slavery is a topic best researched properly if you don't want to have your story lambasted for being inaccurate and insulting to those with a history of their bloodlines being enslaved. This topic is also a recurring narrative element within any isekai story I write, as it presents interesting dilemmas and showcases a character's resolve to address it, either to destroy it or to shamefully ignore it.
RotMS is set in two settings: Earthside and Windelgrad-side. Windelgrad is the one more relevant to this topic, as it is the fantasy planet rife with all the good and bad aspects of fantasy settings.
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My MCs and the dimension they hail from basically toppled down hostile kingdoms easily, due to the fact that despite having these fantasy nations having knowledge of 21st-22nd century tech through tortured Otherworlders, these pieces of info are useless against a humanity from the 27th-29th century.
It started slow, as the inciting incident of the story only had the MC, his family and coworkers blasted into Windelgrad and Earthside spent some time debating whether or not the machine prototype killed them. Being almost immediately shown slavery after they arrived, the MCs decide to eliminate whoever maintained this system as they journey around the world to find a way home. Note that slavery is not the primary plotpoint, but introductory worldbuilding and a narrative that the MCs can set upon during certain parts of the story.
Slavery is not a popular form of servitude in Windelgrad, nor is it legal in many nations as manual labor, "nightly services" and other activities slaves in our own history did are done through proper channels and jobs. Magic also supplants most of these, so forcing people into slavery was also uneconomical and usually only done as a form of punishment.
There are nations still legalizing and maintaining slave systems, the largest culprit being the Atlian Empire, a stereotypically evil nation of human supremacists that use vassal states as cannon fodder. They enslave smaller defeated countries and enslave them, alongside funding the use of slaves to specifically entice slave traders to sell (or just give) more slaves to them. Aside from the usual use of slaves, most are used as 'research material' to create stronger magicians or to create people that can defeat the Atlian Empire's greatest enemies: Otherworlders not in their control and the Enlightened.
Unfortunately, their frontlines are spread thin, and logistics are getting more strained by the day, even with the use of magic to support it. Vassal states are tired from the constant abuse and forced 'tithes' they are made to pay in the form of materials and their own people (most of these vassal states are non-human nations). This was one of the reasons the MCs were able to move public support from the Atlian Empire to their side, despite the warnings the Empire threatened to these states once they figured out what was happening.
Setting up facilities and creating social and government systems within their initial starting point in the Cosnian Kingdom (situated west of the Atlian Empire), the MCs gained legitimacy and support through relief efforts to starving nations, providing medical care to everyone regardless of social standing, connections through the Cosnian royal court, and teaching the general populace how to protect themselves.
Nations around the Atlian Empire now sought the power the MCs had, as the MCs themselves made diplomatic connections to the highest positions of each state. After the "Peace Nations" between these nations and the Cosnian Kingdom Republic (changed government types right before the signing of the Peace Nations) was created, multiple operations initiated to finally bring down the Empire.
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-The placement of agents who would incite rebellion and provide arms to the Empire's vassal states were enacted through multiple months of careful planning.
-Anti-Slavery propaganda and showcases of the Peace Nations having way better living conditions were done simultaneously, lowering support for the Atlian Empire's methods of conquest. The kingdoms sympathetic (and adjacent location-wise) to the central Atlian capital kingdom slowly voice concerns on how they are becoming unpopular to the eyes of other, stronger nations (non-Peace Nations) they signed non-aggressiom pacts to.
-Better paying jobs presented in Peace Nations and interest in the technology and teachings of the MCs allow further discourse within the Empire's academic circles on whether or not to begrudgingly accept their methods of education and even their 'Modern Thaumaturgy', as it is allowing other magicians to advance magical research to new heights while the originally tried-and-tested methods of the Atlian magical academies made them lose in multiple international magic venues. Some mages leave the Empire and some provide critical information to the MCs regarding internationally banned magical practices and research.
-Medical facilities inside the Peace Nations now outshine the Atlian Empire's best doctors. The 2nd wife and daughter of the Atlian Emperor visits one such facility, headed by the female MC nonetheless, as the Atlian doctors failed to diagnose them. A case of STDs and genetic diseases were found but not publicly disseminated, covertly leaked instead to the heads of state of the Peace Nations and eventually the Atlian Emperor himself (this became the incident for a side-story of a legal battle between the patients and the Peace Nations over patient confidentiality). His reputation is tarnished and competency is questioned, as mounting voices of disappointment from his stronger kingdoms of the Empire's continually lowering international renown and their slavery systems faltering to a system that respects their workers.
-War is declared against the Peace Nations and slave collars are forced into the remaining millions of slaves. This was apparently done to save face against the multiple allegations, scandals and failing quarterly reports that the Atlian Empire constantly suffered from ever since the Peace Nations existed. The Atlian court of advisers advise him to not declare war, but the Emperor decides anyway as his mental state has been compromised by all the humiliation, dissent and perceived failures he endured. It didn't help that some in his court are Peace Nation agents who successfully infiltrated his closest circles, or spies from other nations also wanting to topple down the Empire.
-Harrowing videos of mind-controlled slaves throwing themselves into the crossfire and essentially being meat shields are broadcasted to all nations with the required magic or technology, putting the final nail into both the Empire and the concept of slavery in general.
-Altian Empire kingdoms not aware of the slave collar technology changed sides immediately, either because to save face or because they genuinely now hate the Empire. The Atlian Empire now is at the brink of collapse, as vassal states now rise up, Atlian Empire kingdoms sympathetic to the Peace nations rebel, non-Peace nation states took advantage of the impending conflicts and internal strife within the very courts occur all at once. The Emperor contemplates ending himself, but his pride disallows it.
-Mass deaths and a full regression into dictatorship occurs as powerful Otherworlders either slave-collared or sympathetic to the Empire reigned in whatever could or could not be salvaged of the Empire's crumbling state. Note how the Peace Nations never had a large battle or skirmish, nor declared war on the Empire themselves. Our MCs become personally involved as information regarding Gate technology points them right into the heart of the Empire. This was both true and a trap by the Atlian Otherworlders.
-TL;DR for this part: Emperor either dies or becomes narratively irrelevant in this arc, MCs fight the Atlian Otherworlders and defeats them. Some are killed, some are captured to be judged by whatever country they hailed from back Earthside. The supposed Gate tech is intentionally destroyed by one of the Atlian Otherworlders as a last laugh, and is summarily killed by the male MC, much to the horror of his wife and daughter.
-Leaderless, the Empire dissolves into a slurry of independent nations, nations attempting to be the next Atlian Empire, or pieces of land now shared between the Peace Nations and other contributing countries. Slavery still exists somewhere in some forgotten hole or black market, even in the Peace Nations.
-Earthside finally connects a Gate to where the Windelgrad planet resides, and the second half of RotMS starts here. Windelgrad basically turns into magical Afghanistan, as every Earthside nation, corporation and group suck the planet dry of anything interesting, like magic crystals, magic particles and even the Windelgrad deities themselves. Magic becomes commonplace, technology is almost everywhere, and most fantasy races are rendered mundane as Earthside becomes bored of the initial mysteries around them, due to the extensive research done to most Windelgrad Fauna and Flora.
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In the end, I used these points to try to end slavery and corrupt kingdoms in RotMS:
-Illegalize slavery (yeah, obviously)
-make actual pay jobs more profitable and beneficial to employers and employees, unpopularizing slave work
-showcase horrible slave treatment, appealing to human emotion
-disrupt slave trade routes and destabilize nations supplying them
-use technology to make slavery pointless and needlessly cruel
-humiliate anyone using slaves
-steer the local cultures from justifying slavery and master-servant role mentality
-destruction and unpopularization of religions supporting slavery and absolute obedience
-basically, be better at everything than the nations using them
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Unfortunately, my opinion on slavery is that it will always exist in some form, regardless if it is for labor or not. The Peace Nations and even Earthside themselves couldn't stamp it out completely, as you cannot police every single inch of a planet. They are trying, and are very good at eliminating any large-scale slave trades, but the solitary event of a noble buying an elf slave away from the eyes of the law can always happen.
How would you address this problem?

I'm on the brink of buying my first dumbphone, most likely the 2780 but I can't tell if it comes with the SD card or if I need to get one beforehand. This is my lassstttt point until I buy, so if you know pls comment asap! Google is so unhelpful and I'm not familiar with tech jargon enough to decipher the manuals :p

sorry, forgot to say I'm also looking for offers & lists
-NINTENDO-
Gameboy Dr mario play action football
gameboy color Pokemon pinball
Gameboy advance black gba sp Kirby and the amazing mirror pacman collection super Mario advance 4 kingdom hearts: chain of memories
Nintendo DS art academy (cib) brain age (sealed) elite beat agents (item only) Kirby superstar ultra(cib) wario ware touched (cib)
Nintendo 3ds animal crossing happy home designer (cib) batman: Arkham origins blackgate (cib) Kirby's extra epic yarn (cib) yokai watch (cib)
N64 grey N64 with 2 controllers banjo kazooie blast corps Diddy Kong racing Gameboy transfer pak gex 3 Mario kart 64 Pokemon snap Tony hawk 1 Zelda ocarina of time
GameCube I have 2 black GameCubes, one with cords one without need for speed underground 2 (cib) Pikmin 2 (cib) Rayman 3 (generic box) soul Calibur 2 (generic box)
wii black Wii family addition crash mind over mutant (cib) links crossbow training (game only, no bow) Mario kart Wii (cib) namco museum megamix (cibs) nights journey of dreams (cib) sonic colors (cib) Mario Galaxy (cib
Wii u black 32 gb Wii u
-PLAYSTATION-
PS1 cool boarders 2 (cib) grand Turismo (cib) Lego island 2 (cib) namco museum volume 3 (cib)
PS2 black PS2 slim crash bandicoot the wrath of vortex [greatest hits] (cib) gran Turismo 4 [greatest hits] (cib) jak 3 (cib) kingdom hearts (cib) megaman x collection (cib) ratchet and clank up your arsenal [greatest hits] (cib) ratchet deadlocked (cib) sonic heros [greatest hits] (cib) sonic mega collection plus (cib) virtual-on marz (box and manual ONLY) Wallace and gromit curse of the were rabbit (cib)
ps3 black phat ps3 40 gb infamous collection (cib) ratchet and clank a crack in time (cib) ratchet and clank all 4 one (cib)
psp black psp 1000 coded arms (cib) daxter (generic box) locoroco(cib) Lord of the rings tactics (cib) medievil resurrection (generic box) megaman powered up (cib) tokobot (cib)
-MICROSOFT-
original xbox dark summit (cib) dead or alive 2 ultimate (cib) elderscrolls 3 Morrowind (cib) mechassult (cib) oddworld Munch's oddysee (cib) sega gt & jet set radio future (cib) soul Calibur 2 (cib) splinter cell (cib)
Xbox 360 black Xbox 360 E 4gb banjo and kazooie nuts and bolts & viva pinata (cib) brink (cib) end war (cib) persona 4 arena (cib) portal 2 (cib) skate 3 (cib) sonic riders (cib) terraria (cib) the orange box (cib) viva pinata (cib) zumas revenge (cib)