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alias_sqbr) wrote2024-11-28 09:08 pm
alias_sqbr) wrote2024-11-28 09:08 pm
Entry tags:
Even if Tempest: Tyril Route End (Withered Flower 3 and 4, Aria of the Spider Lily)
Masterlist
Phew! That was wild! Some things I didn't like (lotta dark topics in those content warnings which get brought up for drama then dropped for New Twists) and the romance ended up being more bittersweet and understated than I was hoping for, but still overall a good time and I am for sure continuing on.
Genocide, sexual harassment, suicide, incest, self-harm, child harm, slavery, violence from a love interest, major character death, emotional abuse, trauma, child abuse, violence
The game announces that Anastasia has gained the Precognition ability.
We see Conrad telling someone offscreen to kill the story of what happened to Lucien, ostensibly to protect the children from knowing what they ate, but actually to prevent anyone finding out he's... turning orphans into slaves, I guess. What a guy.
He muses that Anastasia caught his interest at the trial: She failed to hide how much she hates him, but also apparently has some sort of magic within her. It would be useful to have a magic user at his command. And he's very good at winning people over....
I initially assumed he was in cahoots with a/the witch but maybe he's just regular mundane evil!
We see Anastasia attending a tourist tour of her own city: there's still a lot she doesn't know, and Maya thought an overview aimed at foreigners would be doubly educational since it highlights what the country wants outsiders to know.
1700ish years ago the Goddess was saddened by war so created 5 nations, including this country, her 'casket' (?!) Hystorica. She married a man who became the first member of the Royal Family. But a witch was all "My descendants will always be around creating sin!!"
Interestingly, in the associated animation, the goddess is depicted with long red hair, just like the witch was in the story at the start of the route. In the Church, the Goddess is not depicted at all, instead she is represented by the light coming through abstract stained windows.
Nerdy cadet Mitchell came along because he's been instructed by Crius to join the Inquisitors too, to keep an eye on her. Crius that leaves you with two recruits. Mitchell explains that Hugo wasn't allowed, since he's connected to the church, and Inquisitors are so reviled that usually they conscript the children of criminals so they can 'atone' for their parent's sins. Anastasia is pissed about children suffering for their parent's crimes and Mitchell wonders how someone as pure-hearted as her will survive the job.
She and Maya discuss Lucien's letter: he was admitting to his family's sins. No, not the slavery, GENOCIDE! Geeze.
There was a secretive tattooed forest people, the Ishik, who believe in some sort of motto about... circles of time or something HMM. They helped the royal family from the shadows for over a thousand years. And then twenty years ago the king had them all massacred for some reason, and then killed all the knights who did that for good measure. There was one survivor, a girl of around ten, who would now be about 30.
Lucien's vague about why he trusts Anastasia so much, but felt confident that he could solve this situation with her at his side :(
Maya thinks that now that Lucien is dead, this information is a death sentence and Anastasia should forget all about it. Anastasia briefly gets depressed about how powerless she is even after all her hard work, but then remembers that she promised herself to never be weak and passive again, and is filled with determination!!
Immediate cut to:
Rune: ...and that's why you stormed the castle :/
Anastasia: I didn't... I submitted a formal request for an audience with the king!
Rune: Who had you executed.
Anastasia: So now I know for sure that he's guilty!
She says her plan is to figure out how to stop the witch, destroy Conrad, and bring the genocide to light without Lucien being disowned/killed. Then she will go back early enough to save Lucien, and he can become king.
Rune warns her that too many deaths will drive her mad, and I wonder if that's what happened before this run, he had to wipe her memories past a certain point so she could start again with a fresh slate.
And then, just as she's about to go, he tells her to be wary of dreams.
Anastasia has the conversation with Maya about the letter again, and Maya ends up offering to help track down this girl. She is literally the only female character between 18 and 40 in the game so far but if she's not a Secret Amnesiac Forest Girl I guess they can just introduce more female characters haha.
Anastasia: You don't have to worry about me. I want nothing more than to stay by your side.
Maya, blushing: You can't say things like that, people will think you're flirting.
...oh??? Oooh. I could ship it.
It's interesting how in this timeline both Crius and Maya were in some ways parental figures to Anastasia from when she was 10 and they were 18, but she was actually a 17 year old inside, just one really socially stunted by isolation. Not counting earlier amnesiac timelines, I wonder if she'll ever get All The Memories Back and Ascend to Goddesshood or something... Wait. Is she the goddess who eventually travels back in time??? I mean that's not how the time travel we've seen works but HMM. CIRCLES OF TIME.
Or she could be a reincarnation or something. A splinter trapped in a mortal body.
Maya: The name Ishik does ring a bell...
Me: Because of your repressed childhood memories?
Maya: You mentioned a herb with a similar name when we were discussing history.
Anastasia: Oh, yes. It had little glowing yellow flowers. But it's extinct.
WAIT. TYRIL HAS A GLOWING YELLOW FLOWER IN HIS OFFICE.
TRANS MAN TYRIL?????
Like, we are not getting trans man Tyril. She was probably his adopted older sister or something. But IMAGINE.
Maya: Ah. I know the markets well, but not the forests. If only we could hire someone...
Anastasia: Wait. Can you try and find me some Arcana mead? Though I hate having to rely on you.
Maya: Having people willing to help you is it's own form of personal power, and achievement.
Anastasia dreams of Mitchell, without his glasses, looking down at a dead woman saying "I... I did this!"
The next day all the cadets come to see how she's doing. Hugo is glad to hear she hasn't started torturing anyone yet. Mitchell is cheerfully using his position to sell his family's items to the Inquisitors.
He also broke his glasses overnight.
Tyril calls Mitchell and Anastasia in, saying the Inquisitors have been tasked with enforcing a gag order on the events of the Carnival. And there's a report of a new witch, from a merchant Mitchell has heard sexually harasses his employees and then reports any woman who complains as a witch.
Mitchell is horrified to learn that she will be subjected to seven days of confinement and torture. If she doesn't use magic to defend herself, she will be set free.
The woman says this is retaliation from her boss, but goes quietly. She's the dead woman from Anastasia's dream.
I have the choice to stop her being taken down the street where she died in the dream.
Turns out 'cause the death of sexual harassment victim' is my limit, gonna look up a walkthrough!
I stop them, and later it turns out a building collapsed in that street. Mitchel is just happy they avoided disaster but Tyril takes her aside and asks why she looks so tense.
Anastasia: How do you read people so well?
Tyril: *taking her hand* Master Tyril's precept number 2: watch people's hands. When people hide their emotions they focus on their face. You can judge tension, temperature... why are you so red? A moment ago you were pale as a sheet.
Anastasia: It's embarrassing to have you look at my calloused and scarred hands so closely.
Tyril: Good thing that's not what I was talking about, then. You have a strange sense of shame, you didn't blink an eye when we did much more.
Anastasia: That was entirely medical!
Tyril: Heh, I didn't know you could be so cute. Anyway. Hands can tell a person's history. Yours are proof of the training you've put yourself through. I prefer signs of determination over smooth skin.
And then he KISSES HER HAND and says "It's easier to work someone to the bone if they're used to such difficulties". Tyril what are you doing. She finds it charming so, fine.
He says he's been thinking the witch mustn't have cared much about winning the trial, or even wanted to lose, or he wouldn't have chosen such an easy to catch murderer. Anastasia thinks about how one thing he did achieve was give a lot of people emotional scars.
Maya: I have come to receive praise. Here is your mead :)
Anastasia: I knew I could rely on you!
Maya laughs and blushes.
Mitchell: I want to secretly confront the creepy merchant!
Anastasia, who died the last time she confronted a corrupt man in power: Yeah! I'm with you!
What even is their plan? Just tell him to stop??
Mitchell: I feel complicit in that poor woman being tortured. How are you ok with all this?
Anastasia: We're just doing our jobs... but I don't like it either. Maybe we should talk to Tyril.
Mitchell: He's the top of the heap of evil! He tortures people all the time!!
Tyril: Something's on your mind, might as well tell me.
Anastasia: I found Arcane mead. Can you find a woman aged 25-35 with a lot of tattoos?
Tyril: Based just on that? No. ...why do you look like I betrayed you, it's really too unreasonable!
Anastasia: Sorry. I just got used to thinking of you as a genius who can do anything, and so kind you'd help even if it's unreasonable.
Tyril: *goes bright red and clutches his chest making inarticulate noises of embarrassment*
If he knew who she was talking about he hid it well.
Ahh but then later he says he'll consider helping if she tells him all the details she's obviously hiding. Walkthrough says don't tell, so, I'll do that.
Anastasia: It's too scary.
Tyril: You get scared? You weren't afraid of going against Prince Conrad.
Anastasia: That was only risking my own life. I don't want the people I love being hurt.
Tyril: ...are you doing this on purpose or are you just like this. *blush* Anyway, it's fine, just tell me.
Anastasia: She's the last survivor of the Ishik Clan. Have you heard of them?
Tyril: *sigh* ...no. Why put yourself in so much danger? You feel sorry for her because she's the last of her people?
Anastasia: Partly. But I know what it feels like to be the victim of violence justified by overwhelming authority. And I know that you are kind and just.
Tyril: ...I have no wish to make an enemy of the royal family. Forget this ever happened. Never speak of it again.
Anastasia: (Don't give into despair. This is why I shouldn't rely on others)
Mitchell can tell something Tyril did upset her, and goes on a little rant about how just because the Inquisitors have been nice to them doesn't change the fact that the system is fucked up and Tyril appears to have done nothing to fix it.
Which, yeah! But it feels like Mitchell is being set up to be proven wrong, which is very off putting! If it's just "Tyril seems like part of the problem from the outside but is working behind the scenes to try and fix things" that's fine, especially since something Anastasia knows but Mitchell doesn't is that Tyril doesn't actually have any extra formal authority: even though he's effectively in charge he's pissed off the church superiors who ultimately run tings too much to ever be promoted.
But if we're going to learn a very important lesson about always trusting your superiors even when they seem to be behaving unconscionably and the importance of police brutality towards sexual harassment victims I am not going to be very happy with this game!!
I'm hoping not: the "confront powerful abusive man in your off hours and somehow get him to confess in a way which you can formally prosecute" plan is DUMB, so they can get into trouble for THAT. But overall Mitchell isn't arguing that the woman is certain to be innocent or that torturing witches is inherently bad, just that there should be systems in discourage malicious false accusations. And there should??
And then, just as Anastasia is thinking this plan might, in fact, be a bad idea... someone ELSE kidnaps the merchant! It's Conrad's Hound!
Who is... clearly... Tyril???? To me, that is, he's in a masked ninja-y outfit so Anastasia doesn't recognise him.
Ok I'm guessing the moral isn't going to be "don't doubt your superiors they might be ANGSTY COERCED ASSASSINS", so. Sure!!
Mitchell: That's the Ninja!
WAIT. THE NINJA.
I FORGOT ABOUT THE NINJA.
During the trial Sammy mentioned that he and the Prince would play pretend as being The Ninja, a robin hood type figure who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, that some people thought might have been Lucien.
But it was TYRIL??? Wait does he feel bad about the genocide because he took part and now he's atoning? What... what even is going on with him and Conrad??? I can't make it fit in my head.
Anastasia: Don't we have a duty to report a thief to the constabulary?
Mitchell: He's a man of justice!! That would be robbing righteousness from the world!!
Anastasia how are you still SO inclined to trust authority. It almost feels like a deliberate character flaw she needs to grow past at this point, but that would be so wildly unusual for an otome heroine that I'm not keeping my hopes up. Ohhh, but of course, she does also have the good reason to mistrust someone she suspects of being Conrad's Hound!
Mitchell: Hmm, the Ninja just let him go inside, I'd like to think it's a set up for Justice but either way not much more we can do tonight.
Haaa. Anastasia goes to sneak into work to check on the woman, but sees someone enter Tyril's office... and catches him in the process of changing from his Ninja outfit, face visible.
He silently refuses to explain himself but she assumes he was Doing Good. And then she FINALLY notices the OBVIOUS GLOWING YELLOW FLOWER in his office GOD.
Anastasia: Is that the Ishik flower? Why do you-
Conrad: Oh. Is that it's name? How careless of you to leave such an obvious clue. *crushes it beneath his feet*
As Tyril silently watches in horror, doubled over in misery, Conrad lightly puts his hand around Anastasia's neck.
Conrad: I was hoping to talk with you again. You'll come with me, won't you? :)
AHHHHH
Withered Flower 4
"Evelina looks on with an odd curiosity whenever the pain gets too much to bear and I scream. I feel more fear of this part of her than hatred. If she's not angry why does she do it? Trying to understand is worthless and I lose the strength to think. Even now I experience that pain in my dreams. I scream for help and noone comes. Whenever I'm faced with my own powerlessness, I start to wonder if I never escaped that room after all."
Conrad: How interesting. To think my aunt abused her own stepdaughter :D
GET THE FUCK OUT OF HER HEAD ASSHOLE
Conrad: What are your thoughts, Tyril?
Me: Nooooo
Tyril: ...I suppose it isn't surprising for someone of your bloodline.
Conrad: Ha, if I didn't know better I'd say you were calling me a sadist. But it is useful to know her weaknesses. I'm glad to be spared the trouble of training, but I must admit this is a bit boring. I remember struggling quite a bit training you.
AHHHH
Conrad: Anastasia, what kind of magic can you use?
Anastasia: Nnng??
He's using her first name with no honorifics, which afaict is very informal and disrespectful, in both Japanese and this sort of fantasy society.
Tyril: The truth serum appears to have run it's course. It's best to wait at least two days before another dose.
Conrad: Oh well. Put her in cuffs and keep me updated. *leaves*
Anastasia: Inquisitor?
Tyril: How are you feeling?
Anastasia: Like I- wait, is this the castle?
Tyril: Ah, right, you've been here before.
RIGHT. WHEN HE FOUND HER LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF CONRAD'S GUILT AND TRIED TO KILL HER. Man no wonder he wanted her as an underling right away!
Anastasia: Oh no, Conrad captured you??
Tyril: Do you really not suspect me? Look at your hands.
Anastasia: Oh. I assume that was Conrad.
Tyril: It was under his orders... but I was the one who did it.
She absolutely REFUSES to accept his escalating hints that he's the Hound, saying he would never stain his hands with assassination.
He gets angry and pins her to the bed, saying he's assassinated countless people for Conrad, and will follow any order Conrad gives him.
Tyril: The man you admire so much is a filthy dog.
Ohhhh oh no this is why he got all overwhelmed when she admired him.
Anastasia: He must be forcing you somehow.
Tyril: There's no special reason. Killing people just suits me. You don't know anything about me, or where I come from.
Anastasia: Where you... Oh. You're from the Ishik clan, aren't you? I'm sorry, if I hadn't said anything you'd still have that flower on your desk.
He's still pinning her down, but she puts her shackled hands to his cheeks, as his eyes fill with tears. And then he leaves.
TRANS MAN TYRIL CONFIRMED
The next day:
Anastasia: Please talk to me. I'll listen to anything you have to say. I don't want to leave you alone.
Tyril: ... :(
Suddenly... a SNAKE APPEARS!! Anastasia recognises it as not venomous but weirdly agitated. Tyril freaks out, frozen and terrified. Anastasia manages to lure it towards her and wrap it in her bedsheet.
Conrad: Ah, I forgot you were a knight cadet. I was hoping to see your magic :(
Anastasia: So this was your doing >:(
Conrad: I can't say I'm fond of your tone. I prefer my women with gentler dispositions.
He picks up the snake and moves it towards Tyril, who is immediately absolutely overcome with terror.
Conrad: Funny isn't it? Most poisons don't work on him, he's smart, perceptive, and near unbeatable in combat. But he escaped the attack on the Ishik clan in a snakes nest, for three days with no food, being constantly bitten. So now he's afraid of snakes :)
Anastasia: So you're using that trauma against him?!
Conrad: Well I needed some way to test your magic and gauge your feelings for Tyril. And you continue to champion him despite knowing of his less than savoury deeds. Have you fallen for him I wonder?
Anastasia: If you believe people to act on love alone then you are an even more wretched man than I thought.
Conrad: You're the first woman I've met who wasn't smitten on sight. But that attitude will change. I just sent a letter to your stepmother asking to make you mine, and for advice on how to discipline you :) Ha, look at your face! Your childhood must have been dreadful :)
Anastasia: Is this how you got Tyril to serve you? You dig into people until you find weaknesses to control them?
Conrad: I certainly used a few choice methods to make Tyril better understand his place, but it's only natural for the Ishik clan to serve the royal family. Why father felt the need to eliminate such a subservient clan is beyond me. Perhaps they planned a pointless rebellion. Either way, Tyril here is my property.
Anastasia: People aren't property, they should be their own masters >:(
Conrad: You were aiming to become a knight, in devotion to the king.
Anastasia: Knights choose to give their life because they are ultimately their own masters. Forced loyalty given in fear is just coercion.
Tyril: ...
Apparently the gem streetlights that have been confusing me all game are created from a magical flower, 'The Rose of Tranquility', powered by the blood of those blessed by the goddess, traditionally the king.
Fifteen years ago it was stolen... by Evelina.
Ohhh Conrad needs it to prove his lineage, because his father suspects his wife, Conrad's mother, cheated on him. The king, Evelina, and Lucien are all blonde while Conrad's hair is dark blue.
And since colouring is apparently important: Orla is a dirty blonde. Anastasia is a redhead. Tyril's hair is black. Most other people are brunettes. Zenn has brown skin and white hair, everyone else is pale.
Haha and Conrad cheerfully says that if his blood DOESN'T work, well, at least he has the chance to dispose of the one thing which would put his rule into doubt.
Conrad says that if Anastasia can get him back the Rose, he'll set Tyril free.
Tyril: It's a trap. He's probably told Evelina you're coming, so he can swoop back to claim you after she's done punishing you. You should just leave the country.
Anastasia: Come with me, then.
Tyril, pulling down his shirt to show tattoos on his neck and arm: I can't. I'm the last of the Ishik. It's my duty to serve the crown. These tattoos are proof of my dedication to the Goddess. And he's promised to restore the clan.
Anastasia: He's a liar. And you deserve better than being a tool.
Tyril: You only look up to me because you have so little self esteem of your own. It's why you're so respectful of others.
Anastasia: (Oh no, he's right, my stepmother sure did mess me up) Fine. Then I will prove to myself and you that I can defeat my stepmother. And in return, you reconsider your own worth, and your own reason for living.
Side note feeling better about Tyril flirting with Anastasia now. If he thought a real relationship was off the cards with ANYONE and that she'd hate him if she ever really knew him, I can see how a little flirtation that goes nowhere would feel harmless.
Aww so the medicine he gave her during the trial only works on witches. He doesn't know WHY his clan had such a recipe, and had no idea if it would work, but has assumed she was a witch ever since and just didn't say anything.
She dreams of shouting at Tyril "You've rendered everything meaningless!"
Hmm. Evelina was friends with Anastasia's mother, who died from complications of childbirth. She claims her treatment of Anastasia is punishment for killing her friend. Not sure I like that.
Anastasia has a suspiciously easy time making it into her family's oddly empty house. She tensely makes her way to the attic room where she was once imprisoned, since that's where Tyril said the rose is hidden. She hears someone behind the door, and reminds herself that she's physically stronger than Evelina now, and has nothing to fear.
And behind the door... is Maya, covered in blood???
She says a family guard came to capture Anastasia, and "the desire to protect you swelled within me... and I found myself here."
WTF???
Anastasia: Did you kill them???
Maya: IT FELT SO WONDERFUL!!! LIKE PULLING OUT WEEDS!! Come my lady, punish me as you must. I am not afraid of death :)
?????!!!!
Maya: I am but a poor fool who gave into the temptations of a witch.
Anastasia, hugging her: You're not a fool. Thank you for thinking of me... I'm glad I had you at my side. I love you.
Chains appear around Maya's neck.
Ohhhh noooooo
Maya: Just execute me now. There's no need for a trial. All I wanted was to remove everything that could hurt you. And I want to die by your hand. Unless there are others who have caused you harm???
Anastasia: (She'd gladly kill anyone I named...) I'm just looking for a golden rose. Can you help me find it? And I'm not going to kill you, I'm taking you to meet Tyril.
Maya: To kill him?
Anastasia: To borrow your power.
He is, of course, asleep, since the witch only kept Anastasia awake as part of Maya's wish.
Tyril: Nnng...Anastasia? You better not have gone to the manor yet >:(
Maya: I don't like your tone >:/
Tyril: So let me get this straight. You want us, Inquisitors, to trust and use the powers of a Membrum who already killed your entire family?
Anastasia: Yes. She says she can do anything as long as it's for my sake.
Maya: Yes :) Is there anyone you need me to kill? :)
Anastasia: I have been saved by her kindness. I still want to believe in her.
Tyril: You really trust people too easily.
Maya: Get off your high horse and under my fist, bitch. (literal quote)
Tyril: And you're ok using a witch's power?
Anastasia: If he's going to use me as his plaything, isn't taking advantage of his power the best revenge?
Tyril: Ha, thinking of revenge, even now?
Anastasia: I learned from the best :)
The screen fades to black as Anastasia explains her plan.
Maya: Kill Conrad, got it :)
Anastasia. Nope. I'm going to kill him myself. And his death won't solve all of our problems. We must restore the Ishik Clan's honour for Tyril to be free.
Tyril said he was the son of the chief, whose role it was to watch over the rose. OH, so maybe Conrad IS illegitimate and the whole genocide was coverup? 20 years ago he'd have been four. Tyril has a Plan of his own but it is also not explained.
Time for the Carnival! No murder mystery sleuthing this time since we know who did it.
The Sacrificia: Maya, the journalist who worked with Tyril, Mitchell, Landon (the other cadet), Zenn... and the King.
Ooh.
The cadets earnestly try to run things properly without freaking out, but balk at asking the King to give his name and his profession. He does anyway, his first line of the game!
Maya killed all twenty people in the house??? We did see the servants being assholes before but GEEZE.
Cadets and journalist: I never met any of those people.
Maya: I served there for a short while ten years ago.
Landon, a commoner with a crush on Maya: You were a maid for a Marquis? Impressive! :D
Mitchell: So... you knew them... :/
Ooh. Mitchell brings up that the journalist wrote some controversial interviews with Evelina. He also starts to realise that there's been a lot of Sacrificia with personal connection to Anastasia, then stops himself in case it prejudices the crowd. Unfortunately Langdon lacks his tact.
The journalist suggests the king had an INCESTUOUS LOVE FOR HIS SISTER which led him to MURDER.
King: Bollocks. If that was true I wouldn't have let her marry once let alone twice.
Journalist: So you have always said. Yet there was evidence of self harm on her body.
King: I can excuse accusations of incest but our family would NEVER commit SELF HARM.
What. What is this.
Just as Tyril is about to execute his plan, Maya jumps in to accuse the king of being the Membrum. She testifies that he once visited, knocked Evelina to the ground and shouted "Some day I will kill you!"
King: I am a scion of Goddess Norna! I would never dirty my hands with blood!!
Maya: I too wish to believe in him as a scion. If you could prove to us that her blood runs through your veins, we could all safely trust in your innocence.
Tyril: As it happens, I have a way to provide such proof :)
We flash back to him explaining his plan: He was in denial, but has long suspected the King killed off the Ishik to hide that he is not really the king. He managed to carry off one fake ceremony, then the rose was stolen (I assumed the theft was staged but the king seems legit surprised Evelina had it. Was she hiding it from him? Is she the true heir??)
He gives into the pressure to put his blood on the rose. Nothing happens.
King: See, it's a fake!
Jury: ...or is he the fake...
Journalist: Looks like everyone's ready for a vote!
Maya: Wait! I can't let an innocent man hang. I am the membrum. I tortured the Lynzel family to death :)
Maya: I confessed and yet so many still voted for you, the road ahead may be difficult, your majesty :)
Maya: Did I serve you well, my lady?
Anastasia: Yes. You even accused the king in Tyril's place to save him from the consequences. I thought you hated him.
Maya: I do. I hate all those feral beasts that get close to you. But you'll need someone to protect you after I'm gone. I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. You would have conquered these hardships without my help.
Anastasia: You may not believe me, but I can do magic. We'll only be separated for a little while. Wait for me.
And then I guess she gets set on fire? Or hung? It's inconsistent but she's for sure dead.
Flashback to Anastasia using Maya's connection with the Witch of Ruin to make a deal for the King to be added to the Carnival.
After the trial the populace is so angry they start calling for democracy, Conrad schemes to use this to get the throne for himself. But then people are overcome by the realisation they no longer have the goddess's protection.
Noone mentions the woman who got tortured I guess she just survived it and went on with her life, as did her accuser, and the system remained unchanged yay :/
Anastasia knows this timeline will be erased. But now she has the knowledge to set Tyril free. She says he could start a new life in another country now.
Tyril: I could... would you come with me?
Anastasia: Yes.
Tyril: You know I'm not asking as your superior, right?
Anastasia: Yes, you're saying you want to be with me forever :)
Tyril, blushing: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO STRAIGHTFORWARD.
They have a cute blushy using each other's given name moment, then agree to meet up again later.
She considers what to do in her final moments before killing herself, and going back. Maybe she could ask Tyril if the reason the 'last survivor' is supposed to be a girl is that he was just so pretty as a child he got mistaken for one, since she'd definitely have to kill herself after that.
(TRANS TYRIL TRANS TYRIL)
Suddenly, she has a vision of Tyril, and a premonition of great loss. She runs back to where she left him, under the stained glass of the cathedral. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully. But he's dead. Finding out the royal family he served was counterfeit, he felt the only way he could redeem himself was death.
Anastasia: You've rendered everything meaningless. There's no point if it ends like this.
Aria of the Spider Lily
Rune: Hey, good news! When you beat the witch I gained back more of my powers!
But Anastasia just collapses without speaking.
Rune: Your heart's about to collapse. You've been through so much pain. I'll have to erase your memories.
I knew it! Wait so is this a LINEAR story??? The SAME ANASTASIA dates every boy??? Am I going to have to write another unfinished polyamory fixit...
Rune: You never gave up. I wish I didn't have to erase these memories but it would hurt so much more if you're the only one who remembers everything. Once my powers return we can win against the witch.
Aw ok I think Rune isn't evil.
We see all the cute moments Tyril and Anastasia had together, and then they fade to white.
Rune: I'm sorry. May this be the last time we meet each other.
AND THEN I AM RETURNED TO THE ROUTE CHOICE SCREEN. AND ONLY THE CRIUS CHOICE IS AVAILABLE.
Yep! Linear narrative! WOW.
Ok in some ways that's frustrating but I like how this is handled more than in the other romance VN I shall not name for spoiler reasons. Especially if she DOES become an all knowing goddess in the end.
I was avoiding spoilers but the walkthough said the order is
Crius or Tyril -> the other one -> Zenn -> Lucien -> ???
So I guess the True Good End is NOT marrying Lucien and founding the royal family? Maybe it's polyamory lol lol. Guess we'll see! I hope she does get at least ONE proper happy ending without DOUBLE SUICIDE.
After reading over this again: Ahhhh sure enough Conrad tells the Hound to gag the story and then Tyril is enforcing it. Also I wonder if the witch from the past's descendants are the Ishik.
Anastasia very conveniently avoids having to properly grapple with ANY serious moral quandries around working for the LITERAL INQUISITION. She never even has to torture anyone!
OH SPEAKING OF TORTURE, was Evelina trying to activate Anastasia's witch powers??
Phew! That was wild! Some things I didn't like (lotta dark topics in those content warnings which get brought up for drama then dropped for New Twists) and the romance ended up being more bittersweet and understated than I was hoping for, but still overall a good time and I am for sure continuing on.
Content Notes, spoilers
Genocide, sexual harassment, suicide, incest, self-harm, child harm, slavery, violence from a love interest, major character death, emotional abuse, trauma, child abuse, violence
The game announces that Anastasia has gained the Precognition ability.
We see Conrad telling someone offscreen to kill the story of what happened to Lucien, ostensibly to protect the children from knowing what they ate, but actually to prevent anyone finding out he's... turning orphans into slaves, I guess. What a guy.
He muses that Anastasia caught his interest at the trial: She failed to hide how much she hates him, but also apparently has some sort of magic within her. It would be useful to have a magic user at his command. And he's very good at winning people over....
I initially assumed he was in cahoots with a/the witch but maybe he's just regular mundane evil!
We see Anastasia attending a tourist tour of her own city: there's still a lot she doesn't know, and Maya thought an overview aimed at foreigners would be doubly educational since it highlights what the country wants outsiders to know.
1700ish years ago the Goddess was saddened by war so created 5 nations, including this country, her 'casket' (?!) Hystorica. She married a man who became the first member of the Royal Family. But a witch was all "My descendants will always be around creating sin!!"
Interestingly, in the associated animation, the goddess is depicted with long red hair, just like the witch was in the story at the start of the route. In the Church, the Goddess is not depicted at all, instead she is represented by the light coming through abstract stained windows.
Nerdy cadet Mitchell came along because he's been instructed by Crius to join the Inquisitors too, to keep an eye on her. Crius that leaves you with two recruits. Mitchell explains that Hugo wasn't allowed, since he's connected to the church, and Inquisitors are so reviled that usually they conscript the children of criminals so they can 'atone' for their parent's sins. Anastasia is pissed about children suffering for their parent's crimes and Mitchell wonders how someone as pure-hearted as her will survive the job.
She and Maya discuss Lucien's letter: he was admitting to his family's sins. No, not the slavery, GENOCIDE! Geeze.
There was a secretive tattooed forest people, the Ishik, who believe in some sort of motto about... circles of time or something HMM. They helped the royal family from the shadows for over a thousand years. And then twenty years ago the king had them all massacred for some reason, and then killed all the knights who did that for good measure. There was one survivor, a girl of around ten, who would now be about 30.
Lucien's vague about why he trusts Anastasia so much, but felt confident that he could solve this situation with her at his side :(
Maya thinks that now that Lucien is dead, this information is a death sentence and Anastasia should forget all about it. Anastasia briefly gets depressed about how powerless she is even after all her hard work, but then remembers that she promised herself to never be weak and passive again, and is filled with determination!!
Immediate cut to:
Rune: ...and that's why you stormed the castle :/
Anastasia: I didn't... I submitted a formal request for an audience with the king!
Rune: Who had you executed.
Anastasia: So now I know for sure that he's guilty!
She says her plan is to figure out how to stop the witch, destroy Conrad, and bring the genocide to light without Lucien being disowned/killed. Then she will go back early enough to save Lucien, and he can become king.
Rune warns her that too many deaths will drive her mad, and I wonder if that's what happened before this run, he had to wipe her memories past a certain point so she could start again with a fresh slate.
And then, just as she's about to go, he tells her to be wary of dreams.
Anastasia has the conversation with Maya about the letter again, and Maya ends up offering to help track down this girl. She is literally the only female character between 18 and 40 in the game so far but if she's not a Secret Amnesiac Forest Girl I guess they can just introduce more female characters haha.
Anastasia: You don't have to worry about me. I want nothing more than to stay by your side.
Maya, blushing: You can't say things like that, people will think you're flirting.
...oh??? Oooh. I could ship it.
It's interesting how in this timeline both Crius and Maya were in some ways parental figures to Anastasia from when she was 10 and they were 18, but she was actually a 17 year old inside, just one really socially stunted by isolation. Not counting earlier amnesiac timelines, I wonder if she'll ever get All The Memories Back and Ascend to Goddesshood or something... Wait. Is she the goddess who eventually travels back in time??? I mean that's not how the time travel we've seen works but HMM. CIRCLES OF TIME.
Or she could be a reincarnation or something. A splinter trapped in a mortal body.
Maya: The name Ishik does ring a bell...
Me: Because of your repressed childhood memories?
Maya: You mentioned a herb with a similar name when we were discussing history.
Anastasia: Oh, yes. It had little glowing yellow flowers. But it's extinct.
WAIT. TYRIL HAS A GLOWING YELLOW FLOWER IN HIS OFFICE.
TRANS MAN TYRIL?????
Like, we are not getting trans man Tyril. She was probably his adopted older sister or something. But IMAGINE.
Maya: Ah. I know the markets well, but not the forests. If only we could hire someone...
Anastasia: Wait. Can you try and find me some Arcana mead? Though I hate having to rely on you.
Maya: Having people willing to help you is it's own form of personal power, and achievement.
Anastasia dreams of Mitchell, without his glasses, looking down at a dead woman saying "I... I did this!"
The next day all the cadets come to see how she's doing. Hugo is glad to hear she hasn't started torturing anyone yet. Mitchell is cheerfully using his position to sell his family's items to the Inquisitors.
He also broke his glasses overnight.
Tyril calls Mitchell and Anastasia in, saying the Inquisitors have been tasked with enforcing a gag order on the events of the Carnival. And there's a report of a new witch, from a merchant Mitchell has heard sexually harasses his employees and then reports any woman who complains as a witch.
Mitchell is horrified to learn that she will be subjected to seven days of confinement and torture. If she doesn't use magic to defend herself, she will be set free.
The woman says this is retaliation from her boss, but goes quietly. She's the dead woman from Anastasia's dream.
I have the choice to stop her being taken down the street where she died in the dream.
Turns out 'cause the death of sexual harassment victim' is my limit, gonna look up a walkthrough!
I stop them, and later it turns out a building collapsed in that street. Mitchel is just happy they avoided disaster but Tyril takes her aside and asks why she looks so tense.
Anastasia: How do you read people so well?
Tyril: *taking her hand* Master Tyril's precept number 2: watch people's hands. When people hide their emotions they focus on their face. You can judge tension, temperature... why are you so red? A moment ago you were pale as a sheet.
Anastasia: It's embarrassing to have you look at my calloused and scarred hands so closely.
Tyril: Good thing that's not what I was talking about, then. You have a strange sense of shame, you didn't blink an eye when we did much more.
Anastasia: That was entirely medical!
Tyril: Heh, I didn't know you could be so cute. Anyway. Hands can tell a person's history. Yours are proof of the training you've put yourself through. I prefer signs of determination over smooth skin.
And then he KISSES HER HAND and says "It's easier to work someone to the bone if they're used to such difficulties". Tyril what are you doing. She finds it charming so, fine.
He says he's been thinking the witch mustn't have cared much about winning the trial, or even wanted to lose, or he wouldn't have chosen such an easy to catch murderer. Anastasia thinks about how one thing he did achieve was give a lot of people emotional scars.
Maya: I have come to receive praise. Here is your mead :)
Anastasia: I knew I could rely on you!
Maya laughs and blushes.
Mitchell: I want to secretly confront the creepy merchant!
Anastasia, who died the last time she confronted a corrupt man in power: Yeah! I'm with you!
What even is their plan? Just tell him to stop??
Mitchell: I feel complicit in that poor woman being tortured. How are you ok with all this?
Anastasia: We're just doing our jobs... but I don't like it either. Maybe we should talk to Tyril.
Mitchell: He's the top of the heap of evil! He tortures people all the time!!
Tyril: Something's on your mind, might as well tell me.
Anastasia: I found Arcane mead. Can you find a woman aged 25-35 with a lot of tattoos?
Tyril: Based just on that? No. ...why do you look like I betrayed you, it's really too unreasonable!
Anastasia: Sorry. I just got used to thinking of you as a genius who can do anything, and so kind you'd help even if it's unreasonable.
Tyril: *goes bright red and clutches his chest making inarticulate noises of embarrassment*
If he knew who she was talking about he hid it well.
Ahh but then later he says he'll consider helping if she tells him all the details she's obviously hiding. Walkthrough says don't tell, so, I'll do that.
Anastasia: It's too scary.
Tyril: You get scared? You weren't afraid of going against Prince Conrad.
Anastasia: That was only risking my own life. I don't want the people I love being hurt.
Tyril: ...are you doing this on purpose or are you just like this. *blush* Anyway, it's fine, just tell me.
Anastasia: She's the last survivor of the Ishik Clan. Have you heard of them?
Tyril: *sigh* ...no. Why put yourself in so much danger? You feel sorry for her because she's the last of her people?
Anastasia: Partly. But I know what it feels like to be the victim of violence justified by overwhelming authority. And I know that you are kind and just.
Tyril: ...I have no wish to make an enemy of the royal family. Forget this ever happened. Never speak of it again.
Anastasia: (Don't give into despair. This is why I shouldn't rely on others)
Mitchell can tell something Tyril did upset her, and goes on a little rant about how just because the Inquisitors have been nice to them doesn't change the fact that the system is fucked up and Tyril appears to have done nothing to fix it.
Which, yeah! But it feels like Mitchell is being set up to be proven wrong, which is very off putting! If it's just "Tyril seems like part of the problem from the outside but is working behind the scenes to try and fix things" that's fine, especially since something Anastasia knows but Mitchell doesn't is that Tyril doesn't actually have any extra formal authority: even though he's effectively in charge he's pissed off the church superiors who ultimately run tings too much to ever be promoted.
But if we're going to learn a very important lesson about always trusting your superiors even when they seem to be behaving unconscionably and the importance of police brutality towards sexual harassment victims I am not going to be very happy with this game!!
I'm hoping not: the "confront powerful abusive man in your off hours and somehow get him to confess in a way which you can formally prosecute" plan is DUMB, so they can get into trouble for THAT. But overall Mitchell isn't arguing that the woman is certain to be innocent or that torturing witches is inherently bad, just that there should be systems in discourage malicious false accusations. And there should??
And then, just as Anastasia is thinking this plan might, in fact, be a bad idea... someone ELSE kidnaps the merchant! It's Conrad's Hound!
Who is... clearly... Tyril???? To me, that is, he's in a masked ninja-y outfit so Anastasia doesn't recognise him.
Ok I'm guessing the moral isn't going to be "don't doubt your superiors they might be ANGSTY COERCED ASSASSINS", so. Sure!!
Mitchell: That's the Ninja!
WAIT. THE NINJA.
I FORGOT ABOUT THE NINJA.
During the trial Sammy mentioned that he and the Prince would play pretend as being The Ninja, a robin hood type figure who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, that some people thought might have been Lucien.
But it was TYRIL??? Wait does he feel bad about the genocide because he took part and now he's atoning? What... what even is going on with him and Conrad??? I can't make it fit in my head.
Anastasia: Don't we have a duty to report a thief to the constabulary?
Mitchell: He's a man of justice!! That would be robbing righteousness from the world!!
Anastasia how are you still SO inclined to trust authority. It almost feels like a deliberate character flaw she needs to grow past at this point, but that would be so wildly unusual for an otome heroine that I'm not keeping my hopes up. Ohhh, but of course, she does also have the good reason to mistrust someone she suspects of being Conrad's Hound!
Mitchell: Hmm, the Ninja just let him go inside, I'd like to think it's a set up for Justice but either way not much more we can do tonight.
Haaa. Anastasia goes to sneak into work to check on the woman, but sees someone enter Tyril's office... and catches him in the process of changing from his Ninja outfit, face visible.
He silently refuses to explain himself but she assumes he was Doing Good. And then she FINALLY notices the OBVIOUS GLOWING YELLOW FLOWER in his office GOD.
Anastasia: Is that the Ishik flower? Why do you-
Conrad: Oh. Is that it's name? How careless of you to leave such an obvious clue. *crushes it beneath his feet*
As Tyril silently watches in horror, doubled over in misery, Conrad lightly puts his hand around Anastasia's neck.
Conrad: I was hoping to talk with you again. You'll come with me, won't you? :)
AHHHHH
Withered Flower 4
"Evelina looks on with an odd curiosity whenever the pain gets too much to bear and I scream. I feel more fear of this part of her than hatred. If she's not angry why does she do it? Trying to understand is worthless and I lose the strength to think. Even now I experience that pain in my dreams. I scream for help and noone comes. Whenever I'm faced with my own powerlessness, I start to wonder if I never escaped that room after all."
Conrad: How interesting. To think my aunt abused her own stepdaughter :D
GET THE FUCK OUT OF HER HEAD ASSHOLE
Conrad: What are your thoughts, Tyril?
Me: Nooooo
Tyril: ...I suppose it isn't surprising for someone of your bloodline.
Conrad: Ha, if I didn't know better I'd say you were calling me a sadist. But it is useful to know her weaknesses. I'm glad to be spared the trouble of training, but I must admit this is a bit boring. I remember struggling quite a bit training you.
AHHHH
Conrad: Anastasia, what kind of magic can you use?
Anastasia: Nnng??
He's using her first name with no honorifics, which afaict is very informal and disrespectful, in both Japanese and this sort of fantasy society.
Tyril: The truth serum appears to have run it's course. It's best to wait at least two days before another dose.
Conrad: Oh well. Put her in cuffs and keep me updated. *leaves*
Anastasia: Inquisitor?
Tyril: How are you feeling?
Anastasia: Like I- wait, is this the castle?
Tyril: Ah, right, you've been here before.
RIGHT. WHEN HE FOUND HER LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF CONRAD'S GUILT AND TRIED TO KILL HER. Man no wonder he wanted her as an underling right away!
Anastasia: Oh no, Conrad captured you??
Tyril: Do you really not suspect me? Look at your hands.
Anastasia: Oh. I assume that was Conrad.
Tyril: It was under his orders... but I was the one who did it.
She absolutely REFUSES to accept his escalating hints that he's the Hound, saying he would never stain his hands with assassination.
He gets angry and pins her to the bed, saying he's assassinated countless people for Conrad, and will follow any order Conrad gives him.
Tyril: The man you admire so much is a filthy dog.
Ohhhh oh no this is why he got all overwhelmed when she admired him.
Anastasia: He must be forcing you somehow.
Tyril: There's no special reason. Killing people just suits me. You don't know anything about me, or where I come from.
Anastasia: Where you... Oh. You're from the Ishik clan, aren't you? I'm sorry, if I hadn't said anything you'd still have that flower on your desk.
He's still pinning her down, but she puts her shackled hands to his cheeks, as his eyes fill with tears. And then he leaves.
TRANS MAN TYRIL CONFIRMED
The next day:
Anastasia: Please talk to me. I'll listen to anything you have to say. I don't want to leave you alone.
Tyril: ... :(
Suddenly... a SNAKE APPEARS!! Anastasia recognises it as not venomous but weirdly agitated. Tyril freaks out, frozen and terrified. Anastasia manages to lure it towards her and wrap it in her bedsheet.
Conrad: Ah, I forgot you were a knight cadet. I was hoping to see your magic :(
Anastasia: So this was your doing >:(
Conrad: I can't say I'm fond of your tone. I prefer my women with gentler dispositions.
He picks up the snake and moves it towards Tyril, who is immediately absolutely overcome with terror.
Conrad: Funny isn't it? Most poisons don't work on him, he's smart, perceptive, and near unbeatable in combat. But he escaped the attack on the Ishik clan in a snakes nest, for three days with no food, being constantly bitten. So now he's afraid of snakes :)
Anastasia: So you're using that trauma against him?!
Conrad: Well I needed some way to test your magic and gauge your feelings for Tyril. And you continue to champion him despite knowing of his less than savoury deeds. Have you fallen for him I wonder?
Anastasia: If you believe people to act on love alone then you are an even more wretched man than I thought.
Conrad: You're the first woman I've met who wasn't smitten on sight. But that attitude will change. I just sent a letter to your stepmother asking to make you mine, and for advice on how to discipline you :) Ha, look at your face! Your childhood must have been dreadful :)
Anastasia: Is this how you got Tyril to serve you? You dig into people until you find weaknesses to control them?
Conrad: I certainly used a few choice methods to make Tyril better understand his place, but it's only natural for the Ishik clan to serve the royal family. Why father felt the need to eliminate such a subservient clan is beyond me. Perhaps they planned a pointless rebellion. Either way, Tyril here is my property.
Anastasia: People aren't property, they should be their own masters >:(
Conrad: You were aiming to become a knight, in devotion to the king.
Anastasia: Knights choose to give their life because they are ultimately their own masters. Forced loyalty given in fear is just coercion.
Tyril: ...
Apparently the gem streetlights that have been confusing me all game are created from a magical flower, 'The Rose of Tranquility', powered by the blood of those blessed by the goddess, traditionally the king.
Fifteen years ago it was stolen... by Evelina.
Ohhh Conrad needs it to prove his lineage, because his father suspects his wife, Conrad's mother, cheated on him. The king, Evelina, and Lucien are all blonde while Conrad's hair is dark blue.
And since colouring is apparently important: Orla is a dirty blonde. Anastasia is a redhead. Tyril's hair is black. Most other people are brunettes. Zenn has brown skin and white hair, everyone else is pale.
Haha and Conrad cheerfully says that if his blood DOESN'T work, well, at least he has the chance to dispose of the one thing which would put his rule into doubt.
Conrad says that if Anastasia can get him back the Rose, he'll set Tyril free.
Tyril: It's a trap. He's probably told Evelina you're coming, so he can swoop back to claim you after she's done punishing you. You should just leave the country.
Anastasia: Come with me, then.
Tyril, pulling down his shirt to show tattoos on his neck and arm: I can't. I'm the last of the Ishik. It's my duty to serve the crown. These tattoos are proof of my dedication to the Goddess. And he's promised to restore the clan.
Anastasia: He's a liar. And you deserve better than being a tool.
Tyril: You only look up to me because you have so little self esteem of your own. It's why you're so respectful of others.
Anastasia: (Oh no, he's right, my stepmother sure did mess me up) Fine. Then I will prove to myself and you that I can defeat my stepmother. And in return, you reconsider your own worth, and your own reason for living.
Side note feeling better about Tyril flirting with Anastasia now. If he thought a real relationship was off the cards with ANYONE and that she'd hate him if she ever really knew him, I can see how a little flirtation that goes nowhere would feel harmless.
Aww so the medicine he gave her during the trial only works on witches. He doesn't know WHY his clan had such a recipe, and had no idea if it would work, but has assumed she was a witch ever since and just didn't say anything.
She dreams of shouting at Tyril "You've rendered everything meaningless!"
Hmm. Evelina was friends with Anastasia's mother, who died from complications of childbirth. She claims her treatment of Anastasia is punishment for killing her friend. Not sure I like that.
Anastasia has a suspiciously easy time making it into her family's oddly empty house. She tensely makes her way to the attic room where she was once imprisoned, since that's where Tyril said the rose is hidden. She hears someone behind the door, and reminds herself that she's physically stronger than Evelina now, and has nothing to fear.
And behind the door... is Maya, covered in blood???
She says a family guard came to capture Anastasia, and "the desire to protect you swelled within me... and I found myself here."
WTF???
Anastasia: Did you kill them???
Maya: IT FELT SO WONDERFUL!!! LIKE PULLING OUT WEEDS!! Come my lady, punish me as you must. I am not afraid of death :)
?????!!!!
Maya: I am but a poor fool who gave into the temptations of a witch.
Anastasia, hugging her: You're not a fool. Thank you for thinking of me... I'm glad I had you at my side. I love you.
Chains appear around Maya's neck.
Ohhhh noooooo
Maya: Just execute me now. There's no need for a trial. All I wanted was to remove everything that could hurt you. And I want to die by your hand. Unless there are others who have caused you harm???
Anastasia: (She'd gladly kill anyone I named...) I'm just looking for a golden rose. Can you help me find it? And I'm not going to kill you, I'm taking you to meet Tyril.
Maya: To kill him?
Anastasia: To borrow your power.
He is, of course, asleep, since the witch only kept Anastasia awake as part of Maya's wish.
Tyril: Nnng...Anastasia? You better not have gone to the manor yet >:(
Maya: I don't like your tone >:/
Tyril: So let me get this straight. You want us, Inquisitors, to trust and use the powers of a Membrum who already killed your entire family?
Anastasia: Yes. She says she can do anything as long as it's for my sake.
Maya: Yes :) Is there anyone you need me to kill? :)
Anastasia: I have been saved by her kindness. I still want to believe in her.
Tyril: You really trust people too easily.
Maya: Get off your high horse and under my fist, bitch. (literal quote)
Tyril: And you're ok using a witch's power?
Anastasia: If he's going to use me as his plaything, isn't taking advantage of his power the best revenge?
Tyril: Ha, thinking of revenge, even now?
Anastasia: I learned from the best :)
The screen fades to black as Anastasia explains her plan.
Maya: Kill Conrad, got it :)
Anastasia. Nope. I'm going to kill him myself. And his death won't solve all of our problems. We must restore the Ishik Clan's honour for Tyril to be free.
Tyril said he was the son of the chief, whose role it was to watch over the rose. OH, so maybe Conrad IS illegitimate and the whole genocide was coverup? 20 years ago he'd have been four. Tyril has a Plan of his own but it is also not explained.
Time for the Carnival! No murder mystery sleuthing this time since we know who did it.
The Sacrificia: Maya, the journalist who worked with Tyril, Mitchell, Landon (the other cadet), Zenn... and the King.
Ooh.
The cadets earnestly try to run things properly without freaking out, but balk at asking the King to give his name and his profession. He does anyway, his first line of the game!
Maya killed all twenty people in the house??? We did see the servants being assholes before but GEEZE.
Cadets and journalist: I never met any of those people.
Maya: I served there for a short while ten years ago.
Landon, a commoner with a crush on Maya: You were a maid for a Marquis? Impressive! :D
Mitchell: So... you knew them... :/
Ooh. Mitchell brings up that the journalist wrote some controversial interviews with Evelina. He also starts to realise that there's been a lot of Sacrificia with personal connection to Anastasia, then stops himself in case it prejudices the crowd. Unfortunately Langdon lacks his tact.
The journalist suggests the king had an INCESTUOUS LOVE FOR HIS SISTER which led him to MURDER.
King: Bollocks. If that was true I wouldn't have let her marry once let alone twice.
Journalist: So you have always said. Yet there was evidence of self harm on her body.
King: I can excuse accusations of incest but our family would NEVER commit SELF HARM.
What. What is this.
Just as Tyril is about to execute his plan, Maya jumps in to accuse the king of being the Membrum. She testifies that he once visited, knocked Evelina to the ground and shouted "Some day I will kill you!"
King: I am a scion of Goddess Norna! I would never dirty my hands with blood!!
Maya: I too wish to believe in him as a scion. If you could prove to us that her blood runs through your veins, we could all safely trust in your innocence.
Tyril: As it happens, I have a way to provide such proof :)
We flash back to him explaining his plan: He was in denial, but has long suspected the King killed off the Ishik to hide that he is not really the king. He managed to carry off one fake ceremony, then the rose was stolen (I assumed the theft was staged but the king seems legit surprised Evelina had it. Was she hiding it from him? Is she the true heir??)
He gives into the pressure to put his blood on the rose. Nothing happens.
King: See, it's a fake!
Jury: ...or is he the fake...
Journalist: Looks like everyone's ready for a vote!
Maya: Wait! I can't let an innocent man hang. I am the membrum. I tortured the Lynzel family to death :)
Maya: I confessed and yet so many still voted for you, the road ahead may be difficult, your majesty :)
Maya: Did I serve you well, my lady?
Anastasia: Yes. You even accused the king in Tyril's place to save him from the consequences. I thought you hated him.
Maya: I do. I hate all those feral beasts that get close to you. But you'll need someone to protect you after I'm gone. I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. You would have conquered these hardships without my help.
Anastasia: You may not believe me, but I can do magic. We'll only be separated for a little while. Wait for me.
And then I guess she gets set on fire? Or hung? It's inconsistent but she's for sure dead.
Flashback to Anastasia using Maya's connection with the Witch of Ruin to make a deal for the King to be added to the Carnival.
After the trial the populace is so angry they start calling for democracy, Conrad schemes to use this to get the throne for himself. But then people are overcome by the realisation they no longer have the goddess's protection.
Noone mentions the woman who got tortured I guess she just survived it and went on with her life, as did her accuser, and the system remained unchanged yay :/
Anastasia knows this timeline will be erased. But now she has the knowledge to set Tyril free. She says he could start a new life in another country now.
Tyril: I could... would you come with me?
Anastasia: Yes.
Tyril: You know I'm not asking as your superior, right?
Anastasia: Yes, you're saying you want to be with me forever :)
Tyril, blushing: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO STRAIGHTFORWARD.
They have a cute blushy using each other's given name moment, then agree to meet up again later.
She considers what to do in her final moments before killing herself, and going back. Maybe she could ask Tyril if the reason the 'last survivor' is supposed to be a girl is that he was just so pretty as a child he got mistaken for one, since she'd definitely have to kill herself after that.
(TRANS TYRIL TRANS TYRIL)
Suddenly, she has a vision of Tyril, and a premonition of great loss. She runs back to where she left him, under the stained glass of the cathedral. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully. But he's dead. Finding out the royal family he served was counterfeit, he felt the only way he could redeem himself was death.
Anastasia: You've rendered everything meaningless. There's no point if it ends like this.
Aria of the Spider Lily
Rune: Hey, good news! When you beat the witch I gained back more of my powers!
But Anastasia just collapses without speaking.
Rune: Your heart's about to collapse. You've been through so much pain. I'll have to erase your memories.
I knew it! Wait so is this a LINEAR story??? The SAME ANASTASIA dates every boy??? Am I going to have to write another unfinished polyamory fixit...
Rune: You never gave up. I wish I didn't have to erase these memories but it would hurt so much more if you're the only one who remembers everything. Once my powers return we can win against the witch.
Aw ok I think Rune isn't evil.
We see all the cute moments Tyril and Anastasia had together, and then they fade to white.
Rune: I'm sorry. May this be the last time we meet each other.
AND THEN I AM RETURNED TO THE ROUTE CHOICE SCREEN. AND ONLY THE CRIUS CHOICE IS AVAILABLE.
Yep! Linear narrative! WOW.
Ok in some ways that's frustrating but I like how this is handled more than in the other romance VN I shall not name for spoiler reasons. Especially if she DOES become an all knowing goddess in the end.
I was avoiding spoilers but the walkthough said the order is
Crius or Tyril -> the other one -> Zenn -> Lucien -> ???
So I guess the True Good End is NOT marrying Lucien and founding the royal family? Maybe it's polyamory lol lol. Guess we'll see! I hope she does get at least ONE proper happy ending without DOUBLE SUICIDE.
After reading over this again: Ahhhh sure enough Conrad tells the Hound to gag the story and then Tyril is enforcing it. Also I wonder if the witch from the past's descendants are the Ishik.
Anastasia very conveniently avoids having to properly grapple with ANY serious moral quandries around working for the LITERAL INQUISITION. She never even has to torture anyone!
OH SPEAKING OF TORTURE, was Evelina trying to activate Anastasia's witch powers??