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Bloodborne belongs to FromSoftware, Horizon Zero Dawn belongs to Guerrilla Games
Chapter 31: Far Beyond the Known
LOG: Simplicity: Data Uncorrupted
Cyrus Bishop: Simplicity and complexity do not determine the usefulness of a weapon. We are Hunters, not superheroes, not entertainment protagonists, and not gods. Our purpose is to hunt beasts. How complex or simple your weapon is does not matter. What matters more is that you play to your strengths.
For instance, take Simon's Bowblade. It is arguably one of the more complex weapons in the hunt. I do not fully understand how it works. However, it is a terrible weapon for anyone who is not effective with a bow. Weapons like the saw cleaver, on the other hand, are relatively simple. The Saw Cleaver, and its cousin the Saw Spear, are simple serrated blades on a hinge. Yet, they are some of the more effective weapons at dispatching beasts.
That is not to say that complexity is bad, and simplicity is good. The Whirligig Saw is another of the more complex weapons, yet it is incredibly efficient at slaughter. The Kirk Hammer, however, is an incredibly simple weapons, but is also incredibly unwieldy and unbearably slow. Play to your strengths.
…/…
Rogue Entity Hunter was located.
Location?
Unknown FARO project. Abandoned. Near Muspelheim Substation Y3-D17.
Dispatch units to apprehend.
Error: Rogue Entity Hunter has disappeared.
Status on FAS-ACA3 Scarab unit 416C6F79.
FAS-ACA3 Scarab unit 416C6F79: decommissioned.
Query?
Unit destroyed in altercation with local human tribe. Override Core removed.
Current location of FAS-ACA3 Scarab unit 416C6F79 Override Core?
Rogue Override Core in use by human companion of Rogue Entity Hunter. Alias: Aloy.
Current location of Hunter companion Aloy?
Location: Far Zenith Launch Site Staging Ground.
Dispatch Units. Capture or Destroy Hunter companion Aloy.
…/…
To say that she was annoyed would be a mild understatement. Six months of searching had resulted in nothing. Sure, Aloy had found a few leads towards the location of a possible backup for GAIA to stop the spreading blight. Of course, all of the leads, so far, had turned up empty. She knew that they had made backups of the GAIA core. One of the former Zero Dawn facilities confirmed that a backup core existed. Mergo had implied that she was somewhere in the world and hiding. It was most likely that she was hiding in a GAIA backup core. Of course, she didn't tell them where the core was because that would have made it to easy.
Her annoyance had been expounded by the arrival of Varl. She had stopped by the Embrace on her way through to this facility. And he had followed her. She really did not want to get anyone involved in this. It would take too long to teach them about the old world and AI and everything else in that purview.
Nevertheless, he was here now, and they had been slowly but surely working there way through the abandoned Far Zenith staging ground. The machines had been of little issue. The Slitherfang was a slightly larger problem for her to deal with. But it was pinned under some rubble and fell quite easily. The Bowblade was proving to be a far more effective weapon that she had ever thought possible. Granted, she had no clue how it worked.
And to it all off, her annoyance had turned to frustration in the Far Zenith server room. The Zeniths had tried to steal a copy of GAIA and Travis had hard coded a virus into the system to ensure that GAIA never entered the hands of anyone she didn't belong to. So, this core was gone too. And her leads had all dried up.
"So… now what?" Varl asked as Aloy paced in front of the deactivated projector.
"I don't know." Aloy near growled.
You could answer me when I call." The last voice she wanted to hear spoke up.
Varl turned to see the newcomer. Leaning against the doorframe to the room was the strangely garbed man he remembered Aloy traveling with.
"Cyrus." Aloy sighed, frustration still lacing her voice.
"I have been trying to contact you for some time now." Cyrus said.
"I've been trying to do this alone." Aloy replied.
"And in doing so you've been avoiding me, I know." Cyrus said.
"How did you find me?" Aloy asked.
"When in the Dream, you really shouldn't mutter to yourself. My authority supersedes yours, so Doll will tell me where she thinks you are if I ask." Cyrus said, a slight grin on his face.
Aloy rolled her eyes and left the room.
"Off she goes again." Cyrus remarked.
"She's been avoiding most people these days." Varl spoke up.
"Jarl, right?" Cyrus asked.
"Varl." Varl corrected.
"Sorry, we haven't interacted much. Cyrus." Cyrus replied with a small bow.
Unsure of how to respond, Varl returned the bow.
"Shall we follow her?" He asked.
"Yes." Cyrus replied as they turned to follow Aloy out of the staging site.
They left mostly the same way Aloy had entered. The path had changed slightly, due to collapsed machinery, but they soon came to the exit of the staging ground.
"You know, Far Zenith had a few sites I had to check before I found you." Cyrus spoke up as they entered the forest beyond the site.
"Really?" Aloy asked.
"Yep. Doll only said you were heading to a Far Zenith launch site." Cyrus replied. "Unfortunately, she didn't say which one. Far Zenith had four that I can remember from back in the day."
"Who's Doll?" Varl asked.
"A friend." Aloy stated. "Cyrus, why did you need to see me."
"I learned some disturbing in formation in the last six months." Cyrus said.
"How disturbing?" Aloy asked.
"The next end of the world." Cyrus replied.
"The next end?" Varl interjected.
"Yeah, have you seen strange machines that make little to no sense?" Cyrus asked him. "Or how about machines that possibly warp the reality around them?"
"… no… I haven't seen anything like that…" Varl cautiously replied.
"Good." Cyrus responded.
"I have seen new machines though." Varl continued. "One of them had seven arms."
"Not good." Cyrus amended.
"Reality warping?" Aloy asked.
"What I wanted to talk to you about." Cyrus said. "Over the past few months, I've been investigating an off-book Faro project named Helheim. I found a reference to it at Firebreak."
"What's Helheim?" Aloy and Varl both asked.
"Old world myth about the realm of the dead." Cyrus replied. As for how its related to Faro, I have no idea what it is." Cyrus admitted. "I suspect it has something to do with the Eldritch. A few logs I've found mention Muspelheim being unable to power it."
"That isn't much to go on." Aloy replied.
"And yet, Helheim scares our patron." Cyrus continued.
"Really?" Aloy turned to him in disbelief.
"Really. It destroyed the first facility I found, there are two more, one of which is west of us." Cyrus said.
"Is that all?" Aloy asked.
"I met HEPHEASTUS." Cyrus said. "And he's going off the rails. Somehow, he managed to access the files on Yharnam."
"That would explain the new Eldritch machines." Aloy muttered.
"I feel like I'm missing half of the conversation here." Varl said.
"You kind of are." Cyrus said.
"For now, Varl, Eldritch is just the term to describe the newest types of machines." Aloy said.
"But it does stand for more?" Varl prodded.
"Unfortunately." Cyrus replied. "That said, what now?"
"I have no idea." Aloy admitted. "This was my last lead to a new GAIA core. The blight is spreading, and we need GAIA."
"What about Sylens?" Varl asked.
"What about him? Cyrus asked.
"Aloy, he was the one who guided you to defeating HADES, even giving you the lance, you used to do it, right?" Varl said.
"HADES was already defeated by Cyrus. I just used the spear to ensure that HADES was dead." Aloy replied.
"I killed HADES?" Cyrus questioned.
"Yeah, how did you not know that?" Aloy asked.
"I knew our patron took control of my body, I just didn't that I was used to destroyed HADES." Cyrus admitted.
"Anyway," Varl said, casting a wary eye to Cyrus, "My thought was that you could speak to Sylens and see if he knows anything."
"Can't." Aloy responded. "I replaced my Focus and ensured that Sylens wasn't on the network. Besides, even if he were, he's long gone." Aloy said.
"That explains why I haven't been able to contact you." Cyrus muttered.
"Well, you could return to Meridian. Spymaster Marad could help you find him." Varl said.
"Varl…" Aloy began.
"It has been a while since I've been to Meridian." Cyrus interrupted. "Do you know how the repairs are going?"
"They're coming along a decent pace." Varl answered. "Aloy, you should come back. At least see some friendly faces."
"Fine." Aloy acquiesced. "It couldn't hurt."
Varl smiled and took the lead of the small party.
"We have a way to walk." Varl said.
"I have a better idea." Aloy replied.
It didn't take Aloy very long before she had overridden three chargers for them to ride. Aloy and Cyrus had little issue riding the machines. It took Varl a little longer, but he eventually got the hang of it.
During their trip back to Meridian, Varl and Cyrus got better acquainted with each. The conversation was little more than a ploy to pass the time. After all, there was a lot of information that Cyrus didn't want Varl to know, no matter how much Varl pried. The truth about the Eldritch would only shackle the man to a world he could never understand. He still regretted shackling Aloy to the same world.
It was nearing sundown when the city of Meridian came into view. Cyrus actually smiled at the sight. The hardiness of these people was something to be admired. The formerly destroyed lower city was, at the least, habitable. The massive elevators between upper and lower Meridian had basic frames from what they could see. More interesting was the massive spire.
The entire structure had massive crimson spines jutting from various panels along the way. Several of said panels were completely separated from the center of the spire and held aloft by the red spears.
"I guess I did destroy HADES…" Cyrus muttered.
"You didn't even look at the spire before you left?" Aloy asked, incredulous.
"In my defense, I had more pressing issues to attend to." Cyrus replied.
"It is quite the sight." Varl said. "That's also where we are likely to find Marad."
The three of them rode towards the mesa the spire stood on. They left their mounts at the base of the rock. Cyrus could feel the lingering effects of the Eldritch still had some sway over the mesa. A faint taste of moon scented power. The Hunter shuddered as they neared the top of mesa.
At the top, Aloy was quick to splinter off from them and approached the base of the spire, where Marad and the sun king were standing. Varl followed after her. True to their word, Aloy's old electric lance was lodged in the HADES control core, right next to a few of his own blood spears.
The top of the mesa had been completely transformed from what he remembered. For one, the machines had all been removed, except the control core. A few different stands and tables had been set. There was a makeshift kitchen and several of the stands sold various knick-knacks. There now stood an opulent and gaudy statue of him and Aloy in the center of the mesa. Aloy looked true to form, minus her bow. Cyrus, however, was wielding a rather generic Carja style sword with a spear on his back. They stood back-to-back, with Aloy facing the spire.
"Aloy doesn't like it." Varl said as he approached him.
"It is quite the eyesore." Cyrus replied.
"I tried to convince the people not to build it, but they wanted something to commemorate their saviors." Varl said.
"They could have at least included my actual weapons. I don't even use a spear." Cyrus replied.
"Do you have one?" Varl asked.
"Yeah. Has a blunderbuss near the blade. Kind of a piece of crap if you ask me. But the Powder Kegs believed that if it didn't go boom then it wasn't a proper weapon." Cyrus answered.
"There's another name and another word that I don't know." Varl said.
"Different era, remember?" Cyrus replied.
"Right." Varl said.
The two of them stared up at the statue for a little while longer.
"You think Aloy's got what she needs to know yet?" Varl eventually asked.
"Probably." Cyrus answered. "The better question is, do you see her?"
Varl and Cyrus were looking around. The bright shock of red hair that made Aloy instantly recognizable was nowhere to be seen. Cyrus sighed as he walked to the edge of the mesa. Looking down, one of the Chargers was absent.
Pulling out an old, but still usable monocular, he began to scan the horizon. A small cloud of dust headed by a familiar head on a charger was seen running west.
"Found her." Cyrus replied, pointing her out.
Varl took the monocular and spotted her too.
"Should we follow her?" Varl asked.
"I'm going to." Cyrus replied. "I need to head west anyways."
"That territory is forbidden." Varl stated.
"Barriers have never stopped me before." Cyrus said. "Let's follow."
The two of them descended the mesa. Their Chargers were waiting patiently. It did not take them long before they were riding off towards west. Cyrus sighed. The moon was already beginning its ascent across the sky. He'd never mention it to Aloy or Varl, but the moon was hanging too low these days.
ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY…/…
Data Log TEH-031
And so, I return. My apologies for the unexpected hiatus. Shortly after uploading the last chapter, everything seemed to enter a fast forward mode. I was planning on entering a master's program next year, so I started looking for information on what degree I wanted. The school I'm going through offers three variations of the same degree but with differing credit requirements. I called them and asked for information. They concluded that call be requesting some of my own information as well. I didn't think anything of it. A week and a half later, I get a letter in the mail saying that I had been accepted into the program and had roughly one week before the fall registration deadline. Needless to say, I accidentally started a master's program a year before I intended to. On top of that, since I'm doing it online and I need at minimum three class per semester to qualify for student aid. I misread that requirement and thought it meant three classes for each term in the semester.
All of that on top of my job. My degree took up 80% of my time, my job took up 50% of my time, and jury duty took another 5%. I had very little time for anything.
Then the semester ended just in time for the holidays with everyone in the family coming down. I needed a break from everything, so I put off writing through the latter half of December so that my mental health could recover from the overworked, overstressed, fall term. My only regret is that I didn't post a small update informing you all about the unexpected hiatus. You have my apologies, but I hope you can understand why it happened. As of now, the spring semester starts up next week, I only have three classes for the whole semester, one in the B term and two in the D term. I'm hoping that this lends itself to a little bit of free time for myself. So, theoretically, I should be back on an update schedule. Everything seems to have settled down…
TL;DR: Life happened. Overloaded college courses, then holidays lead to unexpected hiatus. Hopefully back on a regular schedule.
With that all said, I am finally starting the Forbidden West Arc of The Endless Hunt. I have already mapped out several major events, players and scenes in the coming chapters and am incredibly excited to be getting back into this story.
Thank you to all who read this, your feedback and views are much appreciated, and thank you for sticking with me.
Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.
End Log S.T.K.