The light is way too bright. It irks your eyes, despite your lids protecting them with care. You toss and turn in the comfort of the bed, enjoying the softness of its sheets, before a flood of memories comes rushing in. It startles you, bringing you back from the solace of a nirvana-like state, and you jump up with a start. You almost fall over from the bed — which would've been quite embarrassing for a Houtian. You look around. You are in a room you've never been before: it's clean, spacious and with a particular smell that you recognize all too well. The same smell you have experienced too much both as a child and a teen, the fragrance of Iodo Flower, so often used in medical facilities to prevent the spread of sickness. It jogs the countless injuries and wounds buried in the recollections of your past. You are in an infirmary and you understand why without a problem: just the action of getting up has spent you, robbing you of energy to even think without being mudded by the fog of exhaustion. You slump back, your head hitting the pillow. "You're finally awake." — a voice rouses you, causing you head to sluggishly move towards the sound. It's a heavy-set woman, wearing a green robe that signifies her occupation as a healer. The badge on her chest — alongside the imperceptible, mysterious aura she passively exhibits — evince her as a Xiantian-level expert and a sect-recognized Physician. She walks to you, takes your wrist in one hand and puts two fingers from the other on your forehead. She waits for a moment, until she frowns and exhales in frustration. "Heavens be damned, what is this thing?!" — the healer exclaims, her loss of composure serving as a poor sign for your well-being. *choice #"Wh-what happened?" "You got poisoned." — the woman replies. *label by_whom "By.. by whom?" "How the fuck am I supposed to know? You are one of the brightest stars in your generation, *if mc_surname = "He" even though you betrayed your clan. *else most likely the last 'Last Hope of the Wu'. I bet you have as many enemies as I have hairs on my hairy ass." She picks her nose, looks in disgust at her finger afterwards and wipes the booger off on her sleeve. "Well, good news is, many of those who wish you harm would disappear soon: not a lot of assassinations attempts are made on those who are already dead." "Can't you cure me?" "I can't." — she shakes her head and you see the irritation triggered by her own incompetence — "I'm the best expert at dealing with poisons in the entire sect. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone better in the whole Celestial Empire and I can say with certainty, whatever it is you got stuffed with — isn't curable. Not in the short amount of time we have before your demise, anyway." "First of all, the poison was custom made for you, targeted specifically at your body. Most likely, if I had your martial level and was given ten times your dosage, I wouldn't even feel a thing." "Does that mean… That my assassin is someone close to me?" She nods. "Or works with someone who was close to you. Not hard to do, given you were a mortal ${ym} not too long ago." — she answers and continues — "Secondly, whoever created this poison is a [i]fucking genius[/i]. Never seen anything like it in my two hundred years of life." Her eyes gleam with excitement and admiration: your life and death matter little to her, the possibility of uncovering the complex alchemic concoction is much more interesting. "This thing inside your body is [i]alive[/i]. It adapts to whatever antidotes I try, hiding from them with almost human intelligence." "Thirdly, symptoms that you experience now are child's play. The poison will slowly suck away all of your vitality, turning you into a lifeless husk of skin and bones. You will die a painful, inevitable death as your organs collapse one by one and your heart gives out. You should probably ask somebody to end this quicker." "Well, that's all, I think. You have any questions? I'm late for my chess match with that Feng bastard." *choice #"You... You are leaving?!" "Of course I do. Did you expect me to be here until your dying breath, holding you hand as you scream in desperation?" She chuckles. "Already a wonder the Elders ordered me to check on a Houtian nobody: people far more powerful than you line up for my services." She turns around and leaves, leaving you flabbergasted at the current course of events: just yesterday you were completely fine, now you're dying and stuck with a doctor who couldn't care less. Just as she is about to step out of the door, however, the healer stops. She contemplates, for a second. *label listen_kid "Listen, kid." — she says — "I can suggest you two solutions. The designer of your doom hasn't reached Xiantian: if they had, you may truly have been hopeless. As it stand, you can try and acquire a Body Burning Pill. The Sect should still have a few, but those things are [i]precious[/i]. Due to your potential, the Sect might loan you one, but it won't be cheap." "You may also contact He Mei, Alchemy Elder's disciple. She's a gifted girl and focuses on low-level Martial Artists, so she might notice something that I've missed." "Good luck." *page_break The Door Shuts #"Please... Do your best to help me. I don't want to die." She holds your gaze, your desire to continue living — and fear of death — moving her. She sighs. *goto listen_kid #"There must be something that can heal me!" She holds your gaze, before she eventually sighs. *goto listen_kid #"Am I... Am I going to die?" "Yeah. You got seriously poisoned." *goto by_whom #"Get yourself together and cure me!" *gosub_scene subroutines change_personality 2 "arrogant" "+" She snorts. Suddenly, the room around you becomes small. Tiny. The only thing that's left is her and looking into her eyes, you not just feel, you [i]smell[/i] yourself burn in an agonizing fire. Your skin melts, your flesh turns into goo due to the ethereal flame — the only thing that saves you is her mercy as she blinks with a snicker. "I'll let it go this time. You're dying anyway." "I'm what?!" "Dying. Packed with a very nasty poison." *goto by_whom You're left alone in the room, the silence of its ample space — daunting. You're not sure what are you supposed to do. Should you contact Mei Mei? As the Xiantian-Physician has said, she might be able to help. But what if she can't? Or refuses? You don't know her that well, after all. Do you really have time to lose? A Body Burning Pill, however… You know of it. It is said to be the best anti-poison pill for Houtian in existence, capable of incinerating any harmful toxins from within the body. It's also [i]crazy expensive[/i]. Pricey enough where even your clan doesn't have any, as the supply of them is more than limited. Only three people in the Celestial Empire can concoct them, that's not mentioning the sheer rarity of resources needed. The Sect may lend you one: but are you ready to pay the cost? Then again, you could just do nothing. Let the poison run its course. Perhaps you'll get lucky? *temp ask_sect_for_help true *label healing_choices *gosub_scene cslib_string find history "refused_MeiMei_heartblood|" *choice *selectable_if (cslib_ret = 0) #Contact Mei Mei. *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 2 "+" You decide it's best to speak with Mei Mei before you resort to the most desperate option. You call for a servant and ask them to find He Mei, explaining your situation. When the servants nods and leaves, you close your eyes and rest in wait. It doesn't take long — an hour at most — before the servant returns, with Mei Mei in tow. She looks just as pretty as before: her long blond hair is gathered in two cute buns, her large green eyes darting across the room in worry before they find you. When they do, she rushes towards your bed in an instant, her robe, stained from some kind of alchemical experiment, fluttering as she does. She falls to her knees near the bed frame and grabs your hand. "Goodness, how do you feel? I've come as soon as I heard…" *choice #"I'm fine." "Are you really? But the servant has said that you are seriously poisoned.. By something so extreme that even Doctor Lu couldn't flush it out…" *label what_if_die You feel her squeezing your hand harder. "What if you die? I don't want you to die!" *label fidgets_in_place She fidgets in place, her watery gaze so pitiful it tucks on your own heart. *gosub_scene cslib_string find history "talked_with_meimei_after_tigresstourneyfight|" *if cslib_ret > 0 "That's why I asked for you. Didn't you say you were extremely good at alchemy? Time to display your talents." — you placate her, with the warmest smile you can manage. *else "That's why I asked for you. Everyone says how good you are at alchemy. It's time to display you talents." — you placate her, with the warmest smile you can manage. Mei Mei chuckles, sniffs and rubs her eyes with her free hand. "You're right. I'm very good, aren't I?" — she takes a deep breath and mutters to herself — "Come on Mei Mei, get yourself together…" #"This is just me faking my way out of the morning training, don't worry." *label faking_way_out "You!" — she glares at you — "This is not a suitable moment for you jokes! The servant has said that you are poisoned by something so extreme that even Doctor Lu couldn't flush it out…" *goto what_if_die #"Better now that you're here." *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 1 "+" She blushes, bowing down her head. In no time, however, she raises her reddened face back up. *goto faking_way_out #"I'm fucking dying, how do you think I feel?!" *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 1 "-" She recoils back from your yell, the hold she had on your hand breaking. "I'm sorry…" — she apologizes, her head bowed downed — "It was a stupid question… I just… I just don't want you to die." *goto fidgets_in_place "Let's see what I can do." *label meimei_helps Her spatial ring flashes, producing a needle and a small piece of glass. She stings the vein in your arm and gather the fresh blood onto the glass. Mei Mei then sits down, cross-legged, and begins studying the crimson trickle. You've never witnessed her quite so focused: her eyes shining with the effect of whatever ocular spell she uses, her expression pondering and concentrating. From time to time, she bites her lip as her mind wanders into the depth of her alchemic knowledge — before she returns back to her observation with new found vigor. *gosub_scene subroutines stat_check "per" 10 *if (stat_check) Yet, with you high perception, you catch a very fleeting, yet nonetheless out of place emotion of [i]glee[/i] on her face. Of pride and haughtiness? Finally, after a few hours pass, Mei Mei gives you a tired look. "I have bad news and I have good news. Which one do you want to hear first?" "Let's start with the good ones." "I can get the poison out." "You can?!" — you interrupt her, the news uplifting your spirits. She nods. "Yes. I've been working on a new acupuncture technique, not seen before in the Celestial Empire." — she says, before her voice tones down to a whisper — "It's a secret, actually… Not even my family knows. But I'll perform it for you." "Thank you… Then what are the bad news?" "It appears I'll need a drop of your Heart Blood." "Heart Blood?" — you reply, hesitating heavily. Heart Blood should never be given to outsiders: it's the foundation of your body, the origin that contains all of its properties. Not only parting with even a drop would make you weaker by a noticeable margin — Heart Blood of an enemy is often the crucial requirement for the most foul and terrible Skills. If it ends up in the wrong hands… "It's the only way I can think of to help you." — she clarifies — "This poison has been tailor-made. Only if I make a similarly tailor-made antidote would I stand a chance at preserving your life." "Don't you trust me?" — Mei Mei asks. She almost pleads, almost begs — "Mei Mei just wants to save her Junior ${polite_address}…" *temp why_need_heartblood true *temp why_meimei_can_save true *label give_meimei_heartblood *choice #Give her your Heart Blood. *set history &"gave_heartblood_meimei|" "Hand me a needle." "Oh?" — she chirped with evident excitement as she put the needle into your arm — "Are you going to do it?" "Of course. You won't let me down, will you?" — you wink at her. *label give_heartblood *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 5 "+" Then, you press the tip of the needle into your chest. You stab yourself, right where your heart is, and only stop pushing when you reach your most vital organ. You pierce into it: just a tiny prickle, but there is no need to say how dangerous such an action is. One inch too deep — and there is no need for the poison to work. You close your eyes and focus inwards. On your heart. On yourself. Heart Blood can only be given willingly — with the exception of some demonic techniques — and you have to actually try to extract it. You succeed and when the droplet leaves your heart, so does your strength. *set mc_str -2 *set mc_con -2 *set mc_agi -2 *if mc_str < 0 *set mc_str 0 *if mc_con < 0 *set mc_con 0 *if mc_agi < 0 *set mc_agi 0 [b]You have permanently lost [i]2[/i] Strength.[/b] *line_break [b]You have permanently lost [i]2[/i] Agility.[/b] *line_break [b]You have permanently lost [i]2[/i] Constitution.[/b] "You won't regret it!" — she beams and runs up to you, hugging you before hurriedly pulling away — "I'll have the medicine ready in a day. Just don't die during the wait, okay?" "I'll try my best." *page_break Wait For Mei Mei Mei Mei comes back next evening, carrying a vial in her hands. There's a spring to her step, she nearly hops, bouncy on her feet. "I've succeeded!" — she shouts as she enters your room — "I did it! Now everything that's left is to spread the antidote throughout your body — I'm confident you'll get immediately better after." "What should I do?" "Well…" Her feet shuffling, her ears turned ruby, she coughs to clear her throat. "You'll have to strip." "Strip?" "Uh-huh…" *choice #"Isn't it a bit inappropriate?" "There is no other way." — responds Mei Mei — "No one but me can do it and I need direct access to your skin." "Don't worry: my technique only requires for your back to be bare. You can pull down your robe and lay down on your stomach: I'll turn around while you do it." *goto strip_down #"I was afraid you'd never ask." *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 1 "+" "You! Stop it!" — she puffs — "I only need for your back to be bare. Just pull down your robe and lay down on your stomach: I'll turn around while you do it." "Okay, okay." — you chuckle. *label strip_down *page_break Strip Down With her not looking, you remove your robe up to your hips and lie on the bed. "I'm ready." — you say. #"Okay." "I only need for your back to be bare. Just pull down your robe and lay down on your stomach: I'll turn around while you do it." *goto strip_down "Whatever you feel, don't move." — she warns — "This is a precise and dangerous technique, even a tiny variation from your side can lead to a fatal outcome." "I understand." "Then I'll will start." You feel her hands make contact with your spine: they are uncomfortably cold, sending a shiver running through your body, yet at the same time her touch is strangely gentle. You don't get to enjoy it much, however, as Mei Mei sticks a needle under your skin — at it [i]hurts[/i]. Far beyond how a normal incursion should. Hells, you've been stabbed in training by a real sword — and it wasn't nearly as painful! One by one, Mei Mei continues poking your flesh with needles: each thrust more agonizing than the other. "Relax, why are you so tense?" — she teases, pricking you once again — "Show this Senior Sister how tough and strong you are!" "What in the world-" — you grit your teeth, barely holding yourself from munching on a pillow close by — "Are those needles?" She giggles and you get the sense that she might be enjoying this a bit too much. "It's not the needles." — she explains — "Rather, it's where I put them. Don't worry about the details, just know that it's supposed to hurt. You can scream if you want — this Senior Sister won't think less of you." *choice #Bear the pain in silence. You bite onto the sheets, refusing to yield in the face of pain. Especially with Mei Mei right here — how shameful would that be? #Let it out. You can't keep silent in the face of such pain: who cares if Mei Mei is right here? "AARGH!" She laughs and *if mc_hair_length = "length" rubs your bald head. *else ruffles your hair. You don't know for how long the procedure goes on: hours, perhaps? Eventually Mei Mei uses a numbing agent on the needles and you dose off, letting her do as she wishes. *page_break Wake Up When you exit the land of slumber, Mei Mei is already gone: the blond hasn't left without a trace, however, as she left behind a note. You pick it up and can't help but notice her exquisite penship: the symbols she wrote are proper, textbook-correct and reveal the hundreds of hours she must've spent practicing her calligraphy. [i]Would've loved to stay, but Master has summoned me and she's not a person that you refuse. *line_break [i]Hope you're feeling better. The poison should be out of your system by now, but I advice you rest for the remainder of this week. Your body needs to recover from the damage it has suffered. *line_break [i]I put a token on the table near you. It will grant you entrance to the Second Level of the Sect for free once. Come visit me in the Alchemy Pavilion when you can. [i]— Mei Mei. You pick up the token and store it in your special ring, before hitting the bed once again — just happy that all of this poison nightmare is over. You need to figure out who had done it and when, but that's a problem for the you of tomorrow. For now — sleep, that's doctor's orders. The droplet of Heart Blood you have given away, however, makes you anxious… *set inv_6 +1 *goto_scene free_roam *selectable_if (why_need_heartblood) #"What do you need my Heart Blood for?" "I'll concoct a special elixir with it. I would then coat it into the needles and perform my acupuncture technique on you." *set why_need_heartblood false *goto give_meimei_heartblood *selectable_if (why_meimei_can_save) #"Why is it that Doctor Lu couldn't cure me, but you claim you can?" "Doctor Lu is naturally the best expert on poisons. However, most of her experience come from curing Xiantian and studying their physiology. As a Houtian, your constitution is quite different from theirs. In addition, she doesn't know my acupuncture technique." *set why_meimei_can_save false *goto give_meimei_heartblood #Don't give her your Heart Blood. "What?" — she exclaims, clearly not expecting your response — "But.. but why? Don't you understand, you are DYING?!" As she speaks, her voice raises in volume until by the end it turns into a shout. "I do." — you reply — "But Heart Blood is not something that can be given away." "That's it then?" — asks Mei Mei, chuckling sadly — "Do you know how it feels, having you die because you don't trust me that much?" Mei Mei doesn't cry, doesn't shed any tears, yet the desolation in her expression disheartens you even more. She looks empty. [i]Done[/i]. *choice #Change your mind. *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 1 "-" "Give me a needle." — you say, with a long, low sigh. "Oh? Are you sure?" — she chirps, her mood increasing at a visible rate. "Yes." — you hold her gaze — "You won't let me down, will you?" Mei Mei tilts her head and gives you a dimpled smile as she hands you a needle. "Of course not!" *goto give_heartblood #Remain true to your decision. *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 5 "-" "I'm sorry." — you say — "But I can't do it." "Fine!" — she bursts — "I'm not going to sit here and watch you kill yourself!" She turns around and leaves, slamming the door on her way out. Once again, only you and the poison inside of your body are left in the room. *gosub_scene cslib_string find history "refused_MeiMei_heartblood|" *if cslib_ret > 0 *goto third_day_sickness *set history &"refused_MeiMei_heartblood|" *goto healing_choices *selectable_if (ask_sect_for_help) #Ask the Sect for a Body Burning Pill. You don't know whom exactly to contact about acquiring a Body Burning Pill, but you figure Elder Rin should be the safest bet. You send a servant to get in touch with her, hoping that she's not busy with whatever it is that Elders do. Surprisingly, she isn't: in a couple of hours she comes herself, bestowing you the honor of her presence instead of sending a representative. Elder Rin looks out of place here, though, to be fair, she would appear in a similar way wherever she goes. She's far too otherworldly, with her silver hair, tall stature and bored to the extreme expression. Elder Rin takes a couple of glances at the room, her nose wrinkling in disgust, before she focuses on you. Her eyes, for a brief second, shine and you feel yourself completely bare underneath her gaze. Inside and out, she scans your body and then regretfully shakes her head. "You have about three days to live." You gulp. [i]That little?[/i] Seeing your thoughts — which are not exactly hidden — Elder Rin materializes a small box in her hand. "A Body Burning Pill is inside. It will heal you, but you will lose most of your strength in return. I'm not sure you'd be able to recover in time for the expedition." "But that's not all." — she continues — "There are seven pills like this in the Sect, most of which are in personal collections of the Elders. To ensure your recovery, I picked the best one: but even excluding my services from the cost, the approximate price for it is 20,000 Contribution Points." *choice #"What?! That's absurd!" "No. What's absurd is that you managed to get fatally poisoned within the first month of your martial journey. Now you have to beg the sect to bail you out." — she retorts — "The price for it is reasonable. Although it doesn't have much use for Xiantian and above, it's an absolutely life-saving pill for those underneath that level — and only one can be produced every 25 years." *label MaRin_deal "It's unreasonable to expect you to have the necessary amount. That's why I'm proposing a deal." "I will grant you a loan of twenty thousand to purchase the pill." — Ma Rin says — "Each week, the sum of your debt would increase by 1%. In addition, until you pay it out, you will have to do tasks for me: ones that you wouldn't be able to refuse." *temp sect_offer_loans true *label pill_agree "Do you agree?" *choice #"Yes." *set mc_sect_debt 20000 *label took_the_pill "Good choice." — Ma Rin nods at you — "A debt can be repaid, a life cannot be returned." She hands the box over to you. "Only open it once you're ready to consume the pill. The Body Burning Pill can exist for about ten seconds out in the open." — explains Ma Rin — "Also, be prepared for the side-effects. You will be in [i]agony[/i]." "Try not to die. You're my investment now." With that, she walks away. *fake_choice #Consume the pill. You lift the lid off the box, your nose immediately assaulted with the strong fragrance of the pill. It smells like ash intermixed with the odor of burnt flesh and just the scent alone makes you gag. Still, you power through. You don't exactly have a choice, do you? You place the pill inside your mouth and swallow it. At first, there is no effect, but you dare not to relax: your choice proves to be right. Ten minutes later, you start to uncontrollably sweat, your body excreting enough water to fill a small pond. Your muscles and bones start to ache, before you see the former deflate like popped balloons, their size decreasing at a visible rate. Your stomach aches, twisting itself until you are brought to your knees by the pain. You puke, the leftovers of your dinner covered in crimson. The process go on for what feels like forever, until your spew is nothing by mouthfuls of blood and your body is but a bag of skin and bones. By the end of it, you doze off, exhaustion overwhelming your mind… *page_break Wake Up When you come to your senses, you're in bed, the filth you've left behind nowhere to be seen. You also realize that you're incredibly hungry — like an animal that's been starved for weeks — and even a wooden table arouses appetite. With the goal of finding food, you leave the bed but your legs are unable to support your movements: you fall to the ground. Confused, you try to get up but find this simple action taking up much more strength than you remember using. You focus inwards and are horrified at your current condition: *set mc_str -3 *set mc_con -3 *set mc_agi -3 *set mc_end -3 *if mc_str < 0 *set mc_str 0 *if mc_con < 0 *set mc_con 0 *if mc_agi < 0 *set mc_agi 0 [b]You have permanently lost [i]3[/i] Strength.[/b] *line_break [b]You have permanently lost [i]3[/i] Agility.[/b] *line_break [b]You have permanently lost [i]3[/i] Constitution.[/b] *if mc_bodytype != "skinny" *set previous_body "${mc_bodytype}" *set mc_bodytype "skinny" Your appearance has changed as you now resemble a skeleton more than you do a human. It will take you some time to regain your previous body. When you find some servants, they also explain that you've spent the better part of the week unconscious, surviving merely due to your Houtian-physique. At least, the whole matter with the poison has blown over: you will, of course, have to figure out who did it, but that's a problem for the you of tomorrow. The favor you owe, however, worries you… What kind of tasks would Marin impose on you? *page_break Start New Week *goto_scene free_roam *selectable_if (sect_offer_loans) #"I didn't think the sect offered loans." *set sect_offer_loans false "It doesn't." — she replies — "The sect would let you die for all it cares. For now, you're nothing but a promising junior in its eyes." "This loan comes from my personal funds. Which is why the favor you'd owe would be to me, instead of the sect." *goto pill_agree #"No." You can tell, she's surprised by your response. "Are you stupid, child? Do you wish to die?" "I'll find another way. One that doesn't put me in a crippling bet." She stares at you and you stare back. Finally, she sighs. "I can reduce the sum to 15,000. That's the lowest I can go." *choice #Agree to the deal. *set mc_sect_debt 15000 *goto took_the_pill #Refuse. "My answer is still a no." Ma Rin snorts as she turns away. "Suit yourself." Once again, only you and the poison inside of your body are left in the room. *set ask_sect_for_help false *goto healing_choices #"I don't have nowhere near enough." *goto MaRin_deal #"Is it made from dragon's shit? Why the hell is it so expensive?" "Who asked you to be stupid and get fatally poisoned within the first month of your martial journey." — she retorts — "The price for it is reasonable. Although it doesn't have much use for Xiantian and above, it's an absolutely life-saving pill for those underneath that level — and only one can be produced every 25 years." *goto MaRin_deal #Do nothing. You decide that you need neither Mei Mei nor the sect to help you out: let the poison run its course, you are vigorous enough to withstand it! On the first day, the sense of weakness becomes overwhelming: you can't keep your eyes open for longer than a few minutes, before the sleepiness threatens to take you back into the realm of unconsciousness. On the second day, you start to cough out blood by the mouthfuls: every hour, at first, but it gets worse and worse as the time passes. Your complexion pales, turning sickly. *gosub_scene cslib_string find history "refused_MeiMei_heartblood|" *if cslib_ret = 0 In the morning, Mei Mei comes to see you. "You!" — she yells as she observes your state of near-death — "Why didn't you call for me?! I could've helped you!" *choice #"I wanted to deal with this on my own." *label are_you_stupid "Are you stupid?! Doctor Lu told me about this poison: you won't survive even another way without treatment!" The Mei Mei now is different from the Mei Mei you've met before: instead of a demure lady, she's a small, but fierce beast that speaks her mind without reservations. She calms down soon, however, the shouting and being angry taking its tall on her dainty figure. "Just… let me see what I can do, okay?" *goto meimei_helps #"I don't know." *goto are_you_stupid #"Get away from me! I know it was you who poisoned me!" *gosub_scene subroutines change_opinion 6 6 "-" "What?" — she recoils back — "How… how could you think that of me?" "Don't pretend to be innocent! Aren't you an alchemist? I'm sure you know how to poison people!" Mei Mei doesn't counter your accusation, doesn't rebuke your vicious words. She just stands in place, confused and [i]hurt[/i]. "I know that…" — she starts, but her voice breaks. She has to take a second to gather her strength — "That we are not friends. That our clans are enemies. I just hoped that you could see past the differences of our ancestors. I still have that hope and will consider your outburst a nonsense said in sick delirium." "But… I can't just watch you die. It's too much." — says Mei Mei — "So I'll leave, especially if that's what you want." "I wish that you'd manage to pull through this." *set history &"accused_meimei_poisoning|" *page_break Mei Mei Leaves *goto third_day_sickness *else *label third_day_sickness On the third day, your worst fears come into fruition. You wake and realize that you can't see, your vision disappeared under the poison's effects. Your limbs feel heavy, impossible to lift and you can barely move. *if (mc_trait_1) You can feel the fight inside your body: between the the treacherous, lethal poison and your innate power of regeneration. They are in a tug of war, each side refusing to yield to another. *gosub_scene subroutines stat_check "vit" 20 *if (stat_check) The regeneration wins. The poison's destruction cannot keep up with your body's restoration: for each inch dried and drained, two are revived to an optimal state. Eventually, you fall asleep, the battle still raging on for your survival… *page_break Wake Up When you come to your senses, you are feeling better than you ever have: full of strength and stamina, you are ready to take on the world. It's refreshing, not experiencing that weakness — we often don't appreciate the little things until we lose them. You've fought off the poison all by yourself, without any outside help. You feel as if it'd be much harder for your assailants to perform the same trick now. [b]Gained Trait: Poison Resistance.[/b] *set mc_trait_7 true *set mc_vit_mod +30 You'd need to figure out who's this unseen enemy of yours: but that's a problem for the you of tomorrow. Right now it's time to get on with your sect duties. *goto_scene free_roam *else The poison wins. *goto poison_death *label poison_death You cough, it's not just blood, it's [i]teeth[/i] that fall out of your mouth. You look at them in disbelief, but the teeth are only the beginning. Your hair [i]thins[/i]. Leaving you bald. Your skin [i]dries[/i]. Sucked from all of its vitality. Your muscles [i]deflate[/i]. Their strength taken away. Your bones [i]crumble[/i]. The poison sipping deep inside. Your organs [i]collapse[/i]. Your take your last breath — and your heart stops beating. *goto_scene game_over