SDOCT: Knight 7/7

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I'm going to be leaving the tournament, I'm sad to say.

For three and a half weeks of the allotted round time, I was overseas on an unexpected business trip to my work studio. As a result, I had all of a week or so to devote to this. And while it would have been possible to just bow out and leave it at that, I didn't feel that was fair to my awesome opponent, HyperDanger . 

Ultimately I feel I'm not going to have the time this competition deserves. (Got a game release coming next month!) I wish HyperDanger and all the other contestants the best of luck. There are so many talented people in this roster it's ridiculous.


..And you know what, I don't think Luca would have been able to strike Adeline, when it comes down to it. I may not know the character as well as his creator, but I think he would have found another way, given the opportunity in the very end. This wasn't the original intended ending for the story, either. 

Originally, Luca is struck down to the ground and mushed under the giant mallet, but still not defeated. She's figured she's won at this point, and is happy to help him back up. However, Luca points out to her that he can't stop here. Not as long as he can stand or fight, he has to see this through to the end. So while he's stuck under the mallet at this point, if released, he'd simply continue on and see things through to whatever end comes. Adeline is struck by this, and unsure of what she's supposed to do next. 

It's at this point Spade makes it clear that there needs to be a plain victor, beyond a shadow of a doubt, subtly hinting to Adeline that she needs to take this a step further and finish him off. (Yes, in my entries Spade was going to be quite a sadistic individual. Though frankly, anyone who decides to hold a tournament wherein people battle one another for the right to save their own life or others.. has to be pretty sadistic, I think.)  Adeline instead begs Luca to give up. I wanted to touch on the idea that in both of their auditions, they seemed to be taking one very sad route out.. through voluntarily removing themselves from existence. A terrible thing to share, for sure.

Luca repeats that he can't give up, his own past running rampant in his mind. So after a few heavy minutes pass, Adeline walks over to Bardus, her (currently inert) skull companion, and holds him up. She begins to recite an incantation, while familiar glowing sigils appear around her and Luca. There are tears in her eyes when she looks down to Luca, who meets her gaze, but isn't entirely clear in what he's thinking about what she's decided to do. With a final word, she thrusts the skull forward and the sigils around Luca tear him apart, dissolving and draining every last bit of him away. She puts Bardus back on her head, and Spade walks down to congratulate her. She walks away from him before he can reach her, head low. This is, for all intents and purposes, the true end of the round.

It's not until later though, that when she knows she's alone, Adel pulls the top of Luca's head out of Bardus' mouth. He's very much alive, though understandably a touch frazzled from his trip into a timespace pocket. (It just so happens the only transportation spell she knows looks particularly violent, as you're basically melted into thin air.)  She whispers to him that she has a plan. And that's the end.


Thanks everyone, for reading. : ) And especially for the kind words and encouragement regarding my work. If you'd like to see my main gallery it's over at .

 You all take care of yourselves!