Some questions about the plot

[NovaLan]

Some Chinese players often ask me questions about the story’s plot. However, although I translated the whole six books twice there are still something I don’t understand. To respect your great work I think I should make these questions clear to make the translation more precise.
1.About Hokuto
In Book3, Viper’s Requiem ,Shizuka told Shion it was Hokuto that summoned her to the world and she was forced to make a promise. She had to go to Sorceria to fulfill the promise. But after translating the whole six books I still don’t know what the promise is and why Hokuto summoned Shizuka. What is her purpose to want both Hikaru and Shizuka to go there? I can only assume that Hokuto summoned Shizuka to Purgatory to stop Razila’s crime. And in Book6, Shadow Weavers, why Hokuto showed up when the siblings fought each other? Did she just can’t trust them can solve the quarrel conflict themselves? And why Hokuto acted as a villain after Kurumi make her choice? (Some Chinese players even believed she was a Dragon Slayer before X1 and X2 released, that’s nonsense though.)

2.About the cycle
When I first translated Book6, I just translated according to original version’s denotative meaning so attached little importance on the word ‘cycle’. Recently I am embellishing my translation , and find that in the newest patch you add an ending in Shadow Weavers. If Kurumi do nothing, Hokuto ‘restart the game’ and Kurumi said ‘Maybe the next time around I can be more decisive....’ Related it to what Zava said (a recurring dream) and what Shizuka said (we fought every night), I suddenly came up with a terrible conjecture. Is that mean…that Hikaru and Shizuka have played Wanders of Sorceria (without Kurumi) many times? And if that’s true, why Hokuto restarted the game every time?

3.About the world view
In Book5,Truth of the Heart , Ziel said between Heaven and Hell is the Void. But In Book6 Xine said between the pocket dimension(Purgatory) and Earth is the void. So which of them is right or both are right or that's something we might never know…? Sorry, but the background of hyperspace always make me confused….

[RazorclawX]

1. Hokuto made Shizuka promise to not fight her brother, just like how she made Hikaru promise to not fight his sister (and she obviously asked this of them at a very bad time-- she asked Shizuka right before she got her memories wiped, she asked Hikaru when he didn't know he had another sister). Hokuto loves both Hikaru and Shizuka and doesn't trust them enough to solve their problems on their own (although to be fair, they always choose to fight each other). She's afraid to lose either of them to the Black Pearl (if they lose they lose their soul for real) so she kicks them out of the dream in the middle of the fight to prevent either one of them from trying to fight it by themselves (which is what happens so she has a very good reason to believe this). `

Kurumi had never been to Sorceria until this time around so Hokuto had no idea what to do (up until then she felt she was in complete control) until she realized she liked her, and by then it was too late to stop anyone.

Hokuto's motivation is protecting her loved ones, but because her idea of love is like a parent to a child she feels the need to control people for their own good. She's not wrong for wanting to protect them from themselves, but she should learn to trust her friends more because maybe the siblings would have worked things out for themselves. It took a random factor (Kurumi) to realize she made a mistake.

2. In broad strokes, yes, they have. As a recurring dream, the only image they take away from it is fighting each other, without realizing who the other person is. How they get there or what exact path they took is always variable so maybe they did the same things without Kurumi, or they did something else entirely.

That Kurumi choice is another 'way to die' option. Originally no matter what you picked Kurumi advanced the story, but I became dissatisfied by this and wanted to give an actual wrong answer (shooting Hokuto and Hikaru just makes them mad at Kurumi; shooting Shizuka is the actual correct answer because she asked Kurumi to do it earlier in the story, and because she can't die she can afford to get shot) so I set it up so if you REALLY wanted to "do nothing" Hokuto would just carry on as if Kurumi were never there in the first place.

3. They're actually saying the same thing. Xine's interpretation is more precise.


ED: elaborated more on Kurumi choice.

[NovaLan]

Wow...thanks a lot.But forgive me. I still don't know why she bring Shizuka to this world. If she doesn't want the siblings fight each other she doesn't need summon Shizu to the world

[RazorclawX]

Hokuto brings Shizuka and Purgatory counters that move by bringing in Hikaru.

[NovaLan]

...I surely know that. What I want to know is the reason why Hokuto brings Shizuka.
And thanks for replying me so late at night.

[RazorclawX]

Shizuka is the only person Hokuto knows outside of her order since her duty is to document her life (or maybe it's really documenting Sagila/Deathclaw). Hokuto is confident in Shizuka's ability to fix things.

Hokuto also can't just go to the Shadow Weavers and tattle on Zava because it's none of her business and Zava hadn't done anything overtly offensive to the order (yet). Of course as someone who also bends the rules Hokuto also looks bad to the order if she did that (she is not supposed to involve herself in her subject's life; the order just looks the other way at this like she's in a rebellious teenager phase and hope she grows out of it).

[NovaLan]

Many thanks!!! I finally I straighten out the plot XD

[AngstyOwl]

How does the dream reset work though cause I thought Purgatory was an actual physical world outside of Earth. What happens when they get kicked out? Do they play out the whole four years of the dream again? How does that work timeline wise with Purgatory?

[RazorclawX]

Anything could happen up to the point where Shizuka and Hikaru fight each other. The details are intentionally fuzzy as dreams usually are (and sometimes its extremely different). The inhabitants of Purgatory won't recognize that the same two people are 'running the gauntlet' every so often (well... some of them might).

[AngstyOwl]

Does that mean arcadia and all that only happened in the last instance of the dream?

[RazorclawX]

Maybe.

The Zande were created by Shizuka in some iteration in the past and survived to the present (possibly because she keeps coming back).

The Jin Empire existed in some form or another (under different names and permutations of the Three Kingdoms story) depending on who was in control of it at the time. Yue Fang's was heavily based on Cao Wei. Anyone else's could've been based around something else in that period (if Kanna were there it would be based around Shu Han as a Zhuge Liang fangirl; don't be surprised if this actually happened before-- it very likely had).

Arcadia is a place that seems to have been made just to screw with Shizuka, but who knows how many times that's happened in some form or another.

[NovaLan]

A Chinese player found an interesting detail: In Orpheus Corrupted, Nekurow's damage type is Hero instead of Chaos. According to your default, heroes with special weapons can have chaos damage. Is it because Razila's infection even have bad influence on Orpheus? Cos I found chapter's title is Orpheus Corrupted and perhaps this default is the reflection of the title, so I'm asking you to verify the assumption. Thanks a lot~

ED:another question:why and when Nargul joined Dragon Slayer?He seems to be Razila' s Dragon Slayer by default,but I don't see any relationship between Nargul and Razila.In free mode Nargul said he manipulated Sarah to get creative energy, but Zava told Kurumi she asked Darm brought Sarah....well,I'm very confused.

I'm sorry,but I'm arranging the storyline of WOS on Chinese website recently.(including the background,characters,and many details)It's a huge work cos there are too many characters and too many different organizations.I think I understand the whole story, but it turns out I still need to do some research cos I still can't guarantee my answers are right when being asked.

[RazorclawX]

A Chinese player found an interesting detail: In Orpheus Corrupted, Nekurow's damage type is Hero instead of Chaos. According to your default, heroes with special weapons can have chaos damage. Is it because Razila's infection even have bad influence on Orpheus? Cos I found chapter's title is Orpheus Corrupted and perhaps this default is the reflection of the title, so I'm asking you to verify the assumption. Thanks a lot~

That's an oversight.

The corruption comes from Razlia trying to get Nekurow to do what he wants. Nekurow in his big headed ego way thought he could overpower Razlia by his own will, but he overestimated himself and couldn't do this until after Hikaru beat him.

ED:another question:why and when Nargul joined Dragon Slayer?He seems to be Razila' s Dragon Slayer by default,but I don't see any relationship between Nargul and Razila.In free mode Nargul said he manipulated Sarah to get creative energy, but Zava told Kurumi she asked Darm brought Sarah....well,I'm very confused.

Nargul is ultimately siding with the Burning Legion so his allegiance to the Dragon Slayers is temporary. The Legion's goal is to turn Purgatory into a new staging ground to invade other worlds they didn't have access to before (such as Earth) and they're willing to try anything to get that.

There's nothing contradictory about the Sarah thing. Nargul was there to push Sarah in the desirable direction; it just illustrates he likes preying on little mortal girls (a little too much, if you somehow weren't convinced he was a creeper with Kurumi). Him stealing energy was ultimately pointless, but it was what he was after out of the deal.

[NovaLan]

Did Burning Legion bulid alliance with Dragon Slayers? If it's true, why did DS indulge their evil plan?
Sorry but I still don't know the Legion(or Nargul)'s motivation to cooperate with Razila's DS. I think their evil plan is bad even for Dragon Slayers.
Thank you for your patience.

[RazorclawX]

Dragon Slayers in general don't know or care what the Burning Legion is doing-- to the Dragon Slayers the Legion just another small fry faction trying to act tough on their turf. Generally they're right to have that attitude because the Legion can't do what they want without controlling Sorceria and the way they do things they're never realistically going to get control. The Dragon Slayers themselves are backed by the Lord of Sorceria.

That doesn't mean they stop trying, of course.

Think of it like the DS are a sports team, you have this new guy Nargul join your team, he goes and talks like he's hot shit and going to be the new team captain. You keep him around because he gets things done, but you don't necessarily listen to or believe his boasting and nobody follows him (they either follow Dalles or Razlia).