Aether's End

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<<if $profileSet>>[[Profile]]<</if>> <<if $charList>>[[Character List]]<</if>> <<if $codexMenu>>[[Codex]]<</if>> [[CREDITS + RESOURCES|Credits]]

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/mTr4RQZ/Apolloprofile.png" alt="Apolloprofile" border="0"> THE HAUNTED HOUSE IS WITHIN YOU IT IS ALIVE AND HUNGRY TO WALK THROUGH A DOOR IS TO WALK ALONG ITS TEETH SLEEPING IN A BED SAFE UNDER THE COVERS UNAWARE YOU HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP ON A TONGUE. <<button "Return" $return>><</button>>

<h1>Character List</h1>\ <ul> <<if $starlist>><li>[[Star|Star]]</li><</if>> <<if $oldfriend>><li>[[???|???]]</li><</if>></ul>\ <<button "Return" $return>><</button>>

<<button "Return" $return>><</button>>

Art and Writing by Veyther Background Image Made WIth <a href="https://deep-fold.itch.io/space-background-generator>Pixel Space Background</a> Notificiation Macro by <a href="https://github.com/ChapelR/custom-macros-for-sugarcube-2/blob/master/docs/notify-macro.md">ChapelR</a> <<button "Return" $return>><</button>>

Aethers End

<<set $profileSet = true>> <<set $charList = true>> <<set $codex = true>> <<set $charList = true>> ^ <<set $starlist = true>> <<set $??? = true>> Enter Your Name <<textbox "$name" "moew">> <<if settings.achievements>><<notify 3s>>Profile Unlocked<</notify>><</if>>

Tongue, teeth and taste. You can barely think over the feeling of your mouth. Everything is wrong and you were going to die almost indefinitely. The distress call you sent out days ago with no way of knowing it was transmitting but your mouth feels weird. You could go as far as too say it felt <em>wrong.</em> Your throat felt shredded but that's more on the normal side considering you spend every waking moment monologuing into your radio hoping your ramblings catch someone's attention even if you don't recognize any of the constellations around you someone surely does. Space is impossibly big and humans are impossibly ruthless. Deep space mission one after the other, so far down the generational line that a trip back to earth is a rather fruitless endeavor. This may be the furthest you have ever been but you couldn't be the first. [[Not in this load of junk]]

And really you should have more respect for the ship, it was an <em>old</em> load of junk. Legacy old. Old enough that it's a safety hazard and shouldn't even been taken out of docking let alone into orbit and beyond. It's here though with you, lost in space. It's probably the most exciting thing it's seen in decades. It is unfortunately also going to be your coffin and you are sure you won't be the first person to die in this machine but you will most likely to be the last. The ship was small and wasn't fit for living, no bunks, kitchen or any niceties a modern ship has. For what it lacked in well everything it made up for it for being an unregistered vehicle capable of getting the fuck out of dodge. [[Your mouth still felt gross.]]

Shitty ration packs are all you've eaten in two weeks. Most often than not now you stare at the packet half convinced to open the airlock on yourself and it was totally all to do with the terrible, terrible food nothing else. Well... it could also be the water, it's starting to feel wrong to drink. <em>I'm not surviving this.</em> Curled up in the cockpit main chair. The only viable place to sleep besides the floor, that's barely a floor half the paneling has been ripped out to expose the components. You haven't really poked around much in there you're not an engineer at least officially speaking, half the wires don't make sense anyway especially when the lights decided to give up permanently. [[The only light is the star.]]

Oh the star. It's bright, huge and very <em>very</em> pink. The light cascades through the viewing windows, bathing everything in it's celestial glow; even from here you can see the surface shift and swirl an ocean of heat, and pure death. [[It freaked you out.]] [[It comforted you.]]

One solar flare could probably wipe you and your ship out. Let alone acknowledging the fact that it's a giant ball of energy. The universe is wonderful and very openly hostile. Why did humans decide to come here again? [[The ship groaned.]]

There really is nothing like being in the cradle of such a large celestial being, the planet your from, the original one at least had a star of it's own to orbit. The sun was small and the planet was oh so far away. It was a surprise humans could survive that long there. Yet here you were getting that same sort of feeling of when dawn would come. It's made you feel a bit sentimental. [[The ship groaned.]]

...and creaked, and whined, and frankly every noise descripter under this star. The hull of the ship was adjusting and readjusting to the pressure and heat changes. It was as loud as a house shifting in a storm. Hopefully you don't get any leaks. [["What is safe?"]]

Startling forward you grabbed the microphone for the radio. Right your in the midst of a possible mental break. It started probably a week ago when the radio started going off, your own voice flowing through the speakers or rather your words were but not in the order you said them in when you were transmitting out. At first it was brushed off as feedback but then <em>it</em> started asking questions and well what's a little bit of talking to strange radio waves in deep space isolation? Nothing that's what. Not like anyone was coming to get your sorry ass. "Safe is.. [[feeling like your invincible.]]" [[being surrounded to the ones you love]]"

"Like being wrapped up in a bundle of blankets to keep you warm." "I am warm." "You are indeed [[3700 Kelvin warm.|moooons?]]" "Kelvin?" "Another unit of measurement." "Like spoons?" "Like spoons."

<<if $scared is true>>"Invincible?" It crooned out. "Yeah like nothing can fall apart." "Like my [[moooons?]]" Snorting you place a hand on the panel thumbing the switch on to show off some of the photo's you took of the moons when you first got stuck. "Yeah feeling the opposite of that." "I don't want to fall apart." And neither did you. <<else>> "Invincible?" It crooned out. "Yeah like nothing can fall apart." "Like my [[moooons?]]" Snorting you place a hand on the panel thumbing the switch on to show off some of the photo's you took of the moons when you first got stuck. "Yeah feeling the opposite of that." "I don't want to fall apart." And neither did you. You're horrified of space as is. <</if>>

Right the elephant in the room. You are talking to a star and not any star but the star you are talking to is the one. "Infront of you." It whispered out when you asked where they were. It was improbable and and weird and you didn't want to give up talking to it again it's lonely out here and if you were really talking to the star they agree too. [["What is your name?"]]

Shifting in the seat again making sure your legs don't knock the wires by your feet you ponder. Names mean something and they are worth a lot old stories depicting if you gave away your name your giving away your life. You have had many names, given away plenty more and the only real reason you lost your life was because of something so impossibly out of your control. Out of anyone's control really. If you think about it, their might have only been two people to know your name, your actual one, the one one that you loved and cared for the most. The one you chose. The one you haven't spoken in decades. "My name is <<textbox "$name" "Apollo">>" [[You whisper like a promise.]]

<<if $name is "Apollo">> "$name?" You flinch a bit, you might of prepared to share it but to hear it after all this time? It makes you sick. The irony of your name and being stuck on a ship called The Chariot is not lost on you. "Do I have a name?" Your scanners are severly out dated and has no map of this part of the universe and therefore you have no idea if this star has a name or not but really choosing a name is better than taking whatever was assigned to you by a system that probably gave you a long strong of numbers as a name0000. <<else>>"$name?" You flinch a bit, you might of prepared to share it but to hear it after all this time? It makes you sick. "Do I have a name?" Your scanners are severly out dated and has no map of this part of the universe and therefore you have no idea if this star has a name or not but really choosing a name is better than taking whatever was assigned to you by a system that probably gave you a long strong of numbers as a name. <</if>> [["Do you want one?"]] <<set $profileSet = true>> <<if settings.achievements>><<notify 3s>>Profile Unlocked<</notify>><</if>>

"Yes." "Have anything in mind then?" "Can you name me?" Folding your legs to sit criss cross you ponder. What would be a good name for a pink star in an ocean of void. "I think I'll name you. <<textbox "$star" "Astraeus">> [[Next|name]]

<<if $star is "Astraeus">> It's based off an old earth story also can be translated to star... listen your not very original. "$star." The star sounds out, drawling out the letters. "I like that. Thank you $name." Your starting to regret giving out your name. Your skin wont stop crawling. <<else>>"$star." The star sounds out, drawling out the letters. "I like that. Thank you $name." Your starting to regret giving out your name. Your skin wont stop crawling. <</if>> [[Lights start flashing on the ship a slow red blink on the console.]] <<set $charList = true>> <<set $starlist = true>> <<if settings.achievements>><<notify 3s>>Character List Unlocked<</notify>><</if>>

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/6NcgTxs/Aethertitlescreen.png" alt="Aethertitlescreen" border="0"> <center> <h1>Aether's End</h1> <p>"everything that opens is a mouth. Every mouth will spit you right out."<br> -Plastic Bag from Corner Store Laments the Self - Aliyah Cotton</p> <center> <div class="choice">[[Begin|Start]]</div> </center>

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/b7Qnt5P/Astraeusprofile.png" alt="Astraeusprofile" border="0"> TO BE ALIVE IS TO EXPIERENCE THE UNIVERSE TASTING ITSELF <<button "Return" $return>><</button>>

YOU LOVED THEM YOU KNOW YOU DID YOU LOVED THEM THATS WHY EVERYTHING IS LIKE THIS LOVE WASN'T ENOUGH BUT IT MEANT SOMETHING BEYOND DAILY STRUGGLE. <<button "Return" $return>><</button>>

"Fuuuuuck." The coolant for the payload has dropped below 50% it's been slowly leaking for weeks now, inside the ship getting hotter and hotter, most systems turned off only bare essentials stayed on. Now though? Now you probably have 10 minutes to live before the remaining power from the shields give out and your stuck with some metal protect you from close proximity with a star. "Fuuuuuuck." The star mimicks. You cannot help but laugh that falls off into a desperate sob. [["That's a bad word. Don't say that."]] [["Yes fuuuuuck indeed."]]

Laughter echoes through the cockpit it sounds like you but it isn't. "Fuuuuck." $star marches onwards and really were you suprised that they didn't listen? You don't think anyone in the history of ever listened. [[You know deep down you don't want to die.]]

What's the point on surviving another ten minutes? [[You know deep down you don't want to die.]]

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/ngHgwFC/ending-1-collapse.png" alt="ending-1-collapse" border="0"> ALL IT TOOK WAS A SPARK. [[start over|Menu]]

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/dMzkYZ4/aethers-ending.png" alt="aethers-ending" border="0"> "I can save you." [[start over|Menu]]

#ui-bar { background-color: black; color: pink; } /* ui bar list (menu links) */ #menu ul { margin: 0 0 0; padding: 0; list-style: none; border: none; } #menu ul:empty { display: none; } #menu li { margin: 0; } #menu li:not(:first-child) { border-top: none; } #menu li a { display: block; padding: 0.25em 0.75em; border: none; color: pink; text-transform: uppercase; }

<<set $oldfriend = true>>But to live? To live is something you never thought you could do without them by your side. A million promises interlinked with pinkies, notes, shooting stars and candle wishes. They were supposed to make it out. Not <em>you.</em> [[But they would want you to live.]] [[But they would want you to survive.]] [[You don't think they prefer shit right now they're dead.]] <<if settings.achievements>><<notify 3s>>Character List Updated<</notify>><</if>>

Live is the key word here. You don't do small and neither did they. Scratch that <em>all</em> you two did was small but the idea was to be grand. A decent ship just the two of you, exploring every horizon and visit enough planets and moons to fill up a libraries with nothing but lists of the names of said planets and moons. You look at the suit. It stares back. In the reflection of the visor you see yourself. What you have become. [[Get in the suit.]]

There is an unstoppable sort of guilt that comes from saving yourself. It sits low in your stomach, aches enough for you to be acutely aware of how your limbs curl inward, as if there'd be anyone to cradle you. Your body fights to survive even if you don't really want it to, a failsafe that can be harmful to anyone in proximity. Drowning people in a way to stay alive will drown another. Limbs flailing using another body as a raft. So easy to become a fallen angel on the ocean depths. [[Get in the suit.]]

They fought to stay alive with such ferocity, a burning house on a lone island. They probably would of figured out how to get the fuck out of here by now. [[Get in the suit.]]

The suit is thankfully not as old as the ship just styled to match. It should give you a little more time. The design choice was odd, the little ears to house lighting and signal response aren't good for helmet design. You had a theory this ship was going to be gutted and used as a prop of some sorts, everything just felt strange in here. Putting on the suit was no problem your well versed in putting on space suits although the hiss of air as you seal the helmet still makes you uneasy. Reaching a hand out towards the panel you contemplate. Switching everything off will leave you in nothing but the protection of the suit. It will grant you another 7 hours of breathing time but the suit wont be able to handle the heat that comes with being this close to $star. [[Switch it all off.]] [[Is it really better to slowly cook to death than to just die of oxegyn depletion?]]

"$star?" "Yes $name?" Your hands are shaking now, listening to the sound of the ship shut down. The metal starts to scream as the shields come down, the heat is too much. The pressure will be the same soon. "I'll be gone soon." [[Walk to the hatch.]]

Both sound bad but there might be another option. You could just... blow it all up. It wouldn't be hard to just let the payload overwork itself to death, or to cause a fire inside the other room and just wait. [[Go out with a bang.]] [[Switch it all off.]]

You sit back own in the chair, $star moons are coming back into view again. You switch on all systems and even from here you can here the ship starting to fail on itself. "$name? What is happening?" Right... the star. [["I'm leaving soon."]]

"Please don't." Your heart aches a bit. There is no stopping this. The ship is starting to whistle. A faint shuttering shakes you as the metal creaks. "I'm sorry $star." You focus on the star, it's beautiful, surface coming to life, a solar flare. [["Please!"|End 1]]

"Why?" Million dollar question. "I'm not like you I can't survive in these-" Lights flare red as you enter the bay. Ship rocking violently forcing you to hold onto door as it depressurizes. "conditions." "Where will go?" Pink light floods your body. "Right here." "You're dying aren't you?" Tears are falling. [["Yeah"|End 2]]