PNC Story/Twilight Requiem Nodes

This is a transcript of event nodes in combat stages of the Twilight Requiem event in Project Neural Cloud.

Stage 1: Sunset Soliloquy

Node	Choices	Node	Choices
[Blood, formerly flowing, now lies dried. Corpses litter the wilderness like grass, not a soul to care after them. Engulfed by the freezing rain, chilling wind, billowing dust.]	Excuse me, the young miss in black over there... But what are you trying to say?	??: People have always said that "in Death, all things are equal". But in truth, many of the deceased have nary a right to a resting place.	...

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[Hence came the Four Horsemen, and in their wake was ruination and lament.] ??: The soldiers and volunteers laid the corpses in the plaza together, covering them with white shrouds and leaving markers. ??: A complex, unspeakable emotion began to emerge: fatigue and exhaustion, accompanied by the fear borne of witnessing cadavers. The weeping of the survivors reached my ears once again.	Even thinking about such a scene must have been hard to bear.

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[The spinner, name of Clotho, she draws and spins the thread. The measurer, name of Lachesis, measures the thread's length. The cutter, name of Atropos, determines when the thread shall reach finality.] ??: Who could have thought that those people who died in that disaster would be sent on their final journey by a bunch of Dolls?	Are mortician A-Dolls not a common sight?	??: Perhaps now, but not in the past. ??: Several UAS Dolls who had undergone emergency modification were hurriedly changed into burial clothes and stood in the plaza, reciting eulogies.	A proper funeral is the greatest form of respect for the deceased.

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[In all things decay is inevitable.] ??: It had been roughly half a year since that terrible disaster. Those hastily-modified Dolls became members of a volunteer team, and carried out special duties. ??: In truth, it wasn't all that special. After all, it was something every human had to experience.	Death.	??: They worked together to send the dead on their way, and they were as close as sisters. ??: However, that fate would eventually befall Dolls as well. Bodies of steel would not exempt them from that which cannot be denied.	Hm... So they're not around anymore?

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[A cotton wad is wrapped around the shuttle, and from it we pull forth a clean, white thread. Behold, that is life.] ??: So they still live. Or rather, they – who danced with Death – have been given new life.	??: The volunteers purchased three new bodies from UAS so that they could appear in a new form.	Hm?	And so, those who represented death were now reborn. Pretty deep, if you ask me.

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[Let us sow the seeds of fairness among the people of the land.] ??: Not all families could afford funeral companies or clergymen. ??: But this did not hinder them. Or rather, they could still send off their kin in an appropriate way.	That was the work of those Dolls you mentioned earlier.	??: Mhmm. ??: They did not have proper names before they switched their bodies, but eventually they gained elegant and mellifluous monikers.	Let me guess... Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos?

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[Life and death are ultimate questions which cannot be avoided.] ??: Witnessing final departures for so many years, even a heart of stone will eventually be moved. ??: And what of Dolls with emotional systems? After being exposed to sorrow for so long, this vast excess of negative emotions would lead their other emotional modules to stop functioning altogether.	Were they changed too?	??: All of them, except for "her", the spinner who drew forth threads from the loom. Looking at it through lens of human emotions and ethics, she was the youngest of them, but she did not collapse like her elder sisters. ??: But...perhaps it would be more apt to call it an elaborate disguise. For a Doll of UAS' emotions to evolve to such an extent, maybe the changes in her were the most significant.	...

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[Emotions are as elusive as the eternal, nameless chaos.] ??: The sisters were gone. ??: She had never been so lonely or vulnerable before. Especially when she learned the destiny decreed for her "sisters", who had collapsed under the weight of their sorrow–	Were they... destroyed?	??: A neural cloud that suffers failure needs to be reset. ??: And the irony of it all - as their bodies receive new life, their souls would now be erased and recomposed.	Perhaps she knew that even if her sisters returned, they would not be the people she knew from her memories.

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"My story is done. Is there anything else you would like to hear?"	Perhaps what I've heard is complicated and lengthy enough, Clotho.	"Yes." "I did not wish to experience those painful events again, and so I descended upon this realm. I seek that secret elixir, capable of healing ones' sorrows in this fathomless ocean of digits." "So that I may exist with them, eternally bound to the past." "Product Code: Mortician-3." "Body Code: SSD-56-SE-2." "Product Serial Number: MOIRAI23224." "Product Activation Date: 2056.12.31." "Product Name: Clotho." "Neural Activation Percentage: ??%" "Mortician-3, CALL NAME: Clotho... Verification complete."	Alright, sign here, please.

Stage 2: Prologue at Dusk

Node	Choices
You encounter a fork in the road while on a mission. "Clotho, I think I can hear shellfire from over there..."	Run through the shellfire.
	Go the other way.

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New mission assigned: Cadaver recovery. Terrain ID Code: N273201W992852, under jurisdiction of Military Sector L. Recovery target(s): 1 Note: If recovery target shows signs of life, please recover the target.	Let's go, Hel.

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On the battlefield, after an intense explosion. "Clotho, are you alright?" "I'm fine." But your back..."	Pull out the fragments.
	Carry on.

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Several soldiers are walking down the corridor towards you. "Get that damn coffin away from me! God, you're so depressing."	Lower your head and let them go by first.
	Pretend you didn't hear them and get pushed aside by the rough soldiers.

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Corpses litter the battlefield. One wounded soldier is still clinging to life. "Tina... What's going to happen to you after I die?"	What's going to happen to... me after I die?
	We are here to guide your soul.

Stage 3: Grave Moon Sigh

Node	Choices
A soldier stands in Centaureissi's way and glares at her in provocation. "Hey, you stepped on my foot, tin can!"	I did not step on your foot. Or would you like to fight me again?
	Line your shoes up by the doorway, I'll wash them all every morning. Now make way please, I have a job to do.

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"Clotho, you don't look too good..."	Organize your neural cloud data.
	Carry on with your mission.

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An officer calls out to Centaureissi. "One of the German soldiers under me is celebrating his birthday tonight. Can you make German food?" "Sir, of course I can, sir. I lived in Germany before this, sir." "Looks like dinner will be worth looking forward to."	Make Sauerbraten.
	Make Dutch Babies with sausages.
	Make pork knuckles with sauerkraut.

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A soldier calls out to Centaureissi. "Hey, my room needs cleaning." "Cleaning complete. Is there anything else?" "So soon? It's only been 10 minutes!"	Just doing my job.

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Centaureissi lies in a repair capsule and begins organizing her neural cloud data. Vayne curls up in her blanket, sobbing quietly. "Big Sis, are Mama and Papa never going to come back?"	Pause the neural cloud organization.
	Why was she so sad back then?

Stage 4: Starry Interlude

Node	Choices
Clotho returns to the dorm after finishing her tasks. Centaureissi goes silent as she looks at Clotho's battered body.	Remove the fragments and carefully tend her wounds.

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When Centaureissi returns to the dorm, she sees Clotho spacing out in front of the window.	Call out to Hel and play a game with her.
	Make afternoon tea for her.
	Teach her to make cake.

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Clotho lies in a repair capsule and begins organizing her neural cloud data. "Observation comments: Clotho's neural cloud modules can still sustain normal operations, albeit barely. I recommend that she not be reset, but reassigned to a war zone after her neural cloud data is backed up. – Ph.D Romero	An unchanging everyday...
	...Death has not yet come. In that case, it's time to begin today's work.

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Clotho, more shells incoming!	Move faster.
	Drop prone on the spot.

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You encounter the enemy during a mission!	Start the battle!
	Quietly sneak away.

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Clotho lies in a repair capsule and begins organizing her neural cloud data. This seems to be after a burial. One of her sisters looks at her with hollow eyes. "What will you do after I die?"	Pause the neural cloud organization.
	I don't know...

Stage 5: Lost Knowledge

Node	Choices
The enemy's bombardment is too intense! What should we do?	Lie down in a depression nearby and pretend to be a corpse.
	Let Hel take the brunt of it for a bit...
	There's cover just up ahead!

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Shellfire engulfs Centaureissi's hiding place.	Catch your breath before getting up again.
	Immediately relocate.

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The shelling has stopped and the enemy is pushing forward again!	Get to cover and don't let them see you!
	Change our path, we seem to be in their route of advance!
	Continue forward, the enemy guns need to reload!

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There's a small group of enemies ahead!	Wipe them out quickly!
	Go that way!

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You hear the whistling of a cannon round. Hel: "Look out!"	Duck to the left; the missed shell throws up a huge cloud of dust.
	Don't avoid it; the shockwave from the impact knocks you down.
	Duck to the right; the shell misses.

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Before shutting down, Centaureissi gives Clotho her battery. Now, Clotho is the only one capable of moving	Accept her hopes and continue forward.	You've obtained Centaureissi's battery. This weighty parcel of hope remains warm to the touch...	Let's go, for the sake of living on.