Mahou Shoujo: Luminous Meadow

A random [Explore] encounter that may net you an odd ballet outfit or set free an ancient horror.

The outfit in question can be found here: https://pastebin.com/t32YbrMW
And the horror has its continuation here: https://pastebin.com/scDTyTfZ




> Luminous Meadow
//Requires you to have learned at least three spells

After a long while of stumbling through undergrowth and fighting more bushes than you cared to count, you finally break into a clearing. Bright sunlight assaults your eyes and you have to blink a few times before you can take in the vivid scenery. A large meadow, surrounded entirely by thick bushes and tall trees. Lush, almost unnaturally vibrant grass covers the ground, interspersed with beds of white flowers that remind you of garden lilies, but not quite. Luminous. That is how you could describe this scene.

As you revel in the feeling of soft grass underneath, your eyes catch a glimmer in the middle of the clearing. You draw closer and recognize it as two white wooden chairs, standing side-by-side, in pristine condition. What an odd sight. They must have been here for months now, judging by the flowers curling high around their legs, but they look unblemished, as if built and painted just yesterday.

A smile travels across your face at this peculiarity and you run your fingers over the back rest, then lean down to smell a blossom that managed to claw itself all the way up. Is that cheese? It couldn't be, you must have gone mad. You chuckle to yourself.

Somehow, since you entered this sunny clearing, you've been feeling so relaxed, so happy. You feel like you could just forget all your worries, even if only for this moment.[if corruption >50:( Even the corruption within you has been quelled for now, your usual desires gone. All that is left is a feeling of joyful purity.)] The meadow is inviting you to take a breather, and you accept its loving embrace. You sit down, lean back and close your eyes. And listen. Listen to the gentle breeze caressing your cheeks, listen to the rustling of leaves, listen to the melodious chirping of birds in the treetops, listen to the faint buzzing of insects, flying from flower to flower.

You don't know when you dozed off, but you awaken to the feeling of something gently brushing your cheek and the faint smell of... melons? You open your eyes and look to the side, but there is no-one there. You are still alone on this sunny meadow. You contemplate continuing your nap, but something on the other chair catches your attention. It looks like a dress, neatly folded, and two red ribbons placed on top. You set the ribbons aside and unfold the garment. It is a terribly girly, frilly thing, mainly pink and white in color, with a wide skirt and a multi-layered petticoat underneath. Something a ballet dancer might wear, perhaps. How did it get here? It wasn't there before, was it? You couldn't have missed it. Maybe someone put it there while you slept. But why? And who?

You turn the dress about in your hands. It's light, and feels pleasant to the touch, warmed by the sun's rays, and you feel a distinct magical aura exuding from it. It feels strange, foreign, but affectionate and comforting, like an unknown mother's bosom. This dress is clearly magical in nature, but something feels off. Something in the back of your mind tells you this is not what it seems, that it would be best to just leave it here. That underneath that warm aura, something else lurks.

 [Take it] [Leave it] [Burn it]
//[Take it] tooltip: "Take it anyway."
//[Leave it] tooltip: "Leave it, don't disturb whatever it is. You could come back another time."
//[Burn it] tooltip: "Fire shall liberate all."
//[Burn it] tooltip if no fire spells available: "Fire shall liberate all. But you don't have any. Maybe come back again when you do."
//[Burn it] requires fire spells. I don't know them all, but should just be the same as for burning corrupted glades


> [Take it]

This might all just be a sweet dream, but the warmth that fills your chest is real. You bring the dress up to your face and nuzzle into it. A sudden, cold shiver down your spine is quickly washed away by the desire to snuggle up to someone, and you take a deep breath into the soft fabric. You pocket the two ribbons and head back to camp, clutching the garment tightly to your chest.

When take a last look around, you feel a pang of melancholy. You somehow know you'll never be able to find this precious place again.

As if confirming your worries, a distant rumble fills the air and the sky changes to a mournful grey. A white fog slowly creeps across the clearing, casting everything under its thick blanket. As it envelops the chairs, you sigh, turn around and leave through the bushes you came from. It is sad that you will never see this dream world, this silver garden, ever again. But that's all right, isn't it? You have it here, the memory. The memory of her. You won't forget. [if silly mode is on:(And you will continue to fight for her sake.)]

Her? Who? You frown, shake your head and continue on your way.

//Odd ballet outfit get!
//Corruption reduced by 5
//Fatigue down to zero
//Health up to maximum
//Clearing cannot be encountered again


> [Leave it]

This is all too strange. This place is wonderful, but powerful forces are at work here.[if corruption >50:( You don't like how it messes with your mind.)] You follow your instinct and decide it's best to leave this place alone. And even better to not take any strange ballet dresses with you.

You fold the garment, put it back on the chair and place the ribbons on top. [if corruption >75:(The thought of spitting on it leaves you as quickly as it came. Something is definitely holding you back.)]

You sigh[if corruption >50:( in defeat)]. As refreshing as your nap has been, you should head back. Whatever orchestrated this discovery wants you to stay, but you have other things to do than take naps in pretty flower gardens.

You leave through the bushes you came from, humming to yourself. After you are almost back at your camp, you stop in your tracks, frowning. What were you just doing? You look up at the sun. Time has clearly passed, but the last hour or so is... nebulous. You can't remember what you were doing, only a lingering warmth in your stomach remains.

//Fatigue -50
//Health +100
//Clearing can be encountered again until [Take it] or [Burn it] are chosen
//I'm too fucking lazy to write a repeat scene, hence the memory loss


> [Burn it]

[if corruption >50:(You've had enough of this shit.) else:(You shake your head and slap your face.)] This is clearly some powerful sorcery at work here. And whatever it is, it needs to be destroyed. To be purged in flames. But how?

[Fire spell] [Some other fire spell] [Even more fire spells] [look at this, another fire spell] [How many do we have?] [Niggers.]
//Should list all the fire spells the player knows and any other ways to set fires, I haven't played this long enough to know
//If possible, they should cost whatever they would when cast in combat, or just whatever, 5 or 10


> [Selected Method of Purging the Xenos]

Watching the fire engulf the chairs, a gleeful smile spreads across your face. Already, you can feel the power of this place dwindling.[if corruption >50:( Soon your mind will be your own again. Nothing messes with you unpunished.)] The blaze looks strong enough now and you take a last look at the strange dress. The eerie presence you felt before is now stronger than ever. No doubt, it comes from this dress. A tiny voice in the back of your mind pleads you to stop, but you [if corruption >50:(crush that asshole) else:(ignore that fool)] and toss the frilly garment inside, followed by the ribbons.

As soon as the fire envelops the costume, a high whistle—like a boiling tea kettle—fills the air. You look around and wonder what that could be, when it suddenly ascends into an ear-rending shriek. You wince and clutch your ears as it rises and rises in pitch, until finally, the flames erupt in a deafening roar, showering you in embers and burning splinters. You are knocked backwards, dazed, body stinging. When your vision returns, the sky has turned a sinister midnight black, dark clouds roiling about a cyclone that seems to slowly extend towards the ground. Lightning ripples the air and as you stand, you notice the inferno raging around you.

The meadow, moments ago a peaceful heaven, has turned a purgatory. Despite the torrential rain crashing down on you, the flames don't waver and you see no way out of this blazing prison.[if has ability to fly:( Even your wings are of no use. With the storm around you, you would be at the gods' mercy. And they seem anything but merciful right now.)] Is this how you die, like a deer in a forest fire?[if deer-morph:( A fitting death, but still not one you would like to experience.)] With no escape left, you turn towards the center of the clearing.

You shouldn't have.

Time comes to a stop, your body suddenly numb, the chaos around you fades into the distance. The only feelings still real to you are those of your hammering heart and pure, primeval terror. [if corruption >75:(A feeling you had forgotten even existed.)]

Before you stands a figure as dark and terrible as the deepest ocean, towering above your tiny form like a mountain over an ant. You see no limbs, no head or face, just a turmoil of black fumes boiling within its monolithic mass. Its head, or where you assume its head should be—far above you—almost reaches the descending tornado. And it is stretching closer towards it.

You can do nothing but stare. Your mind screams at you to run, to flee, through the inferno if you must, but your body won't obey. Frozen in terror you kneel there—when did you fall?—and watch as horror and cyclone converge ever closer and closer.

Just as they are about to meet, something shifts atop the dark form. It is far, but you make out something like a single, deep blue eye, piercing you from up high. A ghostly laughter echoes through your very core, setting your nerves alight. Who is laughing? You? The monstrosity? You don't know.

Then it connects. The laughter ascends into the cackle of a mad god. The inferno roars around you, blazes and torrents being sucked towards the singularity in an all-consuming maelstrom. The storm tears at you body, flames singe your [skin] and hail batters you with the force of bullets as you are pulled towards your doom. Just as it threatens to swallow you, a massive blast crashes into you and hurls your helpless body through the air. You slam into the scorched mud with bone-cracking force. Your ears ring and you nearly lose consciousness, but wrench yourself back.

Thunderous howling echoes a final time, then... silence.

You open your eyes again. The sky has turned back to normal, only a few thunderclouds remain. The firestorm has calmed down as well. Some places still burn on, but the shock wave must have put most of them out, leaving only smouldering ruins in its wake. The nightmarish creature... is gone. No trace remains, safe for the destruction it left behind.

You try to upright yourself, but your shivering body won't let you, so you flop back onto the ashen ground, close your eyes and take deep, shaky breaths. It takes a while for your body and mind to return to your control. And even after they do, you are still shaken to the core. It seems like a miracle, but you are still in one piece. Nothing broken or ripped off. You let out a relieved breath.

The clearing is gone, scorched off the face of this land. There is nothing left to investigate.

You turn towards the camp and as you make your way back, your mind begins to wander. What was that creature? Why was it here? What will it do? Was this even real? Was it maybe all a terrible dream?

What have you done? [if corruption >75:(Was it worth it?)]

//Fatigue maxed out
//Clearing cannot be encountered again
//Unlocks rare [Explore] boss encounter: Kriemhild Gretchen
//Continued here: https://pastebin.com/scDTyTfZ