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Power Corrupts: The Long Road Ahead (ch. 90) (Finale)
🕑 Added 2021-09-11 14:54:40 +0000 UTCA day later, the evacuation was complete. The city was empty except for those that wanted to fight Alduin, which was a fair few more than I expected. There were the members of the Crimson Demons that lined the walls around Helgen, for starters. The Companions were ready for another round too, but at the moment, they hung back to protect the archers and mages. Then there were the figures of Legend in Helgen -- Sheogorath and the Nerevarine.
My familia was in Helgen as well -- all of them. Hestia and the other gods stood at the ready to cast their healing spells and buffs. Some were already empowered by my Skill. Everyone was prepared. Ready for the showdown of an Era. Compared to last time, we were on the verge of being over-prepared.
"Your presence brings about many surprises, Outlander," Paarthurnax remarked to me as we stood at the Throat of the World. He was behind me, his gaze affixed to the door that Alduin had been banished through. As well as the spot he would reappear. I would have liked to spring him from the space-time continuum in Helgen, where he would be trapped instantly, but, sadly, that's not how messing with the fabric of reality worked.
This spot was his destination. Opening the Elder scroll just meant he had a shortcut to it, regardless of where it was opened.
"Yeah, but the surprises worked out in our favor this time," I said, shouldering Soul Edge as I held the Elder Scroll in the other hand. "By the way -- I'd steer clear of the Crimson Demons. They're a bunch of idiots that happen to be extremely powerful mages. If they don't get the killing blow on Alduin, they'll settle for you since killing dragons is cool." Every single one of them was salivating at the idea of earning the title dragonslayer.
Paarthurnax let out a noise of amusement, "I've noticed," he said, making me look up at him. "A number of them have attempted to climb the mountain to slay me after my location and existence was revealed. They are powerful, but subtly escapes them."
Oh. "My bad," I apologized, since that was my fault for revealing that Paarthurnax existed, and for bringing the Crimson Demons here. "I'll straighten them out. I'll put the fear of me in them," I reassured. Paarthurnax was someone I wanted to stick around. I wanted him to live beyond the battle, and not just because he could teach me more Shouts.
People were kinda freaking out about Paarthurnax, especially the old Blades. But, when I made it clear I would absolutely murder whoever started some shit, people shut up pretty quickly Being King really did have some perks. I'm sure that they were stewing in resentment, but they were free to do that. The moment that resentment became action would be when I would start taking heads. I'd dismantle the Blades myself if I had to.
"You ready?" I asked Paarthurnax, knowing that I was stalling a bit. Perfect memory fucked me in that regard. I could perfectly recall exactly how I had first seen Alduin. And exactly what I had felt. Underneath the grim determination had been the overwhelming feeling that we weren't ready. That I wasn't ready.
Now, here I stood again, knowing that I was, but doubts were still tugging at the stray threads of my attention, wiggling around inside my skull and undermining my confidence. My grip tightened on Soul Edge, and I rolled my shoulders to loosen up, but my gaze never left the spot where Alduin would return.
Paarthurnax let out a drawn-out sigh and I heard him shifting behind me, my expanded vision letting me see him stand to his full height. He towered over me, looking ancient and powerful. Paarthurnax was strong, even among dragons, but but, I knew all too well that Alduin wasn't just another dragon. I had watched him kill Paarthurnax with ease when Alduin was at his weakest. Underestimating Alduin came with a deadly price.
"Let it be done. I have waited long enough," Paarthurnax said, his tone resigned for what was about to happen. Not quite sad, but enough to show that he wasn't looking forward to what came next.
I nodded and unfurled the scroll, "Time for round two." The scroll glowed brightly, brighter than the sun itself, the light guttering off of the snow until it too was almost blinding. The light seemed to concentrate on a single point where Alduin had vanished so many thousands of years before.
Crawling out of that light, Alduin returned to the land of Nirn. He was exactly how I recalled him down to the smallest detail -- jet black scales that seemed to absorb light like a black hole, a huge hulking body that dwarfed Paarthurnax twice over. His scales twisted upward, coming off his body like spikes, his winged arms digging into the stone like it was clay. Steam rolled off of him, his dark eyes honing in on Paarthurnax before they settled on me.
"A mortal that carries my essence? Offer yourself to me and you shall rule this land as a king," Alduin offered and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he picked up on the fact that I used his soul to enchant my armor. His voice seemed to reverberate through me, even when he wasn't bellowing or shouting, his words just carried… power. Power that demanded the submission of all those that heard it.
It had had an effect on me before, more than I cared to admit, but… I had already killed him once.
"I'll pass -- I'm already King and I didn't even want to be," I dismissed the offer with enough casual ease that Alduin's eyes narrowed. I wondered if I had offended him. He looked at me like I was little more than a piece of trash he had stepped on. "Unless you have something else, let's just get this over with." I said.
"Insolent fool," Alduin remarked in a low hiss, craning his head back before he turned to Paarthurnax. "Prove your worth, Paarthurnax. Kill him."
Paarthurnax let out a rumbling chuckle that shook the ground, "How far have you fallen, my brother, to ask for aid to slay a mortal." Alduin went dangerously still at Paarthurnax's taunt. "Your era has long since ended, Alduin. Accept your ending with grace."
Alduin snarled, his wings fanning out, "Your arrogance is undeserved, Paarthurnax. Your rise to power was the result of my absence. Let me remind you why I am Father's chosen -- FUS RO DAH!" Alduin shouted and I felt the unrelenting force slam into me like a bomb going off in my face. But, there was no comparing it to how it felt the first time I was hit by it. That time, every bone shattered, every organ ruptured, and my eyes exploded.
This? This was a punch in the face at worst. The mountain crumbled underneath us, tons of stone giving way as it was reduced to rubble as if it had been struck by the hammer of an angry god. My armor absorbed the worst of it, making it vibrate ever so slightly, before I dug my feet into one of the bigger fragments of what had once been the tallest mountain in Skyrim . I saw Alduin rise up with a powerful flap of his wings, giving me a perfect target.
I kicked off the stone as it began to fall, just one part in an avalanche that cascaded down the ruined mountainside, sending myself right at Alduin like a speeding bullet. That, I found, he didn't expect as I slammed into him hard enough that the dragon folded around me as I shoulder-checked him in mid-air . Soul Edge glowed in my hand before I brought its edge down on Alduin and unleashed all the kinetic energy he just gave me.
It was every bit as powerful as the blow he had just delivered -- a huge hole opened up in the clouds at the point of impact, pushed away by the sonic boom that echoed out across the nation, and possibly beyond. It was the explosive force of a nuke delivered as a slash, and despite his power and strength, Alduin wasn't invincible and was still subject to laws of inertia.
He flew to the ground in a black blur, quickly lost in an avalanche of snow and mountain rubble. My fall was halted by a golden ring on my finger -- a ring of flying. The spell might be illegal, but I didn't really give a fuck and I had Sheogorath hook me up.
Flying was pretty cool, I decided. Kinda made me feel like a superhero. And I guess I technically was given the circumstances.
Paarthurnax was still good since I saw him circling around -- he wasn't chasing after Alduin. Not like he had the first time around. I think he was leaving the bulk of the fighting to me. I looked for Alduin in the mountain's worth of falling debris, but there was no sight of him as it rushed down what was left of the mountainside into the valleys below. The first rocks reached the walls of Helgen, but we were prepared.
They hit the walls with thunderous force, but the walls didn't budge. Protected by magic and layers of enchantments. We learned that lesson the first time, and even as the stone began to pile up, the barrier created by the Eye of Magnus kept it from spilling over the top. I searched for Alduin, and he was quick to reveal himself after getting ragged dolled, his pride having taken a beating.
He flew upwards from where he had been buried at, his gaze pinned directly on me. There was real hate in his eyes. The kind that said he didn't care about losing, so long as he took me down with him. He hadn't looked at me like that last time. Right up until the end, I had been a pest to him. I won only by the skin of my teeth and I still died in the end.
Right now… our positions were completely reversed.
"YAL TOOR SHUL!" Alduin shouted, before a torrent of fire erupted at me, flames washing over me like water, licking at my armor and cooking me inside. It was hot. Beyond hot. But I could endure it.
"FUS RO DAH!" I shouted in return, blasting the flames away from me. The shout was fueled by my resolve. Because, in this moment, I was unrelenting. We did this song and dance once before and I didn't like the result, so we were doing it again. Time couldn't stop me from getting what I wanted. Gods couldn't either. And, right now, what I wanted was to fuck Alduin's whole day up.
The shout struck Alduin with terrible force. Before, I could barely injure him with my Thu'um. Now, his scales broke, as did the bones beneath it. Blood erupted from where his leathery skin tore as he was brought low once again. He was forced back to the ground, a crater forming around his body as stone disintegrated on impact. Dust flew up, temporarily obscuring him until I flew down through it at breakneck speeds.
I landed on Alduin, sinking Soul Edge into his chest, making the dragon howl in pain before he slashed at me with his claws. I backed off, retreating a half step to dodge the swipe before I slashed out with my blade -- an arc of fire slicing through the webbing of one of his wings, ruining it.
"You were a lot scarier the last time that we did this, Alduin. Shit, I haven't even used Dragonrend yet, and you're already looking fucked up," I remarked lightly to him as I floated up while Alduin recovered. He was hunched over like a feral cat ready to pounce, eying me carefully.
This was how I imagined this boss battle would be when I first picked Skyrim. I had been high off of my victory in Danmachi. I underestimated how dangerous the world would be. I underestimated how dangerous Alduin could be. But now, with stats in the thousands and equipment made specially to wreck him, Alduin wasn't so scary anymore. He was dangerous, of course, especially considering that he was at his weakest, and if he gained strength by devouring any souls, then that could be a problem.
I wasn't underestimating him in the slightest. I just knew that I was more than his match this time.
"Pathetic -- you failed to defeat me before, so you brokered a deal with my Father to defeat me?" He questioned, a sneer in his voice as he watched me carefully. "I am the World-Eater, mortal. I am my father's shadow. You cannot kill me anymore than you can kill him." He was trying to psych me out. Honestly, I didn't see that coming from him. It felt like it was bit of a reach for a normally very powerful dragon.
"Oh, I didn't fail to kill you, Alduin," I said, rapping my chest plate. "I'm just going to do it right this time. It's like Sheogorath says -- you can't say you've lived until you suplex a dragon." I told him, making his eyes narrow before a flicker of flame appeared in the back of his throat. He didn’t like that, evidently, because I felt myself being washed over by fire once again. The heat scorched the rocks and it was only when it was cut off at the source that I saw the stone around me was glowing bright red and was on the verge of melting.
Paarthurnax dove in on Alduin, biting at his neck and turning the stream of fire upwards, causing ash to fall from the sky and the snow evaporate into mist. Alduin, despite getting bodied in the opening start of the rematch proved that he was every bit as strong as I remembered him being. He yanked his head to the side, forcing Paarthurnax into overextending himself, before he lunged and bit down at the base of his neck. Then, with a powerful twist, he flung the other dragon through the air, forcing Paarthurnax to release him as he was sent flying and slammed against the walls of Helgen.
Alduin roared before he leaped up, flapping his wings and lifting himself into the sky -- one was ruined, but he flew anyway. I wasn’t really sure how that worked, but for all I knew, Alduin flew because he wanted to fly and the wings were purely for aesthetics. Even as he flew away, he was talking shit. “I have entertained your delusions that you are my equal for long enough,” He snarled, but I noted he fell silent when he realized I was flying after him.
“Never said you were my equal,” I returned, and I couldn’t be sure if he heard me or not but I like to think that he did. I could see him forming another Shout, only to be beaten to the punch by me. “JOOR ZAH FRUL!” The shout rippled out from my mouth, warping space between us, and racing ahead of me. I could see that Alduin recognized the shout based on how his eyes widened.
His shout died in his throat, and it was like all his strength was sapped from him. My understanding of this shout had deepened tremendously. It wouldn't be wrong to say that it shaped me more than the Unrelenting Force. My second death really drove home how fragile life was, even when you were far beyond the limits of a normal human. That fundamental understanding of the fragility of mortality strengthened the shout. It shaped it like it shaped me. It was because of that understanding that I didn't throw myself at problems anymore.
Alduin began to fall and he crumpled in on himself when I slammed into him like a missile. His strength and power were robbed from him, leaving him vulnerable and exposed. The trajectory I took us on carried us towards the central market of Helgen, but there was enough hangtime for me to do one more thing.
Soul Edge faded from my grip, letting me grab hold of Alduin with both hands. I felt my strength swell as I entered the city, taking my strength to even greater heights. With his strength gone, Alduin could do nothing as I used the momentum of his fall to flip him over my back slam him into the ground, half burying the dragon into the stone marketplace.
"HAHAHA!" I heard Sheogorath laugh in absolute delight over the sounds of the chaos and stone shattering. "Jericho, you beautiful bastard! You did it! You suplexed the World-Eater!" She yelled, before breaking down into a mad fit of laughter. I leaped away from Alduin, skidding to a halt to see the goddess of madness fall to her hands and knees as she clutched her stomach, howling with laughter.
There was a smile on my face as Alduin began to force himself up, looking far worse for wear. His mouth opened, only to be forced shut when a golden chain whipped out to wrap itself around his mouth. Lili darted away as soon as the deed was done to avoid retaliation
The look in Alduin's eyes changed, even before Hestia picked up the staff that Sheogorath had dropped to activate the Eye of Magnus. The cage activated, trapping Alduin in the city with no hopes of escape. The look told me that he knew that his defeat was near despite all the pride and bluster. But, even still, the hate and indignance was still there and it only grew larger the more he accepted that this was the end of the road. And, based on how he lunged at me, he blamed me for that.
He aimed to crush me under his weight and rend me with his claws, his other methods of attack having been from him. Soul Edge appeared in my hand as I leaped to meet him, the edge of my sword catching his winged arm -- stripped of his immortality, his scales offered no real resistance anymore, and neither did his bones. Alduin let out a muffled howl of pain as I sliced off his arm, the severed limb crushing a stall in the market while Alduin was sent skidding across the ground, carried by his own momentum until he slammed into a few buildings hard enough that they collapsed over him.
There was a cheer that went up from the people that were here to fight Alduin but instead ended up watching his death as I dealt with him personally. I shouldered Soul Edge before I started to walk towards Alduin's fallen form. It was less to look cool, which was just a nice bonus, and more… to give him some time to compose himself. To give him some dignity in death. Because round two was turning out to be a one-sided beatdown. It was no contest. I was beating Alduin badly and I was doing it on my own.
Last time, with the combined efforts of those that were there, we had just barely managed to scrape out a win. To the point that we just needed one more person of note to show up or stop him from killing Paarthurnax, and it would have been a far cleaner victory . But things were very different. The gap between me and Alduin alone was every bit as large as it had been between us the first time. He was a pest, and he was a pest that fought alone so he had my undivided attention.
Alduin laid down, half-buried under a few buildings. His breathing was labored and the muzzle he wore dug into his maw hard enough that his scales had cracked like stone. I thought that he might be trying to lure me into a false sense of security, but instead, he just watched me. His eyes conveying a message that he couldn't speak out loud.
Get it over with.
I didn't say anything in response as I approached, Soul Edge at the ready. No one-liner or anything like that. It felt unnecessary. Almost disrespectful, even. After all, this felt like the closing of a chapter in my life. Alduin had loomed over me for months -- both in Skyrim and in Konosuba. Now, he was defeated. He had lost, and the victory was a costless one.
So, I raised my sword up, ready to behead the dragon and let Soul Edge consume his soul, but I paused when I heard a voice shout out at the last moment, "Wait!"
Looking over, I saw Komekko, Megumin's younger sister, running towards us. Her patchwork cape fluttered in the wind. She tripped over a rock, falling flat on her face. To her credit, she just pushed herself back to her feet and started running again while she waived a slip of paper back and forth like it was important. "I won!"
"Huh?" I muttered, hesitantly lowering my sword, but still ready to kill Alduin if he tried something. What was she doing here? What did she mean, she won? Why was she here in the first place? Noncombatants should have been evacuated already.
Sheogorath was the one that answered me, "You already killed Alduin before! We had a lottery to see who would get to kill him this time! Komekko won!" Sheogorath informed me like that explained anything. Komekko arrived next to me a moment later, proudly presenting me with a ticket that said 'Winner!' on it and a broad smile.
I feel like I should have expected something like this and I was disappointed that I didn't. Konosuba wasn't the kind of place that let anyone die with dignity or respect, and I had brought a slice of it home with me. I glanced at Alduin to see that he had closed his eyes and had just accepted whatever came next. I guess… I guess I could understand that. This whole thing was basically a conversation Akatosh was having with himself on if he should destroy the world or not. And after getting your ass kicked like that, I imagine it was pretty clear what side Akatosh had decided on.
Well, the jump in exp would put me dangerously close to leveling up again… and I learned my lesson about timing my level-ups...
"I… alright, fine," I agreed, making Komekko jump for joy as she shouted "Yay!"'
"Can I use your sword? It looks so cool!" Komekko requested and I nearly handed it over instinctively before I recalled the whole 'driving anyone but me insane with rage thing.'
"Er, it's not safe for you to use that, but I have something else for you to use," I said, hoping that I had something else for her to use. The number of items that could finish off Alduin were rather limited. He might be weakened but he was still a dragon.
It took a few seconds of me scrolling through my inventory to find something that fit the criteria I was looking for. A wand that I had purchased from Wiz's shop to butter her up. I had practically forgotten about it. All I really knew was that it was a high-class item based on the price tag. Komekko lit up when she saw it, "Wow! A command wand?" She said, clutching it in her hands as I blinked slowly.
A what now?
I received my answer when Komekko leveled the wand at Alduin, who cracked an eye open when he heard the exchange and looked at the young girl that would be killing him.
"Die," Komekko commanded, the wand glowing as it enforced the command…
Then, Alduin obeyed.
His black scales began to fade, turning an ashen white, before they settled on a pure white and began crumbling under the weight of the stones that were piled on top of him. It was different this time -- Alduin's soul wasn't trying to escape like a burst of flames. This was more of a fire that was burning out, leaving only ash behind. Alduin's body crumbled, the shape of the once-mighty dragon quickly lost as the stones fell through him and hit the ground. In a second, Alduin was gone and only white ash remained of him.
It was a quiet ending for the dragon. And the somber moment was thoroughly ruined when Komekko cheered loudly, presenting her Adventure's card for me to see. She was so happy that her eyes glowed like jewels, "Mr. Jericho! I'm strong like you now!"
I wasn't sure what level Komekko had originally been, but I'm guessing it wasn't level 250.
I just created a monster.
"Yeah, you sure are," I said, reaching down and lifting Komekko up so she could sit on my shoulder. Soul Edge faded from my hand, as did my armor, letting me face a crowd of people that surged towards us. At the helm of them all, I saw Hestia rushing towards us. As soon as she could, she dove towards me, burying her face in my stomach as she held me tightly.
Others crowded around, congratulating me and Komekko as the celebration for our victory began. It was as if Helgen had been holding its breath until now, and the celebration was a sigh of relief. Hestia squeezed me, bringing my attention to her while Komekko enthusiastically waved her hands and the wand that I really needed to take back before she commanded someone else to die.
Hestia looked up, tears in her eyes as she spoke just loud enough for me to hear her despite the sea of noise around us.
"You won," she said, the statement carrying far more meaning than what two words should be able to convey. Alduin was dead. My enemy was defeated. The unfinished business that had weighed down on me was finally resolved. I felt lighter than I had in months. Since before I came to Skyrim. I felt as light as I had when I first arrived in Danmachi and there was absolutely nothing holding me down.
I felt like there was nothing but an endless sea of possibilities in every direction.
"Yeah… I won."
…
The celebration was in full swing after people returned from where they were hiding out. Once again, Helgen was filled to the absolute brim with people and every single one of them was rejoicing. It was still in the dead of winter, but that didn't stop people from throwing a lavish celebration. Not just Helgen either -- with the Marks, all of Skyrim was celebrating Alduin's defeat.
Less than a day later, the story was already twisted into knots. Komekko was made out to be a figure of legend, and I beat the shit out of Alduin with my bare hands. Statues were commissioned, paintings were being painted -- it was the whole nine yards.
The apocalypse was pushed back. Nirn's expiration date wasn't coming up any time soon. People were happy. All of Tamriel was happy. I knew as much because representatives from all over the world came to bother me and tell me how great I was. Even the Emperor teleported back to Solitude when he heard that Alduin was already defeated.
Not even the gods walking the planet managed to steal my spotlight. One that I was avoiding as I looked on from above at a room filled to the brim with self-important people. The Emperor, the Thalmor, the diplomats, Jarls, and gods. My familia, for the most part, were sprinkled about as praise was dumped into them by the boatload since they couldn't find me.
There were only a few figures missing. Serana was still laying low. Komekko was all partied out so she was taking a nap. However, the most important one of them all was approaching me from behind.
"You know, I never figured out what your play was," I remarked to Talos as he joined me to watch the party. I heard him chuckle before I glanced at him -- he looked good. He was old, and he still had that nasty scar on his throat, but he seemed more… at ease than the last time I had seen him. I guess Alduin had weighed heavily on him.
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't have one?" He asked and I didn't even have to think about it.
"No," I answered. Talos seemed like a guy that had backup plans for his backup plans. There was no way that I would believe that he didn't have something in the works. Not even a play for power, just something.
He offered me a thin, but honest smile, "You would be right to doubt. My thoughts were of my empire. How it was forged… and why. When I died, it was in its infancy. The foundations had hardly set in… my final thoughts were of the potential of my empire." He said, and there was pride in his voice. It was just overshadowed by the sadness. "My time walking the world has been spent seeing how that potential has been realized and squandered."
"Oh? Going to take back the reins?" I asked him, taking a sip of some kind of juice. Not really sure what it was, but it tasted mango-y.
Talos shook his head, "No. My presence would crush the throne. Rot has set into the very foundation of the empire. It would be better off to tear it away, root and stem, and start fresh," he said before he looked at me.
I shook my head, "Nah, I'm good. Being Emperor sounds like a pain in the ass. I intend to be more of a hedonistic tyrant that leaves all the actual rulership to other people. I'm a bad choice for whatever you have planned. You might want to check Sheogorath, though. She might be interested," I refused the offer without it even being said aloud.
"I would argue that you're the perfect choice," Talos said, really just brushing off my intentions of being a tyrant. He gestured down to the party below, "They fear you. As much as they respect you and your accomplishments, they fear what you will do next. They fear what you could do next."
Talos let out a laugh, "An empire's success is determined by the legend of he who forges it. Which is why I bring this to you -- your legend has already been made. Your deeds carved into the annals of history, never to be forgotten. Now, it is your choice to decide if this is where your legend ends… or if this is merely the beginning."
I looked at Talos evenly, "I'll bite -- what are you offering?"
To that, Talos smiled, "Break from the Empire… and crush it. Take the pieces of it and reform it into your own image. The gods favor you. The masses love you. Your only true enemies are the Thalmor-" Talos said, and almost on cue, Elenwen, the Thalmor diplomat, started choking as blood started to sleep from her eyes. As attention turned to her, I saw a rather young girl making her way to the exit.
Looks like me and the Dark Brotherhood were still cool.
"Who is not as mighty as they would like others to believe," Talos said, not missing a beat as Elenwen died. I took a sip of my drink. "You hold the world in the palm of your hands at this moment. It is up to you to decide if you let it fall from your hands, or strengthen your grip."
I didn't respond as I watched the tittering of the crowd, everyone was somehow shocked that Elenwen had been murdered. It was for that reason that I missed that the others were coming up the stairs, finding me with ease.
"Jericho!" Hestia exclaimed, marching towards me with the rest of the familia at her back, protecting her. Lili, Megumin, Yunyun, Serana, Aela, Lydia, and Wiz. All of them with their eyes peeled for danger. I smiled lightly as I drank in the sight, knowing that Hestia was safe with them. And that they would protect each other.
I set my drink on the railing, coming to a decision as I walked to them all and I clapped Talos on the shoulder. They crowded around and I easily picked Hestia up so that she was seated in the crook of my arm. I looked back to Talos and offered a smile.
There was no quest pop-up or anything so formal. It was a decision made on a whim with no real thought put into it. It was more of an impulse than anything.
I didn't care for being King, but just because I wore the crown didn't mean I had to bear the responsibility that came with it. Talos was angling for something, that much was obvious, but I couldn't care less. Simply because my eyes were drawn to a different prize -- a goal given to me by Shartan.
I had the multiverse at my disposal.
Let's see what it has to offer.
"Sure, why not?"
…
Just a few weeks shy of the two-year anniversary, Power Corrupts comes to a close. I figured I should give some final thoughts, give an idea of what would happen next, and lastly reveal the premise of Fool's World.
The premise of Power Corrupts was to deconstruct the normal power fantasy then reconstruct it in a different image. How well I did that is up for debate because I was also including the power fantasy elements as I was deconstructing them, but that was the plan. In Danmachi, Jericho learned that plot armor didn't apply to him. In Skyrim, he learned that being a hero sucked ass. In Konosuba, he learned to unrepentantly be himself and do whatever he wanted to do, regardless of what other people said.
So, the first two jumps tore down Jericho's preconceived notions of the power fantasy while the Konosuba arc forged a foundation to build off. If Power Corrupts continued, then the power fantasy would be built back up -- Jericho would visit worlds for waifus, leverage his kingdoms’ power to get what he wanted.
In another three jumps then Jericho would be what he said he would be -- a hedonistic tyrant. So, instead of being the bland protagonist of a normal Isekai adventure -- be the hero, have a harem, praised by everyone for being the greatest thing since sliced bread. Jericho would become the villain that stops by in universes, conquers them, expands his harem, then dips out after he has everything he wants. Still a power fantasy, but a very different one.
As for what would immediately happen next -- Jericho would take his kingdom and dip out of Skyrim for a bit. He'd go to another world, maybe Dragon Age or Witcher, do a bit of conquering by picking the underdog races and supporting them overthrowing their overlords. After they've won, Jericho would go back to Skyrim and declare war against the Thalmor with his extra landmass and armies.
He would have won. After that, he'd be in a position to negotiate with the other tenants of the Empire. Hammerfell would join Jericho, and by that time the Empire would have wizened up and realized what was happening. High Rock would be invaded first, then the Empire wouldn't really be an empire. Taking the capital city would be the death blow, and the Empire would formally disband and be absorbed into Jericho's. At that point, Jericho would dip out again, recover the losses by becoming king of another nation in another world, before coming back to Skyrim and mopping up.
By the end of it, Jericho would rule over all of Tamriel with an iron fist between his personal power and the kingdom management mechanics.
Hestia would learn to accept it because, between her and others’ efforts, the quality of life shoots up. So, the invasions were a necessary evil. The others would care less since they're there for Jericho.
At that point, Jericho would just start hopping around the multiverse to stir trouble by doing whatever he wanted. The ultimate power fantasy.
I wish I could have written it out. But, when I decided to write Fool’s World, it got harder to write Power Corrupts. I still enjoy the story -- it was just hard to put words to paper when I wanted to write Fool’s World instead. That problem got worse the closer I got to the ending. As far as endings go, I think it fits Power Corrupt and Jericho’s story.
It's weird to think, but this is the story that changed my life. It's what made the Patreon take off. When I first started it, I intended the Patreon to be a way to help pay for groceries and make a little something on the side so I could get paid for my hobby. It was Power Corrupts that showed me that I could pay for more than just groceries and I started to take it seriously.
This story changed my life, but at the same time… it's always been the problem child for me. I think the story itself is fine -- I don't hate it and the Konosuba arc is probably my favorite arc, but out of all of my stories, this one had the most issues. Some of that were mistakes that I made early on that just compounded as the story progresses. Other mistakes I made in Skyrim and in Konosuba. And some of those came from listening to the audience when I should have stuck to my guns.
After Going Native ended, I looked down the line at all my stories to see where they were going and I saw a lot of trouble in Power Corrupt's future. And I really didn't know what to do about it or how to avoid it. So, I sat down and thought hard about it before I decided that starting from scratch would be better. Then I looked at the mistakes I made with the story -- there were plenty, but my big ones were Sense of Progression, Character Dynamics, and lastly, Over All Plot.
I avoided the magic trap of the gamer system but I fell face-first into another -- Grinding. Jericho's sense of progression isn’t tied to exploring the world or overcoming challenges. It's tied into grinding. Time spent hunting down challenges would be a waste of time because it would be better spent pumping iron at home for bigger gains. I tried to circumvent the issue with his armor -- basically, forcing Jericho to go out and hunt powerful creatures for their souls, but the story ended before I could really push the idea.
Character Dynamics is an issue because I made the mistake of splitting the party. To be completely honest, after Danmachi, I was done with all things related to Danmachi. Hestia and Lili felt like anchors in my enjoyment of writing Skyrim, so kinda wrote them out of it. I gave them each a reason to not be in a party with Jericho and sent them off.
Which was a mistake in hindsight because there's no sense of a dynamic. What does Lydia think about Lili? What does Aela think about Serana? I never developed any sense of dynamic in the familia beyond Jericho's dick. That's fully my fault.
Lastly is Plot -- this one is a bit tricky because a jump chain isn’t a normal story. Each world has a self-contained plot to explore and develop. For this, I intend the world's that are visited in Fool's World to be more character-driven plot picks. Like Character A needs something from Setting B, or Character C needs to get back to setting C. I think I'm doing a bad job of explaining it, but I want the world's picked to be more personalized to the party.
Which brings me to the lessons that I've learned and the mistakes I -- hopefully -- won't repeat in Fool's World.
Fool's World starts off in Fate/Stay Night, following the protagonist Mikoto Majima. They participate in the death game, seeing the wish granted as their only chance to get back what they lost. In a battle against legends and Masters, alliances and betrayal, ideologies and intrigue -- do they have what it takes to take the Grail?
Some quick points and more general information -- I will be using the OP iseaki CYOA as inspiration. Nerfing a CYOA might seem counterproductive, but it's to help the sense of progression. The MC will have three powers but at the start, he'll only have access to one. Improvements to those powers have to be gained over time.
I have a hard rule of one person joining the party per jump. Any more than that, then character bloat becomes a real issue.
And… that’s it, I think. I’m sure I’m forgetting to include something, but the AN is long enough.
So, let me give you guys a thank you for reading Power Corrupts. Especially those that have been here since the beginning. It’s been a wild ride and as this one ends, another begins.
Comments
Leaf Bug
Ah, it was a hell of a ride, but I'm glad it's over. This was a good place to end it, even outside of the issues that you've had with it. Looking forward to your next story!
Eldar Zecore
As pretty much every has said, it’s said to see it end, but you’ve just gotten us hype for Fool’s World! Love the Fate-verse and hope that you properly explore all of the insanity that it is. The sheer amount of lore and variety of powers to pull from us honestly insane and I can’t wait to see what you do with it 👍
Forsee2
Power Corrupts was a good read. The story of a man shoved into a new existence where he can be whoever he wants to be and do what motivates him the most. Going to perceived hero to apathetic to self assured makes Jericho an interesting character but the steady power climb does make it difficult to love him as he simply dozes through almost all problems. The story is done and that's alright with me. That being said I wouldn't mind seeing snippets of the future adventures thought out the multiverse in another thread or miscellaneous posts. Maybe more perspectives from the characters who interact with the main character rather than from the viewpoint of Jericho himself. Thanks for writing ideas guy, I enjoyed reading it.
NOPE YOU DON'T KNOW MY NAME
I hopped on because of See No Evil
Kibbleguy
I'm not great with words nor putting my thoughts into them. I'll simply say I've enjoyed Power Corrupts and I'm looking forward to the Fool's World.
Enjou
It's a bit sad to see this end, but I think this did need to end. It was a good ride, and there were definitely issues, but I still enjoyed it a lot from start to finish. I'm looking forward to Fool's World, and hoping it's going to be great.
aj0413
Huh. Nice to see your thoughts on this. Personally, I basically dropped the story part way into the Skyrim arc cause of the exact issues you mention here. I followed the releases and author notes cause I did think the whole premise was really interesting, but the character bloat and lack of character dynamics was a real loss for me. Honestly, the whole "massive harem" thing is something I always see as the turning point into a story, in a bad way. Tends to always lead the above issues and kinda just snowball away.
