Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

Just ahead, a cluster of corpses floated indistinctly amidst a patch of kelp.

Their hands were bound, and their ankles were tied securely to stones. With white coral placed in their mouths, they drifted along with the current.

What was most horrifying, however, was that white souls seemed to be attached to the bodies.

They looked like a vast number of balloons tied to strings, so many that he couldn’t see where they ended...

The sight made even Crafty Frog’s heart skip a beat.

But he quickly calmed himself and made a connection to the world map boss, the Flower of Drowning.

After a moment of thought, he gestured to the others that he was going in for a closer look.

One of the more timid players shook his head vigorously, then swam toward the surface.

Crafty Frog didn’t say anything. He just swam in by himself, preparing to search the corpses one by one for clues.

As Crafty Frog advanced, he thought he heard voices.

A pale, waterlogged corpse had been staring straight ahead, but the current pushed it around, making it face Crafty Frog just as he was looking away.

The sudden movement made him freeze.

Immediately after, he heard the whispering wails of the soul within the corpse before him.

”This is agony... Why couldn’t they have just killed me...”

’Damn it, this game is always so detailed in the weirdest places...’

Crafty Frog thought. He then realized that the souls within these corpses seemed to be leaving behind some sort of last words.

After a moment’s thought, he suppressed the urge to leave and began listening to the final words of the souls, one by one.

”It was all that damn bitch’s fault for dressing so provocatively! Why wasn’t she the one thrown into the sea? I hate this...”

”Helzaken, you cruel and cold-blooded Emperor, I curse you...”

”...You damn woman, why did you have to believe in that damn sect? You dragged me down with you...”

”This is a lifeless kingdom. Vile Helzaken, may you die without a burial place...”

”Oh, my omnipotent Lord, please save your faithful believer...”

”...”

The more Crafty Frog listened, the brighter his eyes became.

’This place is a bit creepy, but it’s revealing so much information!’

’If I tell the Storyteller about this, that guy will probably jump for joy!’

While listening, Crafty Frog also found a stone tablet in the center of the corpses.

After much effort, he managed to flip it over and saw an inscription.

”Pain and resentment are suppressed here. The souls of sinners who transgress the law shall also be imprisoned.”

After Crafty Frog turned it over, it quickly returned to its original position.

Clearly, it was one with its surroundings.

After listening for a while longer, Crafty Frog surfaced.

He glanced at the sky, memorized the location, and prepared to head back and inform the Storyteller.

...

Li Miao had just finished class that day. As he was about to log into the game, he caught sight of a trending post on the forums.

”Spirit Candle Lore Analysis Part 2: The Harsh Laws of the Gulard Empire and the New Landmark, the ’Forest of the Dead’”

The author of the post was, of course, ”Storyteller.”

”Whoa, the Storyteller actually updated. I’ll watch this first.”

Just as he was about to click on the video, he suddenly paused.

He then took off his helmet, turned on his long-dormant computer, pulled up the Storyteller’s video, and grabbed a pile of savory snacks.

”Nice, something to watch while I eat.”

With a satisfied nod, Li Miao started watching the video while eating his snacks.

”Hello, everyone, and welcome to the show. I’m your host, Storyteller...”

It was the same familiar opening and the same familiar round of preemptive disclaimers before he finally got to the main topic.

”...Alright, enough chitchat. Let’s get back to today’s topic: a lore analysis of the virtual reality game, Spirit Candle.”

”I’m sure many of you have already seen my last video and learned about the Rotten Law Knight, the final boss of Exile Island.”

”However, the protagonist of today’s story isn’t the Knight, but the faction it belongs to (SNAP)... the Gulard Empire.”

”To enjoy a good story, you need good equipment...”

”You’re even doing sponsorships now!”

Li Miao rolled his eyes and skipped ahead.

”...As we all know, with the progression of Spirit Candle’s plot, the Candlekeepers have now anchored Exile Island, unlocking the new Nearshore Waters map, which is the game’s world map.”

”On this Nearshore Waters world map, we’ll ignore the other monsters for now and focus on just two: the ’Flower of Drowning’ and the ’Iron-faced Warlock.’”

At this point, the Storyteller thoughtfully provided two concept images.

”*Ahem.* Given that the Flower of Drowning boss’s appearance is a bit... grotesque, I won’t be showing it here to spare everyone’s appetite. Those who are interested can look it up on the Spirit Candle Forum themselves.”

”Getting back on track, the Flower of Drowning and the Iron-faced Warlock might seem completely unrelated, but in my opinion, they’re actually deeply connected. In fact, it’s highly likely that the former’s existence is the direct result of the latter’s actions.”

”The reason I say this is because after some meticulous and focused investigation, I’ve found some clues on various in-game items and equipment.”

”The most obvious one comes from the explanation on the piece of equipment called the ’Gulard Iron Mask.’”