#cosmic interlude

[linkons-most-wanted]

Inauspicious Arrival

Darkborne Arc Chapter 1 of 7

New scenes in Cosmic Interlude, a Sylus PoV Prequel Fic

I kill you, or you kill me. She’s utterly defenseless. Her energy quivers within the sphere, gathering back upon itself in a runaway reaction. I take in the panels and readouts surrounding her. My power shifts restlessly as it recognizes the nature of this chamber’s power. Antimatter. It could undo her. It could end everything. It could set me free. I’ve rehearsed this slaughter countless times. I raise my pistol with an unshaking hand. Bang!

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[linkons-most-wanted]

Cage of Memory

Darkborne Arc Chapter 7 of 7

New scenes in Cosmic Interlude, a Sylus PoV Prequel Fic

Ancient too-familiar walls close in.

Sylus finds a new safe house.

I open my eyes and find myself on the sanctuary floor. Yet again, I search for her traces, desperate to find that all this time alone was the dream all along. But the walls are bare. I haul myself upright from the stone floor beneath the organ bench. I must have fallen asleep. Small drips and pools of dried blood line the stone beneath me, but my wounds have since closed. Scars remain, but even those will be gone by the next sunrise. The physical ones, anyway.

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A/N: This arc is now complete! The narrative picks up where it left off, and the next chapter is Part 1 of Mephisto's origin story, Dark-Winged Destiny.

[linkons-most-wanted]

Cosmic Interlude - Changelog 1

The Brooch

I've always wanted Cosmic Interlude to compliment canon as much as possible, but I also don't want to totally remove the elements of my headcanon that end up being obviated, so I decided to sort of show the "eraser marks" and just point out places that I'm making changes. This fits my overall vibe of being in conversation with canon and a nerd about the game's lore, so I hope y'all don't mind bearing with me!

So far I've just made some minor adjustments to how I'm treating the brooch that's mentioned in Land of Lost. Originally, I inferred that this was the same brooch used in Midnight Stealth (and maybe that was the original writing intent). But then the Evermore Bond last Sylus story chapter in the Before Sunset, After Vows event whipped that bad boy back out.

And implied that Sylus cut the gem himself and it has a strong tie to his past 😭

I like the idea that Sylus is sort of symbolically using a similar brooch in Midnight Stealth, but that this piece of him that he's carried so long isn't something he'd surrender so easily, so I felt compelled to tweak the fic. And so far that's only required two relatively minor changes.

In Ch 1, Cursed Cage:

In Ch 2, Judgement of Fate:

Those chapters now also have chapter notes that explain what the strikethrough and underlines mean, and a dated changelog.

Now that we've had the importance of the brooch made clear and it's appeared again, the odds of getting an explanation for its origin are pretty high. In that case, I'll probably just add a note to the fic and leave the headcanon as-is because I'll always love the version of the story where Sorceress MC becomes a dragon and leaves it in her lair for him 💕

Sylus's arrival in the N109 Zone, on the other hand, has HELLA new lore and I'm partway through that rewrite and loving it. Since that'll create new chapters, I'll just mark the old chapters and [Alt] or something and then add notes to that and the new chapters making clear that they're additions. It'll change the chapter numbers for the back half of the fic but I think that's just fine.

The fact that we got confirmation that they were leaning hard into the enemies to lovers? and it completely explains Sylus's attitude in LAR? EATING IT UP I LOVE IT. If I feel like it I might go back and sharpen some edges in the LAR Sylus PoV fic in the same way 🤭

[linkons-most-wanted]

Fateful Proximity

New Cosmic Interlude Chapter

It's reminiscent of fate's absurd prank.

Sylus and MC have a fleeting encounter in downtown Linkon.

It would take me less than a minute to get her home address, her daily routine—and that’s been true for years. But I stop myself for the same reason I’ve stopped myself every time. Victory means nothing if there’s no challenge. I won’t be satisfied by anything less than her full strength. I’ve seen it before—I know what she’s capable of. And it’s universes beyond extracting Protocores from Flux Nexuses. It’s all Ever’s fault, dragging her here to this spacetime point. This is not the reunion I had anticipated: one where her power had simmered for as long as mine has, reaching its true potential. The only thing worse than searching for her was finding her and still having to wait. If gods exist, I know they’re mocking me.

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[linkons-most-wanted]

Apex Predator

Darkborne Arc Chapter 3 of 7

New scenes in Cosmic Interlude, a Sylus PoV Prequel Fic

An entirely new creature takes its first shaky breath. Its eyes are sharp as a blade, its heart as hard as steel.

Sylus observes the rise and fall of ambitious humans in the first few weeks of the N109 Zone's existence, before it earns its iconic name.

I browse the aisles, reviewing labels, not even bothering to lift my head to look at the four-legged Wanderer that crashes through the front of the store, knocking over a heavy shelf laden with canned beer before pouncing once again at its foe, a two-legged Wanderer with blades for arms that set its sights on the same prey. Based on the vintages marked on the cheapest bottles… it’s Earth year 2,034. I angle for something older. While I know enough of the language to make sense of what I’m reading, the geography, on the other hand… the countries and continents are entirely different. The climate surely is, too, which means I don’t even know enough to guess at the latitudes with proper terroir. That leaves only one way to assess this wine’s quality. A tendril of mist slithers around the cork, dissolving it to nothingness. I wander until I find a shelf of glassware, then sort around until I find an intact glass. I pour the wine, swirl to aerate, take a sip… And spit it onto the floor. 

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[linkons-most-wanted]

Cultivation

New Cosmic Interlude Chapter

They just don't bloom at this time. Sylus cultivates a datura cutting.

The datura cutting I kept from my first safe house never withers, but it also never blooms. An investment property I obtain near to Linkon comes with a greenhouse, and I offer the plant sunlight for the first time in years. It grows rapidly, sending out tendrils. Something new. The N109 Zone bores me, lately. I leave my schemes simmering and spend time on that property, studying the peculiar plant. Tilling soils, adding fertilizer, maintaining warmth, watering...

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[linkons-most-wanted]

Denials and Deals

Darkborne Arc Chapter 5 of 7

New scenes in Cosmic Interlude, a Sylus PoV Prequel Fic

Even world-ending power has limits. A deadly encounter tests Sylus's instincts.

The click of a gun slide cuts through the background noise and I whirl to see a half a dozen humans—four men, two women—emerging from the forest behind me. The scent of their souls is sharp with greed, and I recognize a familiar tone of desire. These are the Evol-users the Hunters Association has branded as Tenebrae—those who got a taste for hunting Wanderers during the lawless chaos and who have no interest in submitting to some civic authority. That, I can respect. Getting in my way, not so much. One steps forward from the rest—a man with auburn hair and cutting blue eyes. “That’s a lot of Protocores you’ve got there.” I huff, eyes narrowed against the overwhelming light. “Leave it. I’m not in a patient mood.”

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[linkons-most-wanted]

Dragon's Vale

Cosmic Interlude Ch 20

When past memories bear future warnings…

Sylus's dreams bring childhood memories.

A valley of verdant green winds between craggy mountains that slumber like massive cousins to the small grouping of dragons now lounging in the waving grass. I kneel by the river, blooms of crimson drifting into the water from my hands, from the drops that slide down my head and drip from my jaw. At least the bloody, gruesome reflection doesn’t have any horns. I dash my hand in the water to scatter the image, grimacing at the pain that still radiates through my skull and down my spine. There’s a noise of something hard on gravel behind me, and a spiky purple Protocore rolls down the bank and bumps into my leg. I ignore it. “Eat,” commands the deep, guttural voice of the massive emerald dragon. “That’s not what humans eat,” I say, bitterness in my tone. Ever since these horns and this tail sprouted, the tubers I dig up and cook by the fire satisfy my hunger less and less. Already, it gnaws at my gut despite my recent breakfast. Only the Protocores, crushed near my heart and eagerly absorbed by my nascent power, leave me feeling sated. But consuming them always makes the horns and tail grow back faster. “Then starve.” The massive dragon stretches, then settles down against the sun-warm stones near the river.

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A/N: it's dragon headcanon time, baybeeee. Three chapters of it, in fact. (Don't worry, we'll be back to Monaco. But, y'know. Dramatic tension or something.)