...

[glass ermine]

...

[crisp shard]

the return

[glass ermine]

Friendly reminder for all: I am good at Rain World. I am also quite persistent. So no, I do not need any kind of help or advice.

[glass ermine]

Hello

I have been...

busy.

In fact, I beat the game a long time ago.

But I asked Igna about it, and they advised me to continue.

I've been keeping a notebook up to this point.

Castrix gave me the idea.

But rather than making an encyclopedia, I decided to just write down what I did and what I learned each cycle.

Now it's 200+ pages of random anecdotes and far-fetched theories.

[crisp shard]

200

i can tell this thread is going to leave me wishing i documented better

[glass ermine]

This might in fact be the most well-documented playthrough of all time.

[tired brook]

me too

[glass ermine]

But, well.

On Cycle 85, I came across a mass of rot the size of a building, in a place known as the Throne.

After exploring some of its interior, I got scared, and escaped by casting a spell.

I arrived in Desolate Tract, but I accidentally cursed it in the process.

I had been there before; there isn't supposed to be rot there.

But a certain echo saved me from the curse.

50 or so cycles later... the echo is gone, and it seems rather obvious that there is more to explore in the Throne.

But, well, I don't want to be cursed again. Especially now that the echo isn't around to save me.

So, I did some experiments.

The creature that lives in the Throne ... may be powerful, but it cannot escape its thread.

So as long as I do not hibernate after interacting with it and its curse, I can control it.

[celest stratus]

major hint: slugcat is slugcat

[tired brook]

soiler!!!!!! /silly

[glass ermine]

I set up camp in the Fallen Tramway, right outside of the Quarantine, and tried everything. Dying afterwards every time.

I eventually figured out that there was a way to escape the curse without the echo's help - the Grey Void and the Shattered Terrace are both resistant to it, and going through the former and hibernating in the latter would allow me to leave the Quarantine without being followed.

Having an escape route planned meant I could safely enter the Quarantine and hibernate there, expediting my research.

The creature grew a puppet once it realized I was staying. But, while not silent, it never gave me the progress I was looking for.

I showed it a pearl. It wanted to eat it.

There was one obvious option that I would not try, and that was breaking the Quarantine on purpose.

It's clear that's what it wants. It's configured its structure specifically to make that process as easy as possible for me.

But I'd seen what it did to Desolate Tract, and I wasn't going to let it do it again. Not in the thread I would end the cycle in, at least.

I had no way of proving or disproving that that was actually ... what I needed to do to finish this story. I of course spent several threads to see what happened if I used all of the creature's rift-making chambers at once, but that didn't seem to do anything.

So I left, to seek adventure elsewhere.

On Cycle 225, another 50 or so cycles later, I got lucky.

And was given the perfect setup to test my theories... provided I didn't die.

But I didn't. I spread the Decay to 8 worlds in a single cycle, and then returned to the Throne.

And the creature did say something. Nothing particularly important, but a sign that I could continue.

But that record is hard to beat. Besides the obvious difficulty of zero-cycling that many pockets, I physically cannot travel much farther. If I did, I would cause a rift mishap and suffer the worst fate that can befall a new player - getting stuck in Drainage.

(Yes, I can avoid a rift mishap by hibernating while starving, but that will only help so much.)

And obviously, I do not want to actually break the Quarantine. I have my theories about the creature's plans, but none of them are worth ruining large parts the multiverse.

But, now I know that's the only way forward.

I have seen pretty much all of the rest of the multiverse, I think.

And the Quarantine is still only four pocket-worlds wide.

So, having refused the main objective, my "first playthrough" is essentially over. I have left the Decay trapped in the Quarantine, and returned to the City; that is the ending that makes the most sense to me.
It is also the way the notebook ends.

But, of course, I do want to know what happens.

So...

It's time to go back and destroy everything.

[celest stratus]

[tired brook]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/291184728944410624/1354956818434232490/monksillyrivevil.gif

[glass ermine]

I have two pings in the Coordination Thread. Can't look at it right now...

It's been a while since I was last in the server. How are the first-playthrough channels doing adapting to the Watcher?

[glass ermine]

My current theory regarding the Throne, which is also in the notebook:

It seems to have come from Five Pebbles (it's made of rot, after all) and it seems intent on consuming as much of the multiverse as possible.

[glass ermine]

And it said, during the aforementioned experiment, that it inherits "their imperative" - that would be the Great Problem.

They also apparently built their own Void Worm out of rot, in the Five Pebbles pocket. I was previously calling it the Corruption Monstrosity in the notebook, but upon closer inspection it's clearly Void-Worm-shaped.

And, well, they want to consume everything, right?

Which would make the entire multiverse "part of them".

Then they ascend, using the Corruption Monstrosity, and the entire multiverse goes with them. Triple Affirmative.

this shelter is noisy

I like how you can still hear the "song" on the hibernation screen. Neat detail.

Anyways, I have reached the Throne. Time to do stupid things™

Infected Fetid Glen, from Mercy Flower Chamber #4.

Infected Torrid Desert, from Mercy Flower Chamber #3.

Awwww, no secrets?

Infected Signal Spires, from Desolate Tract, using the Distortion Spell. For some reason the Spell insisted that Mercy Flower Chamber #2 should lead to Torrid Desert, which is obviously undesireable.

So I'm trying to recalibrate it. I still have no idea how it picks its destination...

Signal Spires was pretty :(

Infected Salination, from Mercy Flower Chamber #2.

That's all of the Mercy Flower Chambers. Time to run around a bit...

Infected Cold Storage. Or, infected it more, I suppose. The rot was there before, I'm not entirely sure why.

Wait, no, Cold Storage isn't infected? Huh...

Cold Storage definitely isn't immune...

Maybe I went through Salination too fast, and the Decay hasn't yet claimed the part where the rift is.

When I was in Torrid Desert, it seemed like it was spreading outwards from the rift, so...

Woah... an incentive to actually stay in a region! The Watcher is awesome.

[glass ermine]

Okay, I see. I have to wait for the Decay to reach here from the rift from the Throne.

... why was that not a problem when I was doing the experiments?

I infected Rusted Wrecks from Sunlit Port, despite only spending one cycle in Sunlit Port.

I suppose Sunlit Port is just small enough that it can be infected completely in one cycle.

Wow, I really was lucky.

Trying to infect Heat Ducts... it didn't work.

Oh, the puppet said what it said during the experiment.

They're "cataloguing all things". That's one way to put it, I suppose.

Also, boomerangs?

Not sure where I got it, but it's cool nonetheless.

Maybe the scavengers make them?

There's two that I know of, and they sorta just showed up in shelters I've visited.

Why is the world-ending plague so slow :(

I wish the Decay would work faster.

Infected Coral Caves using the Distortion Spell.

Finally infected the Heat Ducts.

Infected the Badlands.

And I just discovered that you can jump down here. Coooooooool.

Another message from the puppet.

They believe spreading is their purpose.

And they say they have "tasted and become" each of the worlds that get infected.

More evidence for the theory...

Going back to Fetid Glen.

to infect Verdant Waterways.

Which I don't really want to do... Verdant Waterways is one of my favorite pockets.

Infected Verdant Waterways.

Travelling through Verdant Waterways to reach the Signal Spires. This isn't particularly productive, but I need an excuse to visit Verdant Waterways.

[void socket]

:3

Awa

[glass ermine]

While it's still verdant.

[glass ermine]

hola

How it's going so far:

[void socket]

Youll see why I wnated you to keep going for this before lookin at spoilers :3

[glass ermine]

Yeah, I can see.

There is lore™ here.

[glass ermine]

Signal Spires isn't pretty anymore :(

Infected Stormy Coast.

stuff

and lots of it

Stormy Coast is awesome

and always has been

[glass ermine]

...why does the map display a rift to Five Pebbles from the Badlands...

It's been there ever since I first arrived there, but I've never found the path to it.

And I'm not sure where it could be hidden...

[glass ermine]

The puppet is talking about unifying all life. I think my theory is correct

Y'know, I thought it was weird that there aren't any creatures living in the Outer Rim, save for a few pieces of infected food.

What if that was caused by the prototype version of whatever the creature in the Throne is?

Something "unified all life" in the Outer Rim, and then ascended it.

I would say it was the creature in the Throne, but I would assume that in order to complete that process it would have needed to ascend itself, too...

So it seems more likely that the Outer Rim was a testing ground for this "unify and ascend" idea, with another strain of rot, and it worked.

And then the Throne was set up, and the creature there got to work doing the same to the rest of the multiverse.

I should probably name the creature in the Throne. In the notebook I was just calling it "the Throne" for a while, but I'm pretty sure that's just where it lives.

The opposite of the iterators, I suppose

[shy sequoia]

welcome back

[void socket]

O yea I can link you the Watcher Chart™ when your done too

[glass ermine]

hi (Industrial Complex)

Infected Sunlit Port (for real this time).

Tried and failed to infect Rusted Wrecks.

Strange, that worked just fine during the experiments...

or did it not get infected and I didn't realize?

Relatedly, I suppose this means the echo didn't have anything to do with me escaping the Decay the first time I got caught in it - I probably just outran it, since I went all the way to the other side of Desolate Tract to find the echo.

I like the food placement in the Watcher.

Noot eggs are finally viable!

There's a lot of rooms in the Watcher that look like they could be just one screen bigger... mod ideas.

(waiting for the Decay to spread through Sunlit Port so I can infect its connections)

... wait.

There are no adult noodleflies in Sunlit Port.

...

OK then.

HAH

got a flytrap with the kelp near the Rusted Wrecks <-> Sunlit Port rift

[reef glen]

The dlc is still in active development with future content updates pending so there's always a nonzero chance that random deadend rooms etc could get elaborated on

[glass ermine]

Oh, really? Interesting.

[reef glen]

We know little to nothing about anything yet but it's fun as food for thought

[glass ermine]

Infected Aether Ridge. That one's going to take a while...

Y'know, Desolate Tract was probably the worst pocket to get Decayed first.

Decay Guards in those narrow hallways are horrible.

Wait, I infected Rusted Wrecks? When did that happen?

Oh well. There are no pockets nearby that I haven't infected yet, and waiting for it to spread through Aether Ridge is a bad idea. Time for the Distortion Spell.

[glass ermine]

Infected Cold Storage through the Distortion Spell.

For real this time.

And the rift to the Fallen Tramway is only one room away! Perfect.

So now there's only four pockets not infected - Turbulent Pump, the Fallen Tramway, Torrential Railways, and Shrouded Coast.

... and the Grey Void, the Shattered Terrace, and the Old City, but those are immune.

... doesn't that sorta mess up the plan?

Maybe they'll figure out how to reach those once they've reached every other pocket.

And they do need to reach the Grey Void to "unite all life".

Long story.

I'm on Cycle 295 now.

[glass ermine]

Seems like some of the pockets have dead ends just because there were connections there in the mod version. That's what happened to Coral Caves / Torrential Railways, at least, and I assume the same for Cold Storage.

(Cold Storage, Aether Ridge, The Shattered Terrace, Salination (I think), and Heat Ducts were all one region at one point. One massive region.)

[reef glen]

That's another explanation as well for a lot of the cases.

Sunlit port used to be one region with torrential railways and two others!

Stormy coast, shrouded coast

[glass ermine]

Yeah, I've been there many times. It's awesome.

One of my favorite regions actually!

The different weather states are ||at different points in the MSC timeline|| in the original mod. Minus the lightning, that's new

I am an expert on Stormy Coast

The notebook entry for Cycle 26 actually contains Stormy Coast lore spoilers, in fact.

[void socket]

Come play Watcher DLC, we have:
Aether Ridge
Aether Ridge
Aether Ridge
Stormy Coast
Aether Ridge
Unique region 1
Stormy Coast
Unique region 2
Aether Ridge

[glass ermine]

Pretty sure Fetid Glen and Torrid Desert existed at least conceptually as mods, they were just never finished.

I do also find it interesting that the Fallen Tramway exists. It looks like a Saint version, but Aether Ridge never had a 1.9 port!

So it must've been in-development.

[reef glen]

It may be hard to believe but fetid glen belongs to the Aether Ridge assemblage too!

[glass ermine]

... what

okay then

[crisp shard]

oh so do you get to it from one of the aetherlings

[reef glen]

GET OUT YOU

[crisp shard]

[reef glen]

Big soilers here

[glass ermine]

pretty sure Drainage System and Five Pebbles also existed before the Watcher in some form

[crisp shard]

big soilers is my middle name

[glass ermine]

I actually predicted the existence of the Shrouded Coast pocket lol

and what would be in it

by process of elimination, having seen the other three Stormy Coast references.

I didn't predict the moths, though

Also, Badlands is techincally from a mod. But Not Really™

The person that made Badlands also made a mod called Badlands, but it's completely different.

They just took the name and then rebuilt it from the ground up.

[reef glen]

Badlands as seen in watcher is technically Badlands 2. The original mod had a fully remade/sequel version put into development, but it never got to be published publicly, and then it was picked up by Watcher to be included in the official dlc

So there is more shared dna than just lifting the name

[glass ermine]

Ah, OK, so there was a mod Badlands 2

I figured it started in Watcher

[reef glen]

Its background story is rather similar to torrid and fetid in that case

[glass ermine]

Relatedly, are there any known plans to port Stormy Coast / Coral Caves / Aether Ridge as mods?

like, the original regions

[reef glen]

No idea, personally. It's not a topic l follow very closely

[glass ermine]

I am interested to see how the modding scene turns out for 1.10.

I already have some mod ideas of my own, too - No Map Mod is going to get a lot of config options for Watcher-related things.

[reef glen]

At a guess l don't think it's high priority for the creators as they are probably more wrapped up with their regions already having game-official versions released

[glass ermine]

yeah

I assume they're busy with the game right now

But I mean, like, do they plan to port them eventually or does them being DLC prevent them from being mods, like happened with Jolly Co-op / Expedition.

[reef glen]

They did release a statement early on that guest regions in watcher will not mean their original mod counterparts will be supplanted or cease-and-desisted or anything like that, they are still permitted to be published and downloaded for free

I don't know if that freedom will translate to developing new ports, but l doubt they'd restrict that either

[glass ermine]

yeah that's what I was thinking

[glass ermine]

I played the Aether Ridge mod back in 1.5.

And it is hard.

I abandoned two entire playthroughs because I got stuck there, couldn't get out, and lost interest in trying to do so.

So stumbling into it in the Watcher campaign scared me quite a bit

But... it has been made easier (I think), and I have gotten better. Also, the Echo's Gift trivializes a lot of the stuff that makes it difficult.

[glass ermine]

Maybe the rot in Cold Storage was an even earlier prototype, with tests on individual lizards...

They were clearly doing something with lizards there, there's a bunch of frozen ones.

I feel bad for the white lizards, they're the worst affected by the infection. It ruins their camouflage...

Wow, Cold Storage is food-poor. Well, the Fallen Tramway also connects to Torrid Desert anyways.

And the Decay there has just barely reached the rift.

The slime mold in Torrid Desert regrows basically instantly.

Interesting.

Finally infected the Fallen Tramway, from Cold Storage.

I like watermelons.

As a game mechanic.

I wanna infect the Fallen Tramway from the Torrid Desert side, too, just so that it gets covered faster.

awww I missed Cycle 300

Wow, that last room of Torrid Desert is stubborn. It's still not infected...

Whatever, I'm going back to the Throne.

I found a drop-bug with a mercy flower

And I figured I might as well use it for something. So...

Infected Shrouded Coast.

(That's actually quite lucky...)

Infected Aether Ridge (again; from Torrid Desert)

Now I want to go back and talk to the puppet, though.

I'm so good at Rain World, this is my first time hearing the maximum level of Torrid Desert's threat theme.

I had to import a vulture from Aether Ridge to get it to play.

Anyways, the puppet said they could feel "a will at odds with their own". I wonder what that means...

If it's the Child Echo, don't worry. They stopped interfering ~200 cycles ago

I went back, and they kept talking - apparently they consider me a close friend.

Because I'm being so helpful? Or before that?

Now I'm sorta wondering if they are the Child Echo.

But... they coexisted with it, at one point?

The puppet didn't, but the structure did.

[glass ermine]

Infected Torrential Railways.

One left...

(not counting the Grey Void, Shattered Terrace, and Old City)

[void socket]

[glass ermine]

One place I never explored:

The Non-Fallen Tramway.

I'm very familiar with the Fallen one, I had to scale it like 10 times in a row while I was experimenting with the Decay back on Cycle 146 and Cycle 148.

And Torrential Railways -> Non-Fallen Tramway was the first rift I ever entered!

I just went back through immediately because Aether Ridge sux

but now I wanna see more of it

Also, 100% of the Grey Void connections

(I think. Sunlit Port and Fetid Glen don't seem to have one... maybe they're just well-hidden.)

[glass ermine]

Hey, I think I recognize that part!

Also, no secrets in the top-left :(

The path goes east rather than down, though, so the similarities end there.

Oh, perfect, I've looped back around the Coral Caves rift!

This place, by the way, is where

this

comes from.

I tried using the Distortion Spell in the Grey Void, before the rift to the Outer Rim appeared there.

Then I went back through immediately because Aether Ridge sux

Wait, I killed an infected lizard and a Void Spawn came out. Are the Void Spawn their souls or something?

...

Actually I may have made a tear in the other side of the room and forgot.

Not sure.

[glass ermine]

Infected Turbulent Pump.

That's all* of them...

If the puppet doesn't say anything, I'll try infecting the Shattered Terrace as well.

...and the Old City? That one seems kind of important...

[glass ermine]

I decided to go to Verdan't Waterways

because

I like it

highly strategic decision-making

Now in Fetid Glen... I'm going to try to infect the Shattered Terrace along the way back to the Throne.

hmmm

Nope.

I still don't really understand Fetid Glen... it has no entrance to the Grey Void, and the Decay seems to have been already present in small amounts when I got here.

...

So the theory is that some of the spores in this pocket are hallucinogens

Alright, dumbest death in the entire playthrough

[void socket]

lol

[glass ermine]

Finally reached the Throne...

[void socket]

:3

[glass ermine]

I have united all* life.

Time to see what the puppet can do about it.

...

I was right...?

...I think I was right.

...maybe?

[void socket]

:3

[glass ermine]

... not?

I have not ascended.

There's a lot of mercy flowers here, though...

The Constellation hasn't changed.

I can't explore the rest of the Outer Rim because wall, but it seems like there's mercy flowers growing across the entire thing.

... I'm confused. Is there more to explore here? Or is that the end?

OK, there's mercy flowers everywhere.

[void socket]

Theres more environmentally
In terms of story thats kinda it until we get content updates

[glass ermine]

Ah, I see, they might expand it?

I'm curious to know how the Void Worm in Five Pebbles is doing

[glass ermine]

What do you mean "environmentally"?

[void socket]

The ending triggering flowers to grow everywhere

[glass ermine]

Yeah, I've noticed

That's it?

[void socket]

lol

[glass ermine]

just to make sure

[void socket]

I think so
I havent spent much time in the Watcher lore channel
I went in there once and a Talk made me stay out of there

[glass ermine]

a Talk

what does that mean

[void socket]

I got into an argument and didnt like it lmao
I just dont go in there now. Kinda feeling like waiting till everything comes out anyways

[glass ermine]

I see.

Well, it united all* life...

... which doesn't include me :(

... or the entire population of the Old City :(

... or the two moths in the Grey Void

[void socket]

lol

Wonder how much the timeline would break if rot could get into the city

[glass ermine]

I assume the next step is to get that Void Worm out of Five Pebbles and bring the conglomerate to the Void

[void socket]

Or. Whatever timeline there is

[glass ermine]

Yeah, there are lots of time shenanigans involved here

The fact that the Old City and the Fallen Tramway are both accessible means that rifts can travel through time as well as space.

[glass ermine]

[void socket]

Watcher Timeline real

[glass ermine]

awesome

The white critter in the opening cutscene

logically is the Survivor, I would think?

I mean, it could also just be a completely random occurrence.

Y'know, neither the creature in the Throne nor the Child Echo were given names...

surprisingly

[void socket]

They do have names in the code

[glass ermine]

oh really

What are they?

no wait lemme

find them myself

[void socket]

a

lol

[reef glen]

I've had similar experiences

[glass ermine]

just checked said thread

[reef glen]

Never share a room with loreheads

[glass ermine]

they say there's no more lore

[void socket]

Yea everything else is msotly jsut speculation of stuff in the files and code now

[glass ermine]

They really have their priorities straight with the namespaces-

[void socket]

I hate that those creatures are called tardigrades

They arent

Tardigrades

[glass ermine]

Well I have good news!

The Chart™

exists

and will continue to do so.

[void socket]

Yee

[glass ermine]

I call 'em caterpillars.

[reef glen]

It's NUDIBRANCHS smh

[void socket]

Ive kept track of stuff while you were gone lol

[glass ermine]

... they're caterpillars.

[reef glen]

Btw OP I'd like to know how you managed to get moths in the grey void region. If you know how to replicate whatever that glitch is, l know someone else in the threads that can really make use of that

[glass ermine]

not a glitch

[void socket]

So you can just copypaste it and fix it up with your formatting

[glass ermine]

Before the Outer Rim <-> Grey Void rift opens, you can cast the Distortion Spell in the room it appears in.

I tried that because I figured, based on the scenery, that it would take me to the Outer Rim - it didn't, it took me to Aether Ridge. So I went back through, and two moths got sucked in after me.

[reef glen]

So before you unlocked that rift, it let you build your own in there?

[glass ermine]

yep

[reef glen]

That's curious l would have assumed the entire region would have held the Presence Binds This Place popup

[void socket]

https://discord.com/channels/291184728944410624/1356256638541103114

awa

[glass ermine]

yeah

[glass ermine]

one thing I never found

is the Badlands <-> Five Pebbles rift

It's been on the map for as long as Badlands has - in fact, it was the first time I saw any sign of the Decay in the multiverse.

But I never figured out how to get there.

[tired brook]

it's not an easy rift to reach

would you like a hint for how to find it at least

[reef glen]

The entrance is well hidden

[glass ermine]

eh

I'm busy with mods right now

only one question:

Am I crazy, or did the Watcher update make hidden pipes not show up on the map until entered?

Because I missed one in Desolate Tract that should have been really obvious and now I'm second-guessing all of them.

[tired brook]

it might have

i noticed for some who are entering OR now have the four hidden room pipes in the throne completely gone from the map until the entrance is actually visible

[reef glen]

That's good if so

[crisp shard]

i got into one of those before i was supposed to

[reef glen]

Too many players saw the hidden pipes and tried to clip through prematurely out of curiosity and bugged the game

[reef glen]

Point proven

[crisp shard]

i thought it was required because i couldn’t leave otherwise

can discord send my messages please

[tired brook]

i thought it was my wifi

[reef glen]

Well it did turn out to be required anyway

[crisp shard]

good thing the paths didn’t start overflowing beyond measure until after or

🥹

[void socket]

OR really seems like a good place to accidentally softlock yourself lol

[glass ermine]

I heard there was new stuff.

...

How should I go about it? A second save file?

[crisp shard]

i think that's recommended yeah

also i should probably stop checking this 🥹

[glass ermine]

heh, true

[void socket]

So far from my current run, yes

To be able to actually find everything new

[tired brook]

same experience here

otherwise i'd definitely miss some stuff

[glass ermine]

judging by the announcement there's a fair amount of new

[void socket]

Theres lots of new
Dont look in my thread it has soilers

[glass ermine]

(also I. never really played Watcher after this thread so I still don't know much about the more obscure on-release Watcher content )

[void socket]

Youll def want to fully reexplore some preexisting regions Ill say,,

[glass ermine]

(Heard something about ||poison spears||?)

[void socket]

[glass ermine]

Not doing another notebook, but I'll probably post my progress here once in a while.

Should I make a new thread

Unrelatedly, I suppose my mods are broken again. Crazy how I only have 3 now

(I used to have a bunch, but I merged all the small ones together after Watcher 1.0)

[glass ermine]

Cycle 32

The process of entry into the multiverse is as stated in the Journal, though I visited the three echo locations in a different order, and arrived in Sunlit Port instead of Torrential Railways. Sunlit Port, however, bears little resemblance to its depiction in the Journal - it's much bigger than the map shows, and it does in fact have a Boundary Space rift like the rest of the pockets.

I did sorta like the idea of a 10-room region, but the new version is pretty cool

I have also found ... I'm going to call them "Boundary Spawn" trapped outside of Boundary Space, both in Sunlit Port and in other pockets. They swim away when approached, like regular Void Spawn, but I can't yet tell if the direction they fly away in has any deeper meaning.

(The Journal makes no mention of this.)

Of note: as the "real world" is corrupted, entering Sunlit Port from it caused Sunlit Port to become corrupted as well. That didn't happen before, but it makes sense.

(I liked that region )

The large-scale structure of the Constellation seems to be the same so far, not counting the Boundary Space rift in Sunlit Port (which I assume leads to the Grey Void, like the others). My path so far is Sunlit Port -> Rusted Wrecks -> Desolate Tract -> Turbulent Pump (echo encounter) -> Verdant Waterways -> Signal Spires (echo encounter) -> the Shattered Terrace (Distortion Spell) -> Badlands.

(I went to the Shattered Terrace mostly just to open the portal there - as is stated in the Journal, it is a very useful hub area once its rifts are in place!)

My current plan is to try to find the connection to Five Pebbles from the Badlands - something that I know exists due to the Constellation, but have never been able to find.

On a more important note, though: PEARLS

The Journal does not mention any colored pearls in the multiverse. In fact, it explicitly points out their absence in the familiar pockets.

This has changed - I've found three so far. One in Turbulent Pump, one in Signal Spires, and one in Badlands.

I actually guessed that this would happen, and prepared for it - I have brought the light-blue pearl from the "real world" version of Outskirts, just in case I can find a use for it here

I will try to bring them to the Throne later, once it awakens. The Journal mentions that the entity there only wishes to eat any items brought to it - pearls included - but the Journal clearly cannot be trusted on such matters, given it denies the existence of these pearls in the first place.

I believe the pearl in Turbulent Pump is in the same location as in the "real world", but I don't know for sure. I should probably check the corresponding pearl locations in Stormy Coast and Shrouded Port when I get to the pocket versions of those regions.

I have discovered a new species of lizard in Rusted Wrecks and Turbulent Pump. They are very small and rather weak, but they can burrow through sand and communicate with each other using antennae in a manner similar to yellow lizards. I theorize that they use their communication skills to coordinate sand-based attacks, since any pack members that are burrowing can rely on their packmates' view of the surface to locate prey.

To facilitate burrowing, they have large, flat heads and short, stiff antennae. I will call them shovelhead lizards.

Shovelhead lizards are not present in the Badlands, as they are presumably vulnerable to the locusts and outcompeted by the snakes.

[glass ermine]

I tested this - as I had heard elsewhere, caterpillars' poison can be applied to spears by stabbing the caterpillar. I'm not sure exactly how this affects the spear's damage potential, but it definitely helps somehow.

On a related note, there are caterpillars in Rusted Wrecks. I'm pretty sure this is new - the Journal says they're native only to Coral Caves.

I have currently visited the Child Echo exactly enough times to be able to cast the Distortion Spell. I hesitate to raise my karma level further, given (at least according to the Journal) higher levels make the Echo's Gift much harder to use for its original purpose...

The Constellation only shows the locations of the Child Echo once I reach this level.

Oh, also, arena and creature unlock tokens are now present in the multiverse. I checked the arenas I've found so far, they're pretty cool

[glass ermine]

... if it is possible to read these pearls, Gate Scanner 1.11 support is going to be interesting.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 34

Failing to find the entrance to Five Pebbles, I returned to the Shattered Terrace, and ... got an achievement for it?

And it seems the Constellation is trying to tell me something. I'm not entirely sure what, but I think it has to do with Void Spawn. The regular ones, not their counterparts from Boundary Space.

This is not something the Journal makes any mention of, of course. I know the Shattered Terrace is special in some way (by being corruption-proof, and being connected to both the Grey Void and the Old City), but the presence of (regular) Void Spawn is not something it is known for. I didn't actually see any, either.

The Constellation didn't indicate this before, either. It started this cycle.

[vestal mist]

[glass ermine]

The "trapped" Boundary Spawn can only be seen with a mercy flower, by the way.

Mercy flowers are weird.

I bet the Throne knows more about them than I do, given ... whatever happened before. Perhaps it can enlighten me if I bring it the right pearls

Outside of the multiverse, they seem to represent some sort of cross-strand leaking effect, always growing where creatures have died in nearby strands.

What does that have to do with Boundary Spawn, or the Distortion Spell, or the Grey Void?

Perhaps the Distortion Spell is harnessing the strand-jumping capabilities of the flowers to create rifts

(The echo called the timelines "strands" I think. The Journal records them calling them "threads", but I'm pretty sure it just got that wrong.)

[glass ermine]

Cycle 35

The rift I just came through, between the Badlands and the Shattered Terrace, is ... sealed somehow.

There are still cracks in reality, but they're glowing gold, and appear to have "stabilized" somewhat. The rift itself will not open.

There were no sign of Void Spawn (at least in the parts of the Shattered Terrace that I can reach without levitation capabilities), and the Constellation no longer indicates their presence. Perhaps that sign was about the rift?

My first instinct is to try to go to back to the Badlands by another route, and see what the other side looks like now.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 36

I went back to the sealed rift, and it had disappeared.

There was a blindfolded scavenger standing where it had been, though. I wonder if there is any meaning to that.

(What do the scavengers know about the rifts? They seem to know something I don't, given they're ... weaponizing their karma? I don't really know, but it's strange nonetheless.)

I tried casting the Distortion Spell again at that spot, and ended up in... Corrupted Sunlit Port. Go figure.

Cycle 37
I went to the least corrupted area I could find in Sunlit Port and cast the Distortion Spell.
Now Torrential Railways is corrupted.
oops

I kinda wanna try going back through the rift to see if it gets sealed again, but then I would have to corrupt yet another pocket to leave, so no.

Perhaps it is foolish to be messing with the Decay right now, without the safety net provided by Boundary Space. I really should have abandoned the strand after warping there, but I had (wrongly) guessed it hadn't yet been fully corrupted.

Interestingly, though, I found a dart spider and a red centipede in Sunlit Port. I'm pretty sure they weren't there when I got there... maybe the Decay is messing up the ecosystem?

[glass ermine]

Cycle 38

I avoided hibernating any more in Torrential Railways, to make absolutely sure the Decay couldn't follow me out.

Torrential Railways is not entirely as described in the Journal; there is a path going off the Journal's map on the west side, which follows the railway through a tunnel. I explored the rest of the pocket as well, but did not find any pearls. That doesn't mean there aren't any, though - the constant rain makes them quite hard to see!

A rift at the end of said tunnel leads to a completely new pocket, not mentioned anywhere in the Journal, called the Pillar Grove. It is a relatively calm place, full of sunlight, plants, and the eponymous stone pillars, with an ecosystem consisting of green lizards, noodleflies, batflies, and bateater lizards.

I'm glad the bateater lizards have found somewhere they can thrive in

There aren't a lot of shelters there, though. It took me two attempts to find one - given the mostly peaceful and/or easy-to-avoid fauna, the Rain seems to be the biggest threat.

Cycle 39

Pillar Grove is also home to Rain Deer, though there is no worm grass present so they do not appear to have any practical utility to me.

It sort of reminds me of Hydroponics, but I'm not sure why. It's certainly much nicer than that area.

More interestingly, though, there's a species of plant that's native to this area, with a shape I recognize.

It looks like one of those weird dark blobs on stems that appear with the Decay.

Too much to be a coincidence; perhaps this place is connected to the Decay, somehow?

The Decay clearly has no presence here - quite the opposite, in fact. But perhaps the Decay is trying to emulate the plants, for some reason.

Pillar Grove is certainly a very nice place to live - perhaps the Decay is somehow purposed to try to replicate its ecosystem elsewhere, and it's simply failing miserably at it.

Or perhaps ... whatever creature(s) make up the Throne ... has been to this place before, and the appearance of the Decay is determined by the Throne's memories. Perhaps I'm in the facility of the iterator that created that project?

I'm fairly confident that iterator is Five Pebbles, given the existence of the Corruption Monstrosity and the fact that the Decay seems to be based on the Rot, but I don't really know. Perhaps this place actually is in Five Pebbles' facility, and I've just never been there before.

Oh, on an unrelated note, uh, what are the rules pertaining to spoilers for the Watcher's source mods?

I'm quite the expert in Stormy Coast (the mod) lore, for example, that could become relevant.

Cycle 40

The darker corners of the buildings here also sort of resemble those of the Outer Rim, color-wise at least. Odd.

Maybe this is a place that used to be corrupted, but was uncorrupted somehow? If that is true, I would like to know how, obviously.

It's also just as big as the Outer Rim

Cycle 41

I found a rift in Pillar Grove that leads to Coral Caves, in the spot where the Journal says the Turbulent Pump rift is (on the other side of the Broken Pipe ... I suppose this is a dead end, then?)

Interestingly, the Constellation currently shows Void Spawn in Sunlit Port, like it did before in the Shattered Terrace. I'm not going back to Sunlit Port to investigate, now that the Decay is there, but perhaps that same indicator will show up somewhere more reachable later. I'll have to pay attention to it.

Actually, the Constellation still shows Void Spawn in the Shattered Terrace, too. Perhaps the "Void Spawn" spread between pockets, like the Decay does? Strange...

(The Shattered Terrace and Sunlit Port are still connected by the rift I created.)

Actually, hypothesis: that rift will be "sealed" soon.

That's what happened last time, after all. If it disappears from the Constellation next cycle, I'll assume it happened again.

wow

Cycle 42

I couldn't find any food in this part of Pillar Grove other than noodlefly eggs, so I stashed 4 or them in a shelter and starved myself to the next cycle so I could eat them. I feel pretty smart.

Oh, hey, Torrential Railways has Void Spawn now, but the rifts connecting Sunlit Port, Torrential Railways, and the Shattered Terrace are all still there.

Perhaps Void Spawn spreads through the Distortion Spell, and only the Distortion Spell. All of the pockets that have it now are the ones that I have gone to in that manner.

Cycle 44

The Void Spawn have stopped spreading in the Constellation. This makes sense with my theory that they only spread through rifts created with the Distortion Spell, as I have not created any more such rifts.

Pillar Grove is quite mazelike - besides being big on a large scale, there are useable pipe entrances covering almost every surface

The signage in this place is also a bit interesting - it seems to use the same heavily stylized font as in the Sky Islands. I wonder if the use of that font had any particular meaning to the Creators.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 45

Pillar Grove is also inhabited by sticker frogs

I got grabbed by one today, but I managed to shake it off with a flare fern at the end of the cycle.

Cycle 46

Sticker frogs can also be detached using snails, thankfully.

I found a second rift in Pillar Grove at the end of a long alleyway, leading to Shrouded Coast - though the Constellation now gives its name as "Shrouded Stacks". I saw a moth carrying a strange, potato-esque creature; I wonder what it does.

I also found a pearl there! I'll stash it where I am now, in the shelter at the bottom of the Scavenger Hideout.

Cycle 48

I found a rift between Shrouded Stacks leading to Tundra Fault (which is in the Fallen Tramway's pocket).

[reef glen]

Cycle 238 48

[glass ermine]

This pocket is documented in the Journal, but not thoroughly. This seems like a good time to fill in the gaps in its knowledge.

Speaking of which, I saw a blizard lose its "wind shield" after using its freeze ray attack. If that always happens, perhaps I can use that knowledge to actually fight one of them!

[glass ermine]

Cycle 51

Interesting. It actually rains in the warm part of the Fallen Tramway's pocket.

I managed to find the path to the Fallen Tramway side of the pocket, and I found a mercy flower, so I'm going to cast the Distortion Spell with the hope of attracting the Void Spawn.

Also, the most recent trapped Boundary Spawn I freed seemed to be flying roughly in the direction of the rift I just came through (Tundra Fault -> Shrouded Stacks). Perhaps they always fly towards rifts?

Cycle 52

The Distortion Spell led me to the Blast Deck in Aether Ridge.

Cycle 53

Returned to the Fallen Tramway's pocket. The Constellation shows no sign of Void Spawn; I'm going to explore Aether Ridge, I think, and meet the Child Echo there.

Cycle 68

... 68? When did that happen?

... Is that a bug?

Well, the Child Echo was quiet as always, but now the Void Spawn has spread to Aether Ridge and the Fallen Tramway, as expected. Given I'm now underneath the Torrid Desert, and (at least according to the Journal) the Torrid Desert connects to the Fallen Tramway, I'm going to go back and try to figure out what the "Void Spawn" actually is.

[glass ermine]

@vestal mist is it normal for meeting the Child Echo to give you like 10 cycles?

I'm scared of the game breaking somehow

[vestal mist]

ummmm I'm not sure

I never tracked

I know someone to ask

@worthy panther 🐖

[glass ermine]

The Journal says no, every cycle is thoroughly documented there and they don't jump like that. But, y'know.

[worthy panther]

extra cycles is typical when an exception occurs during the cycle end

[glass ermine]

uhhh

there is one

not sure if it's relevant

hopefully nothing is broken in Aether Ridge-

[worthy panther]

for example, the gatewarp example footage I recorded in #tech-resources has that occurring, though it's not actually visible in the video itself

i think it jumped by around 20-40, because it tried to end the cycle while I was already in the pipe and not realised
you can see it freeze slightly then

don't recall details since I think it was around a year

[glass ermine]

In this case it was a cycle where I met the Child Echo, but otherwise nothing unusal.

Well, anyways

[worthy panther]

did the cycle end by meeting?

[glass ermine]

I mean, it warped me to Torrid Desert (which was my first visit there)

this was in Aether Ridge

[worthy panther]

internally, a meeting is a cycle end that does not increment the cycle count (not performing RainCycleTick)

[glass ermine]

it could have been the cycle before, too

[glass ermine]

Right, the Journal makes that quite clear

(by which I mean my journal of my Watcher 1.0 playthrough)

Cycle 69
The entrance to the Crypt in Torrid Desert has two openings now, the other on the opposite side. I'd love to explore it, but I want to focus on the Void Spawn for now.

...

I just crushed myself with a watermelon.

anyways...

Twice.

Cycle 70

I'm at the Fallen Tramway now. Now to figure out what's special about this place...

[worthy panther]

oh hey there's a very simple frog exception that's probably unrelated

simply put: they forgot that not every collision with a physical object necessitates a body chunk being collided with

anyway, I think it's safe to say the frog exception is unrelated, and the kittehface is also likely unrelated since it's not connected to the main RW code in the stack trace

reported

[glass ermine]

Cycle 73

The rift I created earlier has been sealed, once again.

And the Constellation shows no Void Spawn in either of the pockets it connected (this one and Aether Ridge).

So, this seems consistent: the arrival of Void Spawn in a pocket (whatever that actually means; I still have seen nothing out of the ordinary in the pockets marked as containing Void Spawn) causes rifts in that pocket created by the Distortion Spell to be sealed.

This causes the Void Spawn to disappear, apparently until the Distortion Spell is used again there.

Perhaps this is how the multiverse "heals" the rifts the spell creates.

But there's clearly something more interesting than that going on when it happens...

Perhaps it would make more sense if I saw it from Boundary Space. I think it's time to go hunt down the Child Echo a few more times.

Besides, I want to be able to access the Grey Void, too, so that I can go to the Throne safely and (presumably) see what's on all these pearls.

Cycle 74

Another casting of the Distortion Spell led me to another undiscovered Pocket!

The Migration Path.

Whatever that means.

It seems to just be a big, dark, open desert, filled with an ominous purple fog. I was scared for a second that it was a corrupted pocket, but the fog appears to be natural

This doesn't seem like a very good migration path.

I wonder why it's called that. Who uses it for migration? Slugcats are migratory, maybe someone I know has been through here

Cycle 75

Migration Path is creepy.

It seems to be separated into layers, with long vertical shafts in between them, each one darker and spookier than the one above it.

Seemingly in a way that defies gravity. I'm pretty sure I saw some floating rocks somewhere...

I found another rift on the second layer, and it led to Badlands - where the Journal says there's a rift to Cold Storage

I'm also not really sure how each of the layers appears to be outdoors, despite clearly being directly below another layer.

The indoor portions are slightly reminiscent of Fetid Glen, just without all the mushrooms. Maybe Fetid Glen is the top layer of this place.

I think I also saw a hint of the silver wind that appears in the Shattered Terrace and the Outer Rim.

Maybe this place is connected to the Outer Rim somehow, or the Grey Void?

I mostly mention the Grey Void given the aforementioned gravity-defying rocks. They're not the same type, but they're similar in nature.

I'm currently in the Badlands, but I'm going back to explore more. Though I sorta suspect I might end up in Five Pebbles or the Outer Rim if I go too deep...

[glass ermine]

Cycle 77

It seems I've hit the bottom already; there's not as many layers as I thought.

There are a bunch of shovelhead lizards here, as well as a bunch of static crabs. The shovelhead lizards seem to have a way of breaking the static crabs' shells, which is great for them and also great for me

I also caught a glimpse of some very oversized engine crabs to the east. I'll explore there next cycle, I think.

Cycle 79

There are now Void Spawn in the Migration Path, since I got here using the Distortion Spell

The big crabs are scary-looking, but I have not provoked them yet.

Cycle 80

It's the Migration Path for the crabs - there's hundreds of them walking along an elevated railway. In the supports for said railway (which rise ominously from the lower layers) there was a pearl, close to the pocket's Boundary Space rift. It took a few spears, but I managed to retrieve it - I imagine it would be much easier if I could levitate, but I can't just leave it there!

Cycle 81

There was a rift at the far east end of the Migration Path, leading to Cold Storage. Interestingly, though, the Constellation does not show the Child Echo in Cold Storage, despite the fact that the Journal records a meeting with them there.

I'll investigate for a bit, but not for too long - my primary goal now is to find the Child Echo, after all.

Cycle 82

That wasn't a very long bit. I cast the Distortion Spell and arrived in Coral Caves.

But the Child Echo isn't in Coral Caves, either, soooooo

[glass ermine]

Cycle 88

I made it across the West Desert in Badlands without Boundary Space!

Using a combination of one of the scavengers' paint grenades, the Echo's Gift, and some incredible acrobatics.

Also, it turns out the locusts don't bother attacking creatures under cover, even if they could feasibly reach them. There's a small platform towards the end of the desert that acts as a safe zone.
(and it has the snake unlock token on top of it )

And it appears my suspicion was right - the Child Echo is at the end.

I got to the Badlands via the Migration Path, by the way. It turns out it's not possible to go further west in the Migration Path than that, as the path to where I first entered that pocket involves an impassable cliff face.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 89

The Child Echo brought me to another new pocket, named Fractured Gateways.

It's... Verdant Waterways, but ruined.

Not verdant.

The dam has collapsed in on itself, and all the water has turned to mud.

And instead of eel lizards, there's the predatory sandworms from the Badlands.

I liked Verdant Waterways

The Child Echo is here, though.

Cycle 90

And there's locusts. Why wouldn't there be.

At least the thick coating of mud on everything makes them a non-issue.

I went to what I'm pretty sure is the outflow area, where the Journal records a rift to Turbulent Pump in the past version of Verdant Waterways. There was a rift in this pocket as well, but it led to Fetid Glen instead, in an area with a lot of water that I presume is connected to the flooded tunnel network there.

I'm going back, though, to explore further and find the Child Echo.

I suppose the existence of two different pockets, each showing different versions of Verdant Waterways, is proof that the rifts travel in time as well as in space, if the Old City and the Fallen Tramway didn't already make that clear.

Y'know, given that Verdant Waterways has both a present and future version to explore, and the water there is the same color as the water in Shoreline, I'd like to see a mod that adds these two pockets to the "real world"

Cycle 91

There's some sort of creepy anglerfish-esque monster in the waters of Fetid Glen.

I saw it eat an eel lizard and, subsequently, me; it appears to be mechanical in nature, as it makes a metallic-sounding chomping noise when it attacks and the light protruding from its head seems artificial (being able to change color between red and yellow).

I assume the color of its light is a sign of its aggressiveness; it seems to turn yellow when it senses prey, and then red once it determines its location and begins to attack.

It sorta reminds me of the scissor birds in the Memory Crypts, only aquatic.

And it ate the lizard in one bite, so I should probably stay away from it...

But, I'm back in Fractured Gateways now.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 92

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

OK

so

The locusts are not a non-issue once you get to the roof of the structure.

But, thankfully for me, the whales from Signal Spires seem to have migrated here in this future, and adapted to the local environment - by which I mean they taste bad to the locusts, and can swim through clouds of them safely.

The means that I can stay safe from the locusts myself, as long as I stay under them - the whiles break up the cloud of locusts around them.

But there's almost no food in this pocket - I only saw two watermelons - and the crumbling roof of this place is tricky to navigate, even without having to worry about the locusts and the whales. Without the ability to levitate, I had to use four spears to get to the intake area at the top.

I just barely made it to the place where the Child Echo is in the past pocket (according to the Journal, anyways) before the sky darked to herald the Rain.

The area where the Child Echo was is dried up, of course; there's not even any mud, just sand. And locusts.

I was panicking, since I needed a whale to show up to make it across the sand without alerting the locusts - and whales fly slowly, and I'm very short on time.

Then, an ENORMOUS whale descended from the sky, mouth wide open, and began to eat the entire swarm whole.

It just flew forward and let all of the locusts fly mindlessly into its mouth.

It was quicker than the others, too, and I just barely had enough time to make it to the other side, find a shelter, and dive in.

That cycle was rough, though. This place is not at all safe for slugcats. I was close to giving up and retreating back to Fetid Glen.

[glass ermine]

The Watcher 1.5 is pretty awesome.

Why is it called 1.5, by the way? Is there another update planned?

[glass ermine]

Oh BTW I assume this is a bug?

From back in the Migration Path.

[glass ermine]

Time to play some more!

Hopefully I'll finish before the Sun explodes.

I see there was a patch.

And I see I have to reapply mods. I'm running pure Watcher, by the way, no Remix or anything.

Excited to see what's behind that whale.

Cycle 93

so uh

turns out

behind that whale is the Child Echo, and then a rift to ... lower Cold Storage.

... should I risk going to Five Pebbles now, without access to Boundary Space?

... no, I should not, I don't think.

As much as I want to see that place, I can't risk corrupting more pockets right now. And I wanted to explore more of the Fractured Gateways and Fetid Glen anyways.

Cycle 94

...

I managed to duplicate a vulture mask, pretty sure that's a bug-

[glass ermine]

Cycle 95

One of the Boundary Spawn in Fractured Gateways is not like the others.

Instead of flying away when touched, it unraveled into a small insect-shaped creature and took off, trailing a purple thread as it went.

I followed the thread, and it led to the intake system - perhaps it was going to where the echo used to be?

But I found it there, seemingly dead. When I tried to investigate, I was eaten by locusts.

Next cycle, it wasn't there, but then I found it again on the east end of the facility. It took off again, seemingly towards the echo's spot, but the path it took was far too dangerous for me to follow.

I'm in Fetid Glen now - I'll keep an eye out for it there.

I did notice that the other Boundary Spawn seem to be going in the general direction of the Child Echo's meeting points, so perhaps it is really no different from the rest.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 96

Do not anger the anglerfish. Do not anger the anglerfish. Do not anger the anglerfish. Do not anger the anglerfish. Do not anger the anglerfish.

There's a ton of them in that tunnel. And they can go through pipes, despite their size.

They're sort of like the scissor birds in the Memory Crypts, but underwater. Evidently part-mechanical, and with an incredibly fast and dangerous bite.

It seems they share another similarity with the birds, though - they rely on sight to hunt.

I thought at first that they must surely be blind, given they live in such dark tunnels and have no visible eyes, but the Echo's Gift seems to make me completely undetectable to them.

Perhaps the light protruding from their head is actually an eye, glowing in the dark like those of a scissor bird.

Anyways, the next step is to meet the Child Echo in Fetid Glen.

Oh, and, also, the anglerfish seem to have gotten rid of the eel lizards in the flooded tunnel system. I suppose that's a good thing? I'm really not sure - the eel lizards would at least be a good distraction...

[glass ermine]

Cycle 100

I passed the entrance to the Old City. I could hear the Child Echo's laughter coming from Boundary Space, but of course I cannot visit them now.

They are, however, invading my dreams, it seems.

Also, another rift in the Shattered Terrace was found sealed, as expected. I know when that happens, now, but not why.

It'll happen again soon, as I'm going to use the Distortion Spell to leave this place, given there's no rifts on this side of the Shattered Terrace (that I can reach, anyways).

Cycle 101

The Distortion Spell brought me to the Torrential Railways, so I had to abandon the strand

But at least I got to see what happens when a rift gets sealed in a corrupted pocket.

... nothing out of the ordinary. But that's still knowledge!

My next attempt took me to Stormy Coast. Much better.

Cycle 102

I found a pearl in Stormy Coast!

On the far west side of the pocket, between the Boundary Space rift and the Lightning Rod.

Again, not where there's a pearl in the "real-world" version of this pocket. And it was green; I doubt the yellow one will be here either.

Odd.

Is this really the same Stormy Coast as in the "real world"?

I mean, if it was, would it not be corrupted? Stormy Coast is in the Facility, after all...

(not that I've ever gotten close enough to know if the Decay has reached that part of it...)

Cycle 103

Just one karma level to go...

(They got me. They died doing so, but they got me.)

[void socket]

[glass ermine]

Cycle 106

There's an open-to-the-sky area at the top of Turbulent Pump that I don't remember seeing in the "real world" or in the Journal. It's quite pretty, at least.

But there's otherwise nothing of interest here except my final encounter with the Child Echo, next cycle.

Cycle 108

That weird dream...

Upon reaching the final karma level.

It's exactly as described in the Journal.

But I have no idea what to make of it.

The Child Echo said my companionship was "drawing them closer to how they used to be" or something to that effect. Given I know they can ascend, perhaps that's why - they've somehow managed to retie themselves to the World, and can therefore ascend by breaking those ties again.

... that's a theory, anyways.

My plan now is to head towards the Outer Rim, now that I have my safety net.

Perhaps, with a few tries, I could bind the Throne to one of the two already-corrupted pockets

[glass ermine]

These numbers don't add up.

[glass ermine]

hello

Time to go to the Outer Rim

And, hopefully, read some pearls.

Cycle 109

I found the Child Echo at the end of the Thermal Relay. The Journal said there's a rift to Salination there, but the Child Echo didn't take me to Salination, either; I'm now in Stormy Coast. I found a pearl in the Thermal Relay, at least.

Cycle 110

I ended up in Salination (via the Distortion Spell), close to the rift to Cold Storage - except it turns out that rift doesn't lead to Cold Storage, but instead Thermal Relay, in the secret room near where the Journal said the Child Echo was.

I should be careful trying to bring pearls to the Throne. After all, I can't bring anything except what I have in my stomach into Boundary Space, so if I end up needing to bring them out of the Decay's Quarantine for any reason, It'll be rather tricky to do so.

Cycle 111

There's an achievement for failing the Distortion Spell

Interestingly, though, I arrived in Outskirts rather than Drainage System when I did so.

I know there are other places that can be reached in this manner, besides the Drainage System and the Outer Rim, but they're not recorded anywhere in the Journal.

I assume this place also connects to the Outer Rim, like Drainage System does. I'll explore it on the way there.

Though... I am kind of curious as to whether or not I can reach the colored pearl in the "real-world" version of Outskirts. After all, I have it in my stomach, so if it's present here as well that could have some very interesting implications!

Cycle 112

... I heard the Child Echo up ahead. Why is the Child Echo here of all places? That seems bad...

But, also, I found the first ever documented mobile purple rot cyst, on the path to the Drainage System.

It seemed to act as a normal mobile rot cyst.

I tried to go into Boundary Space to avoid it, but...

As is evident in the Throne, that doesn't work! The Corruption is present in both normal reality and Boundary Space, and it can pursue me just as easily in either.

I'm going to explore some other paths before visiting the Child Echo, but I think they're blocking the path to the pearl. Oh well.

Cycle 113

The Child Echo said I shouldn't have come here - good observation, I suppose.

They don't seem to like the Decay any more than I do.

But, more specifically, they said that, once you go "out far enough", "it's all like this".

... which is worrying?

far enough from what?

Do they mean to say that the entire multiverse is decayed, except for the small selection of pockets they have taken up residence in?

A worrying thought. I suppose that was the Throne's plan, was it not?

To infect everything.

They Child Echo said they'd take me "back", but then I ended up in the Outer Rim - in the Desert Tower this time.

Did they intend to bring me here? It doesn't seem much better, given what's up ahead...

Well, hopefully I'll get some answers in the next few cycles.

I'm going to try to trick the Throne into infecting one of the two pockets that are already corrupted, so I can use up its mercy flower chambers without causing any real damage.

[glass ermine]

Attempt 1: Fetid Glen ❌

Attempt 2: Torrid Desert ❌

Attempt 3: Torrid Desert ❌

... again?

I decided to explore it a bit this time

I went back to the crypt's west entrance, and crossed the desert to find a new rift (which I did not enter), and a sinkhole leading back to the temple.

... wait, of course the Journal doesn't say anything about the Child Echo being in the "real-world" pockets. The Drainage System one wasn't discovered until the echo ascended - they could be there, too.

Attempt 4: Aether Ridge ❌

Attempt 5: Aether Ridge ❌

... again

Clearly, there are a few pockets that this mercy flower chamber seems to particularly like. I may not have as much of a say in the matter as I had hoped.

[glass ermine]

Attempt 6: Aether Ridge ❌

... again!?

This time I tried going through the process of using the other mercy flower chambers, just to see where they would end up.

Heat Ducts ❌, Cold Storage ❌

I think the Throne might be too smart for this. I might have to infect a pocket to continue

Attempt 7: Aether Ridge

Cycle 114

A small concession to the Throne.

Cycle 115

I am activating the Throne without infecting any more pockets, using the process described in the Journal.

Is it just me, or are its interior tunnels getting brighter as it awakens?

Y'know, Aether ridge being the corrupted pocket does sorta work out, given it already connected to another one (Sunlit Port).

[glass ermine]

Cycle 117

I had that dream with the green water, as described in the Journal. Come to think of it, the plants on the shore sorta resemble the tentrils in the Throne...

Not that that really makes it any more clear.

In more important news, the Throne seems to have no interest in reading pearls

And it turns out the connection between it and Aether Ridge is quite inconvenient for another reason - Aether Ridge is a big pocket, and its Boundary Space rift is very far away. Escaping the Quarantine is significantly more difficult here than it would be in Desolate Tract.

Cycle 118

It may actually be faster to just go to Sunlit Port and use the Boundary Space rift there

Cycle 119

Finally

Cycle 120

...

A child lost to time

A lantern in the dusk

Those are the messages that appeared in some ... arcane pedestal in the Grey Void.

That pedestal certainly was not in the Journal.

I heard the laughter of the Child Echo emanating from it, even though the Child Echo was nowhere to be found.

... also, the Grey Void was different in other ways.

There were little "bubbles" of what appeared to be Void Fluid, trapped in pockets on the faces of the monoliths.

And there were these little arm thingies attached to some rocks, moving around as though they were alive.

It was really quite creepy.

The rift to the City Tower in the Outer Rim was also already open, thankfully.

... the "child lost to time" is definitely the echo. What about the lantern?

... is that the Throne?

Hear me out:

Whatever the Throne's plan is involves a lot of Decay (the dusk) and a lot of mercy flowers (the lantern).

... maybe something will happen there if I both allow the Child Echo to ascend and also infect every pocket?

One other thing that the Journal fails to mention about the Grey Void.

The Constellation has assembled thus far into a sphere - all of the pockets are arranged along the surface of the sphere, in roughly even intervals.

Except for the Grey Void, which is right in the center.

Why?

I'm going to go with a theory that I believe the Journal already came up with - the Grey Void is simply the space "between" all of the other pockets.

Whatever that means.

Cycle

122

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

uh

I

...

breathe

there was a rift

in the Shattered Terrace

which I made

surprising

normally they're sealed before I get to them

that was

last cycle

this cycle

it was sealed

I checked the Boundary Space side

still sealed

but the room was covered in webs

went elsewhere

no webs

went back

the webs were a trail

the webs were on the Boundary Space side

to be clear

not in normal reality

went past the spot where the Child Echo was waiting for me in Boundary Space

webs continued past that

to the

rift to the Fetid Glen

[void socket]

:3

[glass ermine]

which had

echo light

?

turns out

the rifts are being sealed by

a

...

thing

And I have caught it in the act.

...

serpent?

worm?

actually sorta like a void worm

sorta

[void socket]

[glass ermine]

explained something far beyond my understanding and asked me to CONSIDER it

...

well

and

another dream

surprisingly nothing interesting

just walking through various pockets

and enjoying the scenery

rift is still sealed, hasn't disappeared

shows up in the Constellation too

as a golden chain

and

also

Cold Storage <-> Five Pebbles for some reason?

...

so

The Weaver

worm-shaped, golden, hairy

seals rifts

Why?

...

My theory is that it's some sort of agent of the World

like the Void Worms

that

is trying to clean up the mess me and the Child Echo are making with the rifts

previously it only ever tried to seal my rifts

the one I encountered it at, was a rift created by the Child Echo, in fact

[glass ermine]

y'know

These achievements are all associated with the new karma symbols.

Is there any meaning to that

I mean, the Passages' symbols have meanings.

The problem is, I don't remember the order of the symbols

I know "Blossom" is on the bottom

pretty sure "The Weaver" is #3 and "Astray" is #4

"Bad Warp" and "Through the ripple" are towards the top, but I don't remember their order.

let me check the Journal...

Top-to-bottom, according to the Journal:

• ??? (upside-down antenna)
• ??? (circle on top, covering concentric almost-circles)
• ??? (large circle broken by smaller circle with dot)
• "Bad Warp"
• "Through the ripple"
• "The Weaver"
• "Astray"
• ??? (circle with line partly in it)
• "Blossom"

I suppose Astray is one level below The Weaver because Astray is for entering a pocket where the Weaver has been?

I got Astray by entering a pocket with a sealed rift, I think.

I got Through the ripple by ... entering Boundary Space for the first time, I think?

I got Bad Warp by failing the Distortion Spell

I got Blossom by ... spreading the Decay from a mercy flower chamber?

And I got The Weaver by finding the Weaver.

[glass ermine]

That trail of webs...

If the Weaver's job is to patch holes in reality, maybe those webs are how it does it most of the time.

Maybe they're like, reality stitches, that hold the reality together.

There was also some sort of ... aurora? in the sky in the Shattered Terrace's Boundary Space.

I'm not sure if that's related to the Weaver or if it's just how the sky looks there.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 128

I found the Weaver again in the Signal Spires.

It wasn't at a rift this time, just at the top of the left tower.

I'm still not sure what it's talking about, but it has turned my eyes yellow

[glass ermine]

My guess is that it was en route to the Signal Spires -> Shattered Terrace rift, since I assume it probably wishes to seal that one as well. Perhaps I was just too quick for it?

That raises the question of how it travels. I assume, given its appearance, that it can swim through space like the Void Spawn do - I'll have to check if it's touching the ground next time I encounter it.

I also need to check to see if the Weaver is in Boundary Space, normal space, or both. I don't remember where it was the last two times

But, the Weaver seems to consistently leave behind a trail, starting from the rift it has most recently sealed. I found it by going to an old rift I opened in Signal Spires and following said trail.

Actually, I should check next time to see if the trail continues further back than the rift. I suppose if it doesn't, that could mean that the Weaver enters the pocket through the rifts that it's sealing.

The trail consists of the webs, but also the aurora interioris that I saw in the Shattered Terrace - the aurora seems to be visible anywhere where the webs are (that has a view of the sky, of course).

Not sure what to call the webs.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 139

I found the Weaver again, in an otherwise empty room in Salination.

This case was rather interesting, since I didn't actually have the necessary karma to reach Boundary Space at the time; however, using the Echo's Gift at that karma level lets me see a very short distance into Boundary Space, and thereby locate the webs.

The other thing that's in Salination is anglerfish

I found a pearl there, though.

Back in Fetid Glen, the other side of the sealed rift is ... also sealed. I'm not really sure what I was expecting there, I suppose.

And I found that weird room the Journal was talking about, that looks like it's infected with the Decay.

Creepy.

There's a pearl there, at least. Maybe if I could read it, I could get some answers about ... whatever is going on there.

Oh, and after my third encounter with the Weaver my tail has become longer. And grown ... frills.

That's ... a little worrying? But I can't necessarily say it's bad?

It doesn't seem to have harmed it in any way.

And frankly, I'd much rather it turn gold than turn purple.

(my eyes turning yellow has not affected my vision, either)

[glass ermine]

On that subject, I wonder if the Throne would have anything to say about this development

I don't think the Child Echo did, in our last encounter.

Oh, and one thing the Weaver said finally made ... some sense. Which is a little worrying.

It mentioned something about an "effervescence of disruptions".

... which fits perfectly into my theory that it's only here to clean up after the mess me and the Child Echo are making.

[glass ermine]

oh I should share this image

awww I forgot to save it

An anglerfish in Salination tried to chase me out of the water in one of the air pocket areas.

It was terrifying. The room was just barely big enough that it couldn't reach me.

I figured it would at least get stuck if it jumped onto land, but nope.

That means I did get a chance to see its face, though. It has eyes, just as I thought.

They're relatively small, and bright red. I wonder if they're always bright red, or if they change color with their light.

Oh, and another thing. Even after I have reached the maximum karma level, my minimum karma level is still rising each time I encounter the Child Echo.

Soon, I think, I will be permanently stuck at max karma.

... that's kinda nice, I suppose? As helpful as Boundary Space is, it has quite a few drawbacks compared to the "weaker" effects of the Echo's Gift.

Namely, the fact that I can't bring anything with me into Boundary Space.

But even the much lower, already-no-longer-obtainable levels have their advantages. The Echo's Gift is significantly easier to use for stealth purposes when it's still too weak to levitate you.

[glass ermine]

Cycle 152

I found the Green Token :)

But, more importantly:

I encountered the Weaver for a ... fourth? time, in Sunlit Port (a corrupted pocket).

I have been... recruited? Purposed?

It told me I have a purpose.

And I now share the being's strange halo.

More importantly, though... the Weaver does more than just seal rifts.

When it appeared here, the Decay surrounding it practically evaporated.

This is the only time I have ever seen the Decay leave an area. Is this the cure?

... can I spread the purity with whatever purpose the Weaver has assigned to me?

[void socket]

[glass ermine]

I hope so...

I wonder how the Throne would react to this
I visited it on the way here, and it pointed out that I had grown...

Also, I found a strange-looking obelisk in the Outer Rim (another one, that is...)

It isn't mentioned in the Journal.

It has a segmented spiral etched on it; the innermost six segments were glowing purple.

Not sure what to make of that. 6 is twice the number of times I had visited the Weaver up to that point, but I suspect that to be a coincidence.

Perhaps it relates to the number of decayed pockets? I think there are around 6 at the moment, though given Outskirts and Drainage System don't show up in the Constellation, I'm not sure of the exact number. And there could be more that have yet to be discovered, of course.

[glass ermine]

Also:

I currently have only two karma levels - second-to-max and max.

There is only one more pocket that the Constellation indicates I can meet the Child Echo in, other than the Shattered Terrace.

(that pocket is Torrid Desert)

So ... I guess that will be the last time I see them, until I make the journey to the Old City?

oh unrelatedly

my

...

reconfiguration?

does not show up on the hibernation screen.

Modders, get on that.