Second Anniversary Celebration

The **Second Anniversary** **Celebration** of Cursetorn's release started on July 25th, 2022. It was held two years after the game's initial release and involved a variety of real-world effects and participation from players themselves.

## Announcement Text

"Good day everyone~!

Has it really been a whole year already? Feels like time's passing us by with how eventful everything has been recently. Once again, we plan to celebrate our little project with all of you, the community! To that end, we've prepared something special to tide you over until the game's eventual release. The people among you that have been craving more lore to discuss, rejoice!

Without further ado, here's to a wonderful 2022/2023 from both @necrosishead and I! I'm sure nothing else is currently happening. Yep. Just this. Enjoy!"

(*Taken from the Cursetorn Discord, from a #news message posted on 25.07.2022)*

Along with this message three images were posted, which are moved to the Gallery at the bottom of this page.

## A Moment in Time

A channel on the Discord server titled "a-moment-in-time" housed a lore-based choose your own adventure narrative where individual users could vote on which actions to take in response to various prompts. Accompanying each message was as image generated using ASCII text. The **bold** option indicates which option was chosen by majority vote.

### Day 1

"You recall a voice, speaking to you in a soft, hushed tone. 'We are lost.' they said. 'What purpose do we serve? Are we to wander eternally, rendering the worlds we touch asunder?' Something about these words is deeply touching, yet you can't quite explain why, as they echo around the nothingness, barely comprehensible. 'I do not wish to continue this existence.' A pause. It is impossible to know in hindsight, but it looks like it was waiting for some sort of response."

* **(A) Comfort them.**
* (B) Awaken.
* (C) Stay silent.

### Day 2

"Your attempt to comfort the voice is thwarted by an inability to raise your voice - you can only hope your thoughts have reached whatever lies in this great beyond. You don't get a response - rather, the space around you starts shaking, as the outline of a gigantic, closed eye emerges in front of you. As if etched into the fabric of life itself, it is constantly morphing and shifting into different shapes. Your brain is trying to make sense of it, with little success. Once again, a voice can be heard. "They killed their own kind. They destroyed their own land. What right do they have to rule? To live? To besmirch this plane with their existence? Why should we atone for sins we never committed?"

Time itself appears to be shifting around you as you speak. At present, you think about what you can really say to this being."

* (A) Ask to give them one more chance.
* (B) Apologize for their actions.
* **(C) Stay silent.**

### Day 3

"You are going to say nothing. Not that there is anything you could say to something or someone like this, surely. Without any fanfare, the eye is slowly going to fade back into the void. Another voice will ring out. 'I could change this you know. They have presented me with countless gifts and sacrifices in order to act. This isn't what I wanted. It's not fair! I can't reward their folly. But is it alright to leave them to suffer? When the few speak for the many? Perhaps I should...grace them with my presence.'"

* (A) Beg to reconsider.
* (B) Further incite it.
* **(C) Let it happen.**
* (D) `I̸͌̂ ̴̈́͒S̵̈͝Ả̷̎W̸̐͠ ̷̗̄T̷̒̌H̶̓́E̵̍̿ ̷́̈́F̷̑́Ȃ̷̚C̵͑̒Ȇ̵̒ ̷̈͋Ō̷̓F̵̒̒ ̵̓̀T̴̑͒H̷̓̔Ē̷̓ ̵͐͘B̴̈́͠E̴̒͆A̶͆̎S̵̀̈T̶͊͒ ̷̃͝T̸͑͂H̴̐̀E̸̔̊ ̶̀͠G̵̈́̍Ř̶̛A̷̛͗Ć̸̽E̷̋̐ ̷͌̆Ö̷́̑F̷̛̽ ̸̄̈G̴̍̀O̶̒͐D̵̙́ ̵̈́̈́Ả̸̅N̶̒̚ ̶̈͘Ä̵́̓N̶̿GEL'S EMBRACE [I SAW THE FACE OF THE BEAST. THE GRACE OF GOD. AN ANGEL'S EMBRACE]`

Although it appeared with the rest of the options, choice D was not able to be selected.

### Day 4

There was no text on this day, aside from the ASCII generated image.

There were no options on this day.

### Day 5

"The silence is deafening."

There were no options or images on this day. Following the fifth day, there was a pause for a few days before the sixth message was revealed.

### Day 6

"You have decided not to intervene, to let these events unfold unhindered. After what felt like an eternity, a voice, entirely unfamiliar, rings out. 'It is done. I have give them what they wanted, what they deserved. I granted them a chance to live, a chance to flourish, detached from our parlous co-existence. And yet... and yet... and yet...'"

* **(A) Continue...**
* (B) Awaken.
* (C) Wreak havoc.

Although every option was written out, only choice A could be interacted with.

"These creatures are a vile sort. Sinners all. It was a mistake. They have violated our pact. Tainted our gift. I can't comprehend their eternal hunger, but it drove them to acts unspeakable. You. Hear my plea. Heed this final, sixth message, before it fades into the aether."

* **(A) I am listening.**
* (B) Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear... [repeated 100 times]
* (C) Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear Disappear... [repeated 100 times]

Although every option was written out, only choice A could be interacted with.

"They who will tear this world asunder. Those, who forego the laws that bind us. The ones they christened..."

* (A) They will do what they must.
* (B) They can still be stopped.
* **(C) Why are you telling me this?**
* (D) Awaken.

"You awaken from what feels like a long slumber. Hazy visions of the past, future, and present. . . But there is no time to dwell on that. You have a job to do. A patient to take care of, if things go well, anyway. Tonight is the night. Tonight, all the pieces will be revealed, Veren.

Suddenly, you remember a part of the dream you must've repressed. You had asked 'why', hadn't you. It wanted to give you a purpose. A reason to press on with your work after all that had happened. You didn't need one. A doctor's work is never finished.

FIN?

`1:61 / 2:7 / 3:7 / 6:9 / 4:1 / 5:3 / L̸̈́̕ě̷̏a̶̎́v̴͑͋ē̴̙ ̷̒͌t̶̋̓h̶̏͠e̶̿̚ ̶̾͝p̵͂̉a̵͐̕s̵͌͛t̸̿̃ ̸͒̏b̴̌̋e̸͛͠.̸̆̌ ̵̍̽` [Leave the past be.]"

There were no options or images available with this message.

### Final Day

"Your precious little moment is over, doctor. I appreciate your participation. This is the result of your actions. Embrace it."

There were no options available on this day.

## Cipher

Alongside the announcement, multiple promotional images were posted which contained an in-universe cipher which Kein claims to have found in a journal. It was present on the front cover of a book that they are seen reading, as well as in their personal notebook. This cipher was decoded in the following days through the efforts of the Discord community. It is a direct substitution cipher corresponding fictional symbols to the English alphabet. Below is a diagram which translates the cipher:

Through decoding the messages in the notebook pages, a few pieces of lore were discovered. Primarily, the names of three side characters (which up until this point had been referred to by community-made nicknames) were discovered. The three names found out were Hazel ("Buns"), Mikah ("Arm"), and Faolan ("Fangs"). As of the publishing of this announcement, the character known as "Specs" still does not have a confirmed name.

It is unknown who Veren is at this point, and if that could be Specs's name or not.

## Trivia

* As revealed by Puma after the fact, the choices made by popular vote did indeed decide which "ending" was achieved. It was also implied that there were both worse and better endings.