Call of the Abyss IV/Lore

—Orpheus opening dialogue

All Call of the Abyss tournaments have a distinctive theme or aesthetic, with their own sub-story separate from the Main Story. Lore-wise, these sub-stories seem to be novels written by Orpheus before his amnesia. For Call of the Abyss IV, it had a Racecar theme.

## Background

### Trailer Transcript

*This is not a game*

*It's a race with no winner*

*only a survivor.*

*No matter how many times I race,*

*I can't run away from that shadow.*

*Hey buddy, Watch out!*

*The race obsesses us.*

*Catch me, rider*

*No one can fight alone.*

*Just keep going!*

*We are gonna get crashed*

*My Rocinante...*

*Speed up, speed up!*

*Lost your nerve?*

*Never.*

*Is that all over?*

*If someone has to end this,*

*It must be you.*

### Short

*This is not just a race.
For a scene that makes you feel déjà vu many times
My heart is whispering.
I need to finish everything,
If so,
I'm sure who will play that role
Will be you.*

### Summary

*The "Great Rally" compete amongst 3 corporate giants is about to commence. Whether you have an ORV, a motorcycle or a vintage car–––any vehicle with an engine is qualified to join the race!*

*But there's only one rule–––Stop, and you're disqualified!*

*Lose a tail and break through all obstacles. What matters between the start and the finish line is the speed beyond "The Shadow Out of Time"!*

*Dangerous racetracks cultivate great drivers and great drivers pave the way for [???]*

#### Expanded

*There are three mysterious giant corporations that study abyssal creations. They periodically hold underground racing events to experiment with their respective Cthulhu technologies:*
 *--Transportation giant (COA1 Pirate Ship), as the event organizer, provides vehicles and researches the combination of machinery and Cthulhu*
 *--Energy giant (COA2 Snow Energy) provides energy and researches the energy use of Cthulhu substances*
 *--Pharmaceutical giant (COA3 statue activation and manipulation) transforms riders and studies the combination of Cthulhu and the human body*

*The real controller of the underground race is the Dream Witch. The three major corporations send their riders to hold races in the Dreamlands she owns. The winning rider in the 24-hour race is rewarded by the Dream Witch: a powerful life force and a huge benefit to the corporations.*

*Gamekeeper is an artificial sculpture of the pharmaceutical giant (COA3 Pickman + puppeteer's technique) who broke out of control and became a monster after winning the previous race. He continued to absorb the lifeforce of other riders. Those who are devoured by him, once they leave the game, will age rapidly. Unless you win.*

*Prospector, Priestess, Acrobat, and others have also been participating in the race in order to defeat Gamekeeper. They often fought separately for their own interests, and they have established a bond of both enemies and friends. Until this time, many people united to delay Gamekeeper and help the Prospector defeat Gamekeeper. The others, when they leave the race, will take their aging bodies and wait in reality for the result that may not be known when they will appear. Their young souls died unwillingly in their withered bodies, and even the results of their efforts were unknown.*

*Ending: One day, the Prospector with a smirk will come to them with a young face. At that time, without words, seeing his face, they could understand that they had finally won. The young Prospector, in the end, could only watch his teammates grow old and die one by one. With the life they gave him, living alone.*

### Artbook

The official Call of the Abyss IV artbook can be found here, featuring concept art for the costumes and the event trailer.

## Related Cosmetics

### Costumes

A-tier

* **Repairman** (Wildling): *An agent of the Energy Corporation. He used to be a racer, but he was forced to join the support team once he lost his will to race. He constantly regrets the lost time he spent on the racetrack.*

B-Tier

* **Broadcaster** (Dream Witch): *Being the broadcaster is just her way of staying informed of the races. If those playthings roam blindly in her nightmare, they won't be able to get near her at all.*
* **Cruiser** (巡路人) (Grave Keeper): *Hiding in the snowy streets, the cruiser monitoring the schedule witnessed the final result: the knight has finally gone home!*

## Trivia

* Molten Hound is based off of Hounds of Tindalos, a fictional creature created by Frank Belknap Long and later incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos when it was codified by August Derleth.

## Gallery

Backstory for COA 4 from the official site before it was changed (http://id5.163.com/sshh4/index.html)ArtstationArtstationArtstation
## References

* http://id5.163.com/2020/coa4/
* http://id5.163.com/sshh4/index.html
* http://www.identityvgame.com/coa4/rule/en/