Chapter 3

## Calypso at Last

Nova, Alex, and Orion are still in Ogygia. The box they found dissapears, leaving in its place an elf who calls herself Calypso and claims to be a princess. Calypso asks who the others are and seems confused. Calypso is from a different dimension and wishes to return to her people. She was trapped in Ogygia by 'the immortals.' She claims to be destined to free her people. Alex frees her from her shackle. Once freed Calypso paralyzes the group and reads Alex's mind to see if they work for her captors. Calypso reading Alex's mind helps Nova realize that hacking people's personal information is not okay. Orion may press the point, or forgive her for the better outcome.

Calypso opens a portal to a random server. As they prepare to enter, Thanatos stabs Orion with a spear and takes the Gem of Doom from his pocket. Nova shoots Thanatos in the neck, but he is unfazed. He prepares to finish off Nova and Alex when he is suddenly attacked by Orion. Orion manages to hurt him, but Thanatos eventually throws him to the ground. Thanatos proclaims that Eternum is better than the real world because the strong always prevail. Calypso challenges him to which Thanatos says she does not even know why she was created. Calypso teleports Alex, Nova, Orion, and herself.

## Mushroom Server

Orion comes to in a dark server. Calypso has used her magic to heal his wounds. Alex and Nova recount how Orion fought Thanatos. He had a darkness in his eyes, as if he was possessed. Orion barely remembers the fight; he says it was as if he moved by instinct. Calypso suggests training the power.

The server is pitch black, save for the bioluminescent mushroom they stand around. The ground is covered in about three feet of water. Alex speculates that it may be a test server or unfinished server, so they don't look for an exit portal and instead have Calypso make another portal.

## Split Portal

Orion emerges in a fancy, tradional Japanese home. Calypso is also in this server. Calypso theorizes that Nova and Alex were sent to another server. She begins to search for them with her magic.

Meanwhile, Nova and Alex are in a castle. They scream when they see they have both been turned into cartoon characters. Nova and Alex decide to look for Orion and Calypso. A cartoon bear appears and Nova instinctively shoots it. The cute snuggles the bear laments with the princess of a castle that he feels he will die. Jarringly, he asks for Alex and Nova to be thrown into the dungeon to rot. Princess Annabelle the Skinner sends her guards after them.

Calypso has almost narrowed down Alex and Nova's location when two women appear. They confuse Orion for someone else and try to seduce him when Calypso opens another portal.

## Safe in Ekabar

Calypso and Orion are reunited with Alex in a village in Ekabar. Nova has gotten split off to another server again. Calypso doesn't have the power to bring Nova to their location but may create a portal to send someone to Nova's location. Calypso volunteers to help Nova. Orion may volunteer to help Nova instead. Failing to do so ends the chance of romance with Nova.

Orion tells Alex and Calypso to use the exit portal, forgetting that Calypso is an AI. After Alex points this out, she recommends staying at an inn not far from their current location. Calypso agrees with Orion to help them out when they need it.

## Devious Games

Calypso's portal takes Orion to a desert server. He sees an Egyptian tomb, and enters, seeking shelter from the heat and sand. Inside, he finds Nova and another man, unconscious. Beside them is a cat statue. When he picks it up, he falls asleep.

Orion awakes, tied up. Nova and the other man are tied up as well. He tells them that they are in the Valley of the Kings server. A woman approaches and introduces herself as Maat. She reveals that the cat puts all those asleep that don't weat Sekhmet's ornament. Maat takes Dione from Nova, but doesn't realize what it is. She tells her captives that she will release them if they play her game, otherwise she will kill them.

Nova reluctantly follows Maat's commands, desperate to get Dione back. Avery, the other captive, refuses to cooperate, so Maat shoots him with Dione. Maat leaves momentarily and Nova and Orion create a plant to distract Maat by threatening her with a magic dagger. When she returns, Nova is too distracted to carry out the plan. Nova follows Maat's instructions and Maat agrees to give Dione back. She then asks to make love with Orion. If Orion accepts, he is able to take her ornament and she falls asleep afterwards. Orion may also take Maat's eternals. Otherwise the two simply leave the temple.

Outside the temple, Nova looks into the sun and her eye hemorrages. Orion carries her to the exit portal. Nova thanks Orion for saving her and they agree that they make a good team. When Orion disconnects, it is 5:25AM.

## Butterflies in the Park

Orion is laying on a bench in the park in Kredon. He contemplates the urban legend of the water butterflies. Dalia finds him and they talk. Dalia is meeting Alex to go swimming soon, already well on her way to recovery. If Orion has enough favor with Dalia, she allows him to come to her competition next Thursday. Later that night, Dalia is going to play Eternum with Nancy on the Semper Invicta server. Dalia invites Orion if he is on Nancy's path.

Orion deflects a soccer ball that Axel kicks at him. Axel promises that he has some nasty revenge in store for Orion. Dalia argues with Charlotte who is also with Axel. Alex comes up behind Axel and kick him in the balls. Axel tells Alex that she is ruining the family reputation. Alex informs him that she is moving out in a month. Axel leaves.

Alex asks if Dalia is healed and she says that she is. Alex asks if Orion has learned more about his power. If Orion has enough favor with Dalia, Orion describes training with her in a Japanese-themed server. Orion can activate the power, but Dalia is able to easily counter him because he lacks control. Alex offers Dalia and Orion protein bagels that she made. Dalia asks Orion if they are better than her protein brownies, forcing Orion to pick a side. The water butterflies have disappeared so Orion hurries home to avoid the certainly impending rain.

## First Kiss

If Orion is on Annie's path, he finds her alone in the kitchen, otherwise this scene is skipped. Annie is extremely nervous and practices a conversation with Carolyn. Orion appears behind her and tells her good morning. Annie claims she was thinking about Dalia and tries to leave. Orion can confess to liking Annie, otherwise he loses her path. Orion then asks her out on a date next weekend to which she agrees. The two agree to take things slow. Orion can try to kiss Annie for the first time. Annie giggles as she rushes up the stairs.

## Party Line

Orion can't wait to jump back into Eternum, but first calls Nova for updates. Nova has discovered that next week, there will be a fancy dinner at the Boyle mansion in the Rockefeller server. The Founder, Ulysses executives, and holders of a Gem of Doom are all invited. Nova has obtained the guest list and thinks Cornelius Garrington is a good target to take a gem from. Obtaining the gem and attending the dinner could be a good way to continue the investigation.

Orion suggests asking help from Chang to plan a heist. Nova adds him to the call as Chang is in the middle of ordering a pizza. Chang agrees to help plan a heist, being a massive fan of heist movies. He then leaves to go to Micaela's birthday lunch. Nova adds Penny to the call. She is reading about Eternum before playing for the first time. Nova adds Luna to the call and she agrees to help Penny learn about magic in Eternum. Nova adds Nancy to the call and she agrees to join the heist mission as well.

## Welcome to Warthogs

Orion connects to Eternum and accepts Luna's invitation. Penny logs on and appears in the server with the first-time Eternum motion sickness. They find Luna in a school uniform. Professor Bundledore teleports behind them and welcomes them to his school of magic. Professor Bundledore welcomes them to participate in the ongoing Triwizard tournament. Orion points out that the server seems to be a fan tribute to Harry Potter, but Professor Bundledore, angrily declares that the ideas where his and stolen for the book series. They must earns stamps from multiple professors to win the competition. The following scenes may be completed in any order chosen by Orion.

## The Reminiscecombobulator

Orion, Luna, and Penny may proceed to the divination tower, located outside the castle walls. Professor Owler is the professor of divination. She has abused invisibility potions to the point that she is permanently invisible in servers where magic is enabled. To earn her stamp, she asks the group to help her test the Reminiscecombobulator, a device that can view memories. Orion or Penny can volunteer to have a memory viewed. Letting Penny view a memory yields the best result. Trying the device on Orion fails, but the team still receive a stamp.

If the machine is used on Penny, a flashback begins. A very young Dalia and Orion are seen at the Carter home. Orion complains that he doesn't like pineapple and gives his serving to Dalia. Penny is preparing to leave for the school's spring dance. Nancy is in another room, crying. She is about to leave for a job interview. If she can't get the job, she fears not being able to support Penny and Dalia. Penny enters and says she is leaving to go to the dance, but Nancy tells her that she has to stay and watch Dalia and Orion. Penny freaks out, so Nancy decided to let her go and cancel her interview.

The young Dalia and Orion are seen again. Orion mentions leaving with his dad for Europe in two weeks. Dalia promises to visit him there because she's Dalia the Explorer. Penny comes and asks if they have finished dinner, apparently deciding to not go to the dance after all. Penny asks Dalia about her magic sword Stormblade. They plan to watch movies and read stories.

The flashback ends and Penny admits that she stopped caring about trying to be popular after that. Penny may invite Orion to a party at Kredon Univeristy if he is following her path. Professor Owler thanks them and gives them her stamp.

## Veritaserum

Luna, Orion, and Penny head to the potions tower to collect another stamp. As they enter, some students recognize Penny from Instagram. Penny thanks Orion for treating her like a normal person. Orion may say that Penny is special to him for just being herself. A dejected looking student sits at the base of the stairs. He says the challenge is impossibly hard but that an ingredient in the potion is Syrup of Arnica.

At the top of the stairs, they meet Professor Dona Mandrake. She has prepared a potion and they must correctly identify the three main ingredients. The potion is colorless and odorless, so someone must taste it so they can determine its effects. Penny volunteers to try the potion. Prof. Mandrake begins interrogating her, eventually asking her highly embarrasing and personal questions. Penny answers everything, leading Luna to realize that the potion is Veritaserum, a truth serum. Luna can't remember the ingredients, but guesses Syrup of Arnica. That is incorrect, Prof. Mandrake hired the student at the foot of the stairs to mislead challengers. Prof. Mandrake agrees to give them her stamp if they go to the Emporium and collected the 200 eternals that Wenlin owes her.

## Chop-Chop's Emporium

Orion, Luna, and Penny head to the Emporium. Orion is dissapointed to find that Chop-Chop is the proprietor of this store as well. Orion accuses him of following him, but Chop-Chop assures Orion that he only follows money. This time, Chop-Chop has an assistant, a pixie named Wenlin. Chop-Chop will give them a stamp if they buy something from his shop. Chop-Chop begins showing off his many suspicous products. Eventually, he accidentally teleports Luna and Penny to the storeroom with a portkey.

Wenlin approaches Orion and offers to show off their most exclusive item while Chop-Chop finds Luna and Penny. Wenlin takes Orion to the storeroom where she turns back into a full-size human. She shows Orion a sample of polyjuice potion, apparently banned by the General Code of Ethics. If Orion has been to the potions tower, he remembers to ask Wenlin for Prof. Mandrake's money. Wenlin offers to let Orion reserve a portion of her next batch. She offers to tranform into either Luna or Penny for 60 eternals as a proof that the potion works. Orion may accept. Chop-Chop gives them his stamp for the tournament.

If Orion has not yet gone to potions, he may return to the Emporium to collect the Prof. Mandrake's money from Wenlin. When Orion has obtained the money from Wenlin, he may return to the potions tower to collected the stamp from Prof. Mandrake.

## Dark Arts Deception

Penny, Luna, and Orion head to the church where the dark arts are taught. Orion recognizes the building but can't place it (it appears to be the location of his first strange dream from Chapter 1). The church was previoulsy owned by a cult that was shut down by the praetorians (possibly the Syndicate). The church is very dark inside, where they meet Professor Abbott. He will give them his stamp if they can find his clay jar hidden in the church. The church is full of Boggles, shape-shifting creatures that seek to scare victims. The team decides to split up.

Orion is attacked by Boggles in the form of zombies but he is able to neutralize them. He finds Luna, but her use of swear words puts Orion off. She then turns into a zombie and attacks Orion. Orion is able to neutralize the Boggle. He decided to head back to the place where he agreed to meet Luna and Penny.

Penny finds Orion who takes her to a room where she can apparently see the future. Penny finds a horribly ugly, future-version of herself who claims to have travelled back in time. Penny realizes that it is a Boggle when it says that she didn't go to college. Penny is able to vanquish the monster. Penny pretends to seduce Orion and is able to get it to say things that make her realize that it is not the real Orion. She vanquishes this Boggle as well. A zombie attacks her and she vanquishes it.

If Orion is following Luna's path, Luna is seen finding the clay jar. She confidently dispells a zombie. Luna sees a pale woman that claims to be her dead mother. Luna's mother accuses Luna of killing her by touching her with her cursed magic hands. She commands Luna to kill herself to save others. She call's Luna a monster with no friends and says no one would notice if she died. Orion finds Luna and takes her hand. He promises that Luna's mother could not have been this way in real life and promises to never leave her. He then vanquishes the Boggle. Luna reflexivly pulls her hand back, but thanks Orion for helping her.

The team give Prof. Abbott the jar and receive his stamp.

## Conjuration Competition

Penny, Luna, and Orion head to the castle walls for the conjuration challenge. Prof. Bundledore greets them and says that to earn his stamp, they must defeat another team of wizards using conjuration magic. Another team, Marvolo, Melton, and Jade are already waiting. Penny is assigned to duel Jade, a lvl 19 player. Jade summons a stone golem. Penny is only able to summon a frog. The stone golem crushes the frog.

Luna is assigned to duel Marvolo. Marvolo is the greatest summoner currently at the school. He creates an unkillable pharoah mummy. Luna summons a monster with a pyramid for a head, which Luna calls Pyri. The pyramid declares that hell wastes for the mummy. Chains emerge and drag the mummy into the ground. Luna has won her duel.

Orion is paired with Melton. The winner of the duel will win the stamp. Melton summons a cyclops. When Orion tries the spell, he summons Calypso. Calypso angrily asks Orion why he has teleported her without asking. Melton urges her to stop talking and fight the cyclops. Calypso effortlessly atomizes the cyclops and creates a portal to return to Ekabar. Prof. Bundledore gives the team his stamp.

## Prize Delegation

Orion, Luna, and Penny may head to the location to claim the prize at any time. If they have less than four stamps, Orion may leave the server and leave Penny and Luna to keep practicing magic. If they have four or five stamps, they win the competition. Having five stamps earns a bonus of 300 eternals. Prof. Bundledore offers a Grimoire of Power, a book that teaches one person a powerful spell. The team agrees to let Penny use the Grimoire. Orion may suggest that she learn restoration or destruction magic. Orion logs off and prepares to play again later with Nancy and Dalia.

## Nancy Joins the Party

Nancy appears in the Rome-themed Semper Invicta server. A man tries to scam her by charging for the non-existant Eternum Premium. Dalia kicks the scammer. Dalia is about to take Nancy for a tour when she discovers that the Western Roman Empire now controls the city they are in. Legionnaires appear and arrest Dalia. Maximo, a legionnaire, is shocked by Nancy's hair and asks her to come with him.

Orion wakes up from a nap and logs on. He appears in Semper Invicta. Orion may buy an apple for one eternal as he searches for Nancy and Dalia. Orion heads to the rotunda. Another man offers to sell him a ticket to the rotunda for 200 eternals which Orion may chose to purchase. At the entrance to the rotunda, a beggar asks for six eternals which Orion may chose to give. Legionnaires ask for Orion's ticket. Tickets may not be sold, so if Orion purchased a ticket it is not valid. Orion says that he knows Dalia and that she invited him to the server. The legionnaires arrest Orion for knowing her.

## Down in the Dungeon

Orion wakes up in a dungeon within the rotunda. Dalia and Jerry share the same cell. Jerry was on duty when the city was taken, but couldn't stop them because he is now just level three. Jerry and Orion argue. All they can do is wait to be sent into the rotunda as gladiators.

Meanwhile, Nancy waits in a fancy dress and with her hair done up. The Emperor emerges and declares that she is the woman from the prophecy that will restore Rome to its former glory. He decided that this means she will serve as his concubine. Nancy asks for Dalia to be freed and the Emperor accepts.

Back in the dungeon, Dalia and Orion talk strategy. Dalia mentions her private server, The Cove. If Orion is on Dalia's path and has enough favor, he may convince her to tell him the password. The password is Stormblade, the name of her sword from the Reminiscecombobulator flashback. Orion and Dalia make a bet that Orion will not be able to beat Dalia in a fight in the next two weeks. If Orion beats her, she will do anything he wants, otherwise Orion must do her chores for a month. Legionnaires come to bring Dalia to the stands. Jerry points out historical inaccuracies in the guards armor and is killed by them. Orion is given armor and taken to the rotunda.

## Death or Glory

Nancy is in the box with the emperor and Bodenius the Architect to spectate the fights. Dalia is not allowed to enter the box and instead watches with Titus, the trainer of Jasticus the Decapitator, who Orion will be dueling. If Orion is on Dalia's path, she says that she is Orion's trainer. The rival trainer bets 100 eternals that Jasticus will beat Orion in just 20 seconds.

Orion enters the arena and faces Jasticus. Orion's powers activate and he is able to dodge Jasticus' first attack. Orion can counterattack. Failing to time the attack properly results in Jasticus killing Orion and logging him off Eternum. Orion proceeds to call Chang to discuss the heist. If Orion times the attack correctly, he is able to get the better of Jasticus and defeat him. The crowd chants for Orion to kill Jasticus and the emperor gives him the thumbs down. Sparing Jasticus gains favor with Nancy. Nancy and the emperor argue leading the emperor to slap her. Nancy punches him and knocks him out. The legionnaire, Maximo, quickly defuses the situation and declares Nancy the new empress, having defeated the emperor in single combat.

Dalia tells Nancy that she is logging off, but Nancy decided to stay now that she is empress. She invites Orion as the champion to visit her in the baths. Orion is informed that he is free. If he is invited to the baths, he may accept or deny. If Orion turns down the invitation, he logs off Eternum and prepares to call Chang, skipping the next scene.

## Forbidden Fruit

Orion enters the baths. Nancy enters and Orion is surprised to learn that she has now become the empress of the Western Roman Empire. Nancy and Orion bathe in the pool. They discuss the sheer magic of Eternum and how all the senses and details are perfect. Orion may tell Nancy about the divination flashback from earlier and how real it felt. Nancy asks if Orion has a girlfriend and he admits that he does not. She asks if he would ever try something with Penny or Dalia. Nancy responds best, if he admits that he would. Nancy confesses that she bought Eternum to spend more time with Orion. The two cuddle in the pool. Distant explosions can be heard. Orion and Nancy are about to make love when the legionaire Maximo calls out to Nancy. She is needed to rally the troops and ward off an ongoing surprise attack by the Eastern Roman Empire. Nancy apologizes that she has to leave. She tells Orion to order pizza for Dalia, Penny, and himself.

## Heist Planning

Nova, Penny, Dalia, Nancy, Annie, Calypso, Alex, Luna, and Orion have all gathered in an abandoned building in the Sin City server. Annie obsesses over meeting an elf, Calypso, for the first time. She has agreed to help with the plan having nothing better to do. Dalia takes a dig at Penny for not wearing black, but Nova backs Penny up. They seem to be good friends now. Penny is finally able to get to Dalia admit that she loves her. Chang has prepared a 194-page plan for the heist. Dalia is concerned of its quality since Chang doesn't play Eternum. Orion says he told Chang all about them and that he is a heist film afficionado. Dalia challenges Orion to guess her favorite movie. Correctly guessing The Lord of the Rings suprises her and earns her favor (this fact can be found in the bio page for Dalia, but is never mentioned in dialogue prior to this).

Orion begins his presentation. They will be breaking into the vault of Garrington's bank in the Garrington district of the New Vegas server. Cornelius Garrington is shrewd and has near flawless security at his buildings. The weakness they will target is his impulsive son, Bennie Garrington who can also deactivate the biometric system guarding the vault. The presentation is interrupted by a knock at the door. Confused, Orion goes to answer it. The corridor is empty, but when he calls back to the girls they don't respond. Orion gets nervous and begins to panic.