Endings

Spoiler WarningThis page contains MAJOR SPOILERS. Do not continue unless you have already completed the game, or are ok with having the game spoiled.

There are 4 different endings to The Forgotten City. They can be achieved at different points in the game, and with different degrees of understanding. If an ending as been achieved, it is still possible to load a save made before the ending to get the others.

## Endings

### Ending 1 - The Many Shall Suffer

#### How to achieve

This is the easiest ending to achieve, as all it requires is to cause a paradox in the simplest possible way: Killing Sentius. See, if Sentius is dead, then he can't open the portal, and you'd never be able to go into the past to begin with. If you have spoken to him before, he will attempt to dissuade you when you aim a bow at him. Ignore him, and put an arrow (or bullet) right between his eyes. In a flash of bright light, you will be teleported out of the city.

#### Outcome

The player will be teleported back to the ruined city, next to where he found Al's hanging corpse, only now, Al is alive. The only option is to walk towards him, which will initiate a conversation with him.

Al will be startled, clearly not expecting anyone else. When the player introduces themselves, Al notes that the players name matches the one on the stone tablet he is reading. It states that 2000 years ago a stranger emerged from the Shrine of Proserpina and killed a local magistrate. This broke some ancient law, bringing down a terrible curse upon them, and as the citizens screamed and died in pain, the stranger vanished in a flash of light.

This story should feel very familiar to the player, and they will therefore be unable to hide the fact that they were this stranger. The player goes on explaining when they first came here, they found Al's hanged corpse. Al is obviously in disbelief, so the player hands him his suicide note. He recognizes the handwriting, but still has trouble believing what is happening. This leaves the player with no choice but to plainly state that they killed the one responsible for opening the time portal, thereby preventing Al from getting sent back in time in the first place.

Al finally gets with the program, but quickly sees a problem; If he couldn't find a way out in the other timeline, he doubts they will be able to find one now. The player essentially brought him back to life just so he could die again. Whether the player admits they made a mistake, or claim the regret nothing matters little. Al will become enraged, both at the players murdering a man in cold blood, and for dooming them to a slow death.

He concludes that the old inscriptions were right: **"The many shall suffer for the sins of the one"**.

### Ending 2 - The One That Got Away

#### How to achieve

This is a little more involved, requiring the player to get a bit more involved in the city. The first step to getting this ending is into the Upper Cistern. There are 2 ways in:

1. Going in through the door under The Great Temple. The door is locked, but Duli has the key. Sadly, he won't hand it over until he has been freed from his prison. For this to happen, Galerious must win the election, which requires you to help many of the citizens, then have him help them at the start of a loop. Once Duli has been released, he will hand over the key.
2. If the Golden Bow has been acquired, a path can be made from the lower cistern under Malleolus's villa. After climbing up the vines, and doing a bit of skillful jumping, the player will arrive in the upper cistern.

In the center of the upper cistern is a chained up woman. Speak with her, and she will reveal that she is Sentilla! Apparently, she discovered a way out, but when she shared this information with Sentius, he locked her up here. For some reason he wants everyone to stay in the city, and carries the key required to leave. She states that there is no time to save the others, and begs the player to free her. Grant her request.

The moment she his released, footsteps can be heard. Seems her father is on the way. She asks the player to distract him while she finds something to kill him with. Sure enough, Sentius comes down the stairs, asking where Sentilla is. When the player refuses to answer, Sentius laments that the player found this location far earlier than Al. Turns out Sentius also retains his memories each loop, and had been using it as a way to gain eternal life. He watched Al stumble about, loop after loop, but is moralistic views hampered his progress. Only after thousands of loops did Al make it to the uppe cistern, to have the same conversation as the player was having now. This revelation broke Al, and he subsequently hanged himself. The next day, the player showed up, staring the cycle anew.

While Sentius is monologuing, Sentilla has snuck up behind him. Once the player gives the word, Sentilla lights him on fire. She recovers the key, however a paradox has been created, and the player disappears in a flash of light.

#### Outcome

The player emerges back in the present, with a now living Al coming down the stairs. He is surprised by the presence of anyone else, thinking he was alone. When the player introduces themselves, he recognizes the name. He was reading an ancient tablet describing a person with that name emerging from Shrine of Proserpina, who freed Sentilla, who in turn broke some ancient law by killing her captor before escaping the city as the sole survivor.

The player will be unsuccessful in hiding the fact that they were the one who freed Sentilla, To Al\s great disbelief. It isn't until the player hands him his suicide note that he truly believes. The player then goes on explaining how they saved him by helping Sentilla kill the man who created the time loop. Al is still a bit confused, but thankful that his life was saved. The 2 then decide to escape the city the same way Sentilla did, through the aqueduct.

Then player emerges back in the Forest, only now it is daytime. Walking past the temple, Al can be seen boarding up the door, stating that he doesn't want anyone else to fall into the same trap as them. The only path forward is back down to the river, and back to Karen. She will be glad to see the player, and even happier that they found Al. She will then ask what the player what they discovered. They can either share that they discovered an ancient underground city, or, if the player had talked with Equitia about the true nature of the city, about what they learned about her. Either way, Al will show up, telling her about the city, and the players role in it. Karen is not quite shocked, since she found a tablet of her own, and gives it to the player. It is a letter directed at them, where she thanks them for saving her, and that the responsibility for the death of the others is solely hers. After reading the letter, Karen offers to ferry everyone home, which both Al and the player accepts.

### Ending 3 - The Ones That Got Away

#### How to achieve

This ending is achieved in much the same way as ending 2, with one key difference. When Sentilla asks to be released, refuse her. Then, break the Golden Rule. Once the loop starts anew, speak with Galerious. Instead of having him run the players errands, tell him the Golden Rule is about to be broken, and that he should gather as many people as he can near the upper cistern when the ground starts shaking. Then head back to Sentilla, and continue as in Ending 2.

#### Outcome

Only 2 things really changes from Ending 2 is the contents of the 2 tablets. Al's tablet tells much of the same story, except now a handful of people managed to escape. Karens tablet on the now shows that besides Sentilla, Octavia, Lucretia, Horatius and Equitia alsomade it out of the city. Sadly Galerious and Ulpius died whilst trying to free Duli. They promise that saving their lives will not have been for nothing. Then there is nothing left to do except return back home.

### Ending 4 - The Canon Ending

#### How to achieve

Collect the four tablets scattered across the city, and place them at the Obelisk in the grand temple.

#### Outcome

The player confronts the creator of the city, and convinces them to end the golden rule.

## Notes

* The player will hand over the stone tablet, even if they never picked it up.
* The easiest way to get ending 1 is with the soldier, as they start with a weapon.
* If the player hasn't spoken to Sentius when they shoot him, he won't die. Even a headshot won't do it. Only by shooting him as he runs away will he die.