Hyperion's Story: Overshadow

Chapter 3: VS Metrophanes

Apr 25, 2024

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Hyperion, Metrophanes, and Aris are all together. Small speech bubbles appear around the scene, showing different lines from the crowd about Hyperion and Metrophanes being scheduled to fight. Most are insulting one of them.

Metrophanes: People seem riled up for our match.

Hyperion: I wish they weren’t. Are you okay Metrophanes? The crowds here don’t seem to have any tact.

Metrophanes: I knew I’d get a reception like this. There’s a reason I don’t go near Gaiapolis’s territory anymore. I’ve accepted the consequences of my past ambitions.

Aris: I’m surprised they don’t hate me more for what I’ve done.

Hyperion: What confuses me is how much people from other lands care about our matches. I’ve seen Xilians make some rather… strong remarks on all of us, even before I beat Quiahuitl.

Hyperion: There’s two mountain ranges between our lands, why do they care so much if we win or lose? I can understand wanting their own fighters to win, but this feels like something more.

Metrophanes: Apparently the arena crowds are always like this, I spoke with some arena officials. The only way to win the crowd’s respect is to fight well, or face someone they hate more.

Metrophanes: So I’ll simply put up as good of a fight as I can manage, that’s how you earn a good reputation here.

Metrophanes: On that note, Hyperion, I’ll see you in the arena.

Aris: I’ll go find Chrysanthos then.

Metrophanes and Aris walk off-screen.

Exploration Start

You have some obstacles in your way to jump over, but nothing complex, though some of them have sloped surfaces you can play around with. And the usual set of NPCs to listen in on.

Impatient Spectator: At this point I just hope Hyperion faces someone who makes him go all out. But that guy with the puppet doesn’t seem like the one.

Patriotic Xillian Noble: Please, don’t let any of the dragons win the tournament.

Simple Arena Fan: I hate fighters with weird gimmicks, I hope that puppeteer loses.

Keep going to right until you see Metrophanes and some others.

Exploration End

Metrophanes is standing at the right part of the screen with Drakon, a talpman child dressed in a white robe similar to Hyperion’s. Opposite them is a Mondragean noble.

Resentful Noble: They should have never let you set foot on this island, traitor.

Drakon: Why don’t you people leave grandpa alone. None of you really know him.

Resentful Noble: You shouldn’t talk about history older than you brat.

Hyperion: Calm down. You’re not solving anything yelling at a child.

The resentful noble turns around.

Resentful Noble: Who are- Hyperion?! Fine, but he should know nothing will ever get him back into the mountain.

The resentful noble walks away.

Hyperion: (Just once I’d like a stranger not to immediately know who I am.)

Drakon: Thanks Uncle Hyperion.

Hyperion: It was nothing. Metrophanes are you all right?

Metrophanes: It’s mere words, and they’re correct. There is only so much reputation I can earn here after what I’ve done in the past. But I appreciate you stepping in for Drakon’s sake.

Metrophanes: You shouldn’t pay them any mind Drakon, don’t get into any fights over me.

Drakon: But they’re all so mean. And you’re here so people will like you more.

Metrophanes kneels to be closer to Drakon’s height.

Metrophanes: It will be all right. Now hurry over to Uncle Aris and Uncle Chrysanthos, the next match will start soon.

Hyperion: And no matter who wins, we’ll still be friends.

Metrophanes rises. He and Hyperion walk off screen.

Transition to Photens

The stage is set in the middle of a desert village. At the center is a well, inside a structure that’s like a wallless tent, except it’s clearly made to stay. The well itself is in the background, but the flat roof of the structure is both a ceiling and platform.

At both ends of the stage are a small sandstone building. Their flat roofs are also part of the stage. A barrier of golden light on each end stops fighters from going past the roofs to the other side of the buildings.

Hyperion and Metrophanes stand in front of the well.

Battle Start

Metrophanes fights using his staff and his puppet Vulture Shah, which will either be right next to him or deployed to another part of the stage. Both of them move at the same time, but Metrophanes has moves that can steer Vulture Shah in different ways as well.

More importantly, both will attack at the same time. This means when the two are together every attack is actually two attacks and will harder.

However, the worst positioning for you to be in is with Vulture Shah on one side and Metrophanes on the other. If that happens you’ll have a hard time blocking the incoming attacks on either side, this is basically Metrophane’s win condition.

If you attack Vulture Shah enough it will stop moving for a while, that’s your time to go all out. Even if you immediately get attacked, the damage output from Metrophanes will have been lowered.

Metrophanes has plenty of room to set up his antics so you want to try and box him in. Your Roc Strike super helps a lot with this, since it will drag him to an end of the stage, but first you need to get close enough to land it.

As for Metrophanes’s super moves, Understudy On Stage has him summon a second Vulture Shah while it lasts, which makes him even trickier to deal with, Full Ensemble on the other hand is a straightforward damaging move, if the slow staff swing hits you get mobbed by a horde of puppets.

The hazard on this stage is that after a warning, a sandstorm will manifest. Being caught out in the sandstorm will deal one tick of damage per second, which can quickly add up. The area by the well is safe zone, and the tighter quarters work to your favor, making Metrophanes pick between taking passive damage or staying close to grab range.

Do your best to keep close to Metrophanes and shut down Vulture Shah regardless of the stage’s weather and you’ll make it past this fight.

Battle End

Hyperion and Metrophanes are back at their round start positions.

Cheers can be heard from off-screen. Various text boxes pop up across the screen, cheering for Hyperion or putting down Metrophanes. A significant number are highlighted, questioning when Hyperion will use his power.

Hyperion: (So much noise. And there are people who’d cheer just as loud if I lost. If I can barely stand it when winning…)

Metrophanes walks away and stops.

Hyperion: You fought well.

Metrophanes: Not well enough. We can talk later where there isn’t a crowd.

Metrophanes leaves.

Hyperion: I think coming here might have been a mistake for both of us.

Chapter END

Note from the Author: Drakon is a side character I’ve known would make an appearance in some form, so glad to have him in. This chapter ended up giving a lot of space to Metrophanes, but as you can tell things are still progressing with Hyperion.