Hyperion's Story: Reflection

Chapter 5: VS ?

May 23, 2024

Open on Temple Room

Hyperion and Metrophanes are seated on the floor of an undecorated room, the floor and walls made out of stone.

Metrophanes: Are you sure you’re ready?

Hyperion: Yes. There’s no risk to anyone else, is there?

Metrophanes: Rituals like this are akin to the weather, you can’t blindly trust them. This is one I underwent after you and the others foiled my plans, every shaman has to go through it at least once. It forces you to face yourself.

Metrophanes: Focus on yourself, the parts of you that aren’t in harmony. I’ve started to wonder something. Do you like being a dragon?

Hyperion: No.

Hyperion: All I’ve wanted is to live in peace in the village, being a dragon has done nothing but get in the way of that. Even when I’m not there being connected to me has caused problems for the village.

Metrophanes: Do you hate dragons?

Hyperion: Not even Hákon. But I guess I do hate being a dragon. I enjoy being able to fly, but that’s it. I hate this power, I hate the attention it brings me. I’d have rather been born as an ordinary person.

The screen goes dark. A circle of light appears to illuminate Hyperion, but there is no more background, just a void. Metrophanes is gone.

Hyperion stands up.

Hyperion: Where am I?

Exploration Start

There is barely anything in your current location. You don’t have anything to do but keep going forward until the next scene starts.

Exploration End

Two people are standing together. One of them is a golden scaled dragon, contrasting with the darkness of the background. The other is an orc in robes like Hyperion’s, holding a staff like Metrophanes’s.

Hyperion: That’s me? And Photios.

Past Hyperion: I don’t want to leave, but the Dark Lord’s men will come back for me after that, won’t they? It’ll be best for everyone if I leave. I don’t want to provoke the Dark Lord more. I’m grateful for you teaching me how to be a man, not just some wild beast.

Photios: You don’t need my permission to leave or stay. But don’t act rashly, think first. You’re been part of the village for a while, nobody would enjoy seeing you depart.

Past Hyperion: I wish things could have stayed the way they were forever. But I can’t put all of you in danger just because I lost my temper with that tribute collector.

Photios: He still got his tribute, only an especially petty man would seek retribution. Still if this is your choice, then do so.

The Past Hyperion and Photios vanish.

Hyperion: So these are my memories. And I know what happens next…

Photios and others appear, lying dead on the floor. The past Hyperion descends from above the screen.

Past Hyperion: No… I was too late.

Hyperion: I should have realized there weren’t that many dead villagers. Photios’s sacrifice saved almost all of them, his magic made the enemy retreat. But I was so busy trying to help everyone else I wasn’t there. I thought they had all died.

Soldiers appear in front of the past Hyperion. Most are incinerated with rays of light that leave behind no trace of their existence. Others are stomped into the ground by Hyperion. The last is flown high into the air and thrown to the ground.

Hyperion: Everyone talks about it like it was a battle. It wasn’t. I massacred them. And for what? Photios is still dead. I would have honored his sacrifice if I had looked for where everyone fled, instead I had to be told where they went.

The past Hyperion turns towards Hyperion. He roars.

Hyperion: I hate you too.

Battle Start

This is an unconventional battle. Instead of facing another fighter with an equally varied moveset, the other Hyperion has a small selection of powerful attacks and is on set patterns. You’ll need to change how you think about your opponent for this one. Thankfully the stage is simple to compensate, just plain flat terrain with walls at both ends.

True Form Hyperion will start with an attack that calls down lasers all over the arena, the ground will glow where it’s going to hit. All you need to do is stand somewhere that isn’t glowing in order to dodge it. But it takes a while to fire, so you may feel tempted to try and get closer. Push forward a little, but not too much.

After that initial attack he’ll cycle through several others. A volley of golden arrows will manifest and follow you, if they hit you’ll be stunned and struck by a pillar of light. If True Form Hyperion leans forward, block, because he’s about to do a dashing attack to the other side of the screen.

On the other hand if True Form Hyperion rears back, run in the other direction, he’s about to do a grab attack. If it connects you’ll be flown into the air and thrown back to the ground for just under half of your health. Less dramatic moves involve swiping at you with claws or his tail.

Once you’ve gotten to the halfway point of the fight, it gets tougher. You’ll know you’ve reached it when the laser attack begins and the glowing spots on the ground move. After that True Form Hyperion will periodically hover off the ground, becoming harder to reach while still having plenty of attacks to use himself.

The key to making progress in this fight is to be patient. All of the especially threatening attacks have very obvious tells and take time to wind up. Meanwhile your command grabs still work, and your opponent doesn’t move around much.

Wear down your more powerful counterpart over time and eventually you’ll clear this chapter.

Battle End

The past Hyperion fades away.

Hyperion: I did it.

Photios appears next to Hyperion.

Photios: Hyperion, I’m thankful to see that you’ve traveled so far from that cave you kept hiding in.

Hyperion: Photios…

Photios: You always did worry for others, quite excessively. Never hesitating to deny yourself for the sake of another. Sometimes I used to worry you’d starve with how small of a portion you’d take.

Hyperion: I’m sorry I wasn’t there when the Dark Lord’s army came.

Photios: Other people needed your aid. I had already known when we had said our final farewell. And I made certain you knew better than to wallow in mourning and fear, my spirit has never left your side.

Photios: Which means I’ve seen how you’ve handled this tournament. You’re afraid, despite all your past outbursts of anger having been righteous. Those soldiers were your enemy, gruesome as their deaths were.

Hyperion: So you want me to use my power?

Photios: You don’t need to become a monarch, but your power is part of you. Just as your sense of caution is. And the fact that you’re a dragon. It certainly helped with rebuilding.

Photios: Trust others to be strong enough to learn how to keep up with you. We didn’t make a living in the desert by having it go easy on us.

Photios: Now go win honor for our village in the way only a dragon can.

Hyperion: I think I understand now.

Photios: Then it’s time you woke up. And give my thanks to that other shaman for giving me another chance to speak with you.

Photios vanishes. The background changes to be the temple again. Hyperion and Metrophanes are seated together again.

Metrophanes: Hyperion, are you alright? You look injured.

Hyperion: I fought myself. And thanks to you I was able to speak with Photios again.

Hyperion stands up.

Metrophanes: What will you do now?

Hyperion: I’m going to develop a new technique for my fighting style. Something that uses my power over light, my way.

Chapter END

Note from the Author: And now Hyperion has access to his full moveset in the game. Having unique aspects like this helps keep things varied when there’s so many character stories, no other character in Battles Beneath the Stars has a progression like this in the gameplay side. As always let me know what you think in the comments.

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