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Bonus Ending Update 2: ?????? Ending.
This is actually called the Lexus Ending by fans. It's short, a little goofy, and once upon a time I really hated it. I've softened up on it a lot over the years though. It's still my least favourite, though. There's one important difference in the credits, plus there's a -second- post credits scene.
https://youtu.be/yK24eVbF0b8
This map is called The Defiance of Gaius, and given the context of a lot of things, I'm not so sure that it's The Phantom Slasher in control of Rhue's body here as people say.
This is the ending we had to work so hard to achieve. Finding Lexus, navigating the fucked up hidden path forest, becoming the Pharaphalyn among many other things... I think this is Rhue, in some sort of enlightened state, where he's partly (or entirely) realised what he is, and chooses to leave everything behind, so he can decide how to lead a life he is intent on making his own.
Perhaps The Phantom Slasher has even been subsumed by this new will of Rhues. That's just my take on this scene though.
Maybe that shot of him flying away is him taking The Phantom Slasher away from the rest of the world entirely...
I'll quote Jeramyu;s 2013 posts again:
quote:
Lexus Ending -
I decided to do this one first because despite being the "happy" ending, it's actually kind of in a middle ground between the other two on a different level. Where the Reaches ending is very abstract, and the normal ending is very real, the Lexus ending tends to blur the line a bit. This ending has been traditionally seen as a kind of escapist ending, and with a phrase like "... a quiet corner, outside the roar of the world." it's hard to disagree. There have been (angry) arguments against this before, but I have a bit more nuanced take. It's impossible to deny the fact that Rhue does escape from the world to a far off place, but the idea that he's using this as a way to escape from his problems, or the whole "being the phantom slasher" issue at hand isn't quite true. In fact, this is the only ending where Rhue takes command of his destiny away from others and forges his own path. I hate to use map names for arguments, but the version of the "end" where he flies away is titled "Defiance of Gaius". In this ending, Rhue is beholden to no one. Not Gaius, not Jeruh, not Tetzel. His love for Lexus is the one thing he developed separate from all of them, and it's his ticket to escape from the past.
So yeah, still a happy ending. A VERY happy ending, in fact.
Jeramyu actually improved my opinion on this ending a little with this. So, thank you, Jeramyu.
The second idea, one that occurred to me, and Tallgeese raised in the thread is that this ending could be the reawakening of Venge/Kura who are likely one and the same original personality of 'Rhue'. He can fly because he's a demon prince.
Anyway... this is the last proper update about this game.. There's just some wrapping up to do really, that I'll handle in a series of posts, but you may well consider the LP over here. If you bow out here, then thank you for taking the time to read this Let's Play as I showed off an unfinished, poorly paced, janky-ass piece of... work that I love dearly.
the end