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TUNIC Narrative Guide - Act 4, Part 6: Reality's Truth
Summary: Join the Ruin Seeker (that's our protagonist fox!) on his journey through a strange and vaguely familiar land. His inner thoughts are laid bare as we explore the unknown. Each step brings new mysteries to solve, new challenges to face. - This story is intended as a companion piece to the video game TUNIC, but can also function as a guide if you are stuck or a teaser to get you interested.
If you've reached this point and you haven't faced off against your final foe, turn around and leave now. There are spoilers within these pages that will negatively influence your experience with the game.
After a short walk around town, I sit down next to the fountain. Only a few more pages to solve, just three more pieces to obtain, and I will make the trek to the mountain.
First on my list is page 22. I didn't spend much time here originally because looking at it made my eyes hurt. Now that I'm revisiting it, after solving all of the others, the gold is much more obvious. Five of the icons have a ghosting of gold, and the result forms a line with several twists and turns. I record the path and it falls into place among my copy.
Okay, next is page 44. I'm looking for something that connects from above and on the left. Knowing that, my choices shrink dramatically. Many of the possible paths trail off to the right. What remains are two possible choices. One starts from the top edge of the page and winds into the middle of the door, but that one feels wrong. It doesn't have a clear end, and it seems to split at the end point with a continued coloration. The other choice involves that same coloration which connects the top of the door to the middle of the page where it perfectly ends. This one feels the more likely answer, but I'll add it to my list of possible uncertainties.
Alright. Deep breaths. It's time for page 9. This page left me anxious from the moment I saw it, like my brain was being filled with thoughts that deny reality itself. I trepidatiously attempt a re-analysis of this page. Continue. New Game. Options. Load Game. Save Data. Data Removal. The words fill my head, and make both perfect sense and no sense at all. For a brief moment I begin to lose sight of who I am.
Within Save Data is an emphasized golden square. With everything I know at this point, my instincts tell me this is the answer. That box isn't a path itself, but it is the path. As parts of my mind fill with curiosity, reality itself short-circuits. I find myself back at the goddess statue for no clear reason.
I check the booklet again, and find that nothing has changed. The golden question mark is still a question mark. Unlike the fairies page, the box didn't transform into anything else. Before I can think through anything else, reality blinks again.
Discovery: A strange save file exists within the Save Data screen, but it can only be seen after visiting that screen twice. How does it look from our hero's perspective?
I am suddenly floating above myself, inducing a strong sensation of vertigo. Under my paws is a line of gold. It feels surreal, dreamlike. I am me, but not me, as though this reality is fully detached from my own.
In this dream, the path before me is all there is. It is a dimly lit corridor, the gold under my feet reflecting in the light of my lantern. "Traverse The Golden Path..." The words echo inside my head. I walk forward. Jars clutter the path, and I slash through them. They shatter the same as in reality, but it also feels detached, foreign. Forward.
The vertigo is leaving me shaken. My mind is a haze. How did I come here? Who am I? What should I be doing? Feeling afraid, I begin to run. Forward. The path winds through the strange ruin. I smash through the jars until I come to a wall of blackness. It further unsettles me, but I charge forward regardless. My mind grows hazy, and I'm on a new path.
I run. Still forward. The path winds through the ruin. There are no more jars, only a trail of gold. Traverse it. I run. The wall of blackness again. I run into it, and again a haze. Again, I run. Always forward. What is the point of it all? Why do I exist? I run. The blackness. Running... A never-ending loop.
Reality blinks again. I'm pulled back into focus. Once again, I am myself, still at the goddess statue. Remnants of panic still grip at me, yet it's distant, like it's a memory someone else had. In a tingle of confusion, I realize I now know the answer to the last piece. I quickly write it down, confirming that it fits within the whole.
My body gives a strong shudder. That dream was very disconcerting. A part of me knows the truth now, but another part of me is refusing to accept it. I close my eyes and steady my nerves. It's time to visit the strange door and finally traverse The Golden Path.
The ruins here... They truly feel different from anything else in this land, as though they do not belong. I can't help but try to look for lines and patterns within the arches as I pass under them. What purpose did this place once have? What is its story, its legacy?
As I wander through the snowy path, I eventually reach the ladder I've climbed several times before now. And then, in front of me, the strange door. The Door In The Mountains. It is here that I must walk, or rather cast, the Golden Path.
Keeping in mind the rule that it will fail if I stumble or delay, I prepare myself. If I am not accurate, if I am not quick, then I won't be able to tell if I failed due to planning or due to execution.
With preparations complete, I begin to cast the complex spell. My heart races as I follow the motions. I reach the top middle and the nervousness doubles, but I persist. I take extra care with the repeaters, such that I don't skip over even one. I cross back over the first puzzle piece. Then through piece 9. Then...
A purple light sparks in the middle of the door and spreads through the crevices with a flash. The panels alight and separate themselves from the structure, spinning and vanishing into nothingness. It really is unlike anything else.
My path forward is now clear. I step through the empty frame and climb the steps ahead. The many, many steps. It takes so long and climbs so high that the cold begins to seep past my fur and leave me chilled.
The steps zig and zag, and the peak is reached. There, awaiting me, is another page. The final page. I pick it up...
TUNIC. Instruction Booklet. This manual has been my guide through this beautiful and mysterious world. The edges are frayed, creases here and there, small smudges. It's a bittersweet sight.
On this page, there's a long note, fully legible. It reads:
Dear Player,
You've come a long way, haven't you? You've probably found a lot of secrets. Maybe you stumbled across the hidden trophy room; perhaps you even freed every fairy.
We hope you've had fun, but there's at least one more thing for you to do. If this is your final page, you should pay a visit to a certain someone and share your wisdom.
Thank you so much for playing.
Underneath that is a collection of handwritten markings. Signatures of...
Discovery: Game developers. Yep. This is a video game, and I'm the player. Hello.
Reality hits like a truck. I've never even seen one, but yet I know what one is. That is because I am the player. I am also me. This reality, it is what is called a game. My challenges are artificial, my fate scripted.
Yet, despite this revelation, I am happy. I can reflect on my journey, my existence, and feel proud and accomplished. The battles I fought were won on my skill, despite the guidance of the player. The puzzles solved would have been impossible without me. And above everything else, I had fun.
I begin my descent down the mountain as I continue to reflect. The wisdom I'm meant to share, this is what must be told. That reality is what we make of it. Real, artificial, that isn't what's important. What matters is how we interact with what we have. What matters is seeking joy rather than anger. Curiosity over destruction. That is what I was missing, that is why I was imprisoned following victory in the battle.
I climb down the ladders next to the sealed temple, descend the stairs that lead up to it, cross the bridge that my journey began on, and kneel at the golden teleporter. How much does she know? Is she aware of the context of this reality, even slightly? I hope I can have a long conversation with her, there's so much to talk about, so much more to learn.
Inside the distorted reality, I make my way to the central teleporter. This is it. Stepping inside, the Heir waits. If I truly wanted to, I could do battle with her yet again, but I know my current path will break this cycle. Upon noticing me, she raises her sword, and moves to strike me.
Instead of holding up my sword, I hold up the booklet. The Instruction Booklet. The truth of our reality. I offer it to her, and she stops. Perhaps she recognizes it somehow. She bends down and flips through.
Tears begin to form in her eyes, a deep heavy sob ripples through ethereal body. The light inside her slowly solidifies, perhaps the corruption of the void fluid is being overcome by these new emotions? I can't begin to guess.
With a bright flash, she regains her true form. The resemblance is both startling and completely natural. Oh, we have so much to catch up on, so much to talk about! But for now, only one thing needs to be said...
"Hi, mom."
Current Goals
✔Solve piece 22.
✔Solve piece 44.
✔Solve piece 9.
✔Solve The Golden Path.
✔Share my Wisdom.
★ Learn about the world from mom.
★ Learn the native language.
★ Decipher the mystery of page 54.
★ Hang out with the Librarian.
Author's Notes: Happy Existential Crisis everyone! The core truth has finally been revealed to our protagonist. He's inside a video game, an artificial world. But that's okay, he's had an amazing journey and a lot of fun.
And so have I! It's so nice to get Act 4 completed and to bring everyone to the end of the game. As you can see from our goals, however, there's still more to come. It will be a side project for when I have time, because for now, I need to work on some other things. My Renaar novel has been depressingly neglected, and I wanted to try out a story with some Aether characters based on an idea I saw. Fleet's a cute little dork, so I'll be trying my hand at something comedic.
Remember to appreciate the world around you, and focus on the positives. The world has a lot of negativity these days, but there's so much still to appreciate. Find your purpose, and take care.
Thumbnail created using game assets and the press kit's logo. The custom text contains a hidden secret.
Search Tags: Zelda Link mystery mysteries explore exploring exploration guide gameguide walkthrough help steam psychology psychological island ruin ruins ruination "the heir" vixen foxy foxes offering offerings secret secrets quest adventure magic magical puzzle puzzling meta discovery finale existential crisis family reunion
If you've reached this point and you haven't faced off against your final foe, turn around and leave now. There are spoilers within these pages that will negatively influence your experience with the game.
~Please take this warning seriously~
|| >> Start Here << || <<< Previous Part | To Be Continued... >>> ||
TUNIC: A Narrative Guide
Act 4, Part 6 - Reality's Truth
After a short walk around town, I sit down next to the fountain. Only a few more pages to solve, just three more pieces to obtain, and I will make the trek to the mountain.
First on my list is page 22. I didn't spend much time here originally because looking at it made my eyes hurt. Now that I'm revisiting it, after solving all of the others, the gold is much more obvious. Five of the icons have a ghosting of gold, and the result forms a line with several twists and turns. I record the path and it falls into place among my copy.
Page #22
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒░░░░░▒
════╗░▒
▒░╔═╝░▒
▒░╚═╗░▒
▒▒▒▒║▒▒Okay, next is page 44. I'm looking for something that connects from above and on the left. Knowing that, my choices shrink dramatically. Many of the possible paths trail off to the right. What remains are two possible choices. One starts from the top edge of the page and winds into the middle of the door, but that one feels wrong. It doesn't have a clear end, and it seems to split at the end point with a continued coloration. The other choice involves that same coloration which connects the top of the door to the middle of the page where it perfectly ends. This one feels the more likely answer, but I'll add it to my list of possible uncertainties.
Page #44
▒▒▒▒║▒▒
▒░░░║░▒
═══╗║░▒
▒░╔╝║░▒
▒░║░╬░▒
▒░╚═╝░▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒Alright. Deep breaths. It's time for page 9. This page left me anxious from the moment I saw it, like my brain was being filled with thoughts that deny reality itself. I trepidatiously attempt a re-analysis of this page. Continue. New Game. Options. Load Game. Save Data. Data Removal. The words fill my head, and make both perfect sense and no sense at all. For a brief moment I begin to lose sight of who I am.
Within Save Data is an emphasized golden square. With everything I know at this point, my instincts tell me this is the answer. That box isn't a path itself, but it is the path. As parts of my mind fill with curiosity, reality itself short-circuits. I find myself back at the goddess statue for no clear reason.
I check the booklet again, and find that nothing has changed. The golden question mark is still a question mark. Unlike the fairies page, the box didn't transform into anything else. Before I can think through anything else, reality blinks again.
Discovery: A strange save file exists within the Save Data screen, but it can only be seen after visiting that screen twice. How does it look from our hero's perspective?
I am suddenly floating above myself, inducing a strong sensation of vertigo. Under my paws is a line of gold. It feels surreal, dreamlike. I am me, but not me, as though this reality is fully detached from my own.
In this dream, the path before me is all there is. It is a dimly lit corridor, the gold under my feet reflecting in the light of my lantern. "Traverse The Golden Path..." The words echo inside my head. I walk forward. Jars clutter the path, and I slash through them. They shatter the same as in reality, but it also feels detached, foreign. Forward.
The vertigo is leaving me shaken. My mind is a haze. How did I come here? Who am I? What should I be doing? Feeling afraid, I begin to run. Forward. The path winds through the strange ruin. I smash through the jars until I come to a wall of blackness. It further unsettles me, but I charge forward regardless. My mind grows hazy, and I'm on a new path.
I run. Still forward. The path winds through the ruin. There are no more jars, only a trail of gold. Traverse it. I run. The wall of blackness again. I run into it, and again a haze. Again, I run. Always forward. What is the point of it all? Why do I exist? I run. The blackness. Running... A never-ending loop.
Reality blinks again. I'm pulled back into focus. Once again, I am myself, still at the goddess statue. Remnants of panic still grip at me, yet it's distant, like it's a memory someone else had. In a tingle of confusion, I realize I now know the answer to the last piece. I quickly write it down, confirming that it fits within the whole.
Page #9
▒▒▒║▒▒▒
▒░░║░░▒
▒░░╚═╗▒
▒╔═╬═╝▒
▒╚═╗░░▒
▒░░║░░▒
▒▒▒║▒▒▒My body gives a strong shudder. That dream was very disconcerting. A part of me knows the truth now, but another part of me is refusing to accept it. I close my eyes and steady my nerves. It's time to visit the strange door and finally traverse The Golden Path.
The ruins here... They truly feel different from anything else in this land, as though they do not belong. I can't help but try to look for lines and patterns within the arches as I pass under them. What purpose did this place once have? What is its story, its legacy?
As I wander through the snowy path, I eventually reach the ladder I've climbed several times before now. And then, in front of me, the strange door. The Door In The Mountains. It is here that I must walk, or rather cast, the Golden Path.
Keeping in mind the rule that it will fail if I stumble or delay, I prepare myself. If I am not accurate, if I am not quick, then I won't be able to tell if I failed due to planning or due to execution.
The Golden Path
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║▒║░░║░▒░╔═╝░▒░║♢║░▒╔═══════╬═╝▒║
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╠════╬════╬════╣♢╠════╬════╬════╣
╚════╩════╩════╩═╩════╩════╩════╝With preparations complete, I begin to cast the complex spell. My heart races as I follow the motions. I reach the top middle and the nervousness doubles, but I persist. I take extra care with the repeaters, such that I don't skip over even one. I cross back over the first puzzle piece. Then through piece 9. Then...
A purple light sparks in the middle of the door and spreads through the crevices with a flash. The panels alight and separate themselves from the structure, spinning and vanishing into nothingness. It really is unlike anything else.
Major Goal Complete: Traverse The Golden Path.My path forward is now clear. I step through the empty frame and climb the steps ahead. The many, many steps. It takes so long and climbs so high that the cold begins to seep past my fur and leave me chilled.
The steps zig and zag, and the peak is reached. There, awaiting me, is another page. The final page. I pick it up...
New Item: Page 0/1Page Analysis: #0 - "The Cover"
TUNIC. Instruction Booklet. This manual has been my guide through this beautiful and mysterious world. The edges are frayed, creases here and there, small smudges. It's a bittersweet sight.
Page Analysis: #1 - "Dear Player,"
On this page, there's a long note, fully legible. It reads:
Dear Player,
You've come a long way, haven't you? You've probably found a lot of secrets. Maybe you stumbled across the hidden trophy room; perhaps you even freed every fairy.
We hope you've had fun, but there's at least one more thing for you to do. If this is your final page, you should pay a visit to a certain someone and share your wisdom.
Thank you so much for playing.
Underneath that is a collection of handwritten markings. Signatures of...
Discovery: Game developers. Yep. This is a video game, and I'm the player. Hello.
Reality hits like a truck. I've never even seen one, but yet I know what one is. That is because I am the player. I am also me. This reality, it is what is called a game. My challenges are artificial, my fate scripted.
Yet, despite this revelation, I am happy. I can reflect on my journey, my existence, and feel proud and accomplished. The battles I fought were won on my skill, despite the guidance of the player. The puzzles solved would have been impossible without me. And above everything else, I had fun.
I begin my descent down the mountain as I continue to reflect. The wisdom I'm meant to share, this is what must be told. That reality is what we make of it. Real, artificial, that isn't what's important. What matters is how we interact with what we have. What matters is seeking joy rather than anger. Curiosity over destruction. That is what I was missing, that is why I was imprisoned following victory in the battle.
I climb down the ladders next to the sealed temple, descend the stairs that lead up to it, cross the bridge that my journey began on, and kneel at the golden teleporter. How much does she know? Is she aware of the context of this reality, even slightly? I hope I can have a long conversation with her, there's so much to talk about, so much more to learn.
Inside the distorted reality, I make my way to the central teleporter. This is it. Stepping inside, the Heir waits. If I truly wanted to, I could do battle with her yet again, but I know my current path will break this cycle. Upon noticing me, she raises her sword, and moves to strike me.
Instead of holding up my sword, I hold up the booklet. The Instruction Booklet. The truth of our reality. I offer it to her, and she stops. Perhaps she recognizes it somehow. She bends down and flips through.
Major Goal Complete: Share Your Wisdom.Tears begin to form in her eyes, a deep heavy sob ripples through ethereal body. The light inside her slowly solidifies, perhaps the corruption of the void fluid is being overcome by these new emotions? I can't begin to guess.
With a bright flash, she regains her true form. The resemblance is both startling and completely natural. Oh, we have so much to catch up on, so much to talk about! But for now, only one thing needs to be said...
"Hi, mom."
Current Goals
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
★ Learn about the world from mom.
★ Learn the native language.
★ Decipher the mystery of page 54.
★ Hang out with the Librarian.
|| >> Start Here << || <<< Previous Part | To Be Continued... >>> ||
Author's Notes: Happy Existential Crisis everyone! The core truth has finally been revealed to our protagonist. He's inside a video game, an artificial world. But that's okay, he's had an amazing journey and a lot of fun.
And so have I! It's so nice to get Act 4 completed and to bring everyone to the end of the game. As you can see from our goals, however, there's still more to come. It will be a side project for when I have time, because for now, I need to work on some other things. My Renaar novel has been depressingly neglected, and I wanted to try out a story with some Aether characters based on an idea I saw. Fleet's a cute little dork, so I'll be trying my hand at something comedic.
Remember to appreciate the world around you, and focus on the positives. The world has a lot of negativity these days, but there's so much still to appreciate. Find your purpose, and take care.
Thumbnail created using game assets and the press kit's logo. The custom text contains a hidden secret.
Search Tags: Zelda Link mystery mysteries explore exploring exploration guide gameguide walkthrough help steam psychology psychological island ruin ruins ruination "the heir" vixen foxy foxes offering offerings secret secrets quest adventure magic magical puzzle puzzling meta discovery finale existential crisis family reunion
Category Story / Tutorials
Species Red Fox
Size 2715 x 1357px
File Size 6.94 MB
Listed in Folders
Thank you so much! I've put a ton of effort into it and I hope to eventually cover the remaining secrets, too. It will be a more dialogue heavy act, so I have been working on my skills with that in my recent activities. Here's hoping that, as you say, more people stumble onto this and manage to relive their favorite moments through a fresh perspective.
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