For example, the most classic BOSS "Sisyphus" starts by squatting on the player's head. As soon as the player moves into position, he will suddenly jump down and attack the player.
But these things are called "conspiracies" because they are kills on first meeting.
In other words, a trap that players will generally only fall for once. After resurrecting, everyone will remember that they were once tricked and killed here, so they won't suffer the same fate again.
But there is a third part to this game, called "The Master's Malice".
There are some things that players can't overcome no matter how many times they try. For example, the final boss battle, "The Shell of the Outer God Emmanuel," is the only battle in the entire game that cannot be skipped or cheated, and it's incredibly difficult.
If a conspiracy is like secretly trying to scare a player, then this malice is like a burly man walking towards you, riding on your back and throwing punches.
For example, the game's obscure plot content.
Those NPCs are people who have lived in darkness for many years, yet they all yearn for the light brought by the gods;
They all possessed precious humanity and sacrificed their souls to continue lighting the divine fire for others, but ultimately inevitably fell into monsters, directly becoming the opposite of the protagonist.
Players also have to dispose of these "shells" themselves!
The remnants of these people's souls will also become game currency, accompanying the protagonist and helping him level up his character.
When a mentor NPC who teaches players skills eventually becomes part of the protagonist's power, many people fall silent.
As players progress through the story and advance the game's timeline, the souls of these NPCs gradually wither away, turning them into empty "shell" monsters.
Players: QAQ!
This is more than just the malice of the game; it's the malice of the chief designer, the malice of the entire universe!
Chapter 73 Stockholm
Moreover, as the game progresses, information is revealed in various details and subtle ways.
Like the diary in the church, it hints that Sisyphus was once a good priest, but sacrificed himself for the light, ultimately becoming the final boss of the first level...
This boss is currently leaving many people bewildered and tormented, yet they still can't bring themselves to hate him; in fact, they might even feel a little sorry for him.
In addition, each NPC has their own story.
The most famous of them is an NPC named "Adam".
He was a brave, upright, resolute, and great Templar Knight who fought tenaciously against the monsters in the darkness, thus protecting the temple from their harm.
In the first playthrough of the game, when the player is still weak, he will personally go to a new map to help the player, and perish together with the boss guarding the level, thus opening a new level for the player.
In the second playthrough, if the player is strong enough and kills the boss early, Adam will be promoted in the new level.
Then he will return, ignite his own soul, bring light to the temple, and completely dispel the darkness there.
By the third playthrough, the player is likely stronger than everyone else in the game world, and can directly light up the shrine with enough Soul Coins.
At that time, Adam, as a Templar Knight, will forever guard the gate for the players, turning this camp into the only safe zone in the game.
An NPC like that would definitely boost a player's favorability.
On the official forum, many people are discussing the past and present life of this NPC, and some people have even played through the game three times specifically for a certain ending.
Just seeing NPCs like Adam made Zhou Liye start shedding tears for the game again, just like always!
"Waaaaah, Adam is so good! He's truly a saint in the positive sense. I love him so much!"
As a dedicated storyteller, Zhou Liye is particularly adept at uncovering hidden information within the plot.
While he was live streaming, he explained the worldview of the Mortal Soul to his viewers.
"It looks like it was more than four thousand years ago. This world was originally very dark, without a single ray of light. All the monsters that fell into darkness were the original inhabitants of this world, and they lived quite well... and they even had their own gods, I think they were called 'Old Ones'."
"But later, gods from another world invaded this world and brought the concept of 'fire.' The fire produced light, and this was the first time light appeared in this world. Look, look at this mural. It seems that the original inhabitants of the darkness mutated, which is why the seemingly normal human NPCs were born."
"These foreign invaders were called 'Outer Gods,' and were originally objects of worship for some of the indigenous people. However, one day they all suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only their remains, artifacts, and temples used for their descent. After the Outer Gods' fire burned out in the temples, their remains would turn into monsters called 'shells.' For example, the final boss is the shell of a guy named Emmanuel from among the Outer Gods."
"The fire is fueled by special energy, but when it falls into the hands of the indigenous people, they can only swallow it, using their own souls to sustain the flame and light. Once their souls are burned out, they too become 'shells,' walking corpses in the darkness."
"So this world is actually a dark monster, and it is the Outer Gods and the light that disturb their peaceful life. The NPCs here are divided into two faiths: one is the 'Old Ones' who are the dark and corrupt monsters we often encounter, and they hate fire; the other is the 'Outer Gods' who are humanoid NPCs in our eyes, and they basically fight for the 'fire' their whole lives."
Zhou Liye finished his analysis of the game's background with great certainty, and he actually guessed most of it correctly.
Finally, we've reached the final boss. This is a boss battle that cannot be skipped.
Many players began to speculate on how long it would take Zhou Liye to defeat him, since he is a streamer whose combat skills are really not that great.
Then, unexpectedly, Zhou Liye did something really outrageous—
He started watching other people's game videos during his live stream, watched them defeat the final boss, and happily enjoyed watching their ending.
Zhou Liye: "Tsk tsk tsk, this ending is quite profound!"
The viewers in the live stream were speechless. We're supposed to be watching the streamer play games in a live stream??
Everyone was completely dumbfounded.
The first playthrough ending of Mortal Soul is a multiple-choice question.
After the protagonist finally defeats the outer god Emmanuel's body, he obtains the complete fire from Emmanuel's temple, and the entire camp's light depends on this fire.
—The final choice has arrived: Will the protagonist use his last remaining soul to ignite this spark?
If the light isn't lit, then all the adorable NPCs in the camp, along with the protagonist, will be forever plunged into darkness and will eventually fall into monsters, just like Sisyphus.