.hack//Legacy

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Kuukai
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kuukai »

My whole body shuddered at the foreboding aura of our situation. What would happen to us if we were just swallowed up by the floor?

On top of that, the vines were growing, binding our hands and feet.

Image

Just then, I felt as though my right hand was trembling. The bracelet had begun giving off a phosphorescent light. The light focused into a single arrow and pointed at part of the wall.

As it did, the wall contorted like a caterpillar being pricked by a needle, shrieking and groaning. The vines wrapped around my hands and feet were growing weaker.

“Look over there!” BlackRose shouted.

From the part of the wall that the light had struck, an object resembling a massive black cocoon emerged like a stereoscopic picture, trailing an afterimage. It was beating like a heart. The bracelet had pointed out the Data Bug’s weak point.

BlackRose tore her legs free from the vines with her broadsword and, staggering from the effort, swung the weapon back over her shoulder.

“Kite! She was talking about what would happen to your connections with your friends, but…” As she spoke, BlackRose again took her sword in hand and charged at the black cocoon. “They didn’t come together because the bracelet—it was because of you!”

At BlackRose’s words, a series of images flowed through my mind like a current. Were they mere recollections or images the bracelet was showing to me?

The setting was the square in Net Slum. The town ruler, Helba, was face-to-face with Lios, and the .hackers stood in a circle around them. All were grim-faced. BlackRose was there, as was I. I was there when I didn’t have the bracelet.

I recalled that this had happened after we’d battled Cubia, the bracelet’s anti-existence. It was a memory from when I’d lost the bracelet and with it, the means of fighting Corbenik, the last of the eight phases.

“Very well.” Lio’s voice resounded through Net Slum.

“This is neither an order nor obligation. Those who will not join, gate out while I count down from three. …Three.”

He paused for an unnaturally long length of time.

“…Two.”

Roughly the same amount of time passed.

“…One.”

No one moved an inch.

Helba smiled. “It would seem we’re decided…”

BlackRose leapt at the Data Bug, and twisting her upper body to the right, used her momentum to bring her broadsword down on the cocoon with both hands. Its anguished cry echoed throughout the room.

Tumbling back to the ground, BlackRose looked to me and shouted, “Now!!”

The tips of the vines had hardened like swords, and one of them reached my face, grazing my cheek. I ignored it and raised my right hand towards the cocoon.

Image

My hesitations were gone. When I opened my palm, geometric patterns of data sequences began to appear.The pale light the bracelet was giving off intimating its power gave way to a blinding flash. Bathed in the light of the bracelet, I knew without a doubt that this would be the very last data drain. This final data drain would end it all.
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Kaori
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kaori »

Yeah, is it just me or are we not seeing the images being posted?
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Dekaid
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Dekaid »

Kaori wrote:Yeah, is it just me or are we not seeing the images being posted?
Seems like they're not linking directly to the picture. Just right click and open in new tab for now.
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Kaori
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kaori »

Dekaid wrote:
Kaori wrote:Yeah, is it just me or are we not seeing the images being posted?
Seems like they're not linking directly to the picture. Just right click and open in new tab for now.
Yeah, I'm on mobile most of the time, too lazy to set up my laptop.
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by SSJScygoku »

^^' ah that helps with the images,wondered why they didn't appear.

:D Thanks for another segment Kuukai~
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Kuukai
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kuukai »

(What's a better image hosting service for something like this, that doesn't require registration?)
---------------------------------

One by one, my adventures up until now in “The World” flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

Orca succumbing to Skeith and falling into a coma.

Receiving the bracelet from Aura.

Balmung accusing me of being a hacker and raising his sword against me in the cathedral.

Meeting Mia and her pointing out the bracelet.

Destroying the bracelet in order to defeat the anti-existence Cubia.

Facing each of the eight phases.

It was then that I understood. Ending meant changing. The bracelet had desperately been waiting for this—the moment it could eradicate the very last Data Bug. To end everything. To change. Apoptosis. The pattern of life and death.

The moment I clearly felt the bracelet’s will, the lattice of data sequences shot forward and pierced the cocoon.

The Data Bug let out a shriek. The entire room distorted like it was rippling. Muffled cries filled the room, but I couldn’t stop the data drain’s power.

The bracelet blended with the data lattices it had emitted and little by little began to break apart. At the same time the bracelet disappeared, the massive cocoon dissolved, leaving a blood red stain that spread across the wall in its wake.

Before I knew it, the room had returned to its original state. There was complete silence.

“Kite…” BlackRose returned, still staggering slightly. She looked at my right hand and said quietly, “The bracelet’s gone, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

I looked at my right hand. I could feel the absence of the bracelet. It was empty. The bracelet had vanished from my arm, probably for good.

I smiled a little. “This is the will of the bracelet.” Now I really felt that it was all over. I felt invigorated, like I’d been freed of a massive burden. Yet at the same time I missed it.

“If a time comes when the world has need of the bracelet again…at that time, surely the right person will come forward.”

The next people would inherit both the world and the bracelet. That felt right to me.

Once I’d started to relax, I caught a glimpse of the distortion on the wall behind BlackRose. Just when I thought I saw what remained of the Data Bug--that blood-red stain--start to spread, the blade-like vines gathered the last of their strength and shot straight at BlackRose. I wouldn’t have thought them capable of such an attack after being weakened by data drain. It happened so quickly I didn’t even have time to warn her.

A shadow like a strange bird appeared.

At the same time we heard the sound of something heavy cutting through water, the vines were hacked to pieces, and they scattered across the floor. The stain on the wall seemed to have used the last of its energy. There was a flicker of noise before it vanished as though it evaporated.

I gasped.

It was Spoke.

Image

She silently unfolded the weapon she held in her hand, letting the bits of the vines still clinging to it fall to the ground before refolding it again.

I felt this was the first time I’d seen her weapon’s true form. No wonder I’d felt it was oddly shaped for a broadsword. It wasn’t a sword at all. It was a scythe. It was a massive scythe one might use for tearing up roots.

“It’s incomplete…”

Spoke wasn’t smiling. Rather, her voice had a touch of wonder to it. For the first time since I’d met her I could hear emotion in her voice.

“Decisive individuals are laudable because they can act while troubled, not in spite of it.”

She looked up at me, half-speaking to herself. Her gaze was full of admiration.

“Humans are...you are connected by an unseen power I hadn’t foreseen.”

She looked up at me, half-speaking to herself. Her gaze was full of admiration.

“Humans are...you are connected by an unseen power I hadn’t foreseen.”

“What’s with this PC?” I thought. I felt like maybe I had met her a long time ago. That shouldn’t be possible, but still I got the feeling she was a lot like someone I had already met.

My voice was a little hoarse as I asked, “Who are you?”

Spoke tilted her head and smiled, “I already told you. I’m a fan.”

Her impish grin lingered when she gated out.
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Falions
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Falions »

Kuukai wrote:(What's a better image hosting service for something like this, that doesn't require registration?)
Imgur. Or Tumblr, I just save photos to my drafts and link them here. That way no one has to see them on my blog and I can hotlink them anywhere.
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Adhemas
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Adhemas »

Interesting. I am still not sure who Spoke is or was though. Would be nice seeing her in one of the upcoming games (though I doubt it since she's R:1 related) or at last in a colored pic.

And I use Imgur as well. It's the most popular hoster that doesn't require registration at the moment. Just drop your image into the browser when you're on imgur.
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Kuukai
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kuukai »

3 - Third

Having seen the full account of Kite and BlackRose’s adventure, Lios shut off the viewing monitor and let out a sigh, relaxing his shoulders.

The bracelet was gone.

Paradoxically, that also served as evidence that all of the Data Bugs had been completely eradicated from “The World.”

With that, at long last the Morganna Incident had truly come to an end.

Standing at his side, Helba took a look at Lios’s face as he gave another deep sigh. Teasing him, she asked, “Are you relieved?”

“Don’t be stupid. Who’s relieved?”

Hearing how his clearly relieved tone of voice gave him away, Lios boomed, “You just make extra work for me when you come up with these convoluted schemes. Typical, I don’t understand you hackers at all.”

“Just by understanding that you don’t understand, it’s clear you’ve grown pretty soft compared to your old pigheaded ways.”

Lios snorted, but Helba paid him no mind, continuing, “What kinds of rules did Harold impose on this world? It’s something we can only speculate upon now, but I think we can safely conclude at least one thing: he meant for it to be ‘ever-changing’.”

“If you look at it from a different angle, the bracelet that received Aura’s blessing was also a cursed bracelet, continuously diluting both Kite and his player in ‘The World’.”

The Wavemaster addressed Lios’s question, giggling. “The boy severed his connection with that of his own will. From now on, ‘adventures’ in the real world are waiting for him. I wish to observe that. My hope is that he is a vessel befitting of a hero there, as well.”

A lyrical voice suddenly cut in. “I’m back!”

Before Lios realized it, the girl who had returned from the area took her place at Helba’s side.

Lios scrutinized the small PC in her unbleached clothing.

“Helba, I’ve been wondering for a while now but, this PC helper of yours.” He spoke with the authority of a system administrator. “Who is she? Not some newcomer hacker, I hope?”

At Lios’s words, Helba and the girl looked at each other and shared an amused smile. They seemed very close, almost like mother and daughter.

Image

“Lios, your joke is even funnier than you realize!”

“What?”

“This child is,” Helba continued, “an existence that will serve as a guide in this changing world. She will be like a large tree that keeps pointing to the heavens in the midst of clamoring and bustling.”

Unsure if Helba’s explanation was genuine or merely masked her true intentions, Lios scowled again, but he didn’t say anything.

“She’s still in training, though.”

At this, the girl looked up at Helba, puffing out her cheeks.

“Ahh, you’re mean! I really studied hard. I learned a lot from Kite!”

“Did you just say ‘boku’?” Helba tilted her head to the side, but then smiled and nodded.

“I see. Well then, you’ll have to share your results with me in further detail.”

The two turned away from Lios and left together.
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Adhemas
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Adhemas »

Wow another translated part in one day, thanks!

Well it's clear now why you mentioned Zelkova at the beginning. But that makes it more mysterious. I always believed that Zelkova was just Helba herself or one of her (male) apprentices. But that story shows that 1. the latter assumption is more likely to be true and that we 2. don't know his gender and that it might be girl, maybe even her own daughter. I kinda like that possibilty, wonder if it'll ever be relevant again.
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Lindz »

Helba wants to observe Kite in the real world an wants him to be a hero there to? She's gone creepy stalker lady!
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Kuukai
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kuukai »

4 - Last

Before I was even sure the Chaos Gate had flashed, I was already standing at the entrance of Highland City Dun Loireag.

When I made it to the grunty farm, where we had planned to meet, a swirling light effect appeared before my eyes.

“Oh, oh, oh-”

I heard BlackRose’s disappointed voice, followed by a comical voice.

“Oh, mon ami! Thank you! I've become a fine gentleman, because of you. To thank you for all your loving care, I want you to have this, mon ami!”

I hopped on both feet and entered the enclosure. BlackRose gave me a blank look when she noticed me.

“It became a Noble Grunty again…”

“Oh, you raised it.”

“Yeah. I decided to give it the Grunty food I had left.”

A month had passed since Lios sent us on the expedition to eradicate the last Data Bug.

Since then, I’d had to devote more time to schoolwork and career guidance, so I hadn’t been able to log into “The World.” It was the same for BlackRose. We both were starting to get tied up with preparation for our entrance exams, mine for high school, and hers for university.

That mysterious Heavy Blade…I don’t know anything for certain, but I’d never been able to get in touch with Spoke at all. So I decided just to send her the same farewell message I’d sent to the rest of my friends in the .hackers.

We’d decided that today would be the last day we went adventuring in “The World”.

BlackRose and I chit-chatted the whole way back to the Chaos Gate. When I told her what I’d heard from Yasuhiko about Balmung, her eyes grew wide. Balmung was a college student in real-life, and he was already getting ready to apply to work at CC Corp.

“So he’s already thinking about that. Ahh, I should be giving my future serious thought, too!!”

BlackRose furrowed her eyebrows and groaned. I’d been trying to just make idle conversation, but it seemed like I’d hit on a sore subject.

“Kite, do you know what you want to do in the future?”

“Huh? Um…well, I haven’t really decided anything, but I’m thinking maybe I’ll study foreign languages.”

“Foreign languages?”

“Yeah. In online games, people of different nationalities, from all different walks of life gather together and share the same world, right?”

BlackRose’s question made the things I’d vaguely been thinking about over the last several days start to come together.

“I think that’s an amazing thing. Because of that, I’d really like to meet those people in real life. I’d like to study languages and then in the future get a job where I can interact with people from different countries.”

“Sure enough, you have been thinking about it. Am I the only one who hasn’t? A girl with no clear future. Umh.”

We reached the Chaos Gate.

“Well, I don’t think you need to be so worried about it. It isn’t like you to think before you act.”

BlackRose looked at me, stunned. “What’s that supposed to mean? You make it sound like I go through life making knee-jerk reactions!”

I quickly shook my head. “That’s not what I meant. During the Morganna Incident, I was able to give it my all until the very end because you were there. Because you were at my side and you usually acted first, I was able to fight until the end without being crushed by my own anxieties.”

Not only that, but if she hadn’t been by my side, I probably wouldn’t have been able to part with the bracelet.

“So…thank you. I’m really grateful to you.” I’d finally said what I hadn’t been able to at the meetup six months prior.

“W-What? What’s with that?”

Looking everywhere but at me, BlackRose muttered, “You’ve never said anything like that so seriously before…”

I could tell from her voice that she was really touched.

“This is the last time we’ll meet here in ‘The World,’” I continued, taking a leap of faith. “From now on, let’s meet up in real life.”

BlackRose’s wandering gaze finally settled on me. She looked at me for a moment, and at last, she nodded.

“Ah. Right. Yeah, let’s do that.” She spoke in a quiet voice and worked a hand through her hair, smiling shyly at me. I saw Akira Hayami in the gesture.

“Okay, so let’s go to an area. Since this is our last day, we have to make the most of it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.”

We stood together in front of the Chaos Gate.

I didn’t know what would happen from here on out. I had no idea what path I would take. But I did know one thing. I’d be hopping beside Akira. I had a feeling this was where I belonged.

Image

FIN
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Kuukai
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kuukai »

And that's .hack//Legacy!

Image

Thanks for reading!

Interesting note: not only is this canon, but the exchange at the end was acted out by the voiceactors as part of .hack//Live, and is viewable on .hack//The Movie's bonus DVD.
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Xu Yuan »

Aww... that was a lovely ending, and kind of the ending I had envisioned many years ago after reading the synopsis on the relationship charts. I do still have to wonder what Kite is up to when the real world again becomes threatened by The World itself (G.U., Link, etc). I have to wonder if an appeal to Aura in a desperate plea from Kite would have reached her. We do know he logs in at least one more time in Legend of Twilight's Bracelet asking if his assistance was needed to settle affairs with the Cobalt Knights. But I guess his real life probably just eventually forced him to leave these matters completely in other's hands as he discussed with BlackRose.

Great sidestory, it kept the feel and mystique of the originals while giving some much needed characterization to the main character of that generation.
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Adhemas
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Adhemas »

Great sidestory, it kept the feel and mystique of the originals while giving some much needed characterization to the main character of that generation.
This. Can't really add anything to that.
Maybe that I like how it was clarified that Kite and BR stayed best friends in real life, this isn't always the case in .hack. Most of the friendships, or relationships in general, tend to be rather realistical in this series and it's not that uncommon that people who fought or played together lose sight of each other as the years go by, but I kinda want to believe that at least these two are still together today.
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by SSJScygoku »

^.^ thanks for translating the entire sidestory!
Lindz
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Lindz »

Aaaah that's it already? I know it was supposed ta be short but... sheesh! Good stuff an ending for BlackRose & Kite! Thanks for the translation!

Someday we'll get closure for other characters like Moonstone... or maybe not lol.
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Custat »

Pretty late to the party, but thanks for translating!
dotelias
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by dotelias »

Thank you for this, it was a lovely read.
Is there any plan to release this in EPUB/PDF format?
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Kuukai
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Re: .hack//Legacy

Post by Kuukai »

dotelias wrote:Thank you for this, it was a lovely read.
Is there any plan to release this in EPUB/PDF format?
Not at the moment, but it would probably be a good idea to clean up the presentation here at some point.
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