After more than an hour of training, Zack had reached the third phase of the Sword Saint multiple times.
He had pretty much mastered all of its moves.
And just as he'd thought before, the Sword Saint using the Divine Dragon Lightning in the third phase was like a freebie.
It looked incredibly strong, but when it jumped up to use the Divine Dragon Lightning, all Zack needed was to use Lightning Reversal and then Mortal Draw. He could instantly take down a huge chunk of the Sword Saint's posture and health bar. It truly lived up to its name as "freebie lightning."
However, while the Sword Saint using Divine Dragon Lightning was a pushover, the Sword Saint wielding both the Mortal Blade and a divine halberd was still like a demon on the battlefield, killing him many times over.
But things were different now.
He raised the Kusabimaru in his hand and swung it at the Sword Saint.
The moment their blades clashed, "Clang!"
The familiar sound of swords striking metal rang out, but this time, the Sword Saint staggered after the clash. At the same time, a red dot appeared on the Sword Saint's body.
After clashing, he dodged and weaved behind Isshin. The Kusabimaru in his hand sliced across Isshin's waist, and blood bloomed.
The divine halberd dropped from his hand, and Isshin knelt powerlessly in the middle of the reeds.
Lightning still crackled around them, but Isshin Ashina had no regrets left.
Unlike most final bosses in games, Isshin Ashina was definitely the boss that would leave the deepest impression on Zack.
In some games, the final boss is simply the villain.
But in Zack's opinion, Isshin Ashina was definitely not a villain. He was simply on the opposing side, occupying a different position.
Furthermore, while Isshin Ashina pursued strength, he was not secretive. He even taught Wolf the essence of the Ashina style.
Isshin, on the verge of death, mustered his last bit of strength and knelt properly.
The thunder continued to rumble, and the reeds continued to sway in the wind.
The grief of his grandson Ashina Genichiro's death, the sorrow of refusing immortality yet becoming immortal, the heartache of the Ashina country on the brink of collapse… countless internal conflicts vanished with a shout.
Isshin Ashina, true to his name, spent his entire life single-mindedly pursuing a faster, higher, and stronger realm. His life was a legend, and as it was about to end, he had no reluctance.
"Do it!"
Isshin Ashina closed his eyes, his voice firm and decisive.
Hearing Isshin's words and seeing the prompt for a deathblow appear before him, Zack took a deep breath and chose to trigger it.
He drew the Mortal Blade from its sheath, and a crimson light manifested as tangible smoke swirling around it.
He swung the blade in a beheading motion, and his blood splattered outwards.
"Well… done… Sekiro… Farewell…"
Watching Isshin's body turn into light points, Zack took a deep breath, feeling a mix of melancholy and excitement.
From being utterly defeated by Isshin at the beginning to defeating him with his own skills now, the sense of satisfaction gained from this was something only players who had experienced soulslike games could understand.
But now, he was about to witness the first playthrough ending of the game.
At the same time, Zack was also a little curious about what the endings of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice would be like.
Soulslike games usually had multiple endings that accompanied the exploration of the game, so this was nothing strange.
Just like in Dark Souls and Bloodborne back then, who could achieve the ending of becoming an elder god or the Lord of Hollows in their first playthrough without a guide?
Basically, it was either the ending of "kindling the fire" or "extinguishing the fire."
And in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Zack felt that there were still many things he hadn't collected.
For example, after defeating the four hiding monkeys, other than giving rice, was the young divine heir who received the Mortal Blade of no other use?
After all, the marked location for him was an important place.
And after defeating the Armored Knight, the White Serpent encountered on the way… it was so massive, was it just a minor obstacle, like the bloated fish below the Divine Realm?
It could be said that although he had completed his first playthrough, there were still many things he hadn't figured out.
As Zack was sighing, the Wolf in the game hurried to the side of the heavily wounded Kuro.
"Where… are you… Wolf…"
The gravely injured Kuro called out to Wolf.
The wound from the Mortal Blade was festering, and the Dragon's Heir's immortal power, symbolic of life like cherry blossoms, was dissipating.
At the same time, two prompts appeared before Zack.
[Have him take the Divine Dragon's Tear.]
[Have him take the Divine Dragon's Tear and the Everblossom.]
"It's an either/or choice, it should signify two different endings. But honestly, eating two things is definitely better than eating one thing." Zack looked at the two different options and decisively chose the second one.
"I am right here with you."
Arriving beside Kuro, the Wolf in the game took out the Dragon's Tears and the Everblossom from his embrace.
Looking at Kuro, who had fallen unconscious, the Wolf, kneeling on the ground, drew the Mortal Blade from behind him.
"I will end… the final immortality."
Holding the hilt with both hands, he placed the Mortal Blade on his shoulder.
"Please, live as a human."
With a forceful swing, countless cherry blossoms scattered.
A headless corpse slumped to the ground.
A brief black screen, and the next moment, the picture appeared.
In the reed field at dusk, the Kusabimaru was placed before a grave.
Emma and Kuro, wearing a hat, paid their respects in front of the grave.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes… I too will live and die as a human, striving to do so, just as my ninja did for me… Thank you for your care, Miss Emma."
He… he committed suicide!?
Looking at the final credits, Zack was stunned.
But after thinking about the previous plot, it seemed like it had been foreshadowed all along!
Bao and Ikkō pursued the method of severing immortality.
This ending meant Wolf committed suicide. Then the other ending, where Kuro only took the Divine Dragon's Tear, likely meant Kuro committed suicide to sever immortality.
Although he hadn't played the other ending, nor had he looked at any guides, he had already guessed it by combining the previous plot with his intuition.
But the key point was that neither of these endings could be considered satisfactory to the players, right?
After all, Kuro and Wolf had to die, one of them!
At the same time, considering the exploration and collection in soulslike games, and Lucas's promise on the official blog before the game's release, it indicated that the ending of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice would satisfy players.
This satisfaction couldn't be another gut-wrenching twist, could it?
Although Zack felt that if possible, Boss Lucas would definitely not be stingy with his plot twists.
And Boss Lucas often did things that made players misunderstand. But that was when the positions were ambiguous.
For example, when players weren't being brutalized before, and Boss Lucas released a game that felt like a casual hack-and-slash, players would ask if it was a hack-and-slash game?
Then Boss Lucas would say that some players could play it like a hack-and-slash.
But this time, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was clearly not like that.
In the game, there was definitely a hidden ending!
After finishing the game, Zack, who was faced with the choice of staying in the first playthrough or starting a second, temporarily chose to stay in the first playthrough because he still had the Demon of Hatred to fight.
Instead of immediately fighting it, Zack chose to open the community forums to check for some information related to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Currently, the official forum for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was still mainly filled with strategy guides and casual chat.
The strategy guides were mostly discussions about how to beat bosses and which paths to take, which was the main theme of soulslike game discussions.
As for the casual chat posts, they were all about discussing whether Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice had any possibility of having a perfect ending.
Even though many players knew that, as a soulslike game, there might not be a truly perfect ending.
Just like in Bloodborne, becoming an elder god in the end.
But many players still held out some hope.
And at this moment, a post caught Zack's attention.
(End of this chapter)
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