Setting and historical
Shu. The Feathering is a disease spreading across the region, causing the gradual decline and collapse of society and its environment. The setting is presented through an
alternate history centered on the disease.
Plot During the late
Ming dynasty, the region of
Shu is devastated by warring factions and plagued by the Feathering. This affliction erodes memory, induces madness, and initiates monstrous transformation. The
female pirate Bai Wuchang aims to resurrect her younger sister Bai Yu, so she returns to her homeland of Shu to find an ancient artifact capable of bringing her sister back. One of the artifact's remnants, the Ancient Chisel, is in her possession. Following a feathered monstrosity's rampage in Worship's Rise, Bai Wuchang becomes afflicted with the Feathering and loses her memory. She is found unconscious and taken to a cave near the Reverent Temple by the
Taoist Xuanyangzi. Wuchang sets out for the Shu Sanctum, rumored to hold the knowledge needed to treat the disease, but finds it in neglect. She reunites with He Youzai, her crewmate and companion in the quest to revive Bai Yu. Wuchang treks to the
Tang Emperor's Palace and discovers the Jade Ancient Chisel within the complex. Honglan, the Commander of the
Imperial Guard, fights her and takes the chisel. Bai Wuchang pursues the Imperial Guard, who has the Jade Ancient Chisel, to Cloudspire. Ming and rebel forces are engaged in conflict. Wuchang kills Huang Yan, the Madam of Snowfall Palace, in combat and finds Honglan imprisoned within the complex. Previously, the Madam used the chisel to revive Fang Ling, who was tortured to death, and turn her into a perfect bride, but the act changed her into a monstrosity. Wuchang kills Ling in combat and retrieves the chisel. Fang Yao mourns her elder sister Ling, but she may meet Youzai and leave with him for other locations. At Mount Zhenwu, a rebel army seizes control and slaughters the locals. In the Zhenwu Temple, the rebels use the Aurum Ancient Chisel to resurrect their leader
Zhang Xianzhong, who returns as a monstrosity, but Bai Wuchang kills him in combat and retrieves the chisel. Wuchang can visit the Bai Mansion, her family home. A long time ago, Governor-General Bai Tingzhao, her father, took the Ancient Chisel from the temple and used it to resurrect his son Bai Kru, but the attempt twisted the toddler into a monstrosity. In the marshlands, Wuchang can assist
Zhao Yun in killing the
Bo Sorcerer, an Avian woman, in combat and defeat him in a duel to claim the Cyan Ancient Chisel. Many centuries ago, he led an army against monstrosities and seized the chisel. Worship's Rise is reduced to ruins by the Bo Magus. Bai Wuchang can kill the Magus in combat, but she may consequently become ensnared by the Magus' power and thus ascend as a changed entity in the "Successor of the Bo" ending. Wuchang can kill the Nightmare Demon, an incarnation of herself who has awaken to the world's
mortal guise and seeks to end the dream that binds them, in combat. Xuanyangzi laments the loss of a chisel acquired by Honglan and claims the object could have advanced the study on the Feathering, so Wuchang can give the Jade Ancient Chisel to him. Ming loyalists use the Vermilion Ancient Chisel to resurrect the Ming Emperor
Zhu Youjian, but the deed warps the ruler into a monstrosity. Wuchang defeats him in combat and retrieves the chisel. The Bo Capital, the heart of Ancient Shu, lies entombed beneath Worship's Rise. During ancient times, the Avians crafted red mercury with the aim to bend fate and used the chisels as tools in rituals to warp reality. In a shrine dwelling, Bai Wuchang can kill the Demon of Obsession, an incarnation of herself who never let go of her fixation to revive Bai Yu even after many journeys through endless dreams, in combat and form the Ring of
Samsara that serves as a causality key to reach her wish. At the Gate of Truth, Wuchang faces Xuanyangzi, whose machinations have enabled his ascension as a feathered immortal, and kills him in combat. She then passes through the gate. • In the "Jarful of Medicine" ending, Bai Wuchang enters the stream of Samsara. Though the feathered Xuanyangzi is dead, another incarnation of him thrusts a sword through Wuchang. As the cycle turns anew, Xuanyangzi seals the previous Wuchang within a jar, while another Wuchang begins her journey. • In the "Dream's Sweet Deceit" ending, Bai Wuchang enters the realm of dreams. She departs with He Youzai and Bai Yu on a boat. She remains afflicted with the Feathering. • In the "Bound by Fate's Threads" ending, Bai Wuchang enters the realm of truth. She departs with He Youzai and Fang Yao on a boat, while a ship waits in the distance. She is free from the Feathering. == Development ==