(Review as of the 0.9 update. I played at the God tier, so 0.9.1, although there have been some smaller updates since. Spoilers abound, you have been warned!)
This is my favorite Eternum update so far, although I joined in late, some time during the 0.7 release, with my first cliffhanger being Orion getting shot and having to wait for 0.8 to see how that panned out. And then we got past that, but then 0.8 wrapped up with the Thanatos attack and Calypso somehow overpowering the dimeterium chains and teleporting herself and Orion to Hyril'ar. Yes, it's actually real, full of racist elves keen on lopping off Orion's head, and... his powers don't really work there for some reason.
The first arc rightfully focuses on Calypso and Hyril'ar and Calypso's maid Lorelei, but it also weaves in glimpses of the girls back in Kredon slowly breaking down with Orion missing. The only one staying positive and upbeat throughout it all is our angel Luny, who gives the other girls the strength to keep holding on. There's a scene with Caly watching Orion and Lorelei, but it ultimately doesn't satisfy Caly. She dismisses Lorelei, but Orion offers assistance by dining on her elven ambrosia, and he does indeed satisfy our glorious Princess.
After you wrap up in Hyril'ar (and Calypso gets promoted from Side Girl to full Love Interest, complete with that classic Eternum heartthrob notification), it's time for the reunions and explanations back in Kredon. Many tears were shed (both in game and in real life, I am unashamed to admit), particularly with the Luna reunion... you see how Luny was holding it together for the sake of the other girls, but as soon as she sees Orion is back and okay, she just melts down and bawls her fucking eyes out. She looked out for all of them, but no one realized that they needed to look out for her, too.
Then the cabin Christmas trip. Nancy convincing Alex to come along was a thing of beauty... you don't say no to Nancy. There's a good scene with Penny where she confronts you about the harem, and once she confirms you're serious about things and not just fucking around like a player, she's cool with it. Fun times ensue with some rope and a blindfold, and then she offers up her ass to you to take your anal v-card. As she later tells Dalia (paraphrased), "You might be able to take it harder, but I can take it filthier." Goals, amirite?
After dinner, it's time for a game that Chang invented in the hot pool, which leads to some startling revelations between Alex, Penny, and Nancy about the harem. As Alex says, "This family is WILD!" There's also mention of both Penny and Alex being late, if you have pregnancy enabled and have creampied them. There's many ways to play Chang's game, but the optimal result is letting Dalia win (but not completely dominate the game... my understanding is that the sauna scene is only available if she wins, but not by too much).
And what a scene it is, too, with Orion being invited to share the sauna with Alex and Dalia. Alex first takes her top off, then Orion follows with his shorts, then Alex starts giving him a handjob. Dalia gets flustered and takes her top off as well and is convinced to take over the handjob while Alex starts masturbating. Ultimately, Alex confronts Dalia about them both having slept with Orion already and that they all love each other, and one hell of a threesome ensues. I adore Dalia's solo scenes for her Goddess-level deepthroating skills, but the sauna scene is hands down the best Eternum h-scene to date. And the music in the scene, fucking top notch... the whispers from the vocalist just give me shivers.
After the cabin trip wraps up (with Orion promising Nancy a long overdue date), it's back to Kredon to infiltrate Ulysses in search for more information about the Gems of Doom. Luna and Chang are your assistants on this data heist, and you and Chang go undercover as Claimant and Canchez, a shout out to two key community members that help Cari out and maintain the Eternum Walkthrough mod.
Afterwards, it's time for your special date with Luna. Sweet Luna's original date got missed while Orion was in Hyril'ar, so he's making up for it big time, taking her on a train ride she's always wanted to take, with a stop at a haunted house. (I mean, it's Luna, did you expect anything less?) Of course, they get soaked by a torrential downpour as they get to the house, so they take shelter inside. And Luna's dress becomes remarkably transparent when wet, showing that she has a more amazing ass than most realized. And one thing leads to another, and Orion gently takes Luna's v-card as well. Oh, and Luna-kitty has claws, too, as Orion's back can firmly attest to. Mmmmm, yummy. it's always the quiet ones...
After they get home, Orion gets a call (from someone whom seems to be a Syndicate member under guidance from/in service to Idriel), and shit has officially hit the proverbial fan with the neural implants... people dying in Eternum are now dying in real life (which we already saw happening on a small scale with Excommunication, like with that rapist asshole Benji, but this is much bigger). it's covered on the news, with a death toll of over 600k. (The previously warned "genocide" from the prophecy.) And most of the girls are in an active mission inside Eternum at the time, but Orion doesn't know on which server, and has no way to contact them to warn them of what's going on. (Exit Portals still seem to work, so this isn't a full on Ready Player Two scenario, but it's still very bad.)
As always, I cannot fucking wait for tbe next update.
