Link Shadow – Third Descent

Link Shadow – Third Descent is the third part of the Link Shadow works.

Chapters
The work is split into several Chapters, most of which are split up into Acts. Getting 100% completion on all Acts in a Chapter will unlock a Secret Act, which is optional. Completing all Secret Acts will unlock the Secret Chapter.

Prologue
Two busy, but otherwise uneventful, years have passed. Shane and Ellen are in university now, while Julie is in high school. Bloom is attending a college overseas. Yet even as they live out their lives in peace, there is still the unanswered question of who created the Link Shadow, and who had murdered Ellen's parents two years prior, leaving the poor girl completely helpless.

It is the evening of Ellen's birthday, when breaking news is shown on the TV – three dead bodies were found at the presidential estate: the president, his wife, and his son. His daughter, Amy, was found in the same condition that Ellen had been found in two years ago – in a full bondage suit, complete with gas mask and mittens, and tied up and gagged, with a bomb set to start counting down the moment somebody enters the room.

Shane immediately wants to return to the digital world to learn more about whether or not this is connected to what had happened to Ellen, who reluctantly wishes to stick by Shane's side. They contact Monique using a special e-mail address created for exactly that purpose, and decide to get some shut-eye.

Chapter 1
What's known about this Chapter, is that it's currently inspired by the Mega Man Battle Network games, so not as gory and messy as the previous two games' first chapters. Five Acts.

In Act 1, once Shane and Ellen come to, they find themselves within the digital world once more, though in an unknown area. Monique appears, explaining that it is where she has chosen to reside after the Viral Shadow was destroyed.

Chapter 2
What is known is that this Chapter has four acts. Its inspiration is not known yet.

Chapter 3
What is known is that this six-Act Chapter is currently inspired by games like Etrian Odyssey so far.

Chapter 4
What is known is that this four-Act Chapter's inspired (at present) by Metroidvanias such as Castlevania again.

All acts share one version of some ancient ruins, this time.

Act 4 has Monique discovering that a new Link Shadow was created, for the same purposes as the original. Clearly someone in the real world wants to bring about havoc there by using the digital world as a method to further their goals, though who is still a mystery.

Chapter 5
Inspired by unknown games, this is another six-Act Chapter.

Chapter 6
It's presently not clear what the inspiration is for this Chapter, which has six Acts as well

Chapter 7
The idea for this Chapter, with its six Acts, is that it could be a mix of past Chapters' inspirations.

The Act 4 bosses are copies of the party, and a copy of Monique.

The final boss, the Link Shadow Plus, is fought in Act 6.

Epilogue
Depending on the player's choices, made as early as the very first Chapter, the Epilogue changes. While some details remain unchanged, all endings require the defeat of the Viral Shadow and escaping the digital world. No ending can otherwise be seen.

The start of the Epilogue
The Link Shadow Plus has finally been defeated after an arduous clash!

Positive endings
These endings are the good endings.

In all endings, Monique says that she will do everything she can to find out more about whoever it was that created the atrocious program, and warns the party to be careful in the real world – more so since it's clear that there is a pattern among the familial massacres. Both Amy and Ellen's birthdays were on the exact same date – 9 April – and both were in high school when their relatives were murdered. Monique adds that she will contact everyone who had been to the digital world and retained their memories thereof, should she discover anything new. The party members exchange e-mail addresses where necessary, that they may contact one another later on.

The party is returned to the real world, but no time has passed. Amy also gained a special power from her time in the digital world – the ability to slow down (or speed up) time for herself alone. She also goes as far as to have a special outfit made for her, resembling the one she was found in after her parents were murdered, as a disguise (so that she could engage in vigilantism, hoping to stop crime herself).

Best possible ending
It is evening. Shane and Ellen are at Shane's place, eating pizza when an e-mail is received; Shane immediately figures it is from the same address as the last two times. An untitled video game appearing similar to what they had experienced in the digital world this time around. A later check at the e-mail not only confirms this, but also has e-mails from other party members, however.

Negative endings
These are the bad endings. Yeah.

Instability
But this came at the cost of Monique's own existence within the digital world. Without her, there is nothing keeping the digital world stable enough for the entire party to return to the real world, and in order to attain stability, all of them would have to make the ultimate sacrifice – one would have to take Monique's place, which would cause a total reboot of the entire digital world, deleting everything else and reinstalling the default system settings.

In other words, only one of the party members would get to live on, as data, while everyone else would no longer exist. Worst still, it is possible that someone with foul intentions could attempt to make this sacrifice themselves, thus ensuring they can cause more trouble.

Secret Chapter
This is unlocked by getting the best possible ending, in addition to having all Secret Acts completed.

This Chapter allows full exploration of all areas from past Chapters, and have additional optional content as well. And by using various save points, the digital world can be left or re-entered freely. Everyone, including those friends who perished in the digital world, can be used in this Chapter.

In addition, every area gets a secret, randomized dungeon, though every ten floors gets a strong boss. Every hundred floors after have a stronger version of a given boss. The final floor is floor 1000, though anyone crazy enough to go that far must have nothing better to do with their time, probably.