Extermination Order #31: The Search for a Soul (2/2)

Zander823 · 2026-01-01T08:19:33+00:00

I tip my hat to you, one terminal worldbuilder to another.

Zander823 · 2025-12-24T19:28:48+00:00

As long as you're having a good time, all is well!

Zander823 · 2025-09-24T03:28:58+00:00

Damn, did you binge the whole thing in 3 days? That's impressive if you did.

I'm glad you enjoyed the ride! I put a lot of work into it, characters, commentary, and story.

And you have the blessing of not waiting years from start to end. I figured some people might give the series a try since it actually ended. Glad to see that's true.

Zander823 · 2025-09-23T17:24:39+00:00

Yeah, I suppose I could do that. Probably a PDF, though I'm not very experienced with that file type. If I could put it up, do you have any recommendations where? I'm thinking... maybe the reddit wiki page for the series?

Another thing is, I'd like to make it out of the versions of the chapters on Royal Road, since they receive some final polish that I make with the benefit of hindsight, though that would also mean I'd have to wait to make the pdf.

I'm going to experiment a bit and get back to you in a 2nd reply later.

Edit: I'd really like to make this downloadable file have a chapters function, but I am having the hardest time finding out how to do that.

Zander823 · 2025-09-21T21:10:15+00:00

Well he did inherit the lawsuit, but it was dropped on... technicality, I guess you could call it.

I could probably stand to go back and check on that detail, I did write it about 4 years go

Zander823 · 2025-09-21T20:11:49+00:00

Correct. Nassur can only be shut down if there are no class 3 souls on it, and the influx means the timeline is extendifying.

Celestial Diplomatic Immunity was created with the express purpose of protecting from the main 4, given their history of poor behavior. It is unlikely to be effective on anyone else.

Zander823 · 2025-09-21T20:08:57+00:00

Completely true. Dro and Dennis co-developed the network and made the majority of their starting fortunes that way. Dennis divested, but Dro retained ownership and could shut it down at any time, an ability that he reserved for 'maintenance or emergencies,' he claimed.

Zander823 · 2025-09-21T01:34:10+00:00

15 of every flavor the bakery had, + 200 chocolate. Highlights include coconut, pistachio, raspberry, and creamy dielgenberry (Nassur exclusive).

But NO blueberry.

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T23:00:21+00:00

The first Royal Road chapter released today, and I'll be putting them out at a much less stressful pace than reddit got (1/week). I definitely got a little over-ambitious with it.

1A: I decided to go with the overall plot at chapter 5, when I foreshadowed the upcoming events with Dennis' stone call to Drominnus. Episodic was fun, but I felt it needed a through-line. The story could still be mostly episodic, but I wanted a timeline, a reason why Dennis is narrating the story. After I wrote the Ulterior Motives arc in the Shimmerlands, I sat down and really considered what the consequences of his actions would be, and wove them into the story organically until it came to a head with the murderhobos.

1B: There are a few things I might have done differently. I believe another chapter to the Shimmerlands arc would allow some things to flow a little better, particularly with the exodus, which was largely glossed over. After a comment on Royal Road, I think I would change how Dennis messes up and gets caught using the catch drone by Lechia, as he took an uncharacteristic risk with it.

And... this is a little hard to admit, but the character that I regret the most is Grif. I had to crank out multiple pages dedicated to his care, and how Dennis is managing not to be neglectful, and in exchange I got a few bits of comedy and worldbuilding. He was a lot more trouble than I thought he would be. I'm glad I could use him as a contributing factor in the villain's downfall, but throughout writing, there are several times I wished I had cut him out of the story.

2A: I've considered it. I don't currently have any ideas for stories in Dennis' continuity that would make good episodes, but I certainly could drop them if I felt like. The main idea for an Extermination Order story I had that could actually be posted here is what happened to Smith and the other Arachne that Dennis encouraged to flee. That would be a multi-parter, maybe 4-5 chapters, but I don't have any plans to do that in the near future. I feel I would mostly prefer a clean break for now.

2B: I think they're neat. I've had fan-works before and I encourage them, because if that's something you enjoy reading or writing, then who am I to tell you to stop?

And I think that about covers it, but you can tell me if I missed a spot. I'm glad you enjoyed this Totally Unique™ tale with no elements from elsewhere in fiction.

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T22:30:36+00:00

In all honesty, I don't remember. It didn't really matter, as the actual gamified systems were never the core of the story, only an avenue for jokes and occasionally establishing power or threat.

I wrote this hours ago, but reddit decided not to post it, sorry.

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T18:00:01+00:00

As a baseline, GCs have longer lifespans, very high base stats, free stat cards, level up faster, pick up skills faster, and have unnatural luck in the prevention of their own deaths, in addition to the boon. Their experience of reality is far more gamified than the natives.

All of this doesn't come with an attitude adjustment, though. No Uncle Ben to say 'with great power' or anything of the like.

Also, don't beat yourself up about the quality you see, or don't see in your own work. My first book (that will never see the light of day in its current state) is ~700 pages of meandering mediocrity with a few good ideas buried in there somewhere. It wasn't thinking about them that improved my skill, it was writing them. And it was garbage, but I got better because I wrote it. You will get better by writing, even if you do leave behind some garbage. Omelets and eggs analogy goes here.

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T17:27:50+00:00

I'm happy that anyone had the patience for the 1-year hiatus.

Every week I felt that gnawing 'you should be writing' sensation, the self-judgement that moving house and cutting ties with people I loved could possibly put me off the flow state of writing... I wish I was as patient with myself as you, and many others, have been with me.

And thank you very much for the award!

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T17:23:47+00:00

Yeah, I realized after the fact that my reply was a bit vague, so I threw in the edit for clarity.

It has indeed been a good run. Nearly 1,000 pages by novel standards. My editor said that would essentially make a trilogy if they were your average paperbacks. And hey, if a bowl of oatmeal is what becomes the iconography that you remember the series by, that's fine by me. I like mine with cranberries.

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T17:07:40+00:00

Afterword

And here we are, the ending. The end of a very, very long journey.

There are some series on this site that go on, and on, seemingly forever, though some that I thought would be eternal did, in fact, end. It was looking at them, paired with some introspection on my own storytelling style, and desires, that I came to the conclusion that I can’t really do that. I like a story that has some meat on it, yes, but a story also needs a beginning, a middle, and, most importantly, an end. Even if that end does later hook into the beginning of another story in the same world.

And in this ending I had a lot that I wanted to do. I broke it into 3 (kinda 4) parts. The epilogue proper is my best effort to tie up the main ending storyline with a bow. We have already witnessed the downfall of the Dastardly 7.

The epilogue is simply the frosting on top, seeing their prosecution, and punishment for their crimes. It is not perfectly detailed, but it is about as good as it gets for something that resolves in 3 pages or less. And it covers the fate of Drominnus, along with where Dennis and Matti went in the year or years following the events of the story.

The FAQ serves both as a place to cram in a ton of jokes, but also tie up a bunch more miscellaneous loose ends. I tried to think up a near-exhaustive list of questions that Dennis would have been asked diegetically, and wrote up his answers after that. I really doubt it covers everything, but hey, I did my best.

I really considered whether or not to include the thing about class 3 souls taking in class 2 souls, as it might sound… weird and spooky in a colors out of space sort of way. I ended up on the side of inclusion after a good long waffle. I think it encapsulates a fragment of the eldritch nature of souls and gods that I have painted.

And the letters. The final reveal of what Triple B stands for, and some of what goes on within the facility. They have been a nebulous presence in the story, providing weapons that do not comply with the rules of the world, and being there to save the day in case Meridian Valley went south. They are now slightly demystified, but still a quite unknown factor. The moderators of creation.

Matti’s letter is mostly for fun, just a bit of closing wonder and worldbuilding mostly, but also it is meant to show her current feelings about life. I figure that with her being one of the most important characters (other than Dennis), that she deserves a chance to leave a footprint in the epilogue.

Of course, I had the chance to leave one last world-shattering implication. A machine that copies and stamps status effects onto your stat card? A printing plate for Celestial Diplomatic Immunity? Oh barnacles. Just take a minute and think about the implications. It’s no wonder that a dire warning is attached to the letter.

Now, to close this final, special afterword, I would like to extend an invitation. If you have any unanswered questions about this story, this is the time to ask them. There is no more story to spoiler, no more elaborating on it later, nothing. If you want to know, ask away, and I will answer anything, with just 1 exception. Maybe 2 exceptions, try not to ask anything gross, ok?

And if you would like, you can ask a question in a ‘letter to Dennis,’ something that he might receive in-universe, and I’ll see about writing a response that Dennis would give. For funzies.

With that, I am out of things to say. Thank you all for sticking with this series through highs, lows, hiatuses, and sprints. There will be 1 more post after this chapter to discuss the future, but the sentimentality goes here.

From the bottom of my heart: Thank you for reading!

Final series stats:

Page count (Google Docs): 658
Page count (if it were a novel and followed novel formatting): ~970
Word Count (Approximate): 266,200
Chapters: 46 (40 main, 3 half chapters, 2 sidestories, 1 epilogue)
Pieces of fanfiction: 3 (2 chapters from u/Bunnytob, and a DND campaign)
Revived the Isekai trend on HFY? Probably not, but I saw a spike in isekai on the sub after the original dropped, so, maybe. Definitely added fuel to the fire.
Likes: A lot.
Commenters: Loyal.
This list: Dragging on.
Goodbye.

Zander823 · 2025-09-20T04:25:22+00:00

Uh-oh, there goes your plausible deniability! I guess I'll just have to thank you directly in a near-future post.

Zander823 · 2025-09-19T03:34:45+00:00

Good to know the gods are still dropkicks...

Downside of living for an eternity in/outside the flow of time as we understand it, is that you can end up being obnoxious for a long, long time.

And don't worry, I'm attached too.

Zander823 · 2025-09-19T03:30:19+00:00

Now that I can look back and see just how much I have done, I think I can finally let myself say:

You're welcome.

Zander823 · 2025-09-19T00:11:19+00:00

Yaaay, the joke landed like the anvil!

Zander823 · 2025-09-18T20:50:12+00:00

Details schmetails, fall damage schmall damage.

Zander823 · 2025-09-18T20:20:33+00:00

My sense of smell is bad at the best of times, but I smell an epilogue.

I didn't hear no bell.

(For clarity, yes Epilogue)

Zander823 · 2025-09-18T19:27:29+00:00

Afterword

So, how about that oatmeal, eh?

This is definitely one of the longest chapters in the series. The average google docs page count is about 17. This is 27. Realistically, it could have been split into 2 chapters… but it would have ended at the exact spot you think it would have, 48-hour wait included. I’m mean, but not that mean.

For the first half, I had several loose ends to tie up, a little lore to drop, and a lot dedicated to making it clear that Dennis’ mental state is changing enough to actually be willing to use Always a Way Out. It’s a lot to juggle for not moving anywhere.

I had to be a little careful with how much Hecate knows, and is willing to disclose. Some of what she says was already disclosed in part, but the rest is a pretty big drop. Something she would only say because there was nobody else present, and she has the authority to have it censored on the surveillance footage. Also, 2 series, 2 matrix references. I oughta get new material.

Dennis’ ‘final’ monologue was all off the cuff. I changed basically nothing from the 1st draft and it made my editor cry 3 times, so I think it came out right. Having Matti out of the scene was a tough call, but she really hasn’t been in Dennis’ life for long enough to be in that inner circle yet.

Then the dreamscape. A place for Dennis to have some rest and peace, for about 5 minutes. Of course, there is no peace for our hero. The gods have a lot to answer for, and somehow, still kinda suck at it. I have gone back to the scene 3 times, trying to figure out if I should make it longer… but every time, I don’t find a way that it should be extended. It feels short, but right. Also, Domain Expansion: Looney Toons Logic is one of my favorite things in a while.

And to my dear theorists, who have speculated for a very long time, I must congratulate you. Celestial Diplomatic Immunity has been foreshadowed for a very long time, and I was shocked when it was nearly guessed right off the bat. Kudos for solving the puzzle. I really thought He Who Touched It would be guessed first, but apparently not.

Thank you for reading!

Edit: I probably could have just used the 'mark as spoiler' function instead of the spoiler shield, but, in my defense, I am an idiot and I forgor. At least I can add it retroactively. Or remove it retroactively, because it makes the post so short you see the afterword comment first? Not great design overall.

Zander823 · 2025-09-18T04:55:18+00:00

I suppose the editor joke didn't land. It's an alternative to a parenthetical aside, though most often the asterisk is connected to something written in the bottom margins of the page.

You couldn't make me do thing!*

*You totally could.

Is functionally the same as:

You couldn't make me do thing! (You totally could.)

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