But yeah, magic corruption eventually twists people into an elemental creature, the caves are a direct link to Voidy’s prison, Void is the element of consumption, and the caves twist people into spoopy creatures that are, above all, constantly hungry.
I guess that Erin had kind of guessed that was the case but hadn’t experimentally proven it yet. It’s probably a bigger deal from his perspective given that this is a mystery that’s gone unsolved for all of recorded history. To Erin, it’s probably like he just ran the double-slit experiment while also curing cancer for the first time and saving his friend’s life, when he initially thought he had just diagnosed Falst with a guaranteed death sentence.
Yeah that’s whiplash alright, almost forgot Erin copes with fear by trying to focus on something else, I think Erin’s gonna have some internal conflicts about voidy that he needs to process
Hmmmm, that’s a great question! How about a mounting ominous orchestral tense vibe that teeters precariously for a moment before exploding in a triumphant upstroke… at which point the main melody line dies down, leaving a simple lingering muffled rapid bass rhythm for a few more moments to signify the lingering tension?
Oh buddy, this is still ominous, at least to me. Imagine he starts to see the void magic as a GOOD thing… and starts on the path of succumbing to the void.
I love these two’s dynamic SO much. Not even the fact that he’s literally dying and can barely speak can stop Falst from sassing Erin as much as possible, and Erin definitely wasn’t crying the whole time before trying to calm himself with a facade of confidence after succeeding. “Look Falst aren’t I perfect and awesome and amazing??? Haven’t I saved you please be proud of me who am I kidding you probably hate me”
They’re just… so funny. I hope both of them notice how it’s mutual that they kind of look up to each other eventually.
Seems like for Erin, a captive audience is the best audience, even if they’re not actually listening to anything he’s saying. This is great.
Fun fact: it is currently Friday the 13th in October, which by my calculations happens about once every seven years. I’d say it’s fitting! Man I love Halloween.
Er… yes? There are seven days in a week, and seven is not a factor of 365 *or* 366. Anything but an even divisor means that you’ll “rotate” through what day of the week it occurs on, and while 366 bumps it forward by one day more that usual, that will move it onto Friday as often as it moves it off.
You don’t need AI. not by a long shot. you just need to calculate. It’s easier if you write a program to calculate for you, but you can still do it by hand if you have the patience.
Uh Erin you okay there buddy? Think your mad scientist hubris archetype is showing
Honestly it’s adorable that the first thing on Falst’s mind is Dainix, watch as the shippers fangirl over this lol, also I’m kinda glad Erin didn’t explain what was wrong clearly enough for Falst to figure it out because I think now is a bad time for Falst’s trauma to get dug up
“Explain when I’m not dying” love how casual you are about being badly hurt, never change, also Erin’s response is gold here
Erin is my favorite character too! Its almost funny how well he aligns with the types of characters and tropes I like. I love smart characters, glass cannons, and I think super powered evil sides are interesting. I also like having siblings in media, and he’s just so sarcastic! (Also, he’s kinda hot)
i’m going to assume their banter here is rival-talk for “i’m actually very relieved you’re alive, but i’d rather do that again blindfolded than admit it to your face.”
Ohhhhhh wait wait wait
What is the FIRST THING that Falst said when he woke up?
“Where’s Dainix?”
Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t see a good connection there – not necessarily in a non platonic way but it’s still so lovely!
Those two are going to be such a good power team later! Favourite characters for SURE!
Also, any thoughts on my ideas that not just cave corruption but ALL elemental corruption is caused by void dragon?
And Erin’s so funny when he’s smug about something 😂 Erin and Void dragon are my 2nd favourite characters
No, we’re pretty locked down on the whole Elemental Corruption thing. The Void Dragon is just one type of corruption, just as he is one Primordial among several. I mean, the Chimeric Plague is basically an extreme version of Life Corruption, and Erin gave us a lot of exposition about Magic and Corruption from his first appearance. Each dead Primordial consists of matter and energy, and that energy can seep into the soul of any mage who uses it (or just about anyone who walks through an energy-rich place) severely messing up their elemental composition. Red really said “you will unbalance your humors”.
Ah, ok. Thanks for the clarification! (from both of you)
Also, I was wondering what the implications were of the voice at the very beginning being the same as Void Dragon’s? And also the implications of one of the people being tested (I think?) being possessed by Void Dragon or channeling his magic? I’m sorry if it’s something that’s been clarified before, I sometimes miss stuff in the comments when I’m reading through the comic too fast.
The voice at the very start of the comic is the Void Dragon. He manipulated the Twins into making races that could attune to various elements in a plot to develop a being that could control Void, which could then break his prison. He could possess them then, up until something (probably the Light Dragon? Dunno) gave them souls and sentience. That’s why he had to wait for Erin.
This was actually explicitly stated when voidy took Erin down into the caves. (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-7-21/)
He actually ordered the Twins to created the elder races so he could have his adamant prison unmade.
The prologue we saw at the beginning of the comic depicted the birth of the first Elemental Magus, created by the Twins, under some kind of influence from the Void Dragon. At first, the Elder Races were soulless, so VD could possess them at will (represented by the golden eyes) and check for Magic. When he finally found one, we saw the Lady (or perhaps the Twins, under the Lady’s influence) create souls, protecting the Elder Races from VD’s control. Naturally, VD was furious, having his whole plan pulled out from under him, but he found a way around it: luring Erin to the Storm’s centre and branding him with his Truename (the dragon-shaped rune on his chest) allowed him to bypass the soul and effectively mind control Erin somewhat at will.
Also, don’t worry about it. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I love explaining Aurora Lore (it helps me appreciate the comic even more).
He’s going to be SUPER snobbish about being, “the first Elemental Magus to TRULY control ALL elements” – and then he’s going to learn about Falst & the Paladin’s Light Magic and be like “OH COME ON.”
For a second I genuinely thought the “I knew you were gonna be smug” came from Erin’s tattoo, as in the Void Dragon was so annoyed by him he spoke up just to insult him
It’s OK Erin; I get the same level of indifference from my cat when I something positive for their health.
Is that a glint of gold in Erin’s eyes in panels 1-3? Methinks that’s the cue that he’s using Void magic because his normal eyes are already rather purple. Another art note is keeping Falst’s eyes shaded by his fringe; while he’s going to be fine in the long run as Erin said, it does help show that he’s not in good shape here and now.
I’m in the same boat as @LYNX; totally forgot the 7th element/void/cave corruption connection was obvious to us viewers but not to the people in universe. Makes total sense why Erin is freaking out at this, like a scientist finally getting the proof required to turn a hypothesis into a regarded theory. Hopefully his hubris stops here before V.D. exploits it.
Now this is bathos used right. Erin giddy and nerding out at his success, Falst is awake and immediately sasses Erin, and Erin follows with the sass. Nice breather after all the dread we’ve been going through these last few pages, and by extension the entire zombie dungeon.
Prediction for next week: Now that bathos is over, time for things to go horribly wrong. It seems V.D. is staying put, so I can only assume it’s going to come from the glort; Alinua did look like she was struggling with it being able to assimilate her plants.
Hmm. I can’t help but wonder IF Falst will be fine in the long run. It’s important to remember that Erin is a complete novice at Void Magic, and there’s no guarantee that he’s completely purged the corruption from Falst or if this may become a reoccurring issue in the future, until Erin can actually Voidbend well enough to purge Falst properly.
Sort of Korra in Season 4, when Toph tells her that she’s still carrying around traces of metal poison that Su (a less skilled metalbender) couldn’t fully remove from her body. It plays into Erin’s hubristic streak as well as Falst’s cave crawler anxieties.
I understand the concern, but I think Falst will be OK. Erin may be a novice at Void magic, but he’s an expert at purging the body of excess elemental energy; he wouldn’t have been able to venture into the storm if he wasn’t. Erin may not have experience with Void, but his mastery of the other six elements gives him a solid basis of how magic of all sorts works.
Wait a minute, if Void Corruption is Cave Corruption does that mean that Kendal and Alinua are outright immune to it since they aren’t affected by the Void Dragon?
I think so, yeah. Kendal dosn’t have void in him for the dragon to unbalance and Alinua’s thing with life is making it seem like void can’t seep into her at all. Unless Alinua loses her powers for some reason, they are both functionally immune to cave corruption. But then again, Erin can control void now so if they all go trekking into the singing caves, he can jusst occasionally purge the void from them all.
I’d say no/maybe, as elemental attacks and elemental corruption are two different things. One is getting physically attacked by an element, like a fireball to the face, and the other is having an excess of an element inside your soul, like poor channeling of fire energy leaving some in your body, or staying in an environment with an excess of fire energy. One is a direct attack to the body from the outside, the other a slow attack on the soul that affects the body from the inside.
Kendal can withstand Void attacks greatly since he has no Void in him, while Alinua takes damage from them like any other being but her life magic is so strong she can remedy the damage quickly; two work-arounds to Void attacks.
Void corruption, arising from proximity to the caves, is different. That stuff would enter the soul, like it did here, and would need to be purged by Erin or else it festers and becomes chronic. Kendal’s soul and body are unique and don’t need Void so he might be immune if his soul prevents it coming in. Alinua’s soul however, as far as we know, is the same as any other in this would; unless Life’s connection has altered it in some way, she’s just as susceptible as anyone else to Void corruption.
This is my new favourite page- Erin being a ginormous nerd (enormous eyes of scientific wonder!), Falst being gay, “As if you’ll listen to me when you can actually move”
Honestly, I was expecting Falst to wake up in the middle of the procedure, figure out what was happening and what it meant, and then say something like, “If you can’t get it all out of me, kill me now.” Because he wouldn’t want to experience the same slow decline into monstrosity that he watched his mother go through. It’s probably the one form of death he fears the most.
Erin reminds me so much of Victor Frankenstein (in the nicest way). Like:
– Science Boi
– Discovers he can do stuff others have never managed to do before
– Drawn very similar to how I remember Victor being drawn by Red
– Not crazy but probably not sane, especially in the middle of a breakthrough
Since Erin is the elemental magus, he is now the only person alove (and probably the first person in the history of the world) to have control over all 7 elements
Since Erin is the elemental magus, he is now the only person alive (and probably the only person in the history of the world) to be able to control all 7 elements.
So if we kill VD and scatter it’s essence like the other primordials, then we might get a lot of void mages who can cure cave corruption? Who’s with me on a quest to KILL A GOD?
I’m kinda worried for Erin’s extremely excited reaction to his newfound powers over void. Seems like VD wasn’t wrong when he thought that the chance to be the 1st ever Void Mage could tempt Erin
So now Voidy has something Erin wants..I feel Walter (V.D.) shuffling it cards and strategies in the back of Erin’s head (play ominous sinister music now, Seri!)
That speeds up the timeline of entering the Singing Caves quite significantly since cave corruption is void corruption and we’ve got a void mage in the party to purify everyone. They’ll probably still head for the Soul-Shapers first though as to help Dainix and stuff.
Side note, would anyone be interested in my little theme songs for the floof squad? They’re just some pop songs, I can’t write music to save my life. (BTW, I don’t have one for Dainix yet. My brain is not cooperating.)
Kendal: Hall of Fame by The Script
Alinua: The Seed by AURORA (Yes, I do get the irony)
Erin: Jekyll and Hyde by Jonathan Thulin (I feel like Erin has imposter syndrome because of my THEORIES)
Falst: Natural by Imagine Dragons (Not very original, I know)
Tess: Army by Neoni
I think the best ones are Erin’s and Alinua’s but they’re all good songs.
These are great! Thank you for sharing. I think I like Kendal’s and Falst’s the best. I was already familiar with Natural by Imagine Dragons, but it hits differently when I apply it to Falst. Please share if you find any other songs to add to your playlist!
I get the feeling that Falst has known he was dying for a while now. Certainly since the last time he saved Dainix from the Glort, with the whole “There’s still breath in your body” line. Possibly since he got pummeled into a wall. He hasn’t been able to stand on his own since then, and he didn’t seem to care that breaking the floor to save Dainix put him in danger of falling into the same hole. He knew he was dying, so he focused on getting Dainix out of there rather than himself.
Ok so Erin can now cure cave corruption! Great! But the problem is I think this is exactly what the VD wants. Like he said originally to Erin, the VD wants Erin to grow confident enough to believe he can control the void dragon, so he doesn’t try to completely remove them from himself.
And being able to easily cure an incurable disease would be a terrible thing to lose
Hah! Erin making the most of his captive audience. Love it.
I also like how he’s consistent in his coping mechanisms. As soon as he feels a foothold in a situation, he goes full hubristic nerd. Unironically love it 🙂
Erin’s life tattoo is on the hand he is currently using to support Falst’s head. If he wants to heal him, he’s going to have to either set him down first, or reach around Falst’s head in a very awkward manner to touch the tattoo.
I suspect a number of commenters would prefer the awkward embrace.
The moment I read this comment, I thought of Erin being Dr. Frankenstein and getting VERY upset when people ask “But isn’t he green with bolts?” Cue the angry “That’s Frankenstein’s monster!” and other angry noises. It would be great.
I definitely thought Falst’s first line here was coming from Erin’s chest, and thus the Void Dragon talking, and I was going to have some real commentary about how Erin is getting backsass from an ancient and primordial evil of the cosmos before I realized that Falst had woken up basically as soon as Erin got the Void corruption out of his system.
Um, no. Not at all. Erin going anywhere near the caves is kind of a major red flag for the continued existence of the universe and everything in it, since VD’s influence grows gradually stronger as Erin approaches the core of the planet. Even if Erin is able to overpower VD, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to before VD unmakes his Adamant prison or a cave crawler kills them both. Which basically means that he can’t directly help Kendal rescue Vash from the Collector despite being the only mage capable of purging cave corruption.
Nobody’s going to see this but wow, I needed that emotional relief. The unbridled joy on Erin’s face.
Side note: I hope for Falst’s sake that he gets better bedside manners soon because Erin has just made the breakthrough of the century as far as magic is concerned.
Erin. My buddy. My dude. I am pleased and amused by your scientific delight, but you have a seriously hurt comrade on your hands who needs more medical attention like right now.
Also: Falst asking where Dainix is, literally his second thought when he wakes up… D’aww. (Hmmm. How is Dainix doing, I wonder? about to become a protective raging inferno, possibly?)
Also-also: loving the sass from both Falst and Erin in that last panel.
I love the fact that Erin’s reaction to this situation is, “this is terrible, dangerous, horrible!”, “This could go terribly wrong, my friends life could be in danger!”
“and I-”
“I-”
no understand WWE/MMA make absurd gaudy plastic belt, win, pay no wear it cuz cheap, tacky?
Maybe, if not plot armor or pick ups chick bonus to throw not much use?
I’m pretty sure that he could only pull that off if he gets to it early (like right here). I think that the cave crawlers would be too far gone for him to be able to do anything.
Watch Erin go full Pokemon Trainer and “tame” the Void Dragon so he can basically become the world’s only Anti-Corruption Healer. Meanwhile Voidy is grumbling inside the tattoo, only cooperating bc if it’s good it gets like 30 mins in control of Erin’s body to eat whatever junk food it wants, and it really liked those silly little fruit snacks it tried last time.
I totally thought the line from Falst “I knew you were gonna be smug” was coming from the Voidy tattoo for a moment. That Void Dragon was the one commenting on Erin’s (predictable) smugness. ^_^;;
Only Erin would literally call upon the power of Aurora!satan to save a dying a friend, risking putting the whole universe to the end….and then be smug about being smart
Just now realized that the speech bubble for “I knew you were going to be smug” is coming from Falst and not VD’s rune on his chest which would have had much more sinister implications to it.
Erin, did you forget who you owe for your brilliant new powers? I mean, your hubris has never caused you problems before, and you have assuredly learned your lesson–
im gonna be honest i kind of forgot that none of them ever figured out that cave corruption was void corruption and that this is news to them
yeah ikr. this is kind of a big thing for worldbuilding
Remember, Erin has had his new roommate for what, a week?
Ikr I kinda just assumed they had put it together like we did already
You guys put that together? I’m really not great a predicting stuff huh
Nothing wrong with missing a connection or two.
But yeah, magic corruption eventually twists people into an elemental creature, the caves are a direct link to Voidy’s prison, Void is the element of consumption, and the caves twist people into spoopy creatures that are, above all, constantly hungry.
Well, tbf Red did kinda spell it out for us in the extra lore page.
I guess that Erin had kind of guessed that was the case but hadn’t experimentally proven it yet. It’s probably a bigger deal from his perspective given that this is a mystery that’s gone unsolved for all of recorded history. To Erin, it’s probably like he just ran the double-slit experiment while also curing cancer for the first time and saving his friend’s life, when he initially thought he had just diagnosed Falst with a guaranteed death sentence.
We as the readers have been metagaming this entire time.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: well I’m glad SOMEONE’S having a good day
Image source: genius
That is some emotional WHIPLASH, I tell you.
…I have to rethink how I’d score this scene. I had just the perfect somewhat ominous vibe to the melody- and now it gets thrown out the window. XD
Yeah that’s whiplash alright, almost forgot Erin copes with fear by trying to focus on something else, I think Erin’s gonna have some internal conflicts about voidy that he needs to process
Hmmmm, that’s a great question! How about a mounting ominous orchestral tense vibe that teeters precariously for a moment before exploding in a triumphant upstroke… at which point the main melody line dies down, leaving a simple lingering muffled rapid bass rhythm for a few more moments to signify the lingering tension?
Well naturally you need to have an increasingly omnibous score come to a crashing halt with a frying pan sound effect as the scene shifts to comedy
use metal pipe falling sound effect
Oh buddy, this is still ominous, at least to me. Imagine he starts to see the void magic as a GOOD thing… and starts on the path of succumbing to the void.
YAYYY YIPPEEE
the sigh i sighed
I love these two’s dynamic SO much. Not even the fact that he’s literally dying and can barely speak can stop Falst from sassing Erin as much as possible, and Erin definitely wasn’t crying the whole time before trying to calm himself with a facade of confidence after succeeding. “Look Falst aren’t I perfect and awesome and amazing??? Haven’t I saved you please be proud of me who am I kidding you probably hate me”
They’re just… so funny. I hope both of them notice how it’s mutual that they kind of look up to each other eventually.
erin’s a little mad genius-y but thats okay. we love him for his strange and arrogant swag
Seems like for Erin, a captive audience is the best audience, even if they’re not actually listening to anything he’s saying. This is great.
Fun fact: it is currently Friday the 13th in October, which by my calculations happens about once every seven years. I’d say it’s fitting! Man I love Halloween.
It’s all code? I mean in code, consider without the AI to do the books would this have been “crackable” using pen/pencil?
Er… yes? There are seven days in a week, and seven is not a factor of 365 *or* 366. Anything but an even divisor means that you’ll “rotate” through what day of the week it occurs on, and while 366 bumps it forward by one day more that usual, that will move it onto Friday as often as it moves it off.
You don’t need AI. not by a long shot. you just need to calculate. It’s easier if you write a program to calculate for you, but you can still do it by hand if you have the patience.
You two are talking to a bot, you realize.
Uh Erin you okay there buddy? Think your mad scientist hubris archetype is showing
Honestly it’s adorable that the first thing on Falst’s mind is Dainix, watch as the shippers fangirl over this lol, also I’m kinda glad Erin didn’t explain what was wrong clearly enough for Falst to figure it out because I think now is a bad time for Falst’s trauma to get dug up
“Explain when I’m not dying” love how casual you are about being badly hurt, never change, also Erin’s response is gold here
Erin is my favorite character.
Honestly? Same. Has been since his introduction, even though I’ve always felt like maybe he shouldn’t be.
Erin is my favorite character too! Its almost funny how well he aligns with the types of characters and tropes I like. I love smart characters, glass cannons, and I think super powered evil sides are interesting. I also like having siblings in media, and he’s just so sarcastic! (Also, he’s kinda hot)
i’m going to assume their banter here is rival-talk for “i’m actually very relieved you’re alive, but i’d rather do that again blindfolded than admit it to your face.”
Ohhhhhh wait wait wait
What is the FIRST THING that Falst said when he woke up?
“Where’s Dainix?”
Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t see a good connection there – not necessarily in a non platonic way but it’s still so lovely!
Those two are going to be such a good power team later! Favourite characters for SURE!
Also, any thoughts on my ideas that not just cave corruption but ALL elemental corruption is caused by void dragon?
And Erin’s so funny when he’s smug about something 😂 Erin and Void dragon are my 2nd favourite characters
No, we’re pretty locked down on the whole Elemental Corruption thing. The Void Dragon is just one type of corruption, just as he is one Primordial among several. I mean, the Chimeric Plague is basically an extreme version of Life Corruption, and Erin gave us a lot of exposition about Magic and Corruption from his first appearance. Each dead Primordial consists of matter and energy, and that energy can seep into the soul of any mage who uses it (or just about anyone who walks through an energy-rich place) severely messing up their elemental composition. Red really said “you will unbalance your humors”.
Nope, the FIRST THING that Falst said when he woke up was commenting on Erin’s predictable smugness.
Ah, ok. Thanks for the clarification! (from both of you)
Also, I was wondering what the implications were of the voice at the very beginning being the same as Void Dragon’s? And also the implications of one of the people being tested (I think?) being possessed by Void Dragon or channeling his magic? I’m sorry if it’s something that’s been clarified before, I sometimes miss stuff in the comments when I’m reading through the comic too fast.
The voice at the very start of the comic is the Void Dragon. He manipulated the Twins into making races that could attune to various elements in a plot to develop a being that could control Void, which could then break his prison. He could possess them then, up until something (probably the Light Dragon? Dunno) gave them souls and sentience. That’s why he had to wait for Erin.
This was actually explicitly stated when voidy took Erin down into the caves. (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-7-21/)
He actually ordered the Twins to created the elder races so he could have his adamant prison unmade.
The prologue we saw at the beginning of the comic depicted the birth of the first Elemental Magus, created by the Twins, under some kind of influence from the Void Dragon. At first, the Elder Races were soulless, so VD could possess them at will (represented by the golden eyes) and check for Magic. When he finally found one, we saw the Lady (or perhaps the Twins, under the Lady’s influence) create souls, protecting the Elder Races from VD’s control. Naturally, VD was furious, having his whole plan pulled out from under him, but he found a way around it: luring Erin to the Storm’s centre and branding him with his Truename (the dragon-shaped rune on his chest) allowed him to bypass the soul and effectively mind control Erin somewhat at will.
Also, don’t worry about it. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I love explaining Aurora Lore (it helps me appreciate the comic even more).
And thus began Erin’s transformation from Elemental Magus to Lord Voidemort.
Gold star comment right here.
He’s going to be SUPER snobbish about being, “the first Elemental Magus to TRULY control ALL elements” – and then he’s going to learn about Falst & the Paladin’s Light Magic and be like “OH COME ON.”
I smell…. *sniff sniff* H U B R I S
I smell P R O F I T!!!!!
Well, humor’s still intact.
THe fIrSt thInG He Does Is aSk foR dAinIx goodbye-
For a second I genuinely thought the “I knew you were gonna be smug” came from Erin’s tattoo, as in the Void Dragon was so annoyed by him he spoke up just to insult him
I thought exactly the same thing.
He got a big scientific discovery AND saving his friend! He’s so happy about it <3
Oh, I love Erin. I have to say, that would probably be my reaction in that situation lmao
It’s OK Erin; I get the same level of indifference from my cat when I something positive for their health.
Is that a glint of gold in Erin’s eyes in panels 1-3? Methinks that’s the cue that he’s using Void magic because his normal eyes are already rather purple. Another art note is keeping Falst’s eyes shaded by his fringe; while he’s going to be fine in the long run as Erin said, it does help show that he’s not in good shape here and now.
I’m in the same boat as @LYNX; totally forgot the 7th element/void/cave corruption connection was obvious to us viewers but not to the people in universe. Makes total sense why Erin is freaking out at this, like a scientist finally getting the proof required to turn a hypothesis into a regarded theory. Hopefully his hubris stops here before V.D. exploits it.
Now this is bathos used right. Erin giddy and nerding out at his success, Falst is awake and immediately sasses Erin, and Erin follows with the sass. Nice breather after all the dread we’ve been going through these last few pages, and by extension the entire zombie dungeon.
Prediction for next week: Now that bathos is over, time for things to go horribly wrong. It seems V.D. is staying put, so I can only assume it’s going to come from the glort; Alinua did look like she was struggling with it being able to assimilate her plants.
Hmm. I can’t help but wonder IF Falst will be fine in the long run. It’s important to remember that Erin is a complete novice at Void Magic, and there’s no guarantee that he’s completely purged the corruption from Falst or if this may become a reoccurring issue in the future, until Erin can actually Voidbend well enough to purge Falst properly.
Sort of Korra in Season 4, when Toph tells her that she’s still carrying around traces of metal poison that Su (a less skilled metalbender) couldn’t fully remove from her body. It plays into Erin’s hubristic streak as well as Falst’s cave crawler anxieties.
I understand the concern, but I think Falst will be OK. Erin may be a novice at Void magic, but he’s an expert at purging the body of excess elemental energy; he wouldn’t have been able to venture into the storm if he wasn’t. Erin may not have experience with Void, but his mastery of the other six elements gives him a solid basis of how magic of all sorts works.
scared that erin is being his usual hubristic self and that things may not be going so good for falst
And Now; back to your regularly scheduled Psychic Torture Goo
Ok so erin CAN just through the goop away, i feel like Voidy’s gunna start getting antsy now tho
Erin: Now that you are incapable of scaping I will monologue for 3 hours straight.
Damn i caught up fast
Wait a minute, if Void Corruption is Cave Corruption does that mean that Kendal and Alinua are outright immune to it since they aren’t affected by the Void Dragon?
I think so, yeah. Kendal dosn’t have void in him for the dragon to unbalance and Alinua’s thing with life is making it seem like void can’t seep into her at all. Unless Alinua loses her powers for some reason, they are both functionally immune to cave corruption. But then again, Erin can control void now so if they all go trekking into the singing caves, he can jusst occasionally purge the void from them all.
*surprised Pikachu face* I think you’re right!
I’d say no/maybe, as elemental attacks and elemental corruption are two different things. One is getting physically attacked by an element, like a fireball to the face, and the other is having an excess of an element inside your soul, like poor channeling of fire energy leaving some in your body, or staying in an environment with an excess of fire energy. One is a direct attack to the body from the outside, the other a slow attack on the soul that affects the body from the inside.
Kendal can withstand Void attacks greatly since he has no Void in him, while Alinua takes damage from them like any other being but her life magic is so strong she can remedy the damage quickly; two work-arounds to Void attacks.
Void corruption, arising from proximity to the caves, is different. That stuff would enter the soul, like it did here, and would need to be purged by Erin or else it festers and becomes chronic. Kendal’s soul and body are unique and don’t need Void so he might be immune if his soul prevents it coming in. Alinua’s soul however, as far as we know, is the same as any other in this would; unless Life’s connection has altered it in some way, she’s just as susceptible as anyone else to Void corruption.
“erin leave me alone I just almost died and I need to talk to my deeeeeeefinitely not crush”
This is my new favourite page- Erin being a ginormous nerd (enormous eyes of scientific wonder!), Falst being gay, “As if you’ll listen to me when you can actually move”
I agree! This page is amazing!
HE WAKES UP AND ASKS FOR DAINIX FIRST
YOU’RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE RED I KNOW IT
*cries*
(Hands @Bill a virtual handkerchief to cry into in sympathy)
I can’t tell which I like more, Falst INSTANTLY going for sass or Erin responding in kind without hesitation
Solike. Once things have settled down a little bit and information can be processed properly.
How. Do we think Falst is gonna feel. About the fact that there is a cure for the thing that killed his mom. But it wasn’t in time for her.
you think it my sacrifice.
Honestly, I was expecting Falst to wake up in the middle of the procedure, figure out what was happening and what it meant, and then say something like, “If you can’t get it all out of me, kill me now.” Because he wouldn’t want to experience the same slow decline into monstrosity that he watched his mother go through. It’s probably the one form of death he fears the most.
Erin reminds me so much of Victor Frankenstein (in the nicest way). Like:
– Science Boi
– Discovers he can do stuff others have never managed to do before
– Drawn very similar to how I remember Victor being drawn by Red
– Not crazy but probably not sane, especially in the middle of a breakthrough
Erin strikes me as a more responsible parent, though…
He probably is responsible mostly BECAUSE of his mum (based on previous discussions) and Tess
Since Erin is the elemental magus, he is now the only person alove (and probably the first person in the history of the world) to have control over all 7 elements
And all he had to do was walk into an obvious plot hook. 😛
Since Erin is the elemental magus, he is now the only person alive (and probably the only person in the history of the world) to be able to control all 7 elements.
So if we kill VD and scatter it’s essence like the other primordials, then we might get a lot of void mages who can cure cave corruption? Who’s with me on a quest to KILL A GOD?
I think the Light Dragon might want to meet up with you (tongue in cheek, smile)
My thoughts exactly!
Erin infodumping when his friend is largely unable to object/understand bc he’s excited is so Autism core and I love it
I’m kinda worried for Erin’s extremely excited reaction to his newfound powers over void. Seems like VD wasn’t wrong when he thought that the chance to be the 1st ever Void Mage could tempt Erin
This is what I was thinking. I bet voidy’s next move is going to be “you see I’m useful now? We should team up”.
This page makes me want to given Erin nuggies for his wildly arrogance enthusiasm!
Last panel is me talking about my current hyperfixation, willing or not.
hes just like me forreal
… Someone needs to slap Erin in the head with a fish.
Maybe that’s why Falst wanted Danix. hehehe
So now Voidy has something Erin wants..I feel Walter (V.D.) shuffling it cards and strategies in the back of Erin’s head (play ominous sinister music now, Seri!)
There once was a master of void
Whose power was first employed
In healing a cat
Who sassed and spat–
Now Erin is really annoyed.
Eva Jane, you think me mom special?
& she was as afraid of what Grandpa would do if she told, him, like he needs to hear to now.
I di my best mama
That speeds up the timeline of entering the Singing Caves quite significantly since cave corruption is void corruption and we’ve got a void mage in the party to purify everyone. They’ll probably still head for the Soul-Shapers first though as to help Dainix and stuff.
I love how Erin knows Falst would absolutely not sit around if Erin was talking to him.
Was it Falst or the Void Dragon who knew Erin would be smug? Or at least who said it out loud?
Falst. VD Walter’s text looks different (don’t feel bad, I was also confused at first)
Erin! Friends first, hubris second! That’s Friendship 101, c’mon man.
Side note, would anyone be interested in my little theme songs for the floof squad? They’re just some pop songs, I can’t write music to save my life. (BTW, I don’t have one for Dainix yet. My brain is not cooperating.)
I would be very interested
Kendal: Hall of Fame by The Script
Alinua: The Seed by AURORA (Yes, I do get the irony)
Erin: Jekyll and Hyde by Jonathan Thulin (I feel like Erin has imposter syndrome because of my THEORIES)
Falst: Natural by Imagine Dragons (Not very original, I know)
Tess: Army by Neoni
I think the best ones are Erin’s and Alinua’s but they’re all good songs.
These are great! Thank you for sharing. I think I like Kendal’s and Falst’s the best. I was already familiar with Natural by Imagine Dragons, but it hits differently when I apply it to Falst. Please share if you find any other songs to add to your playlist!
I think I found one for the Collector
I can’t decide by the scissor sisters (curse warning)
To be fair, the hubris was *because* he saved his friend first, so I’d say the boy has his priorities straight
The triumf is great, for ’twas corruption known
Despite sass, Erin triumphs for this feat of his own
TL;DR: As an academic, this breakthrough means more to me than even your recovery!
me nerd, like Buddha, Jesus, Mohamed…Washington…Lincoln…Kennedy;
Love,
Aris
Y’know, I like that “even” b/c it means “yeah that’s a big deal”
I get the feeling that Falst has known he was dying for a while now. Certainly since the last time he saved Dainix from the Glort, with the whole “There’s still breath in your body” line. Possibly since he got pummeled into a wall. He hasn’t been able to stand on his own since then, and he didn’t seem to care that breaking the floor to save Dainix put him in danger of falling into the same hole. He knew he was dying, so he focused on getting Dainix out of there rather than himself.
I hadn’t thought of this but after reading your comment, I think you’re right. That breaks my heart!
Sorry, control the elements that made up his prison, not specifically Void. ‘Swhy he needs an Elemental Magus.
I love the way Erin just tosses the void to the ground like a dirty tissue
Ok so Erin can now cure cave corruption! Great! But the problem is I think this is exactly what the VD wants. Like he said originally to Erin, the VD wants Erin to grow confident enough to believe he can control the void dragon, so he doesn’t try to completely remove them from himself.
And being able to easily cure an incurable disease would be a terrible thing to lose
AND THE CRUSTABLES AND F-ERIN SHIPPERS GO WILD!!!!!!
Hah! Erin making the most of his captive audience. Love it.
I also like how he’s consistent in his coping mechanisms. As soon as he feels a foothold in a situation, he goes full hubristic nerd. Unironically love it 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundere
Erin’s life tattoo is on the hand he is currently using to support Falst’s head. If he wants to heal him, he’s going to have to either set him down first, or reach around Falst’s head in a very awkward manner to touch the tattoo.
I suspect a number of commenters would prefer the awkward embrace.
Anonymous Aurora Question #24: What does each character dress up as on Halloween?
The moment I read this comment, I thought of Erin being Dr. Frankenstein and getting VERY upset when people ask “But isn’t he green with bolts?” Cue the angry “That’s Frankenstein’s monster!” and other angry noises. It would be great.
Homestar Runner characters.
That last panel might be my new favourite Aurora panel
I definitely thought Falst’s first line here was coming from Erin’s chest, and thus the Void Dragon talking, and I was going to have some real commentary about how Erin is getting backsass from an ancient and primordial evil of the cosmos before I realized that Falst had woken up basically as soon as Erin got the Void corruption out of his system.
So now Erin is going to want to jump right back into the caves because he can fix the problem. Several pages of debate ensue.
Um, no. Not at all. Erin going anywhere near the caves is kind of a major red flag for the continued existence of the universe and everything in it, since VD’s influence grows gradually stronger as Erin approaches the core of the planet. Even if Erin is able to overpower VD, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to before VD unmakes his Adamant prison or a cave crawler kills them both. Which basically means that he can’t directly help Kendal rescue Vash from the Collector despite being the only mage capable of purging cave corruption.
make sense, better safe sorry can heal party if make return to stud farm, is Job stfu.
Aris
To be more clear: I think you’re basically right but one of the other characters is going to have to explain that to him. I love your passion, too.
Nobody’s going to see this but wow, I needed that emotional relief. The unbridled joy on Erin’s face.
Side note: I hope for Falst’s sake that he gets better bedside manners soon because Erin has just made the breakthrough of the century as far as magic is concerned.
Erin, we know Geniuses(TM) reeeeally need to do monologues for enrichment, but maybe this isn’t the time.
This comment is gold.
Erin. My buddy. My dude. I am pleased and amused by your scientific delight, but you have a seriously hurt comrade on your hands who needs more medical attention like right now.
Also: Falst asking where Dainix is, literally his second thought when he wakes up… D’aww. (Hmmm. How is Dainix doing, I wonder? about to become a protective raging inferno, possibly?)
Also-also: loving the sass from both Falst and Erin in that last panel.
I love the fact that Erin’s reaction to this situation is, “this is terrible, dangerous, horrible!”, “This could go terribly wrong, my friends life could be in danger!”
“and I-”
“I-”
“I am AMAZING! OH THE CLEVERNESS OF ME!”
“This hubris will certainly not cause trouble down the line!”
no understand WWE/MMA make absurd gaudy plastic belt, win, pay no wear it cuz cheap, tacky?
Maybe, if not plot armor or pick ups chick bonus to throw not much use?
Luv,
Ari
does this mean Erin can heal cave corruption?
I’m pretty sure that he could only pull that off if he gets to it early (like right here). I think that the cave crawlers would be too far gone for him to be able to do anything.
pretty sure & 5$ = coffee @ starbux [checks Big Mac index] I think?
LOVE,
Aris Eleftheriou Theodorakis RN
The bots are claiming professional titles now? Will no one stop this madness?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Anyone notice how downright prolific the bot is becoming?
Yeah, I think it told me to “stfu” as well.
Rude bot!
Wait, what bot
wow =) nice flag like calling for a round with you crew & different than 1 hand;
@treebranch
This bot.
Watch Erin go full Pokemon Trainer and “tame” the Void Dragon so he can basically become the world’s only Anti-Corruption Healer. Meanwhile Voidy is grumbling inside the tattoo, only cooperating bc if it’s good it gets like 30 mins in control of Erin’s body to eat whatever junk food it wants, and it really liked those silly little fruit snacks it tried last time.
SO THAT’S WHY THE PANEL (not comic panel the- hand scan type panel) SAID “CONTAMINATION DETECTED” BEFORE!
He loves a captive audience lmao
I totally thought the line from Falst “I knew you were gonna be smug” was coming from the Voidy tattoo for a moment. That Void Dragon was the one commenting on Erin’s (predictable) smugness. ^_^;;
I was thinking RED go from complaining about slow upload speed to being white noice?
I concede I cannot let pun [1] go.
Ari
Die in a fire, bot. Why are you even here? You’re not promoting anything, you’re just spewing gibberish.
Only Erin would literally call upon the power of Aurora!satan to save a dying a friend, risking putting the whole universe to the end….and then be smug about being smart
Just now realized that the speech bubble for “I knew you were going to be smug” is coming from Falst and not VD’s rune on his chest which would have had much more sinister implications to it.
I am so normal about them
I love this so much.
Erin, did you forget who you owe for your brilliant new powers? I mean, your hubris has never caused you problems before, and you have assuredly learned your lesson–
“I AM A GENIUS!”
*facepalm*
Impending disaster? What impending disaster?
It’s through Beelzebub he’s exorcizing the demons