Fate's Awakening ~ The God and Destiny Cross Thesis Reformation - IC

[Airen]

Everyone
April 11th 2329 - The First Day
Ecclesia ~ Falling Sky

In the end, there had never been someone capable of reversing what had been started by the Absolute One.

A descent towards darkness, a once crystal world that now crawled with shadows, with mana, with magical energy beyond compare, as a manifest heresy, a gate between worlds, a thing that should not have been touched, opens wider and wider, snaking across the planet as an absolute void, the darkness that existed between worlds, sucks all of the life that remained from this one.

It is a gaping wound in reality.

Time and space lose meaning as the city approaches it's destiny.

There was nothing anyone could do, not really.

It wouldn't have mattered how much time they had, it was this city's fate to fall into the darkness like this...

Below, a youth charges against a Goddess that outclasses him in almost every way. Body brimming with magical energy, with mana, with the force that gave shape to everything in existence, the girl draws on a power she should not possess, meaning to strike him down in a single shot.

A Fate Arte.

A crystallization of miracle, an attack capable of forcing a "Destiny," onto even Divine Targets, to whom concepts were never absolute. Available only to those who had immersed themselves in Fate's flow, understood that invisible, absolute force on an instinctual level, they were attacks far beyond the likes of someone like Rose, an incarnation of "God," whose strength was nowhere near the level of the Four Kings that ruled the student body.

She should not be able to use an attack on this level, nevertheless...

She can feel it.

Rippling through her body, veins burning with life, with energy, her crystal screaming with absolute force, she can feel the magic burning through her, and...

This feeling...

Forces her to stop.

She can't do this.

How was she doing this?

It was a power so far beyond her that it shatters her memory, that bits and pieces of reality, the truth, shine out in the corners of her mind. She couldn't do this, why was she trying to do this? To kill someone? Never.

So why?

Eyes widening, crystal shining more, erupting out from her chest to crawl along her arm, hands go up to her head as a piercing headache threatens to split it apart.

Surga attacking in this instant of weakness...

These two disappear into the dark just like everyone else, an instant before they can clash again.

Above, another one descends in a burst of flame. It's a desperate charge towards what can only be called destruction, but because there are people he wants to protect, because he can't bear for the same thing that had happened back then to happen one more time, he moves down, descending towards a doomed city, a doomed world, as everything becomes black flame and shadow.

Neither F.A.T.E or Shin reappear.

Lightning cracks, sparks, the land is torn away as the sky goes red, fades to purple, and finally joins everything else as world without color.

Everything falls away.

Nothing is left behind.

But here, in that place where nothing remains.

Was where everything started.

---

"And thus, this world fell by her hand."

"...Are you surprised? It's only natural."

"Strength defeats weakness, in that sense, your only option was to lose."

---

In the darkness between worlds, everything falls away. A desperate tackle from Rose carrying Surga Utopia off of his feet, off the side of the Celestia, into the darkness that came with oblivion, the young man passes Ryusei Nakata without the two of them ever acknowledging each other.

The world inside of the darkness they had fallen into was one that brought about a strange experience, time and space no longer making sense, forces beyond their understanding tear at their bodies with invisible reaching hands, as Ecclesia too is torn from them by something they cannot see.

---

"But, it's surprising."

"In spite of all that, you continue to persist."

"Because there is something you must do? Were fated to do? Or simply because you refuse to fade away here? Pure determination?"

---

In that space, the only thing keeping them from being torn limb from limb was the crystal in their chest. Shining with a brilliant, colorless light, the forces that would have otherwise smeared them across existence instead just push their bodies to their absolute limit. It hurts, like being pulled through the center of a black hole, the cosmic forces offer no mercy to the divine, squeezing and crushing, shattering bones and trying to tear off limbs. From the center of a black hole, comes a trip through what feels like dozens of light-less stars, burning and freezing, rocking in eternal darkness, you fall, fall and are pulled, as your Awakening Crystal tries to find an avenue for your escape from the void.

Something.

Anything.

A sentient item, they would certainly protect their vessels if they could, and in this case, beyond all hope or reason...

---

"I cannot tell. It is impossible for me."

"Even so. To you who cannot hear my voice, don't forget. You are not alone. There are many worlds, but we all share the same sky. No matter what happens, somewhere, someone is fighting this same fight, far away, but right by your side. As long as you remember that...

"You are not alone."

---

A light appears at the end of the dimensional tunnels.

[Airen]

"Hurry up Elora, you're going to be late for class! And the nurse is getting impatient!"

Exhaustion clear in her eyes, the only sound Elora Griffin can make in response to the phone call of her friend is an impossible to resist yawn. It was a beautiful day outside, the crisp blue sky standing out excellently amongst the dark greens and browns of the Japanese countryside. The walk to a school was a long one, being one of the few students of Northern Cross Academy who stayed with her family rather than at the school dormitories, she had to get up earlier than the others if she wanted to make it to school on time.

Strangely however, insomnia had kicked in the night before, and when she had rolled over in bed, eyeing the clock with an idle curiosity, it had taken her a good five minutes to really comprehend that attendance was going to be checked in the next fifteen minutes.

A desperate sprint had led her to town, where her friends had wasted time poking fun at her half-asleep face, before they had run off as a group, all of them well aware that they weren't going to make it to class in time, and unwilling to face the principal alone. It shouldn't have been such a big deal, but for the students of North Cross Academy, attendance had a purpose beyond the obvious. Breaths light, lighter than those of most sprinters in spite of her fatigue, Elora could only wince at the feeling of the crystal, a condensed form of some substance called Seithr, rubbed against the fabric of her school uniform.

Yes.

Attendance was very important for them, because every student of Northern Cross was a Drive Infected Patient. Humans afflicted with an illness that granted them supernatural powers at the cost of a steady degradation in mental stability, a student not showing up for classes was considered an alert of the highest kind for the school's faculty and staff. There was a little room to breathe if you just showed up a few minutes late, but if you took too long, the anti-union suppression forces would come out to search, and at that point...

Well...

It was just a bit awkward to be forcefully escorted to the nurse's office for treatments. She couldn't blame them for that sort of response, a Union that had succumbed to their illness was little more than a rampaging berserker, someone who would go around destroying everything until they either self-destructed or were captured, and having that sort of thing happen in a town like this...

Even being able to roam this much was an extreme freedom for people with their illness, and the faculty didn't ask for much in return.

So she felt bad.

Even so...

On this day...

Perhaps fate is what had delayed her.

It was like a falling star.

That was what it had looked like, at least at first. Two stars appearing amongst the cloudless blue sky, the blonde-haired teenager had stopped in place, awestruck at what had looked so much like a shooting star...

Until one had truly descended from the heavens, splitting off from it's counterpart to shaken the planet with an absolute crash. Like a meteor smashing into the ground, the force was such that, miles back, an entire city stopped, wondering if they had just been unfortunate enough to be struck with an earthquake, people diving under desks, bracing themselves beneath stairwells, all wondering why so short a series of shakes had been so horrendously powerful.

But, driven on not just by curiosity, but by the fact that the so called star had slammed into the ground a dozen meters ahead of her, Elora Griffin runs forward towards a newly created crater, body moving with a supernatural grace as she leaped from stalagmite to stalagmite, trying to get a glimpse at the form of the fallen star.

And what she finds...

"...What the hell?"

Is the figure of a young man, unconscious on the ground, chest moving up and down with his breathing, but body burnt and twisted in ways that made her shake with an instinctive, natural sympathy.

"H-Hey, are you alright?!"

And just like that...

The wheel of fate begins to turn...

--Awakening 1//Surga Utopia--
"Tomobiki"

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

(BGM On)

It felt like the planet had literally been dropped on your shoulders.

Your last memories being that of the city suddenly speeding up, ripped down from the sky and into a world of pitch black shadows and strange, colorless lights. There had been pain, more pain than you had ever known as you had moved through that darkness. Bones had shattered and twisted, you had been dragged through what felt like stars, and while you didn't feel like you were moving now, like your body was still in one relative piece, you felt dizzy, head swimming as you open your eyes to find yourself in some sort of infirmary.

It's very warm, or rather human, in it's design. With white blankets having been gently pulled over your body, the cream color walls have a few plaques hanging from them, awards for some doctor named "Nagatani Aoi." There's a window next to your bed, and looking outside, you see something strange...

Not the garden of Ecclesia, or the old-roman style cathedrals of your home Celestia, but rather what seemed like a smaller school building. There are humans outside, a couple dozen of them running around in a manner that seemed almost aimless, and...

Strangely...

There are no devils or angels around at all...

An attempt to move yourself leads to pain shooting up and down your form, and for the first time you become instinctively aware of a 'crack,' in your crystal. You don't have to look at it to know that it's there, there's a crack, a visible wound on the most important part of your body, and while it seems like it will heal if given time, for the moment...

Fate Magic temporarily unusable

...It seems that, like you, or rather because it had sheltered you from something it was too weak to properly defend against, the Crystal had gone into a sort of pseudo hibernation of sorts.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Pondering your current situation, the act of someone talking to you, a human girl, young, makes you a jump a little bit in surprise, your sore body screaming at you to stop it even as your regeneration steadily chugs along fixing the internal injuries you couldn't see.

"When I found you your body was... but... Guess the teacher was right... It looks like you just healed on your own..."

A pause, as she realizes she's being rude, and...

"Sorry. Didn't mean to just talk at ya like that! My name's Elora, what's yours?"

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

It hurts. It hurts so much he wasn't sure whether that word could be used to adequately described the feeling he experienced back then.

He remembered his past. His home Celestia. He remembered becoming God that fateful day at an inspection with Celes, the last to undergo a check-up at his school; He remembered going to Ecclesia, meeting Leliel, Serenade, Shin; The cafeteria fight, and the happiness that came when the three of them eats Leliel's cake. And he remembered Ecclesia falling, and the overwhelming pain that came afterwards.

It shouldn't have been that long, and yet...

All of it seems like a distant memory now...

Looking at the blonde human girl that had greeted him, for the first time in his life Surga Utopia is truly at a loss on what he should do. He is alone - there are no signs of Celes or anyone he knows here - and the mere fact that there are no angels or devils as far as he could see, along with the rather simple human architecture, made him felt like he was dreaming.

However, the mere fact that he could still feel his crystal told him that it was real, all of it.

It shouldn't be possible for a human settlement this big to go unnoticed, but...

"My name is... Surga. Surga Utopia."

While his crystal is cracked, at least it could still regenerate him. From what the girl said, it seems he was 'found', so he naturally asked the most pressing question that's been on the back of his mind.

"Where am I?"

[Airen]

It had always been tradition for royalty to come to this place for the sake of receiving guidance.

Kneeling down before the grave of Agarta's first king, sword at her side, listening to the wind whistle through the spires of Mount Agon, Adelina Duskin, the current Sovereign of Dusk, remains silent as she waits, pleading perhaps, for the stars to bless her with foresight.

Agarta had always been an isolationist nation. Keeping to themselves, supporting only themselves, fighting for the sake of their people and nothing else, the things she was trying to do, the changes she and her wife were trying to implement in the land, were those that went against it's oldest traditions.

To reach out to others.

To establish relationships with other lands.

Surrounded by the Warring Clans, such a thing was... Not a simple task to implement.

Age old rivalries, the glory that came with being a land that had never been defeated, never been taken;, even when the scourge of Demons had crossed the eastern shores. There were few reasons for others to seek to aid them, a land content to exist as a mere fantasy in the minds of other nations, a proverbial Atlantis, something that had never reached out to aid or hurt.

Ambivalence.

That was the best term for how their relationships had stagnated with others. Centuries had passed, and they had done nothing to connect with anyone, only repelling attacks that had them as the target, an invincible kingdom that could not win a war, but could certainly avoid losing one. But it was a time of change, the acceptance of magi had led to a small shift in the hearts of the populace, a willingness, however small, to reach out and see what the world had become.

And she was in charge of that change.

Her every action shaping the fate of her nation, the girl that held no blood relation to the crown, only to the knight closest to the first king, had come here in order to cool her nerves. It was high up in the mountains, on the outskirts of the mines, where she spent day after day shifting through metal, finding and crafting things for the sake of the people. Blades of light and flame, armor enchanted to protect the life of the wearer at all cost, it had been a long road, a long long road, but she had finally become someone the people could be proud of, even those who still disliked her use of magic.

But that pride came with a new sort of pressure.

Accepted now as a Queen that would lead them into a new era, there were times when the stress became such that even tinkering with things in her lab could no longer distract her.

There was so much riding on her.

And when that sort of stress showed itself.

She came up here, where the Kings and Queens of the past spent eternity. It was the place where she would be buried one day, the site of the battle between "The Dragon of Dusk," and the original king "Arthur De Rege," who had slain the creature and sent it's body tumbling down into the valley below where it had been claimed by the lake, reclaimed by the world. That King had been the strongest King, a man capable of slaying a creature of Legend, an absolute monster that had burned down nations without suffering so much as a scratch.

An invincible king.

One who had been able to not only found Agarta, but protect it from everything and everyone that would harm it.

Inheriting that mantle...

"...The Ferrum Imperium emissaries tomorrow eh?"

Sighing, a smile crossing her face, the lone queen looks out over her land. It was a sacred time for her people, the time of Dusk, where light and dark mixed at the edge of the horizon.

And looking out at it...

What that woman sees...

"What...?"

Is the sight of a falling star.


--Awakening 1//Ryusei Nakata--
"Rise Fantasia"

Ryusei Nakata
Colset ~ Capital City of Agarta
Castle of Dusk, Morning

(BGM On)

Your descent into darkness had taken you straight into hell.

Last memories that of your frantic dive towards a doomed city, of someone meeting you before you could touch the ground, the you that awakens after an eternity of suffering feels more damaged than you had ever been before in your life. The world inside of the darkness had been nothing but pain, and while you had at first thought to brush it off as little more than a nightmare, your first attempt to move your body had sent a feeling like electricity shooting up your spine as every single part of you screamed out in desperate protest at the actions.

Even your crystal, normally flawless, a perfect gemstone of many different colors.

Possessed a single, slowly healing crack along it's surface.

Fate Magic temporarily disabled.

Mind turning from the sheer, absolute pain your body was still suffering through, you're a bit shocked to find yourself in what appears to be the interior of a castle. The walls around you are made of stone, and while you can feel a touch of magic floating along through the air, it feels weak, far weaker than what you're used too, and stranger still...

You couldn't sense any angels or devils nearby either, in fact, none of them seemed to exist at all, at least as far as you could tell.

The walls were lined with unlit torches rather than electrical lights, and windows along the stone wall across from your bed reveal a land of sweeping plains and hills. There are birds, birds that haven't been afflicted with F.A.T.E's magic flying through the air gently, content in their existence, and the land that stretches out to the horizon is far bigger than any Celestia you had ever seen, and far more fertile than any of the Netherworld you had experienced... As if...

This was what the original human world, the one of legend had looked like, a world teeming with natural, mortal life.

Stuck in a moment of awe, the sound of someone dropping something, a bowl, made of stone, rings out throughout the room.

"He's awake? Lady Adelina! Lady Adelina!"

Out of the corner of your eye, you see someone, some sort of maid, judging by the brief glimpse you get of her uniform, darts out of the room, calling out for someone named Adelina, and soon after, dozens of footsteps start heading in your direction.

...You're not sure what's going on here, but...

You could move your body a little bit if you wanted too...

But maybe staying still was for the best.

The bandages on your body implied they had been trying to take care of you, at least.

[Zagrin]

Ryusei Nakata
Colset ~ Capital City of Agarta
Castle of Dusk, Morning

What is going on here!?

When I woke up I was expecting to be greeted with the sight of a destroyed classroom or perhaps the crystallized world that it seemed we were going to crash into, not...well not what seemed to be some old building you only heard about in History class. I mean it didn't even seem like this place had any sort of electricity! What was even stranger still was the sight that I was greeted with when I looked outside the window.

A vibrant world free of any sort of crystalline taint.

How could this be possible? There's no way that this could be any sort of island that the Angels made, it was far too...natural. Not to mention that I couldn't even send any angels either. Seriously, what the hell happened while I was out!?

I hear the sound of something crashing and someone running off, but I'm too stunned to take much note of it.

Let me think, there's got to be some sort of explanation for all this. I remember that I had some sort of strange dream where I met someone calling herself F.A.T.E. Right after that a presence like that in the dream arrived at our school and with it a host of problems. Somehow the school began to fall from the sky, a fellow student who was a God attacked me and...

"Parisa! Cerys!"

I try to struggle out of the bed as I recalled the condition the two of them were in when I last saw them. It didn't matter where I was, I had to find them, I had to make sure they were safe.

"Gah! Damn it!"

However for my effort a wave of pain assails me and I slump back into the bed. It seems I had taken quite a beating considering all these bandages, though I can't say what from. Even still I've got to get up, I've got to...hey, wait, are those footsteps?

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"Where are you?" Repeating the question aloud, the girl takes a moment to answer, a brief moment of hesitation crossing her face, as if she was unsure about whether or not she should tell you for some reason, "Northern Cross Academy. Local High School here in Tomobiki, Japan."

Pausing for a moment again, the young woman drags a chair out from beneath a nearby desk, soundlessly settling into it, as if she planned on being here for a bit.

"It's a bit of a country town, if the name doesn't ring any bells."

It's only as you listen to her speak that you realize she's speaking in a language you shouldn't know. Having spoken the dialect of the angels and devils for most of your life, the sound of the girl's words is strange, but in spite of having never heard such a language before, your mind, or perhaps your crystal, had seamlessly translated them into something you could understand.

Not only that...

Japanese...

The name of the language pops into your head as if it was only natural for it to do so. It takes no visible effort from the crystal to do this, and the only reason you had noticed was because you paid a bit more attention than most, noticing that you yourself had sounded somehow 'different' when you spoke, the 'meaning' of what you had spoken being auto translated so she could understand, but...

How many powers did this tiny stone have...?

-Aeroratum-
A magical language capable of being spoken by divine beings. Thought to be the original language, that which existed before the creation and fall of the Tower of Babel, it speaks to the hearts of mortal beings, and enables communication in spite of any and all differences in native tongues. People who are spoken to in this language perceive the words in the manner that is easiest for them to understand, and thus, it can be thought of as the "language that embodies all others."

Depending on the God, things like "hidden meanings" or "emotions" in the words of mortals may become clear.

"So, where are you from?" Having answered your question, and honestly a bit curious, the golden haired girl leans forward slightly, elbows on her knees, "You uh... Had a bit of an explosive entry... Did you fall out of a plane or something...?"

[Airen]

Ryusei Nakata
Colset ~ Capital City of Agarta
Castle of Dusk, Morning

Your crystal exhibits an odd reaction when you call out for your God Hands.

Flashing not once but twice, a thoughtful pause in between each burst of light, it seems that your crystal was trying to tell you something about the two of them. Everyone had long suspected that Fate Awakening Crystals were at least semi-sentient, they only allowed themselves to be used by certain humans, and reports of them letting loose strange phenomena for the sake of their vessels weren't uncommon... In fact, if there was something that had saved you from that strange darkness, it had probably been your crystal acting on it's own for your sake, but...

Problem was...

You weren't sure what two flashes of light was actually supposed to mean. It felt warm, so maybe it was it's way of telling you they were okay without using words, but then again...

When this crystal did almost anything it felt warm, so it could just as easily mean the opposite...

For the sake of your sanity, it might be best to assume the former...

The crystal refused to elaborate any further.

Feeling a burst of accomplishment as you finally manage to sit up in spite of your injuries, you are nevertheless distracted by the dozens of people that were now marching into the room with a sort of practiced purpose, almost like a military exercise. As far as you could tell there were two types of people coming in, knights dressed in plate armor, who came in from a hallway on the left, and on the right, people cloaked in blue and a tinge of magic, moving along to line the right side of the room, as their knightly counterparts lined the left.

..In but a few moments, you had been surrounded. They were not looking at you with any sort of actual hostility, more vague suspicion than anything else, but there were weapons in their hands, magic flowing through their bodies, and while they weren't staring at you specifically...

You somehow knew they were here to watch you, or rather...

"..."

To watch over the blonde woman that had just sweeped into the room from the rightmost corridor. Her stance was that of royalty, pose tall and straight, clothes made of a much finer azure cloth than those of the other magi, and a crown of simple gold upon her already luminescent hair. When she enters, the stances of the others stiffen, and their eyes follow her in a protective way as she slowly moves to the side of your bed.

...In comparison to the others, she was strong. Much much weaker than Divinity like yourself, but stronger than any human you had met in the Netherworld, strong enough that you guessed she could probably defeat every other human in here if she had to do so, and thus, strong enough that you wondered whether this sort of guard was even necessary.

But then again, from the context clues...

Seemed like this might be their Queen.

The "Lady Adelina" the maid had been calling out for.

And looking at you now, with serious, but not unkind eyes, that woman...

"Greetings, stranger. Welcome to Colset."

Seems to decide to acquire after your health before anything else.

"It is not everyday that a guest falls from the sky. Is your body alright?"

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

Northen Cross Academy. Tomobiki. Japan. As he listened to those names, none of which are familiar to his ears, Surga started to wonder on how many powers does the Fate-Awakening Crystal have. It makes sense he suppose, a God should not have a problem in understanding mortals and communicating with them no matter what language they speak, but...

Does that mean he should start gathering believers?

Ecclesia fell. F.A.T.E. is free, and whether he arrived to this place because of being displaced through time when Earth is still habitable or simply because this is another world altogether, the fact is that he is simply too weak to do anything about it. Returning as he is wouldn't change anything, he needed more power, and for God power came from those who believe in them.

Yes, he suppose he has two objectives now: gather believers, and finding a way to return home. Hopefully with those objectives in mind he'd focus and not think about Celes, Leliel or Serenade and whether all of them are safe or not, because he's pretty sure he'll go crazy from worry. The question of how he'll gather believers shelved for now, Surga proceed to think of Elora's question.

Should he tell the truth, or should he lie?

The truth is pretty absurd, at least for those who doesn't know that God, angels and devils exist, and he might be thought to be crazy. On the other hand, lying requires some knowledge on a particular subject, and unfortunately he doesn't have any knowledge regarding Japan, Tomobiki or anything about this world at all. If he lied, sooner or later it'd be find out that he's lying.

What a dilemma...

"... I came from the sky." He vaguely answered after giving it some thought. "I fell, and thus I have an 'explosive entry' as you said."

Surga decided to tell the truth. He needed information, and lying won't help because he'd be assumed to know those information. Besides, while he might seem crazy at first, it would be remedied when they know the truth.

"I assume someone falling from the sky is uncommon." He continued, looking directly into the girl's emerald eyes. "Yet you don't seem to be surprised; at least not too much. And you mentioned that this is a high school... why would you bring someone who fell from the sky to a school rather than a hospital?"

Hopefully these questions would prevent her from getting freaked out or assume that he's actually crazy.

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"I actually intended to bring you to the hospital," smiling in spite of the fact that you had pointed out her abnormal behavior, the girl doesn't seem too troubled about it being seen as strange, "But I ran across my doctor on the way there, and she ordered me to just bring you here... You didn't look... Very good... So it would have made a bit of a scene if you just, uh... Came back to life."

In essence, for some reason, bringing you here would have stuck out less than bringing you to a normal hospital. In your search to determine the reason for this, you finally notice a hint of something similar to magic hanging around this girl, or rather, hanging around not just her, but the rest of the students as well. As far as you knew this was strange, if not outright bizarre; humans that could use magic in the world you knew were one in a million, there were more humans capable of becoming "God," and using magic that way then there were ones who could use it naturally.

Yet...

You could feel it on everyone here...

"To be honest, if you had dropped from the sky a few months earlier I would have been pretty traumatized," hands in her lap now, the girl leans back a bit in her chair, "Normal people wouldn't survive what happened to you. You pretty much looked dead... But here you are, just fine, that's strange right?"

Phrasing it like a question, she doesn't actually seem to care about you answering it or not.

"This school is for strange people... We have our own healing facilities, and you seem to fit right in..."

Moving the collar of her shirt slightly, you can see a gemstone, colored a light blue, resting just beneath her collar. It's not a Fate-Awakening Crystal, it's much too weak for that, and the color is pretty different, but...

There's definitely some sort of 'power' in there...

"...People with these sorts of things can't go running around unchecked, so here we all are..."

Saying this in a kind voice, but with a resigned seriousness, the girl's smile remains unfazed.

"Yours seems a bit different though."

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

'A school for strange people, huh?'

How interesting that humans in this school possesses some kind of magic and power; not only that, they seem to take the form of a crystal similar to his own. Much weaker to be sure, but the similarity is there.

Blending in might actually be easy here, but the question is whether he should really blend in or not.

He suppose he should wait and see to decide on that matter. For now...

"Mine seems different?" He asked, both his expression and tone set to that of genuine confusion as he tilted his head. "In what way exactly is it different from yours, Elora?"

Of course that confusion is merely a facade, but he wanted to see just how much Elora knows about his crystal. Can she sense the difference in power between their crystal just like him? Is intense regeneration a rare power for a crystal of her kind? Maybe he could also know more about what her crystal actually do; if his gives him the power of God, then what does her crystal gave her?

But Surga will be patient; he won't push these questions directly to someone who is just a student and might not be the expert on this field (her 'doctor' somehow sounds like they fit the bill), so he merely waits for the girl's answer.

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"The color is all wrong," crossing her arms now, the girl's eyes suddenly seem a bit more analytical than before, "A rainbow colored crystal is just bizarre. Normal Crystals turn from blue to red, and they wouldn't bring someone back to life either... Unless that's your Drive."

Using another word that was beyond your current knowledge, you get the idea that she's searching you for your reactions now, or rather, she had been doing so from the very start for some reason. Whether out of simply curiosity, wanting to know what you were, or some sort of more ulterior motive, you get the feeling her words are prodding you in some way.

"Wouldn't be able to survive that sort of impact either... Although, if your power is to regenerate, I guess that would be a bit more iffy?"

Even so...

You don't get the feeling that she's malevolent.

It reminded you more of the archangel at your old Celestia...

Someone whose job was to root out danger...

And to be fair, if that was what she was doing, she wasn't entirely off base. From what you could sense of this world's magic... You could blow almost all of it away without even getting out of bed.

Opening her mouth to speak again-

"Ah, so the regenerating wonder woke up huh?"

A voice, coming from the door, cuts her off.

The owner is another woman, this one taller, more obviously aged, an adult woman rather than a teenager. Her voice is a bit deeper, and somehow both whimsical and mature at the same time. Dressed in a nurse's robes, she strides into the room without introducing herself, but...

"Oh, hello Ms. Ariel."

It seems Elora knows her... So the school nurse?

Or maybe the doctor?

Of course, that's not strange, what's actually strange is that...

While she was radiating magic like the others...

There was a hint... Just the tiniest hint...

Of a Devil's power mixed in there with a human's.

"The principal wishes to speak with you Elora," eyes mostly on you, but flickering to the golden haired girl as she approaches, the woman continues to speak in a light-hearted way, "Probably an incident... So hurry along now."

"Ah, I see... Understood. I've gotta run Surga. It was nice speaking with you."

Standing up, and dashing out of the room as if her life depended on it, the situation changes in an instant, leaving you alone with the red-haired enigma.

"...How did you wind up here?"

...And judging by how she just said that...

She might just know one or two things...

But it could just be coincidence...

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

It seems his methods had worked.

First of all, crystals in this world turns from blue to red - implying there are some form of progression - though what causes a crystal to change color he doesn't have any idea. Secondly, it seems the power granted by the crystal is called a 'drive', and if her questions were of any indication, a drive only covers a single ability. Perhaps 'regeneration' would be the most likely cover if he's asked what his drive is.

But still, that is not important right now.

The woman who just came in, Ariel, has the tiniest hint of a devil's power. Not only that, somehow her name sounds similar to the two devils that he had met (Leliel and Neliel), and judging from her question, she might know a thing or two about him.

But it might also be just a simple coincidence.

"Before I answer, could I ask a question first?" Surga replied, determined to see whether it is a coincidence or not; having someone who understood his situation in this unfamiliar world would be invaluable.

"Do you know what I am?"

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"Sure, a beat up teenager who is very, very far away from home."

It was an answer designed purely to mess with you. One eye closed, and a half-smile on her face, the feeling that the woman does in fact know what you are, but just doesn't feel like admitting it just yet continues to get stronger and stronger over time.

"But that's not the answer you want right? Well, I also know you're a sort of weapon..."

Another indirect confirmation... But not as kind a one, and...

"...But why don't you tell me? What do you think you are?"

Her voice still teasing, there's nevertheless something... Unreadable... About this one.

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

Indirect upon indirect answers met his question, her tone teasing. Yet her expression is unreadable, even if she's smiling and seems to just mess around with him. Left with no other choice, he'd just have to assume that she indeed knows what she's talking about.

This woman's pretty good...

"God." Surga replied simply before shrugging. "At least that's what everyone calls those who have this crystal, but considering it granted all sorts of powers I'm not surprised either." His face darkens then, a frown present in his face as memories of what had happened came at full speed to the front of his mind.

"Ecclesia fell."

It was a short and direct answer, but...

"I couldn't do anything."

...There is a certain bitterness in his tone.

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"Did it?"

A surprisingly casual response.

Not making a big deal out of anything you had just said, which both supports and denies the theory that she knows what you're talking about, the woman nevertheless turns to lock the door to the nurse's office, as if she didn't want anyone else coming in...

"Well, it's not a big surprise, there was always a possibility the Crystals would turn that way. Only understand 70% of what the damn things even are, and yet Devil me and the others figure it's alright to use it anyway... Idiots."

It feels more like she's ranting to herself than you.

"I mean, it was F.A.T.E right? Of course it was, and of course you couldn't do anything, you're one of a bunch of kids playing at God. Playing at it. Of course you couldn't do anything."

Moving around the room, rummaging through what seemed to be a miniature fridge, the woman emerges with two cans of... something...

"Want a soda?"

And smoothly breaks out of her rant back to an almost disturbing calm, for someone who had just heard and comprehended what you had told her.

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

If Surga had less control over his emotion, he might have lashed out. Maybe at the very least flinched at the harshness of her words. But as someone who is used to control it, Surga managed to stay calm and accepted what Ariel had said; there is a certain truth to her words, because no matter how great the power granted by a Fate-Awakening Crystal is...

It is certainly a mere shadow compared to the real thing, a real God.

'I guess there is advantage in being a new God.' Surga mused as he accepted the can that the woman offered. 'If I've been one for longer, my pride would certainly refuse to admit that.' He concluded as he opened the strange can and drank it-

"!"

Only to almost choke as a strange sensation poured down his throat, coughing and looking at the can of 'soda' with contempt and wariness that he rarely shows before putting it away.

He swore he'd never drink this so-called soda ever again.

But back to the topic at hand, there is something from the woman's words that caught his interest...

"What do you mean, devil you?"

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"Eh, you didn't meet her?"

Having giggled to herself at your reaction, the red-haired woman was now sitting, one leg crossed over the other, on the other side of the room.

"I thought you were suspicious of me because you had met me already... But I guess not," laughing some more at this, as if finding it amusing for reasons you couldn't quite grasp, the woman nevertheless goes into more detail, "There's another me on Ecclesia. I'm not a Devil, but she is... She's uh... What's the name? A God Hand? One of Shin's. Mad scientist type, made methods of cross world communication, and designed that thing in your chest too. Was pretty proud of it. Called me talking about how she was the one who had made God."

A pause, as if letting this sink in, then...

"But really, it's quite a bit too flawed to actually be God... It's close, if you squint, but that missing 30% kinda screws the whole thing over it seems."

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

Another Ariel in Ecclesia? And she's one of Shin's God Hand to boot? Then this is...

"So, this is another world then..."

Still, the her in Ecclesia is the one who created this crystal, and quite proud of it from what she said. But the Ariel in this world said it's flawed, 30% of it is missing, so if they're the same person (kinda?) how could the one in Ecclesia didn't notice this flaw? Or perhaps she noticed it and didn't care? In the first place, how could the her in this universe understand a Fate Awakening Crystal?

This is quite hard...

"What is the missing 30% then?" Surga asked, curious than anything else. "And can that 30% be filled somehow?"

[Airen]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"No idea. I only ever looked over the designs the one time. But trying to figure out what makes the omnipotent omnipotent is a bit of a difficult task, you know?"

Draining her can in one go, the woman tosses it across the room and into the trashcan without taking her eyes from you.

"We know that it can emulate God's power to a certain extent, but we don't know why it is able to do so. What's so special about the crossing of angelic and demonic power, and why are only humans able to directly tolerate it?"

Throwing you a few of the more easy to understand questions, the woman nevertheless keeps talking, content, it seems, to lecture on for just a little bit longer.

"Not knowing the why, but knowing the how is a bit dangerous," grinning in a tired sort of way, the woman's laugh isn't quite as lighthearted as before, "But from my understanding a weapon was needed, so a weapon it became... The missing 30% will probably remain just that, after all, if F.A.T.E got out, I'm sure she went after Devil Me first. Can't let someone like that live if you're a maniacal 'Ultimate Incarnation of God."

All in all...

Still calmer than she should be...

[palad1n]

Surga Utopia
Northern Cross Academy - Tomobiki, Japan
Morning

"How?"

Finally deciding to ask something that has been bugging him, Surga spoke.

"How, why are you so calm when talking about this?" He asked, eyes on the woman who casually finished and throw a can of drink while talking about this. "Someone just fell from the sky, almost dead. Moreover, he came from a different world from yours. You also mentioned that F.A.T.E. is likely to go after the devil you in Ecclesia, and yet you seemed to take it in stride."

"I know she's from a different world, so perhaps you have no reason to be concerned or get worked up over it, but still..." A pause from what had turned into a rant, if calmer than most rants, and...

"She's still you, right? She's Ariel. So why...?"

Surga looked away from her eyes after that.

"I don't understand."