It's an image born from a memento that aligned the walls of a certain Cross's apartment, an image that she hadn't been able to let go of even after tossing aside everything else in a mistaken path towards 'that girl's happiness.' It's an image of a younger Joan, one from back before she had decided to pick up a sword with an uncertain future looming on a golden-black horizon.
---Ah.
It's an image that perhaps goes too far; while your power was not the sort to really show you memories in it's normal usage, the image itself seems to 'shake' something inside of you awake as well, and just as the girl pauses for a moment to listen to her own words, that image becomes a chain that leads straight into memory-!
After all... Even if you didn't show it to her...
She did associate that 'self' with her 'sister,' but...
Strangely... It's a memory that exists within you as well...
Perhaps it was simply a gate...
That was opened by the both of you, manipulated, by the both of you.
---
It's a memory that did not come to pass, or rather, was erased sometime after coming to pass.
---The scenery was that of an orphanage.
It was years after the Fox had first appeared, and this time around, it was an event that had led to the destruction of countless families. Those that had survived this time around had not survived back then, and amongst those bodies, those people lost in an incident you yourself did not yet understand, of course you couldn't, it was beyond you, but it didn't matter...
"It's hard..."
...It's a scene with three girls.
Two children, and a teenager, or perhaps a young adult? The sister to the girl with the blonde hair.
The older is teaching the younger ones, while it is natural for an older sibling to look after a younger sibling, the relationship between the blonde and
yourself
the darker haired girl
was harder to place, than again...
Hadn't you yourself come to call her teacher rather easily...?
"No way Suzume, it's easy, see!"
The younger blonde proudly shows off a flawed drawing, in terms of talismans it wouldn't work, but the confidence of a child is not so easily shaken.
---Magic was certainly complex, but they had begged, so as a 'witch' she had to at least try, still...
"Maybe it's a bit early for Ofuda..."
After a few hours, the eldest one concedes, but-
"But I thought about it, and I think I've come up with something cool, so listen up~! Something that doesn't need hand-signs or silly memorization-!"
"Alright, I'll mater it first-!"
"...It's not a competition."
...Ah.
So that was how it was born huh?
---What a shame.
Why had that sort of future fallen into ruin?
---
---It's a flash of memory.
Something from a previous 'self,' and not even the self that you yourself had met; it is just a forgotten memory that does not and cannot exist, and yet your hand balls into a fist of it's own accord, as if reliving the 'lesson' that had appeared back then-!
Magic Gunner
A style of 'mage-craft' that requires no complex chants, incantations, or physical motions. Revolving purely around the control of one's spiritual power, it revolves around discharging said power in a manner similar to plasma blasts, or the exhaust of a jet engine. Not something Liane Cross would have normally invented on her own, it seems she made it as a simple 'art' for her students to learn, but then came to subconsciously recall it on repeats and use it as a signature style growing up.
Works on the line of converting spiritual power into heat, damage is dependent purely on the amount and type of spiritual power poured into it, and while complex effects are not possible through it, it still allows for frighteningly fast spiritual attacks. The sign of a spirit user that has managed to successfully turn themselves into a gun, Liane got a reputation for firing off 'lasers' due to this ability, and strangely...
Suzume seems capable of it as well... And Joan-
Crack.
Even through the sudden haze, the hand strikes true all on it's own...
Falling back with a thud, the rocketing body destroying all of the rubble in it's wake, for a few moments, it does seem like Joan has lost consciousness again, but...
"Hah...Hah..."
Slowly, seemingly struggling with herself, that girl rises to her feet again; her expressions are twitching, the emotional strike seemingly just as damaging as the physical one, and yet-
"..."
-That brief hope crumbles as the black flames reemerge and spread out over her form again; it is an easing hate, a method to make her 'stop thinking' and go back into the blind rage, but-
"...Get the hell out of her, you shitty curse."
-Burning with those same flames herself, a woman that had felt the 'pain' of the sister she had not known she held a contract with, is forced to draw on that same power in order to interfere in a sight that would ordinarily be out of her league...
"...Sis-!"
The flames burn brighter at her appearance, but-
"...I'm not interested in speaking with the curse, definitely not interested in being killed by it."
-She shoots it down, or rather-
"...If you really want me dead Joan, if you're sure of that... Then okay, I'd let you do it... I couldn't protect you back then, I was too weak to try so... Maybe it's what I deserve..."
-She shoots down the curse itself.
---She's horrifyingly serious.
If that would make it so that Joan could live freely, unburdened by all of this, than okay, she would let her kill her, however-
"But I want to hear that from her. Not some shitty Faceless God that's pretending to be her!"
-She doesn't believe that's what the girl wants either, or at least, she won't believe it until a lucid one tells her the same exact thing-!
"That's not the justice she'd be chasing, she's a dork that cries at stories with sad endings... So she'd be a hell of a stronger than that!"
"...You-!"
"So watch your ass, you won't be controlling her for very long-! If I have too, I'll blast you out of her myself-!"
---Even while burning away herself, with limbs that are clearly past the point of rapid movement, the older sister draws the complete attention of the younger one. It's both antagonistic and hopeful, the resolve of a family member that has appeared to save a family member, and in response to that-
An unstoppable walk that quickly becomes a run, a wall of golden and black fire that is destined to become a battering ram that runs over the both of you.
---Again, the flames burn out of control; this time, even though her emotions are a chaotic haze, the target is clear.
"Alright, Suzume... Hate to ask for favors, but... My plan will take me a second, so..."
---Find a way to slow her down.
It's a silent request...
That almost seems impossible.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
“There’s no need for you to trouble yourself. I can prepare my own place within the fire and the flames.”
A miniature replica of the throne of burning vines rose from the bathwater’s surface in the center of the bath. Lifting her arm, Saki planted her finger atop the seat, and pushed the tiny construct of fire under the water, as though it were a solid object.
The temperature of the bath rose exponentially as the tiny throne set the bath to a boil. Refusing to be smothered, the fire continued to burn in the water, and Saki brought her hand back.
Unfazed, the girl began to giggle at the mentions of her butler. The thought of seeing the immovable Phenex squirm… Just imagining it made her lose self-control.
“That would certainly be interesting. When the time comes, let us make a grand show of it.”
As the words left her mouth Saki let her body relax completely, sinking down more and more into the water, until all but her mouth and above had fully submerged. As if to fall into the flames Belial promised, she let all tension drain out of her body, truly allowing her body to become lax.
In that state, her head tilted back and her eyes drifted toward the ceiling. As if laying down in a bed of boiling water, Saki closed her eyes as though to sleep.
Behind closed eyes, the image of the clock tower counting down to the end appeared.
I let her take me wherever she wished, the comforting grip of fingers intertwined providing reassurance. So, when we get there, a beach on Tokyo Bay I’m not sure is real or artificial, I decide it doesn’t matter.
Because what I see takes my breath away.
Her navy hair fluttering in the salty sea breeze. The pale blue light reflecting off her skin. The soft crash of waves against the shore, in rhythm with the beat of my heart. The flush in her cheeks when she turns around. A dazzling smile that puts the star-studded sea in front of us to shame.
Even if I didn’t have a photographic memory, I’m sure this scene would be etched into my mind forever.
"...I always liked the idea of wishing on a star."
I give her a teasing grin. It’s rather cute she has a normal sense of romance, despite her other idiosyncrasies. It’s not quite what I expected, but… I certainly don’t hate it.
“Well, then,” I say, “Why don’t you just pick one? We can make a wish together.”
While a part of her had been dragged back into nostalgic memories, yet another part had been filled with an inevitable apprehension; the task that has appeared on the horizon is one that will, more likely than not, result in the absolute and final deaths of everyone she knows, and the pressure of that task is something that has existed on the surface of her thoughts ever since the start of this final night, but...
---You were being so casual about it, that for a moment, even her own apprehension is blown away.
In a sense it ruins the moment, but...
Still, she laughs aloud at the fist-pump and-
"Another food battle it is then-!"
-Lets her own childish side out with a mimicry of your own motion, gesturing to reflected stars that only truly inhabit the sea below.
She tries to stand, and:
"Come on, I'll run us back."
She smiles at you and gestures at her back.
---The high-speed taxi again, somehow...
It still doesn't feel that appealing-!
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Laughing at Kyoto’s agreement I can’t help but smile, like Kimichi said there was nothing left to do but win right? Kyoto always looked better smiling anyway.
“Just watch I’ll cook up something amazing!” Although it would slow the ability to get food down being able to show off would be worth it!
"Come on, I'll run us back."
Now if only Kyoto express was…
Less tumbly? Less blurry? Less, lots of things…
Squinting as I try to find some fault or alternative path I stare on and on… Until I simply give up in the end. If Kyoto wanted to zoom around then might as well, it was perfectly survivable after all-
But!
-Hopping up I disregard her intended position and after wrapping my arms around her neck around and up.
“Princess carry!”
Nyahaha no reason to say no but no reason to not have more fun with it like this!
It was a future...or rather a "past" that would never come to pass. For the Suzume that stood here it should not have been a meaningful vision. For her current reality it would matter as much as any dream would. It however just so happened that both her and the demon that now made up this being reacted quite vividly to it.
It simply was far too vivid, far too grounded in the reality they both occupied even as said reality had shown its fragility.
An unintended feedback in the moment. A flash of something that was "supposed to happen" but could not.
Something beautiful left a gift for her. She had neglected her lessons, but it seems she always could count on a supportive teacher to encourage her. Maybe she would pass this exam after all...
A simple demonstration of her power blew away her enemy. The basically limitless amounts of raw spiritual power that her little manipulation of faith trick would supply her with delivered a rather impressive result, and for a moment Joan seemed incapacitated. But that illusion had quickly been taken care of as she rose back to her feet, staring daggers at her cursing sister.
"...If you really want me dead Joan, if you're sure of that... Then okay, I'd let you do it... I couldn't protect you back then, I was too weak to try so... Maybe it's what I deserve..."
She spoke of death with seriousness and nonchalance at the same time. A person who truly was ready to face this outcome. She had seen enough of it to understand it like few did, and yet she offered this life to her sister...her real sister.
Even as the fight between Suzume and Joan had ascended into the realm of gods, she still kept up, sacrificing everything she had at the mere chance of conversing with the possessed woman. A dedication Suzume was not sure she could match but...
Was the fact that she stood here not proof that she could?
As her own teacher was burning up, Suzume had made her choice to not fall behind. To not hide simple fear of trying behind admiration.
What after all was the goal of a teacher? To just implant knowledge, clinically without reflection? No. It was to prepare. It was not to show them how to solve a specific problem. It was to equip them with the skills to seek the solution to any problem on their own. It was not to lift them up and carry your pupil on your shoulders.
What a teacher wanted was a pupil that figured out how to run by themselves.
The ultimate goal of a teacher was to shape someone who surpassed them.
"Alright, Suzume... Hate to ask for favors, but... My plan will take me a second, so..."
The style she had been taught was a simplistic form of combat, effective for most humans but she had long since left that definition behind her. Beyond the surface of this mixed being was a melting pot of views of this world, the human, the extraordinary, the demonic and the divine, all together into this living contradiction.
She had been taught how to tap into her human potential by her teacher and now she would simply have to figure out how to use more than that.
She exhaled.
She would not have a lot of time. Her factor allowed her momentary windows of opportunity but no consistent outspeeding of her opponent. But this should be enough. With a harmless tool in her hand she accelerated her own time again, just enough to finish a scribble on her arm.
Ironic. A prayer for good health.
Inhale.
Next she closed her eyes. She needed a better method of tracking than visuals. Focusing her power she not only knew where the curses that boiled inside of Joan were at the moment, she felt confident enough to make a prediction where they were about to be in the event of an attack.
She already felt the power coursing through her. The multitude of souls sealed inside her praying to the demon that she had become, allowing her to harness a reservoir impossible for most ESPers. A self-sustaining reaction that only needed a target. Releasing it simply all at once would probably obliterate her still mortal body.
Thankfully having turned her arm into an ofuda in itself provided it with a resistance to these spiritual energies proportional to the energy she chose to channel into it. It acted like a lens for what she was about to unleash.
Pointing her index finger, eyes still closed, at the charging enemy, the only answer she could muster to her sensei's question was a simple exclamation.
"Alright..."
Aoyama saw a third dawn that day...
"...bang!"
...as Suzume Aogami pushed a sun through a needle's eye.
Deadeye Demon
Using her eclectic abilities to improve upon the simple lesson of Magic Gunner, Suzume created her own spin on this expulsion technique. Using sealing to stabilize her own body she channels her massive demonic energy reservoir through her arm, allowing her to withstand it without taking too much damage, as well as using her ESP to increase accuracy by predicting enemy movements. While using the basic principles behind Magic Gunner, this technique could not be mimicked by anyone but her.
If the goal of teaching is an adaptable student able to educate and improve themselves, the existence of this technique in itself proves Liane succesful.
In the face of a power that could possible defeat her in a single shot, the last remaining avatar of the Faceless God stops her approach with all of the battle instinct that had been honed over the past eight years. With all of your attacks having been things that she could more or less walk off with some slight amount of difficulty, the appearance of something akin to a "finishing move," a strike that could absolutely beat her outright, forces the mind of the host body to kick into gear and respond with something similar.
...Joanna Cross was not good at traditional magic.
It was a fact that persisted beyond time, unlike her sister, who was all-around strong in most spiritual areas, the youngest of the Cross Line had simply had an innate spiritual reservoir that easily dwarfed that of even thousands of humans, as well as a control of that same power that bordered on the insane...
Beyond that, her talent with traditional arts was poor, she couldn't draw out ritual circles, her affinity with ofuda and hand-signs was bad, and while she could have perhaps been suited to the Demonic System of magic rather than the human one, she had not been taught any for a number of reasons ranging from a sister that hadn't known of such a system initially herself, or the church that had noticed the 'grudge' that had been attached to her soul and sought not to give it any reason to emerge.
Regardless, she was poor at those sorts of things, even so-
Just like you, that flash of memory had awakened something she could use; while there are a number of options available to her defensively if she were to give it some thought, the weakness of the curse had become more and more obvious over time, namely:
It was an incarnate berserker rage to those unsuited for it. Things like defense are mostly disregarded as irrelevant, all that matters is closing in on the opponent and crushing them beneath their will, for that reason their behavior could be predicted and manipulated quite easily, and while they might try to defend if forced into a situation where they must or lose the body, by the time that chaotic mass of wills realizes that, the time-frame that would have allowed them to simply avoid the shot had long-since passed, so-
"Tch-!"
All that's left is to fall back on their usual plan.
Power against Power; perhaps because it was on their minds already, but the response of the charging girl is also that of a gun; stopping in place before throwing out a fist in the same motion, the intention to blow straight through your own strike is clear.
---That sort of thing is the Cross Method after all, overwhelm everything about your opponent with your own 'self.' As far as the memories shown, Joanna Cross should not be inferior to Suzume Oshino in this sort of struggle, if anything the natural prodigy that existed inside of this body should be the superior of the two.
For that reason they expect to win, for that reason-
"...What-?!"
-They are surprised when the two magics meet, and their expectations fall to pieces around the floor; a burst of azure force that overwhelms it's tainted brethren, plowing straight through the expulsion of power with a superior variation on that same technique.
---The difference lay in how they had approached the scenario.
Simply using anything it could get it's hands on, the curse had seen no need to improve on anything due to possessing a superior host; Joanna Cross was about as good a body as they could hope for, if utilized correctly, absolutely nothing, from the Gods borne from humanity, to those that existed far beyond the stars, would be able to get in their way, and yet...
Where that power represents the culmination of a certain past, it's only because Suzume thinks of the future that she is successful; to be human is to strive ever forward, a power that existed in the past had proven not to be enough, and thus she had improved it with the idea of protecting this 'future.'
Adapt or fail.
Evolve or die.
"Ugh?!"
That is a lesson that this world is only now beginning to take to heart, and stuck in the past as it was, the winner is obvious from the second that strike is launched, or at least:
"Ha...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"
That is what should have happened; the launched power tears straight through it's lesser brethren and slams into Joanna Cross, but the insanity of reality is revealed a moment later, as she 'catches' the strike rather than simply be overwhelmed by it, in other words:
"EX-!"
"-CALIBUR: REIMYAKU!"
She buys herself enough time to reveal the true power of her sacred sword-!
-Excalibur Reimyaku ~ False Holy Sword of the Sea-
The sword owned by Joanna Cross, gifted to her by Elizabeth Rosanna Lagerkvist upon her first day as a knight of the church. Said to have been forged with pieces of the original Excalibur, like the other blades of the Rose Cross, it's powers as a holy armament are nevertheless close to the original due to interaction with the sword of William Levilius, and it seems to be able to serve as an "amplification device," as well as a "Gate to the Soul Sea," for Joan.
While a powerful holy sword, it's true purpose is to serve as a final limiter for the essence of Joan of Arc that resides within her soul, blocking the holy maiden's memories and grudges from affecting her current incarnation by restricting her negative emotions while in use.
Particularly powerful emotions -or outside influences- however, could overcome this seal; while meant as a positive boon, it seems that having her negative emotions 'dampened' somewhat have made her less able to effectively deal with the curse once it took root inside of her body.
And just like that, what was going to be an easy victory for one side returns to being an endless struggle for the both of them; while she had failed to properly utilize the past in order to build the future, the introduction of her ever faithful blade is one that the possessed heroine uses to overcome her impending defeat-! As an armament, it allows easier acceleration and control of her inborn holy flames, and simply pouring her power through it allows her to use it as a sort of 'lens' all her own, thus-!
The struggle tears apart the scenery.
With much of the city evacuated due to prior emergencies, it is only that lack of life that stops the surrounding area from becoming a calamity all it's own as forces equalize after a time of struggle; now that she's struck back, it's become necessary for you to continue to funnel power throughout your body or risk being blown away, but even as that deep ache takes hold again...
---Neither you nor her hold a direct advantage. The power difference isn't great enough for one to be able to overcome the other either through 'bursts' of power or speed, and thus it becomes a battle of stamina, of endurance...
And for you, that is the worst possible scenario.
---While the power of Eclipse was high, there was no ESPer alive that could maintain such an elevated state perpetually; transforming yourself in a more core sense had made the burden easier to bear, but the time when you have to 'change back' will certainly appear at some point in the future, sooner, rather than later, judging by how much much you were forcing out of yourself and-
In that sense she can outlast you.
The curse doesn't turn itself out to protect the host, it could care less; if she burns out than she burns out.
---It's easy for it to throw people away.
Even so...
Even though that grim laugh erupts throughout the area as it feels your soul start to 'flicker' beneath the stress of all of this, you feel perfectly calm, after all...
"Sorry for the wait, this power's a bit hard to work with, but I'm ready-! Can't get completely shown up just yet-!"
Only a single thing is needed to tip the scales in the favor of one of you.
-Starlight-
A mysterious form of spiritual power that seems to be born from the union of humanity's positive and negative emotions; a silver light that acknowledges conflict and reality without also losing sight of hope. A pure energy, it serves as a sort of power source for ESPers in times of crisis, and represents the world standing behind them as support; enables longer use of the Eclipse State, and is particularly effective against "Gods of Darkness," such as Nyarlthotep or Amatsu-Mikabushi. Grows stronger with Humanity's Will, and when ESPers work together, bolster their powers heavily. ESPers such as Hitoshira Nagi are capable of weaponizing it directly, but most ESPers simply use it as a "power source," or to add "Humanity's Will" to their own.
Precursor to the "True Eclipse." Those who bear this light can easily override other Eclipse Powers that aren't blessed with it; as it exists as a counterbalance to it, even "The Kyuubi's Curse" can be removed from individuals through it's use.
A counter-curse.
The power that she manifests puts out black flames that shouldn't be possible to snuff it.
The feeling that exists within it... Is hope.
Of course, being a Cross, it is a counter-curse that exists in the shape of a supernatural strike, a wave of silver light that binds itself to your own strike; it has no need to fight against it, as both powers exist for a common goal, they simply bind together into a singular strike, a perfectly balanced 'will' opposing those black flames of chaos, and-
-Sensing that now is the time, a last burst sends it through it's counterpart before the target can really react to it.
The explosion rocks the city, as the last 'remnants' of a God that had already been defeated...
Joins it's other selves in the darkest depths of a Soul Sea, banished by a light that is far too bright.
---That is the result that should come about after a direct hit. The sense of 'victory' that erupts within you as you can confirm a direct strike, becomes something close to dizziness and nausea as both body and soul start complaining about this 'merge' lasting for far too long; you flicker more as things start to recede, as your body tells you to turn it off now or risk not being able to move for the foreseeable future, and yet-
"...!"
While the attack that had struck her dead-on had been more than capable of leveling the city, the sound of approaching footsteps reveals a very conscious form of Joanna Cross; the speed is beyond what both you and this battle-damaged Liane are able to put up so fast, and thus-
The flying tackle that drops the three of you to the ground simply can't be helped.
---Instincts almost have your on-the-edge-of-consciousness-body trying to punch her off immediately; the charge is so fast that the mind immediately registers it as an attack, but-
"..."
-It's nothing of the sort.
---It's a rare vulnerability.
Arms pinning the both of yours to her side, the girl seems to be sobbing into her sister's chest; judging by the muffled sounds and the tears...
Something like... "I'm sorry..."
Is probably being ranted over and over again, and...
Liane does her best to rub her back with pinned arms, before glancing over at you and...
"Thank you."
Mouths something that's easy for you to understand.
"How many more fights are people going to get into tonight?! It's so unprofessional! The doctors are stressed enough as is-!"
...In the distance, a complaining voice, and along with it...
The footsteps of more people approach...
Sounds like...
A hospital soon...
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
---A Clock Tower face that bears only nine engravings.
It is a haunted image, a countdown to the apocalypse amongst stormy skies; so it is only natural for such a thing to appear behind the eyes once they close, a constant grim reminder of the 'reality' that has appeared to the world...
It's silent vigil could easily cast nightmares, and for many that is what it does... In this world filled with Death it becomes Death in and of itself, a timer towards oblivion, a mark on the conscious that is so great it cannot be ignored, and for that reason it not only invades your eyelids, but the surface of your dreams as well, swooping towards it as if from a bird's eye view, the you that has not meant to fall asleep does so without conscious thought of it.
---Below the face-plates, is a massive spider web.
Inside of that web, lie hundreds butterflies. The image is disturbing on a fundamental level; while you cannot tell whether or not the butterflies are dead, the truth that cannot be denied is that they are -at the very least- motionless, a stillness that might as well be death, the stillness of something being preserved rather than consumed -as if from a spider's collection- and from them, droplets of something -water perhaps- glide towards the front of the web, and to a single...
Struggling...
Blue Butterfly.
It's wings are the same color as that of the Sea of Souls, a gradient blue that flickers with all of the other colors of reality; it is caught, it has been caught in this web for a very long time, and now that it has begun to struggle so feverishly it is only a matter of time until it attracts the attention of the spider. What would you say to such a thing? Those that are already caught should perhaps submit to their fate, after all, none of the other butterflies managed to escape that web...
It is better to bide one's time until one is noticed naturally perhaps, one will not escape that way, but they might continue to exist for awhile, and yet... As if seeing something on the horizon...
It struggles.
It struggles.
You blink.
You struggle along with it, a part of that machine called the 'butterfly' and-
---
---With a start, you come to your senses.
It had been about an hour. It is not your senses that tell you this, but rather the chime of distant clockwork in other parts of the house; the water remains hot rather than warm, a sign that someone -Belial- had been keeping this going in your place while you slept, but the demon is no longer there, he is simply vacant from his half of the tub, and yet the feeling that you get is that this is a new occurrence, in other words...
---It just got up a moment ago.
And as if to prove that theory correct, the moment you consider it...
A door softly clicks shut as he leaves the room.
There's a clear sense of purpose in it's steps, not aimless wandering as you had done before, but steps that carry it forward towards completing a sort of objective, and while it's difficult for you to tell what that objective is...
It seems...
He's heading for the Front Gate.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
"I see, everyone is in agreement then... We certainly did become trapped in a loop of sorts."
It seems her goal had been to confirm it without a shadow of a doubt. While she had become aware of this scenario through a number of different sources, a part of her hadn't wanted to believe it, or had simply been paranoid about being 'manipulated' in another direction that didn't lead to the truth, but...
It had come from enough sources.
There was no way everyone was compromised, thus:
"So this is how things could have been..."
The Goddess herself doesn't seem to be in the picture, but she seems capable of appreciating it for what it is; it's the happy memory of someone made manifest, a photo taken with one's friends at the height of their happiness... Likely amidst some sort of festival, judging by the sight of fireworks in the skies of the distant horizon, and...
"The one responsible for the loop is in this image."
She knows who it is, your instincts tell you the same thing; whoever was responsible had made a deal with the Devourer, if nothing else, such a person would likely appear as one of the 'final opponents' tomorrow, even if not of their own will, and-
"I suppose they must be saved as well."
-She simply states such a thing like a fact, and then:
"As for the photo, I agree, I am somewhat jealous... I am not in this one."
Of course she wouldn't be present in it...
This world's original purpose was a world for humanity and humanity alone, a Goddess, even a friendly one, was not likely to be involved in the movements of humans in such a world, and thus-!
With a snap of her fingers, an older camera -Polaroid, instant- appears in her hands.
"...I want to be in this one."
---Childish.
Beneath that mature and wise aura, a somewhat childish goddess exists.
---It's not completely unexpected.
"Although there's a lot of us... I wonder if they'll agree?"
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
The words themselves seem to trigger a change in that aquatic canvas.
The lights that had been so still begin to streak across the surface of the lake, as if the lights themselves were aware of the many emotions drifting atop the surface of their lake. In many ways they are not real stars, they are the stars that exist inside of the heart, the stars that humanity makes for themselves when their true counterparts seem to disappear; and yet their existence itself is one that heralds a single truth-
"Together, huh?"
-That the light of her smile can shine even brighter than them, the brightest star of them all.
---What is in a wish?
Are they impossible hopes, or a way of giving shape to the path one wishes to follow until the end... To throw a light into the future, or make manifest a single simple prayer in hopes that someone will answer...
There are many things inside of a wish.
Many things to wish for; all of them she is willing to fight to the death for, but...
Eyes wander over the sparkling ocean. It is not a normal sight, it is a miracle that exists for their sake; a small movement of lights made manifest by those that hold a sense of warmth even now, but in spite of it's rarity...
Her eyes stay on you for far longer.
---That is where her 'answer' appears.
"Alright... My wish..."
Intertwined hands squeeze, ever so gently.
"I want us to still be together at the end of this; as long as that prayer is answered... I can't ask for anything else."
---It's a cliche, but it's one she's more than willing to embrace.
It's a wish that will inevitably extend far beyond it's original boundaries, that will move to 'protect' everyone close to her; but here, when she's looking at you...
In that moment...
It was a wish to protect the one that made up her 'world.'
---Yes, it's certainly a cliche, but-
That crimson-tinged smile... Can't be called anything but the truth.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
The answer was a firm: Probably not. While the usual trip aboard the Kyoko-Express was a blur of motion and terror-filled adrenaline, the Kyoko that shoots you a mischievous grin as you give in to her whims and leap into her arms, is one that goes about things at a much more reasonable pace.
---She takes the long way around, as if wanting to see as much of the city as possible before returning not to the campsite -as you had expected- but rather to the home that you had seemed to spend less and less time in over the past few weeks. There's a lot of activity, a lot of civilian life, all running around with an energy and passion that had seemed so drained away months before; there is no one fearing the monsters that lurk in the alleyways, merely humans with a mission to save and comfort as many of their fellow humans as possible, and in that respect...
---Humanity's best sides come out at these times.
At the end of tragedies, as if the receding darkness reveals the brightest lights.
When pushed towards the edge... That is when humanity shines the brightest.
---There are lights on when you arrive at home, and something resembling a suit of armor -or some sort of mech from an anime- in the driveway. The house was not particularly far from the park, so it is not unheard of that Claire would make her way back here, and...
---Somehow it feels right.
Going back through the motions of a far more normal day, one more time, before everything is decided for good...
There's no moon, but the lights illuminate the driveway.
---Three-Clock.
---Five hours remain.
Inside...
Claire lies draped over the kitchen table, and Yoko-Sensei (who seems to have followed her home)...
Is seemingly asleep on the couch.
Last edited by Airen; August 19th, 2018 at 07:03 PM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Interlude
Those Who Face The Future
"Clock-Tower II"
---The tower begins to sound at six-o-clock.
It's a deep resonant gong that echoes -literally- around the entirety of the planet itself; it is a sound that truly marks the beginning of the final hours, a time for those that had been resting to awaken once more, or to shake themselves from their reverie and prepare to face what must be their own Creator.
It is a warning, nothing more.
For that God's purposes, there is nothing to be gained from launching a surprise attack on humanity. Even to those who have only glimpsed it a single time, that much of it's motivations is clear; it wants to face humanity at their best.
Is it out of respect for them? A final goodbye from a God that had watched over their endless struggles with a trained eye? A desire to reassert what it means to be a True God to those that would dare try to surpass it's unparalled divinity? Or is there something more to it, a hidden motive that would not and could not be revealed until the time is right...?
It is impossible to say.
Impossible to know.
All those that have chosen to fight can do...
Is prepare to step into the future.
---}i{---
In the end, Koizumi Sora -Geirin Kuzunoha- is a Demon Summoner.
It is her duty to be the hero that stands up to defend the world; defeating a God that could obliterate reality is not something that humanity has never done, the sheer fact that they continue to exist now is proof that other humans have defied "Absolute Gods" in the past, even so...
There had been a certain sense of unease.
All it takes is a single failure.
Even so... In the end, she was a Demon Summoner. Attempting to do preparations like Nakamura or Cross, those direct magical counters, was not and never would be her forte. Digging around in books would accomplish little, just as her goddaughter had said it would, so...
Instead...
"Then the contract is sealed... I'll be counting on you, Masakado."
She does what is natural to her, reuniting with the "Guardian Deity" that had been her sword once before...
In a time long removed from this one.
---}i{---
There had been no body to bury, but she had made him a memorial anyway.
A new name etched into a stone monument, another exorcist joining the hundreds of others who had fallen on that day eight years ago... For her it is an unexpected tale, if nothing else, she had expected that he would be the one to one day mourn her, and yet, in the end...
Here she was...
It's bitter. She had come out here alone so that no one would see her cry, and yet, at the end of it all, her heart had not sank beneath despair.
There were still things she needed to do, not just for his sake, but for her own.
What did she want?
It was a question that haunted her ever since she had been asked it so directly, and it had brought forth lots of memories that were both painful and heartwarming. Living for her own sake... That was what he had wanted her to do, and something she had forgotten how to do, in the mess that was this world, this repeating tragedy, the impending doom of an absolute apocalypse, but...
Now... She was starting to remember... Who "Gisela Seyfarth" was...
"...Moron."
Speaking to an empty monument, she somehow knows that his soul must be listening anyway.
Her words will reach him.
"Cuter in glasses huh? Those were you last words? Well, I guess I'll put em back on..."
---In the end, it's still hard for her to be completely honest.
But to live not just for others, but also for her own sake... And to not remain alone.
Those had been his wishes... And now that she thought about it...
They were her own as well...
"So smile... I'll finish all of this, so..."
Taking his bow with her, the ESPer known for being the "Strongest," starts back towards camp.
"...you can rest easy."
---}i{---
A former villain hears the deep bells, and watches a sky full of gathering clouds; an approaching storm that won't just cover this city, but the entirety of Planet Earth as well in a show of casual omnipotence.
---To him, this is a scenario he has feared for a long time.
Far more than his current self would ever truly be able to comprehend, and yet his heart does not falter.
---He had promised.
To give it his all one last time, and believe in the "power" that had defeated him. It is impossible for humanity to defeat the Devourer, and yet, beyond that impossibility, lies a happy ending that he would like to reach...
---Reaching that impossibility was humanity's specialty.
If the chance is zero, than change that zero.
Nothing more, nothing less.
---Soon, his presence will become necessary. Others will see him before they deploy, even so...
He has no intention of running away, he will face the consequences of his own actions.
---For Ryota Yagami, that too was an important promise to keep.
---}i{---
"...COMPs huh? And these models even seem to come with some pretty absurd powers."
---For Kazuya, such things bring back a simple nostalgia.
Devices that always seem to appear when the world teeters on the edge of destruction, the feeling of one clasping his wrist brings back overflowing memories -not all pleasant- and yet he acknowledges the necessity of it in spite of his slight dislike for it.
---After all, he had chosen to fight.
It was something of a whim at first, and yet now, wanting to believe that others would succeed where he failed, a former "Messiah" -one who has been long forgotten- sits alone, watching a darkening sky as he ponders his own future.
---A chuckle.
...In the end, it probably doesn't matter.
As long as he protects those he had sworn to protect, than his own fate was somewhat irrelevant.
And he would protect her.
Above all other things, no matter how much of himself he had to throw away, he would protect her...
As well as the world she had come to love.
---So there was nothing for him to worry about, merely another "Creator" to defeat.
Even thinking about it so casually, so calmly, as he had done many times before...
His knuckles turn white in their grip on his ever-faithful blade, and-
-The drone of the clock-tower continues on...
All stories head towards their absolute conclusion.
Interlude Out
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
One can only bide time for so long. Inaction under the guise of ‘patience’ is a death called upon oneself. Struggling to pull out of that web, to unravel that silken chamber of certain demise, that butterfly…
Should become the hunter.
Do not be like the rest. Pull against the trap, call the spider down, lure it to you, butterfly. Do not let it arrive on its terms. Bring it into a violently shaking, chaotic web that it thinks itself to be the master of.
And then?
Little blue butterfly, devoid of fangs, of claws, of venomous stingers or vile discharges… harmless creature, fated only to be prey, what will you do? You, who are helpless in this spider’s web, choose to fight with no way to win. Should the creator of this snare descend upon you, leg over spindly leg, bringing its paralyzing fangs and its spinneret ready to tighten the noose around your flamboyant, radiant wings, what will you do?
Perhaps you shouldn’t struggle.
Hope that it takes no notice of your peril, that you forever live in stasis, trapped in the silk as though frozen in time. For this is a fight you cannot win, a battle you are fated to lose.
Yet still, you struggle. You, who know this. Little butterfly, you call the spider down upon you to try and defy it.
You, who bear no arms, yet challenge that which is meant to end you...
Are the same as I.
---
---With a start, Saki’s mind snapped back into place, senses returning to her. Or perhaps, her mind returning to her senses.
The bell’s toll throbs against her ears.
One hour.
The hectic bubbling of her once-boiled bath had calmed into a still, steaming yet palatable bath. Lingering warmth still enveloped her, leftovers from the Demon who had occupied it along with her. A footsteps, and a click of the door draw her attention to his departure. Wordless, yet full of purpose.
Splashing water into her eyes to shake off the doldrums of her mental lapse, her strange dream, Saki exited the bath. For all that her senses told her of Belial’s intent, to reach the front gate, the girl still takes the time to savor the last moments of bathing.
Meticulously patting herself dry in silence, combing her hair, and making sure that her new change of clothes is unruffled and wrinkle-free, the bath’s mistress opened the door to follow in the Demon’s footsteps.
"I see, everyone is in agreement then... We certainly did become trapped in a loop of sorts."
Yes.
It's true, that we were in a loop, a cycle within a cycle, an endless repeat of events that have already happen, could have happened, and will have happened. The tales of Hitoshira Nagi and Ryota Yagami are almost as old as time itself - a dance that repeated itself dozens of times until one party grew tired of it, and moved on.
"So this is how things could have been..."
I glance at the photo, once more. A picture is worth a thousand words.
And these festivities speak for themselves, even though my lips don't even twitch in this one.
"The one responsible for the loop is in this image."
My body freezes. She knows. She can't possibly be wrong. But just because of that -- !!!
"I suppose they must be saved as well."
Ah...
"..."
I don't say a word.
She's... She's really a good person, isn't she?
"As for the photo, I agree, I am somewhat jealous... I am not in this one."
I smile at the woman who had stolen my power, and forced me to replace it with a demon. She's...
"...I want to be in this one."
---Childish.
"Although there's a lot of us... I wonder if they'll agree?"
"Mah mah," I say, looking at the photo in my hands, lazily releasing my ax as a hand of silver picks it up and rests it on an invisible shoulder, scratching my head as I look at it. "I doubt that any of the people here would deny you anything, Goddess. But beyond that..."
There's someone in this photo I have to meet.
Even if everyone else will hurt them.
Even if everyone else will decry them.
Even if everyone else stands against them-!!!
I will definitely save 'the person who made a deal with the Devourer.'
It's the only thing that's true to me, right now, in this time, with all the souls that mill about in the Sea inside of me, that the fragment of a truth that made me the weakest Esper remains --
"I'll definitely save them."
No objections, right?
No qualifiers, right?
So even if they're a monster, even if they're cruel, even if they're the sort of sick and twisted type of person who, right as the Devourer is defeated, cackles maniacally and tries to take over the world -- well, I'll just have to crush some sense into them, won't I? That's no issue.
My lips twitch. "I suppose I've got a sort of 'saving people thing', in the end. I can't help myself but try to salvage the unsalvageable."
And yet...
Not once did I try to do so with the dark Goddess who had stolen my ghosts. Shame washes over me like a sheet of rain, and I flinch, looking up sorrowfully at the woman before me.
"I... I'm sorry I didn't try harder, to pull you out of your despair. Would... would you mind so terribly if I asked for your forgiveness?"
in the end we will make thoughtcrime impossible, for there shall be no words to express it
#THELEGENDNEVERDIES
[01:05.15] <@Spinach> I can flash gang signs faster than Sasuke can perform ninjutsu and I rap like Medea's High Speed Divine Words.
While the question of where it is going is one that ignites a natural curiosity, the desire to also enjoy this time for what it was proves to be the stronger of the two desires. There is no reason to worry, while a more heroic individual might try and sneak off for the purposes of fighting the 'last boss' alone for the sake of preserving their friends, there is little chance of that being Belial's Goal...
It was not foolish enough for that sort of thing, and so you take your time.
An empty hallway, an empty house; while you had half expected your family to return here at least one more time, it seems that both the head butler and the head of the household had remained at the scene. For what purpose could only be guessed at, perhaps it was something as simple as watching over rescue efforts or making battle plans, but neither of them had returned here...
At least not for any considerable length of time.
---In a way, it feels like you're leaving this place for what could be the final time; the idea of turning around and returning to the bed or the bath was one that simply didn't appeal, the chimes of clocks were reminders of a showdown that was mere hours away, and Belial's movements are not those of someone who would attempt to rest for any longer.
When you join him at the gate, that will likely be that:
And so you do.
---It's certainly out there, but not in it's usual prideful stance, no:
It's on one knee, not out of any real sense of obedience, but rather because it had been struck so hard in the stomach that it had been forced to kneel... While this is the impression you get, the scene also doesn't feel particularly hostile in a 'fatal' way, rather...
It feels like a 'family argument.'
With demons... Overpowering each other was probably the way these sorts of things went amongst themselves.
"...Surprising, I had thought you would want to come along with me."
Standing before him, the likely cause of the damage, was a tall blonde woman whose aura was a complete and utter mystery.
It didn't radiate power, and yet the lack of such a thing was probably the most intimidating aspect of it's existence; it is simply there, it simply exists, someone that had punched a Prince of Hell in the stomach, and had more or less put them down in that same single hit.
"The last portion of the task was a failure. The Devourer was able to reemerge, however, the demons were freed... It is an acceptable result, albeit a somewhat regrettable loss of humans... Your power will not recover in time. You need to retreat before you are caught up in the destruction, I will ensure you can escape the Devourer's Grasp."
A stoic voice that nevertheless seems to care somewhat about the demon before it, and-
"...Since when... Did you give a damn... Lucifer?"
-Ah.
So that was what it was...
Who this thing was...
"Since when did you run into battles you cannot win?"
---A "Prince of Hell" is meeting with the "Demon King."
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
The blinding light still filled her vision with dancing lights well after it had faded. It was not the only aftereffect she had been left with. THe smell of cinders had become so strong it had created a feeling quite similar to an acidic burn in her nose by now, in addition to what smelled like the ozone announcing a storm that had already passed.
She tried her best focusing on these sensations as the alternative was realizing what she had done to her arm. It had been rather painless during the process, but as the two sisters had their heart to heart, her pulse had just enough time to calm down, and in the process feeling had returned to her arm. In particular one specific feeling: stinging pain.
The fact that she was now tightly pulled into a show of affection that she should pay full attention to was making this quite awkward.
"Thank you."
There was probably something more tactful she could've said in that moment, maybe something appreciative of this situation or something that could've comforted the crying girl or her stressed sister.
Her response was prefaced by a sharp inhale "...you're hurting my arm..."
"...and you're welcome."
"How many more fights are people going to get into tonight?! It's so unprofessional! The doctors are stressed enough as is-!"
Having found an outlet for this awkward situation Suzume immediately focused her attention on the new arrival.
"Hi! Yes! Hospital! Sounds good!"
She could feel her "existence" unravel. It was probably a good time to rest, for what little time she still had anyway.
---At this point, you can't find it in yourself to be completely surprised at the world's absurdity.
While your sense of normalcy had been shattered eight years ago with the appearance of monster foxes and youkai, it was the past few weeks that had really begun to strip away normalcy in all of it's layers. The SDCD, entire legions of enemy ESPers, ghost cities full of the ghosts of those who had died in the original Aoyama... All of those things had been somewhat ghost based, you could accept them all as branches from each other, but...
This was an airship.
The humans that had appeared to retrieve you had been by no means normal; they had reminded you of SDCD members with their manner of dress, suits and military fatigues, but their accents had been German, and along with their foot soldiers...
Had been machines -vehicles- that could only be described as mechs.
---In other words, the world had proven to essentially be something out of an anime. They had taken you back to the memorial park, where an airship -something that also seemed straight out of a scifi- seemed to be serving as a makeshift hospital in the aftermath of the incident that had struck not only this city, but the entirety of Planet Earth itself.
That's right.
While you had only been forced to confront a portion of it yourself, it seems that the reemergence of the Kyuubi had led to World-Wide Damages this time around... Aoyama itself was a mess of scorches and flooded waters, but there were reports of "shadow giants" and "meteor storms" in other parts of the world, a result it seems, of not just the Kyuubi, but also that "shadow being" that had possessed first Aya and then Joanna...
According to Liane, that being's name had been "Nyarlathotep."
They had had to defeat it a number of times, since it had been, as she put it "persistent."
She couldn't confirm or deny it being that "Eldritch God," she had seemed to believe it was simply another manifestation of the same 'curse' that had birthed the Kyuubi, in other words...
Everyone's negativity.
A Dark God Born of Humanity's Negative Feelings and Impulses; you had been able to theorize it was something like that after crossing paths with it twice, but to hear it confirmed made it retroactively clear how dangerous that situation actually was...
---It also made it clear that you hadn't managed to kill it.
At best, all humans could do was kill it temporarily. If it was truly made from negative feelings, then as long as humanity itself exists it would just be reborn again and again even if it was killed, but still...
This time, the darkness had been beaten back; this time everyone had been able to fight it back. While the damages are still severe, the feeling is not quite the same as it had been eight years ago...
It feels like a more balanced victory.
Humanity itself has become aware of the truth, the incident was so big that no one could cover it up anymore, and all things considered, it was probably for the best.
The future was going to change.
Shadow heroes weren't going to just save the day and disappear into the night with no one the wiser, the status quo was shattered, the secrets were out of the box and there was no way to put them back into it.
---But it's also not over.
A lot had happened to the others while you and Joan had been stuck in your own portion of the battle. The others were aware of the Devourer now, as well as Chronos, and not only that...
It had told everyone it was going to end the world tomorrow morning; in other words...
The reason everyone was gathering in this place, is because they're going to assault it tomorrow morning in an attempt to avert that fate... All things considered the chances don't look good, it seemed the plan everyone was going with was to use magi-tech to copy it's 'factors' and use them against it; if the power boost was anything similar to what you had gotten from pseudo-absorbing Chronos it might be enough to put everyone on a "God" level, but...
---Chronos and the Reporter had described the Devourer as something close to "Omnipotent."
---Something like that doesn't go down easily.
The sound of a bell lets you know you'll be released from your binds soon...
You had been inside one of many healing pods, and the Cross Sisters had been in nearby ones. It -like many other things on the ship- seemed like something entirely out of an anime; the experience had been akin to floating in a vat of a mysterious clear liquid, watching television screens that danced across the surface of the glass, and yet just like in an anime your body had been completely restored when you're released, hell...
The skin was all around flawless.
If you had held any childhood scars, they were long gone now.
---Another ding, and a light flares from red to green as Liane Cross is also released from her capsule. Clothes had been provided for the process -a white t-shirt and shorts- and yet, just like in the hot spring, she doesn't seem to feel any sort of self consciousness as she flips golden hair out of her eyes.
"...Been in one of these things twice tonight."
The experience had been strange but not unpleasant, but she hadn't seemed to enjoy it very much...
"You feeling alright...?"
Joan had been damaged the most, and thus had to spend the longest inside of her pod, still...
Well aware that a lot had been dropped on you all of a sudden, the teacher continues to act as a responsible one.
Last edited by Airen; August 21st, 2018 at 07:35 PM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Tucked cozily against Kyoto the world dissolves into a swirling mess of colours and sounds. The roar of the wind, the blending of sky and ground and a view of people running everywhere. Funny …or maybe it was weird? So much energy that they’re only displaying now. Silly people, silly, silly people could have shown it off a bit earlier! Least they were remembering to do it now I guess. Strange people and a strange journey. For some reason Kyoto was actually only going Swaaaaaaaaaaam instead of SWOOOOOOOOOM …wasn’t bad for a change actually. We would take longer to get back but the somewhat lower speed gave and extra depth of pretty to the landscape. Pretty stars blending with pretty lights all now somewhat more distinct set against a backdrop of the sounds of wind and people, it was something that I wish Ane-san, Sensei, and Megane were here to see as well.
One, two, three… Nyahaha five, seven, five I did it ~~.
Giggling in pride as I work out the small poem inspired by the burred and beautiful scenery around me I proclaim it aloud. Twinkling stars, a cool wind, buzzing people, enduring trees, lights refracting off glass, an overlooking view from these rooftops. It was something sorta made me wish we could stop to take a picture, our shared memory will do though.
Homey, home an unexpected final destination, I would have thought Kyoto would head back to everyone else but yet it just feels… comforting. Yeah, homey home home. One with something strange parked outside though…
Ane-san…
Inspecting, poking, and analyzing the strange device I wonder just what Ane-san and the rest have been up too. Was this what Ane-san had needed me for ealier?
“We’re home.”
Whispering our return as I open and tip toe through the door I find a sight that was unexpected yet also one I expected once I saw the lights on.
“Ane-san crash…
Mmm, Kyoto can sit if she wants to I’ll make something after, just going to go put Ane-san to bed properly.”
Ane-san is warm, Ane-san is always there, Ane-san is smart, Ane-san is so many things but Ane-san is also the complete opposite of all those things…
Sighing I gently carry the slumbering princess who never takes proper care of herself to the proper bed she never seems to use unless I force her. Proper bed, clothes changed, covers covering until everything is snuggly and cozy. Mmmmmhm mission accomplished!
Returning to the kitchen, turning down the lights as I go I begin to get the ingredients and glasses that I need. Something warm, something sweet! Something to share with Kyoto as we relax in the living room.
“Sorry Kyoto Ane-san never has enough energy to properly go to bed after she crashes.” Whispering my apology, I hand her the hot chocolate I made for her and take a seat. “Sorry Ane-san likes coffee but that never tastes good so instead I made us this.”
…
A darkened house, a quiet room, the two of us and…
A rather big problem who should also know better sleeping on a couch.
“Mmm what do you think we should do about Sensei? She won’t feel good if she sleeps there. …You think we should take her to bed? Could use mine to avoid disturbing Ane-san and Ane-san’s pajamas should fit.”
Debating about just what to do with someone who should know better
Ba-dum, ba-dum, snooze, snooze, tick tock, tick tock. The faint noises from us and everything around produce a strange, yet after everything we’ve gone through, comforting atmosphere.
Mmm… I’m starting to notice that we haven’t been keeping up with cleaning this past while have we. Should do that soon, Ane-san attracts messes like magic …Should I do it after we take care of Sensei? Mhmhm I wonder why that thought is so funny…
“Did you want anything else to snack on Kyoto?”
Gently leaning against Kyoto I gaze as Sensei’s sleeping face.
---With the princess taken care of, the one that remains as an obvious 'oddity' is the Goddess that has taken residence on the couch.
It's rather difficult to think of her in that way; while Sensei had turned out to be a Goddess in the end, there had been little to no change in her demeanor or voice afterwards that implied that "Yoko" was a false persona, something she had been putting on for the simple sake of a disguise... In other words...
Sensei still feels like Sensei, and-
"...Well, are we sure she's asleep?"
-In that sense Kyoko is hesitant to approach; in some ways Yoko-sensei was a more intimidating presence than a blatant Goddess would be... She had been tired all the time at school, but when she had napped, whatever area she had taken said nap in had more or less become her own zone, in other words...
Waking her up was a risky prospect... Not to mention...
"..."
She had been faking sleep the last time too.
-Poke.
-Poke.
-Poke.
Wise to the ways of funny business nowadays, you brave the storm and poke to make sure she won't wake up and grapple one of -or the both of- you the moment you try to move her around, and in response to that-
"...I'll have you know I like the couch. Beds are a too modern convenience."
...Sensei speaks without twitching her body at all, so perfectly still that it was almost like she was talking in her sleep.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
As far as some others were concerned it probably wasn't okay; Kae and the Knights for instance would have likely moved heaven and earth for the purposes of saving their lady, and if someone else hadn't come along to shake her out of her reverie, it was possible she would have become another opponent during the "night of darkness," one that, unlike the Kyuubi had held powers that "hope" couldn't counter, and yet...
There is no blame from her.
---Really, that's not something she feels people can be blamed for; she had to take a certain amount of self-responsibility for running away from her problems and giving into her despair so easily.
"We will call it my dramatic phase... How do you humans put it...? Angst phase?"
She hadn't been created with emotions, but rather, had developed them over time due to her innate "human potential."
Loss and other emotional pains had been particularly crippling as a result, new sensations that her self from back then had been unprepared to deal with, but now...
Now she could function as the "True Messiah" she had always been intended to be by a certain ancient scientist...
...Or perhaps simply a somewhat dorky guardian goddess.
"We were both going through such things, I must also apologize for failing to support you correctly... So those meetings will be a secret between us; our dark "teenager" phase if you will... Yes. Teenager... That's about the age, correct?"
---She must be thousands of years old, even so...
...She does kinda act like a teenager.
---}i{---
Spoiler:
Joanna Cross (!) - Safety Confirmed
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
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