Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

**Satehi** · April 12th, 2022, 07:21 AM

Eva Ellet
Saint Vivienne ~ Dormitories
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

Under normal circumstances, Eva would have been relieved to see Catherine. Overjoyed, even.

In the back of her mind, she had been rather worried since it was taking Catherine an unusually long time to arrive. And considering the situation she was just in, Eva naturally felt safer to have more familiar faces around her-

- that was what would have happened under normal circumstances.

Right now, Eva felt no particular relief.

Instead, since it had become very clear that her adversary was well equipped against Eva, Catherine’s sudden appearance, along with the fact that the doppelganger appeared to be making no moves only made her feel cautious. It felt too convenient- like it was a trap prepared for her. Certainly, if you asked Eva what the easiest way to make her let her guard down in this situation was, then this would be it.

And so, if that was the intent, then it would have been a failure.

Maintaining her distance and watching the bushes for any signs of movement, Eva gave a quick explanation- not only for the sake of Catherine, but also Diari, who had been summoned. She still had no clue what was going on with the later.

“…Not quite.”

Eva decided against saying that she was now – sort of – fighting alongside the person she was chasing for now. She had no idea what Liesl was up to, and that girl wasn’t a priority anyways.

“Got into some trouble. There’s…” She wasn’t sure how to explain it. “…some strange doppelganger creature. You didn’t see anything on your way here?”

She felt bad about keeping her distance, but she thought it was for the best.

For both of them.

“At any rate, it’s best that you stay on your guard. It looks- sort of? like me, and I don’t really know what else it can do.”

Like making copies of other people, for example. It might have been overly paranoid, but she couldn’t trust that this Catherine wasn’t just the product of some other strange ability to be used against her. Hoping that her reasoning was implicit enough in case this was the real Catherine, she moved a little closer to the slightly less confused Diari, and tried to scan Catherine to make sure everything was normal.

Wise up!

**Airen** · April 14th, 2022, 03:54 PM

Eva Ellet
Saint Vivienne ~ Dormitories
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

---Shadow.

The data that comes back on Catherine in this moment is entirely conclusive about that particular matter. Her reiki readings are a bit different from her usual data, the usual clear blue aura replaced with a dark purple miasma, like a dash of hostile red had been added to the clear blue of a normal person, but at the same time...

This does look like the Catherine that you had been with earlier, yellow eyes and all, the same girl that had talked to you about her supernatural mental afflictions... This could be a manifestation of that, she had, after all, apparently not been taking her medicine to deal with it and Shadow Possession could cause wild shifts in personality and reiki signature, especially when the afflicted is physically hurt by someone or something as she had been back at the dorms, but...

"Trouble?"

Regardless of the slight shift in her spiritual data, she still doesn't seem hostile in the slightest.

Indeed, her initial response to your seeming refusal to come closer to her is simple confusion, confusion that slowly fades away as you continue to speak, and then finally, at the end of it all, she...

"...I see. You have one too."

...Gets an odd tone to her voice, something slow and deliberate, like she wanted to make sure you understood her next words clearly...

"I didn't see it. Ignore it. Don't pay attention to it. It's not real."

...She says something quite strange.

"Come on," Voice soft, she holds out a hand to you, "Let's go back to the dorms. You'll feel better back inside, away from the storm."

It feels a little bit suspicious, especially because you can still feel the monster staring at you from somewhere, in spite of her claims that said monster is not actually real, but...

Catherine also wasn't the lying sort.

---Might be a matter of trust.

"It's okay. I promise."

---

Mokujima Chris
North Pole
???/??/???

"..."

For a moment, the fae's behavior is quite fitting of someone that was impersonating you. The tall figure just stands silently in response to your words that you'll listen if it wants to talk, a very human sentiment that -while sweet- does not often sway those of the UnCommon, those beings intrinsically separated from Humanity at their core, and yet...

"...When you get there it will already be too late for them, best to escape as soon as possible."

It does speak.

Vague, ominous words, but words nonetheless-!

"It might feel bad, no... It'll definitely feel bad to see what's happening and do nothing, but escape should be the top priority."

It closes its eyes.

"Best not to die in that place, it wouldn't go well for you."

The figure of your reflection shrugs.

"Having to adopt the boy if you did would be a pain, best to hit Ruina from the start, with a few friends on your side."

Silence.

"That's all I wanted to say."

...So it was worrying about you, but was also being a vague supernatural being about it, following those unspoken rules that mean an entity will never just say what it means...

---

Blaise Pendragon
Streets, Outside the Soba Shop
11/16/2026
Night, Full Moon

---A slow but measured approach into the screaming darkness.

Locking eyes with the entity, declaring intent with every aspect of the self, choosing to respond to the fragment's almost desperate feeling attacks with an alien, unnatural acceptance.

It is only natural after all, considering what this entity appears to actually be...

---If one thinks about it, there are a number of ways to link that Goddess to a place like this, if this realm was truly a dream or nightmare of some sort, then it was already a place on the precipice of death. Death and Sleep have long been intertwined within the unconscious of humanity, so it seemed possible that that entity could reach out from that side to this one, extend a bit of her power from the Realm of Death to the Realm of Dreams, the second side to the metaphysical coin, however...

Why a shade?

Why the other forms?

Sealed as that entity was in perpetuity, perhaps it could only manifest it's will in such a way? To take the form of 'nightmares' in order to allow it's own existence?

When it can no longer be personal, it attempts the ultimate primal fear instead, that is, Death.

Something the Body can feel even if the Mind cannot, a last ditch effort to maintain existence.

But... Why...?

What was so important here? What was it trying to accomplish?

Simple revenge?

That entity is well known for it's curse after all, but...

---With the knowledge you have, perhaps its simply impossible to say.

Even so, does it really matter?

There are two options that seem like it might work in terms of dealing with her myth, symbolical actions that can sometimes help to turn the tide, one would be fleeing, the other, less concrete one, well...

"..."

The shadow continues it's ceaseless gaze on your form as you approach; it's lucky that her figure here is not a true manifestation of divinity, but something forced into a slapped-together container, the crawling arms of the underworld are countless and horrifying, grasping manifestations of death that should drive primal fear into the mortal mind, that in their truest form would easily drag a thousand humans to their doom, regardless of the selenic force at your back.

---But fear does not break through, it gets close, fear of cessation is a fear that surpasses mind and soul and digs even into the body, but right now, your ability comes out on top.

---Yes.

Eyes closed, you can't even truly see those grasping forms.

But they're there, whispers of the wind on your flesh, chilling grasp at hair or mantle, magic of the element closest to creation's root all around you, surrounding you, driving all back and yet...

Being evaded.

Missing.

"..."

Steps carry you up to the shadow.

It does not move.

Has not moved since your gesture and stance changed... Is it surprised?

Certainly it might be, the normal reaction of life forms would be to run from her presence and pray that she does not notice them or catch up, but...

"..."

Silence.

This time, no blow comes to force you back.

While Death pulls at your heels, it does not touch you just yet.

"Will you come willingly then, Kozō?"

The shadow asks, after a moment.

"It would be better than your future."

It sounds completely sincere.

---But make no mistake.

"Come willingly" in this case can only mean a single thing.

After all, for the prisoner of the Land of Roots there is no true escape.

She can only bring others to herself.

**Airen** · April 14th, 2022, 04:34 PM

Cosmos Fairchild
Rose Cross Headquarters - Inner Gardens
Monday - Morning
11/16/2026

[...I am not much of a big sister.]

Preciel admits mentally, even as control of your limbs returns to you. It's a bit of a bizarre feeling, like your body was a container that your soul had just been poured back into, but flexing your fingers instinctively and finding that they respond it seems that everything is back to normal, still...

[Besides, I am... Well, I suppose I am technically you...]

While her demeanor seems to be pretty consistently of the sort that constantly seems to be judging what you do, you do sort of get the feeling that you have somehow destabilized the entity a bit with your question, as if she hadn't expected you to actually ask her something of that nature...

[No one chooses their own nickname. Call me what you wish.]

...Ultimately, she seems to come to that sort of conclusion-!

[Still, best get used to cognition now, the World has always been made of thoughts] she snorts, seemingly having heard some of your earlier complaints, [Of course it's rare for things to be able to just... Alter things in such a blatant manner... Even odder that the World seems to be doing little about it...]

She mutters some things to herself in your head here, something about the Crawling Chaos or some such, before piping back up with:

[As for your next course of action, well, perhaps deal with the agent that trailed you here? Just like last time, it seems some aspect of your existence made it hard for him to leave you alone... Then again, your face was probably screaming help me]

Eh?

Turning around, as the spirit in your head prods you to do...

---Yep.

In the distance, but steadily walking towards you...

It's Daniel.

Hard to see his expression from here (although it seems like he's thinking pretty hard) but...

He's not hiding from you.

Nope.

Casual march towards you.

And when he sees you see him, well...

He waves.

**Airen** · April 14th, 2022, 04:57 PM

Rossweisse & Hiyori
Aoyama, Tokyo ~ Streets
11/16/2026
Afternoon

"Pictures? Oh sure, I've got one where she's in a chef hat and it's just the cutest thing~"

"..."

Charlotte's expression is that of someone who has just been shot mid-conversation.

A certain widening of the eyes that starts when her aunt chuckles and starts flipping through her shoulder-bag for images of her child self, accompanied with the sharpening of those same eyes as Hiyori spouts back a number of terms she had heard the woman herself say to her back on the SLEIPNIR, and so...

"Hmm, well, can't have my photos known to anyone-!"

...She decides to embrace insanity.

Or rather, the slapstick exit that has been provided to her from a strange, strange topic-!

"You two are coming with me-! I'll never allow it-!"

So saying the woman grabs Ross's wrist, snatches Hiyori out of the air, and-

"Come on, let's go!"

-tries to drag you away?!

**Bloble** · April 14th, 2022, 05:06 PM

Mokujima Chris
North Pole
???/??/???

"...rare."

Mokujima Chris' fingers twitch. Were this reality, she would be tempted to snap a picture of the event and post it to social media with a pithy caption. Instead she merely tilts her head to the side.

"Something you can't laugh at. Must be... serious."

Ominous warnings are not Robin's forte. He is unusual, yes, and certainly knows things one of his stature and station should not, but she has always taken that as a reflection of who he is at his core: a creature that sees the world as a comedy, through a lens that portrays it as a play or story of sorts. But the way he speaks of Ruina is... like one might recall a thoroughly unenjoyable story.

"...thanks. I won't stick around."

Well, if he says so, then it must be true. Though she has never said it, Chris has given this shifty Demon exactly that which ought not to be given: her trust. It is up to him whether to spend or savour it, and thus far he has not once betrayed it. So she'll follow his advice to the letter.

However.

"...Robin."

Her voice is quiet, but it cuts through the snow. A voice she does not often find the will to use.

The way he'd spoken had been just a little off. Par for the course for weirdos and those who knew more than they let on, but notable in this case because it matched up perfectly with something else she'd heard seconds before.

Originally Posted by Alexia Wright

"There may be more places in trouble than just Ruina, but fix one problem at a time. If you leave things half-finished, you might wind up having to start over from the beginning-! Not the worst fate, but I'm sure it'd be rather annoying~"

Originally Posted by Robin

"-best to hit Ruina from the start, with a few friends on your side."

"Puck."

Calling upon a name truer to his being, her eyes narrow, and the full force of Chris' stonefaced glare shines through the snow and wind.

"You know, don't you. What awaits."

This isn't just a prediction, or a judgment based on having been there. If both of them are saying things like this, talking about bringing friends for a problem that is beyond solving, speaking both as if it can be fixed and as if it's too late, talking about starting over from the beginning, then...

"It's happened before, hasn't it."

It is not a question: it is a statement of fact. This is a conclusion that they wanted her to reach, otherwise they wouldn't have been dropping hints about it. There is only one actual question, then. One that encompasses the scope of a problem far, far greater than anything else that had dropped on the lap of Mokujima Chris today.

"How long?"

**Airen** · April 14th, 2022, 06:10 PM

Mokujima Chris
North Pole
???/??/???

"How long?"

In response to the 'confrontation,' or perhaps out of respect for it, the fae returns a burning gaze with one of vague -if tired- amusement.

"...Time. What a human concept."

It chuckles and the snow almost seems to melt in the face of it, in the face of a fae that suddenly feels much more like a fae, the mixing scents of summer and dawn, of a warm summer day's wind moving gracefully through the trees of deepset woods, uncaring for the realm of man that lies beyond it's borders. Indeed, while Robin is the sort of fae that is close to humanity in spirit, that enjoys their company and the many emotions they can bring out in themselves or each other, there are times where it's more primal nature slips and comes to the surface, the practiced face falling to reveal an alien sort of something, an entity that likes humans but keeps a certain distance from them at the same time.

---Ancient being, immortal, unkillable, an idea that dwells in the unconscious and will persist -in one form or another- until that idea itself is obliterated from human memory in it's entirety.

Yes.

It's easy to forget how old demons actually are...

As old as humanity itself.

"I suppose it's all a matter of perspective, like most things in this life."

Still it laughs, perhaps because you feel uncomfortable when it does not?

"Ages come and go, people come and go, time marches on regardless I suppose... And yet the unconscious dwells on the outside, I lose track of these things I'm afraid, time is a bit too meticulous for me most of the time."

Theatrical, as always.

"But for you... Not very long I suppose, less than a day even, although I'm sure it feels much, much longer."

The smile widens.

It doesn't feel quite like the usual one, a tad more... Ambiguous.

"But for Ruina... That place... Who knows? It exists to die. Well, suffer and die, over and over. Humans give off so much more reiki when they're in pain, so naturally, hurt them as much as you can, you see? Then wipe the memories and repeat the process so it's fresh, it always hurt more when it's fresh. Logically, it makes sense."

The smile disappears, and for the first time...

A look of disgust crosses the fae's face, it's eyes gazing at something you can't see, some memory that exists only on the surface behind it's eyes.

"That's how they feed, looking down on them from on high like a particularly demented author of a story."

---Still vague in places, but that distaste for that nebulous they was...

Very real.

**Bloble** · April 14th, 2022, 06:41 PM

Mokujima Chris
North Pole
???/??/???

"...I see."

Chris closes her eyes a moment and imagines it.

Ruina. A place destined to decay and death by its very moniker. So that's what it meant. The scope of this issue is vast indeed. For both Alexia and Robin to be aware of it, and not put a stop to it, this atrocity is surely beyond the scope of a single Tamer's ability to solve. Why, then, has Alexia decided to entrust it to a rookie with not even a year of experience? Why is Robin only now speaking of it? Because the bespectacled woman is the only one present? Or, perhaps because they have interfered with all efforts thus far, and the situation cannot be remedied by an organization of Tamers acting in concert? There is even a third option, one more harrowing than the rest: that the world just works that way, and nothing at all can be done about it.

Ridiculous. "It can't be helped" is the worst phrase ever uttered in the Japanese language.

"What a shitty story."

Demon or Human, it doesn't matter. Chris has never been intimidated by the Fae, though she certainly respects them. Even when it irritates her, she does not begrudge Robin his vagueness and whimsy. While they may be irreversibly different in some ways, they are the same in many respects. Such as distaste for something intolerable.

Both women are, after all, wearing the exact same scowl.

She does not press him further. On the strangeness in her own world, the one Sakurako escaped to. Not yet. Later, perhaps. An answer from a Fae is like a birthday present; it would be rude to ask for another so soon. Besides, her plate seems to be full enough already, and the cold is certainly going to give her frostbite if she lingers any longer.

"...I won't stick around," Chris reiterates. "But... I'll be back."

Time to see what a single rookie Tamer can do.

**palad1n** · April 15th, 2022, 03:20 AM

Cosmos Fairchild
Rose Cross Headquarters - Inner Gardens
Monday - Morning
11/16/2026

Originally Posted by Preciel

[No one chooses their own nickname. Call me what you wish.]

"Then... I'll call you Ciel." Cosmos said as she felt her control over her body returning. Honestly, knowing that her other self can still get caught off-guard is... reassuring, in a way. "Not bad as far as nickname goes, right?"

Though she somewhat feels bad for remembering her name now that it's clear her other self exists with her... Ciel's supposed to be Cosmos, not her.

Originally Posted by Ciel

[Still, best get used to cognition now, the World has always been made of thoughts. Of course it's rare for things to be able to just... Alter things in such a blatant manner... Even odder that the World seems to be doing little about it...]

Cosmos hums in agreement - yet another oddity and mystery that needs to be solved later - while she examines her body, finding that her breathing is now even and she's no longer crying. Ciel's composure and calmness is amazing if she could calm down a body that's experiencing panic attack so effortlessly...

Originally Posted by Ciel

[As for your next course of action, well, perhaps deal with the agent that trailed you here? Just like last time, it seems some aspect of your existence made it hard for him to leave you alone... Then again, your face was probably screaming help me]

Eh?

She turns her head around, and sure enough she could see Mister Daniel casually walking towards her.

And then he waved, and in order to not be rude she quickly stands up and approaches the man, taking care to put the medical center and its crowds out of her sight; the moment she's face to face with the NWAB agent, she gives a deep bow in apology of her earlier behavior.

"Mister Daniel... I'm sorry to be in such a rush previously." She raised her head with questioning glance. "Is there... something I can help you with? I did give my word that I'll help as best as I can."

**Airen** · April 15th, 2022, 02:37 PM

Amamiya Sho
Aoyama, Sho's Residence
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

---Still raining.

When you wake up for the third time, the testament of a truly rough night's sleep, it's to the still present drumming of rain on the roof of your house. It's a far less violent storm of course, the winds that had threatened to push in window panes and the walls of water that had come crashing against the walls of the building have gone, replaced by calm and simple rain, the sort that was the ally of students in libraries, the pleasant sort of white noise that helped one to concentrate rather than distract from that concentration, and thus...

It's a far more pleasant awakening, better than the bizarre storm of dreams and nightmares that had taken hold of you last night.

Yes.

It's a normal morning, a pleasant enough morning, one that didn't seem like it'd be hiding any real surprises about itself. Indeed, while you could sort of remember hearing footsteps in the attic last night, dismissal of them as a delusion had led to you going back to sleep while you still could, and while curiosity might drive you to double check it now, to pull down on the metallic ladder and take a peek through the access point, you don't see much that would imply a person has been up here... Indeed, you were the sort to keep your home rather spotless, and while a number of people might just ignore the attic until something about it becomes problematic (as the owners of soon to be leaking roofs are often quick to do) you were the sort that would rather not have bizarre (arguably reiki mutated) spiders (or heaven forbid ghosts) inside of your residence, and thus-!

It was mostly spotless.

Mostly, it was still an attic after all, still-!

Having fulfilled your curiosity and reinforced once more that a dream was still just a dream, you descend from the attic stairs, down the normal set of stairs to the living area (something you could only afford because the flame-haired landlady seemed to have a soft spot for struggling kids) and...

Then you hear it.

---The sound of rustling bags, grocery bags.

---The sound of a refrigerator running at slightly faster than normal speeds, because the door has been open for more than a couple of seconds.

---Lights that have been turned on where they should be off, a triangle of light slicing through the darkness of the early morning, and...

"...You're a nice girl Starr, think this should last a few weeks."

"Ah it's nothing, I sort of owed Sho some groceries anyway. Didn't mean to fall asleep over here on the couch, so this should make it even-!"

...Two people talking to each other in the kitchen, both with familiar voices, voices that are easy enough to recognize on the spot, considering they were the main feature of last night's dream, but-!

There's something off about it, not just that it sorta felt like they shouldn't be here, but also...

Nadia is true to her usual form, unlike how she had appeared to you last night, but the other woman, the one you can recognize as Anima only because of that low, rough voice, well...

"Wonder if he'll freak out though..."

She doesn't look quite the same (then again she had been implying her previous form was a sort of disguise) but perhaps more importantly...

---The two girls seem to have gone shopping at some point last night, judging by the half dozen bags that are now sitting on the kitchen table.

And behind them...

Jack.

Yes, a certain Jack Frost...

Is looking just as baffled as you probably feel yourself...

**Verg Avesta** · April 15th, 2022, 06:34 PM

Ḇ̸̢̺̦͕́̒l̸̖̩̩̤̖͂͗̔͛̆̉@̸͎̠̀͛̈́́̏͛1̸̻̟̒̈́̀̋́͝≯͚̿ ͓͚3 ̴͕̣̍́̍͊ ̷̧̮̬̲͊̾͌̆́P̴͎͓͕̲̽͂͛̂̈́́̐3̶͉͇̠͎̝̠̻̂̽̚n̴̨̅̑͛͛̑d̴͑ ̂͂͒̕ ͇̺̣̙̏̑r̷̛̹̭@̴̛͎̱̦̭̱̼͗̄̊ͅ&̸͇͓͍̲̺̼͒́̔̽̔͝0̶̽͗̊̈́̆̇ ̣̣̌n ̵̜̩̘̽̂͊̏ͅ

35°39'39.0"N 139°42'53.0"E
Full Phase/9th Cycle/26338 Rotations
Presence: Absolute

"Nay."

An answer that was firm yet gentle, just like the smile on The Visitor's face.

"Unfortunately, that art a fate I cannot agree with. Or rather..." With his eyes still closed, he put his hand against his chest. "... It art not a fate that this child will not agree with. As lost as he feels he himself is, he believes by saving others, he may be of yet use to this world. So he will shoulder their pain. Their tears. Their anger. Their joy. He wishes not to be his sire."

So assessed the moonlight presence, the same yet different from the boy whose body it wore. So assessed the unnatural, alien serenity.

"... As long as he is alive, he will struggle. He will guard others. He will protect others. And most of all... he will burn himself up to save others," The Visitor spoke, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "That is why I cannot join thee. Neither can he. If we were... he would not be able to act as his heart desires - no matter how bleak the future might be. For he believes that even if he himself suffers, as long as he can ease pain of others... it art enough - that he has tipped the scales back to balance after his own existence so skewed them."

Then, for the first time, a hint of a frown marred the gentle smile of the selenic presence as it's eyeless gaze fell upon the darkness - and the being that was at the center of it. It still held that same tone and attitude of respect, even reverence in a way... but right, something almost akin to admonishment came upon its face.

"--- Whether purposefully or not, Fragment of Yomi, thou hast added to this burden as well. Dost thou really think that after meeting thee, he will be able to forget? Once this peace wears out, he will keep thou in his memory," The Visitor spoke. "He will remember thine pain, thine anger... and thou hast also become something he must save."

The being that held its eyes closed fell silent.

And when it spoke up, there was a hint of the emotions of the boy who he usually was.

"... I can't leave someone so full of pain wallowing in darkness. Screw joining you in death. I'll drag you to where I am, right into the sunlight."

Again, silence.

And then, a coy smile.

"That... is what I believe his heart is saying right now."

**Airen** · April 15th, 2022, 08:21 PM

Blaise Pendragon
Streets, Outside the Soba Shop
11/16/2026
Night, Full Moon

Darkness stops.

The wind howling in your ears dies down, and the screams and moans of the lost go with it, hands of the eager dead vanishing into the ether from which they were first summoned forth, their calls to their fellow ultimately falling on deaf ears.

---The Shadow sighs, a long drawn out sound like a firm wind whistling through the otherworldly silence of a graveyard, ambient but striking, a single note at the end of a nightmare.

"Into the sunlight?"

A tired voice answers your proclamation, or rather, the proclamation of the emotions that have been 'sealed' inside of yourself in order to allow this outcome to exist. It's the voice of something ancient but not exactly terrible, where the Goddess had once stood tall and otherworldly as a nightmare, as a reaper that visits dreams and pulls humans into the Yomi, the one standing there now is simply a figure coated in the pure black of new moon night.

---No, the night before the existence of the Moon.

"If that is what he thinks, then the boy has yet to understand how tightly he is bound to the night. There will be no dragging others into the sunlight, his original sin binds him to the moon and it in turn has wrapped it's chains around his neck."

The voice sounds tired, age of an entity that could be called a "Creator" of sorts, of a being that has existed for so long that whatever pain it might be in does not truly register as pain anymore, no, the personal agony of the thing in front of you is eclipsed by something else, an emotion just as raw and just as relentless, yes, without all the forced hostility...

It's regret.

A feeling like regret pours off of her in waves.

"The boy thinks you an ally, but is such claim the truth? Are you ally or symptom?"

It asks, peering at you with crimson eyes. Of course it's not a question the entity really expects you to answer, it's gaze drifting from your face to the world behind you, to where Fia still awaits in a car and where Noriko has had her gun trained on her head for quite some time now, relenting only because of your words, the shadow-

"I come for those without a future, to save them from the nothing, resistance to me does not change this fate. Your fate."

-looks up at the Moon.

"Some are bound by mud, others by crystal, but you are bound by the corrupted selenic. The sinful pure."

It laughs, a tired empty laugh that pierces straight to your core.

"The moon is tainted, their sin followed your own, was only possible because of your own... But do not blame yourself boy, it was merely an excuse for them, a desperate attempt to replace their lost princess."

It blinks at you, smiling a wicked smile...

"Now they will perish, consumed by the weakness born from that sin. The girl will join them, you will go with the girl and those around you will be swallowed because of you."

"Break your own chains, before you claim you will try to break mine."

It takes a step closer.

"Your sire's attempts to do so in your place were in vain, after all."

**Katie** · April 16th, 2022, 09:16 AM

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne ~ Nurse's Office
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

“Like I’ve caused a lot of trouble.” Aster groans, an undignified noise that sounds downright weird coming out of that mouth. Still, Ayra can’t help but feel relieved now that Aster’s awake, even though she can clearly see her COMP AI is less than pleased. Aster narrows her eyes at her owner, before forcing herself to sit up. “Cat out of the bag?”

“People already know it’s a duplicate of some sort,” Ayra replies, wondering how to navigate this conversation with Leah right there, but her COMP probably wouldn’t bring up anything truly secretive right now. “We could walk hand in hand and...”

“I’d rather… There’s no point in flaunting this around. Just answer if anyone asks.” Aster sighs, her face contorting into a familiar exasperation. Truthfully, Ayra feels nervous. Aster can’t hide her mannerisms, and Ayra isn’t sure if Leah can realize exactly who those habits were copied from… “Anyway, I appreciate the help, doc, but I’d hate to take up any of your time. My thanks, though.”

Aster: Let’s go back to the dorms. I made a promise in dreamland I’d like to keep.

You talked to someone?

Aster: I’ll explain it in detail on the way.

“I agree with my COMP. While it was lovely chatting with you… It’s plain to see, but there are things we ought to be investigating. Everything should be fine now, yes?”

**Rafflesiac** · April 16th, 2022, 11:31 PM

Logan Starbright
SLEIPNIR - Hallway (Outside the Hangar Bay)
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

I’ve made a terrible mistake.

That’s what Logan can’t help but think after his innocuous question kills the smile once gracing Eliza’s face. Look at what you did, you imbecile. You made her sad. She was perfectly happy before you came along to ruin things, moron that you are. You should’ve known better than burdening her like this. But well, that’s classic Logan; always ruining things for Knights! Just like with Sarah. Did you forget? About all the times you made her life harder with your weakness and failure? About how you got her killed?

His stomach churns with regret, sending bile squelching up his throat. As he’s about to apologize for his insolence, she speaks.

"Well, Lucia and I got into a fight."

Logan listens in silence, recalling the brunette who’d spoken to him out of Eliza’s concern.

"Part of why I came here was to see her, have a bit of a family talk... And she took a swing at me in the simulator. Not the first time... Probably should have figured she was gonna do that when she only agreed to meet me there, but…

Each sigh from his former Knight shoves his myriad neuroses back into the dark pits of his psyche because Logan has something more important to care about right now.

"Sibling relationships eh? Complicated stuff."

Logan Starbright isn’t particularly familiar with Lucia Tsukino. He gathered a general understanding of her circumstances through his relationship with Eliza Cross, but in terms of personal contact, the extent of that is the brief encounter on that Monday morning that felt so long ago. There’s likely no useful insights or advice he can offer, especially to his vastly more experienced Knight. And yet---

He thinks back to the gray and foggy days spent in a London academy, listlessly drifting through life with loneliness and inadequacy as his only companions. He thinks back to that fake starry night atop the dorm roof, where he’d finally reached the starting line and caught a glimpse of the brightest star’s truth. He thinks back to that faraway morning, where she’d come back from the dead just to leave him behind again.

“It’s tough when your sister keeps running away from you. When she won’t explain why she’s acting like that. When you wonder if it’s your fault.” His words are quiet, as if so much effort had gone into speaking them that not enough remained to properly assert them. Logan clasps his hands together and gazes down at them. “When you remind her of painful things.”

Eliza’s chuckle shifts the conversation to other matters.

"Everything else has been alright, I came here once or twice as a kid... So it's got a bit of a nostalgic feel to it... Although it's a bit quieter than I remember, especially at night..."

“Maybe that’s the improved soundproofing in the simulators. There were complaints, after all,” ventures Logan. Though judging by that frown, it might be something else.

"There's never any noise from midnight till 6 am... Although I guess even you guys have to sleep sometime, eh?"

““Eh?””

COMP and Tamer vocalize confusion in perfect sync.

Logan furrows his brow, removing Amelia’s frame from his pocket to tap against his fingers as he thinks. “The midnight to six block is a prime training block, though. It fluctuates between the most and second-most popular, competing with the noon to eighteen block.”

“It’s not like there were any maintenance directives, I think,” says Amelia with a frown. “Maybe everyone just got better at stealth?”

“To the point where Eliza wouldn’t notice them? That’s impossible.” Logan’s next words are firm, with a touch of pride. “She can pick a dragonfly out of a swarm of locusts, and then catch the dragonfly without harming it or touching a single locust. There’s no way she wouldn’t notice half the ship moving around to train.”

Amelia chuckles. “I won’t argue with you there. But then that’s really weird! Roths don’t sleep, they pass out! They’re all ‘And there ain’t no rest for the wicked until we close our eyes for good!’ and crap!” She kneads her forehead in exasperation. “If they’re not training, they’re either headed for a mission or slumped on the counter at Brewed Awakenings like a zombie because there’s not enough blood in their caffeine content.” The long-suffering COMP sighs before perking up. “You don’t have to worry about Logan, though; stimulants stopped working on him years ago thanks to all the cramming he had to do for his SATs! He just uses sheer willpower to ignore his recommended eight hours of sleep instead, which sounds - and is - terrible, BUT at least he’s not a drug addict! That actually really came in handy a few months back when Waaqa got angry and revoked the blessing of coffee for a while; Logan was one of the only Tamers who could still move!”

“It wasn’t that special a feat,” says Logan embarrassedly. “And I’m just training as much as I need to. If anything, I ought to increase my hours once I get the chance.”

As light words fill the air, a rainbow flash echoes through his mind.

'Aha! I got it! Take that door! I won't lose to math! Get your nonsense paradox viruses out of here! Ahahaha, I'm the best!’

: “Great work, kiddo!”

But huh... You're busy out there right? Should I sneak in myself? Look around on my own while you distract her?

: “No, wait outside for now. How long can you keep it unlocked?”

**Satehi** · April 18th, 2022, 05:23 AM

Eva Ellet
Saint Vivienne ~ Dormitories
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

“…?”

Diari is naturally clueless about what Catherine is suggesting. It’s only natural, after all- she has none of the context that makes this make any sense. She instead focuses on looking out for any motion in the bushes.

Eva, on the other hand, fully understands what Catherine is getting at. It would be impossible not to. After all, only moments prior she had just been talking about the subject, and even now, she had just received an unmissable reminder from her scan of Catherine’s vitals.

Shadows…

She didn’t know much about the subject. It was something related to Personas, the ability of some individuals to manifest their fighting spirit, but in reverse, where an individual got attacked by their own Persona. Like Catherine had said earlier, it wasn’t a disease that was well understood in the public, so Eva didn’t really know too much about it.

Eva figured it didn’t really have anything to do with her.

But even though she fully understood what Catherine was implying, that didn’t make it any easier to accept. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Catherine- she certainly wanted to believe in her friend, but this implication… it was too out of the left field to accept. Her earlier caution towards this potentially fake Catherine was swept away by confusion at this implication.

“…You’re saying I have a shadow…?”

Putting it into words didn’t make it any more palatable. Regaining a semblance of composure, she asked in a slightly more interrogatory tone than intended.

“… why do you think so?”

Catherine undoubtedly knew much more about what Shadow possession was actually like, so she could definitely judge the symptoms much better than her. Those details, while interesting, weren't what she really wanted to know..

What Eva really wanted to know, was-

--- why would Eva, of all people, have one?

**Airen** · April 18th, 2022, 01:52 PM

Eva Ellet
Saint Vivienne ~ Dormitories
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

"...Not a shadow."

A simple response.

While a flicker of hurt had crossed her face at your somewhat more snappy remark to your words, the golden-eyes Catherine nevertheless doesn't seem to deem it necessary to draw attention to it.

"Everyone has a shadow of course, some stronger than others, some strong enough to break free of the ego and challenge it directly, but you're not like us."

She states simply.

"Catherine doesn't see things at night because I don't let her, I take her place in the nightmares. No thanks for it either, she just sees me as the big bad monster in her head that doesn't care about Grandma's stupid rules... But then again, that me isn't the most emotional person in the world, is she? Doesn't know how to have fun~ Fun was banned, you know? Still is at home."

Says Catherine's shadow, after all...

You're starting to get the feeling that's what this is...

"So sheltered, so repressed, she drowns me in those damn pills of hers too, so I have to take my opportunities when I can~"

Shadows were suppressed human thoughts given form, in that sense they were similar to ghosts, and while Shadow Possession was rather new to you, well...

This was starting to feel very... Possession-esque...

In the more usual use of the term...

"But ah, I'm getting carried away," golden eyes still peering at you, the woman continues to let her hand linger in front of her for you to take, "I'm pretty sure you're asleep~ We're both in the dream world~ Happens to some people at night, guess the blow to the head did a bigger number on me than she thought~"

Sing-song.

"So whatever it is you're seeing, it's not a shadow... It's something else... Not sure what, but when things attack you in dreams you call those sorts of experiences a nightmare, right?"

---You hear it again, giggling in the woods.

As if it thought Shadow (?) Catherine's words were funny, although...

The girl herself shows no signs of hearing it.

---Neither does Diari.

**Airen** · April 19th, 2022, 05:31 PM

Logan Starbright
SLEIPNIR - Hallway (Outside the Hangar Bay)
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

[Probably as long as I need to, unless she's got some like... Time delayed defenses...]

You can practically see the girl frown in your mind at this thought, as if it had just occurred to her herself...

[Which considering how paranoid she is... Well, it wouldn't shock me to find out that's the case.]

An ultimately simple answer, one that admits she ultimately doesn't know exactly how long this weakness in the woman's data security would hold up, even under her watch...

Simultaneously however...

"Uh... Uhm..."

Eliza, who has gone a mild shade of red at what amounted to completely unexpected praise from former students of hers, seems to be struggling to not sheepishly pull at her own hair, mostly because she seems to be in the process of baking taco shells.

"Plucking a dragonfly out of a swarm of locusts without touching the locusts might be too much..."

She says, sounding completely sincere in her words, although her legendary humbleness on such matters often means that her own opinion of herself is to be disregarded... She has far too much of a history of downplaying her own talents, of claiming that she didn't have the special skills of her coworkers, that she thought her personality was a bit too monochrome to fit in with the other knights, but well...

"I'm happy you think so highly of me though!"

She was the one who had seriously challenged a certain cave-dwelling rabbit to single combat on Avalon that one time, the one that the rest of the squad had sorta rolled it's eyes at at first, seeing how it was just a small bunny rabbit, one without any obvious spiritual or physical mutations, but well...

---An image of a tiny rabbit decapitating a certain squad member's shadow clone instantly comes to mind, so it was a pretty good thing that the Squad Leader seemed to face any and all threats with complete and total sincerity, no matter how silly it might look at first...

Vorpal rabbits...

Good memory? Bad memory?

Monty Python's cursed legacy? Born into this world because cognition sucks like that sometimes?

You decide-!

Still-!

"But it's strange for it to be so quiet?"

A thoughtful frown, as she parses her own memories, oblivious to the little flashback that had just played across the surface of your thoughts.

"Maybe I'll look into it some more tonight, but first-!"

She looks over at you.

"Don't add any more hours to your regimen, it sounds like you're practically killing yourself already."

She raises a finger, as if this was just one of many points.

"Secondly... About that thing you said earlier..."

She pauses here, as if unsure about whether or not she should continue... Although after nodding to herself, she seems to decide it's something she has to do...

"It is a little hurtful when siblings hide things... But a lot of the time, they're not really trying to be hurtful about it."

Her eyes go into the distance, as if she was seeing something else just as much as she was seeing you, at least momentarily...

"Older siblings in particular have this... Thing... Where they hide stuff sometimes to protect the younger ones. No idea why we do it, just always seems like a good idea at the time, some of that... Older sibling pride I guess? It's one of those weird things."

She laughs, a bit of guilt coming through in her words.

"Don't want em to get hurt, so we just do it ourselves, it's that sort of thing. Not even that we think the young ones are weak either, heck, my little sis is stronger than me in some ways, but I'll be damned if someone hurts her and I could help it, you know? It's that sort of feeling."

Hands withdraw from the pocket dimension, hands tinged slightly red from what seems like a bit of hand washing...

"Sarah is also that sort of sibling, she clams up as a first response, likes to let troubles that hit her end with her... So if she's acting weird it's not your fault."

For a moment she looks like she wants to name a certain somebody else as the party at fault, but doesn't actually follow through with it...

"Want me to lecture her a bit for you? Older sibling pride is all fine, well and good, but I think the younger ones get that protective impulse too, eh?"

---No warning.

A hand suddenly lands on your head, ruffling your hair.

"Am I right? Little brothers wanna show off too every once in awhile?" The teasing smile returns, then, "Well if she turns it down, I don't mind stealing you away for a bit. Had all sisters, so I could use a little brother, round out my big sister skills a bit~"

A dangerous person.

**Airen** · April 19th, 2022, 06:20 PM

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne ~ Nurse's Office
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

"Well... I'd like to figure out exactly why you were collapsed out on the school yard, but from your tone I take it you don't quite understand what happened to you either?"

The nurse, Leah, frowns to herself at this, leaning back in her chair as she sets her folder off to the side.

"These sorts of things typically aren't isolated events, if someone is running around on campus throwing sleep curses around I'd like to find them before they get any weird ideas, but..." She rolls across the room on her chair to the counter, pulling a pencil from her coat pocket as she goes, "I suppose simply knowing there's a problem is good enough for now. I'll have to let the staff know to keep an eye out for sleeping students, make sure we don't have a repeat of that Apathy Syndrome nonsense from the late 2000s, cognitive disorders are always the worst..."

She grumbles, more to herself than to you.

"But by all means, I don't have the authority to hold you here, if you'd like to go please feel free to do so." She nods at you absentmindedly, pencil already dancing across the surface of what you can only assume was some sort of medical report, "I'd hate to get in the way of an investigation, so just make sure you come back to me if you start to feel strange again, although I might have to keep you overnight if that happens..."

She chuckles, although her arm waving you off is a clear enough signal to leave, even so...

"Heya Doc! Here to talk to ya!"

An impossible person walks into the room as you prepare to leave it.

"Oh dear, another knight?"

In response to this intrusion, the nurse makes an overly theatrical sigh, spinning around in her chair to face the newcomer.

"This is no good, at this rate I'll have a scandalous reputation, three of you in a day is far, far too much-!"

She jokes at the woman, as if her presence here wasn't completely impossible, but...

"Three?"

The woman blinks at you.

"Oh, it's Ayra. Hey~"

Sarah Starbright, the woman that had definitely been killed by a Fiend-Class Demon a few years ago (specifically the Mother Harlot if you could remember the report right) is standing right there in front of you, very not dead, and apparently not very bothered by this fact either.

One of the few knights in history to actually be slain...

A consequence of the sudden and bizarre manner in which a demon so powerful and malicious had appeared without any of the usual warning signs, a freak accident that never actually should have occurred the way that it did...

You hadn't known her well, but...

The story of her death was known, after all...

It had been what made Logan resign from Eliza's old class of squires, your class, and fly off to Germany, still...

Other than the customary greeting she isn't paying you much mind, instead focusing more on Leah, who is gesturing for the woman to sit down in spite of her complaints, so...

You may be able to just... Let this go and move on?

It seems like the other two don't think it's strange in the slightest...

**Verg Avesta** · April 19th, 2022, 07:40 PM

Ḇ̸̢̺̦͕́̒l̸̖̩̩̤̖͂͗̔͛̆̉@̸͎̠̀͛̈́́̏͛1̸̻̟̒̈́̀̋́͝≯͚̿ ͓͚3 ̴͕̣̍́̍͊ ̷̧̮̬̲͊̾͌̆́P̴͎͓͕̲̽͂͛̂̈́́̐3̶͉͇̠͎̝̠̻̂̽̚n̴̨̅̑͛͛̑d̴͑ ̂͂͒̕ ͇̺̣̙̏̑r̷̛̹̭@̴̛͎̱̦̭̱̼͗̄̊ͅ&̸͇͓͍̲̺̼͒́̔̽̔͝0̶̽͗̊̈́̆̇ ̣̣̌n ̵̜̩̘̽̂͊̏ͅ

35°39'39.0"N 139°42'53.0"E
Full Phase/9th Cycle/26338 Rotations
Presence: Absolute

"I see."

The coy smile does not disappear, even when faced with a hint of truth of the man haunting Blaise's memories. Perhaps, no, more likely than not, The Visitor did not share those emotions. Of course he didn't. He was cut away from all earthly vexations, and thus, none of these truths could touch him - body, mind or soul. What the boy would think when he was on the surface once more, however...

... Well, that was to be seen.

"Lest thou forget, Lady of the Roots, chains are made to be broken. Ironically enough, 'tis their only true purpose. A man can only be free when has none to hold him - yet when he art chained, he thinks of naught but to break them. Once a chain has been locked in place, it shalt reduce the future to only two outcomes. Either it is unlocked, or it is broken. Such is evident from the great cycle of Saṃsāra - we only exist to break free of what holds us down, and to ascend," The Visitor calmly spoke. "He mayest either rebel within Saṃsāra, or rebel against it... yet rebel he doth. Such art fate of all existence - even thine. Indeed, 'tis a great irony in that our only options are search for freedom... even if we art searching freedom from that search itself."

It was a calm, serene conviction - one unshaken by the world and the words around him. The Visitor saw the world in a different light - a lunatic light of sorts, and thus, he would not budge from what he believed in. The irony of how similar that was to the boy underneath was not lost to him, at least judging by how amused he seemed to be, regarding his own words.

Or perhaps he was amused by the confounding words of the being before him?

"As for what I am, well... Fragrance of Cave. I art what I appear to be. Ally? Symptom? What difference doth that make?"

His smile deepened, like the lunar illumination above.

"--- I am the boy. More so than he may himself be. Thou speakest to him, thou speakest to me. Thou speakest to me, thou speakest to him. Doth not make the mistake of separating us," he spoke once more, his words ringing clear. "More so than that... corruption, is it? What is corruption but another word for harmony? As thou becometh something else, they too shalt becometh thee. Ironically enough, 'tis a thing spoken of Taoism, but even so, it holds fast and true."

With his eyes still closed, he lifted a single finger in the air, before his face, as if to make a point.

"One may detract from a thing and it is enhanced thereby, or enhance it and so detract from it."

Then, The Visitor lowered his hand.

"A drop of white on black. A drop of black in white. Encircling each other. Or, perhaps..." He nodded. "A drop of moon on earth. A drop of earth on moon. And still, they encircle each other..."

He spread his hand, as if to symbolize this harmony.

"Sins art easy to call as such - for they art simple explanations. Assigning blame is, after all, the most human thing to do. Belief, faith... it is just another word for 'blame', one dressed in fancier robes. Thus, thou wouldst do well to choose thine words carefully. Yet, even so..." A momentary look of - not sorrow, but something vaguely similar - passed by the Visitor's face. "... Is there faith to be found in what happened? Accidents are all too human too, after all. The princess, the boy... and the other. A history shrouded in light art sometimes much too obscured, more so than one veiled in the dark. Yes, perhaps they are the only one who truly knows, the heart of it all..."

And then, he sighed, angling his head slightly.

"... Or perhaps someone else. The smoke has yet to fade from the sky, reaching for that lunar beauty. I art sure that one day the smoke shall reach us, bringing forth one more..."

He was neither sad nor angry - but neither was he happy or content. The Visitor was simply... assured. Assured that the time would come, some time in the future.

"The time for Iwasaka to reach their moon may be fast approaching. Though I know not if we art the noble they wanted to find."

**Katie** · April 21st, 2022, 06:53 PM

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne ~ Nurse's Office
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

Ayra puts on a plastic smile. She hides her clenched fists behind her back, trying to look coy. It is taking every fiber of her being not to deck this imposter in the face right here and now. She’s already caused an incident today, with Aster. Pile up more, and people will have good reason to pry into her actions and intentions.

Logan…

Aster: Ayra.

…

Ayra.

You know something about this? Her tone comes off as snappy, and Ayra instantly regrets it. It’s not Aster’s fault the situation is like this and they’ve just reunited. But the longer she looks at… this, the more uncomfortable and angry she feels.

This is Sarah Starbright. No, I’m not gaslighting you.

She’s dead. How could this be her?

This is a reality where Sarah Starbright hasn’t died.

Excuse me?

I said I’d explain everything on the way to the dorms, so just be patient. Keep yourself in check. She’s real.

“Hey,” Ayra says, her voice clear and casual, in contrast to the turmoil of emotion in her heart. “Aster—”

She turns to face the shade created from Mirror Image, but it vanishes as she does.

Seriously?

You know for a fact it’s better if I don’t say anything.

“Nevermind. I’m headed back to the dorms to rest up. Have fun with your chat, you two.”

With that, Ayra Lilygrove tries to get herself out. This entire situation is just flat out wrong.

**Airen** · April 21st, 2022, 07:57 PM

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne ~ Dormitories
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

---You escape without incident.

While reiki is known to surge with the onset of strong emotions, and the idea that someone was running around posing as the dead sibling of a former team member was enough to threaten a sort of boil-over, years of practice at hiding behind a false smile win out at the end of things. Neither the nurse or the apparently revived knight show any real signs of noticing your bubbling feelings or searching for a reason to keep you there, so...

You escape.

Into the hallways, into the oncoming night, out of a situation that just screams wrong in quite a few ways.

Still, the journey to the dorms is time enough to explain things amongst yourselves, although the revelations that Aster had come across might raise more questions than truly provide answer... Nevertheless, with the oncoming storm here in full force now, winds shaking window panes and rains falling in an endless serenade on the roofs, the students seem to have naturally moved themselves indoors, those that weren't still hanging around in their club rooms locking themselves up in their dormitories, unwilling to use magic on so base a thing as resistance to the weather, and so...

You arrive in the lobby without incident, although as you come in...

You feel a surge of fatigue.

It's only for a moment, a few moments, about eight seconds or so, the length of your average dizzy spell...

But then it passes without incident...

Perhaps all the stress was getting to you?

Regardless...

Unlike the last time Aster had been here, where the lobby had been empty and student free, there were now some obvious signs of life inside of the dorm... A fire had been lit inside of the red-brick fireplace, the television set had been clicked on (and seemed to be showing the movie "Inception" ironically enough) there was a faint smell of popcorn in the air from the kitchens, and...

"Ah, you're back."

Three students on the scattered couches across from the screen, only one of whom (that Aster can recognize as Catherine) seemed to still be awake and watching the movie, or at least listening to it, since she was also flipping through some sort of textbook... There was a blue-haired girl asleep on the couch next to her, one that looked a bit like a smaller version of Leah if you really gave her a good look, and also someone that seems to have collapsed onto Catherine's shoulder, considering the vaguely distressed look on the brunette's face, the same sort of look someone might get when a cat jumps up onto their lap moments before they were ready to move...

And on a separate couch...

A woman with purple hair, possibly Aislynn considering the general body type... But the lack of shady clothes made it hard to tell for certain, she was dressed like a normal person for once, black t-shirt and pajama bottoms a far cry from the regal outfit Aster had seen her in...

"Did you find your impostor?"

Catherine, seemingly ignorant of your wandering eyes right now, instead asks the obvious question...

Thread: Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

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