Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[Zurvan]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
???
11/16/2026
Monday - Early Morning

---This much was expected.

To the ESPer who believed the World itself was placed in a dream-state, it is no surprise that reality has become a fickle thing. When your understanding of the concepts regarding the World and Reality begin to crumble, so much easier are they to break.

His own 'World' crumbling so quickly was somewhat expected, this entity is so full of malice and confidence that coming here without such power would make it the most foolish of them all.

So, despite the circumstances of his Inner World falling apart, that ever stoic mask stays on. LUCID's weapon ignored Ludwig's magical defense before, the effects that are brought out by the Sea were never what mattered.

No, from the very start that the Karlfeldt unleashed the Almighty that begin this battle, the ESPer has been focused on what or who this entity is.

It clearly knows him and despises him so... knows him a little too well, it's words only adding to the growing suspicion.

Memories from so long ago now...

"There's nothing to see there, I am what I am, what the old hags wanted me to become, if you can't remember it, well... That's exactly why you deserve this."

"...Not like it matters in the end, you're weak. Always have been, don't know why they picked you."

"I won't forgive you anyway, so broken or not, ideals or not, hopes or not... It's all worthless."

White chains embed themselves deep into the Tamer, an almost ironic twist of last dream's events. There the boy saw the Divine Wolf be bound by Leyding, yet here he is the one that's bound.

Eyes flare up.

"All worthless huh, that's what you believe is it? I suppose you do really sound like a failure."

But while his spirit flares up for what is about to transpire, his mind is calm. What is about to happen is without doubt the stuff of nightmares.

Pain, suffering, anguish, powerlessness, despair... any soul so young that had endure that would undoubtedly be warped in some way.

What awaits below is, what was felt and lost, he's had to endure it all before.

"I wasn't chosen, I was the one that was the last standing. The one that endured, because I found a source of strength at the darkest of time. And I'll keep being the one left standing, so give it your all. Anything less will not do."

And the Heir of Unity, as foolish as he is, chooses to do so again.

Chains yank the boy down into the dark as he willingly plunges down towards the trusted voice of his sister, towards the eerie red glow of curses that await.

"If you'll show me how little the World matters in a nightmare, then I'll show you that any nightmare can be overcome. What you have become is a mistake, what you will become is but a memory."

He hadn't been strong enough back then, neither he nor his sister could protect what was lost those early days.

But... he had become stronger now, hadn't he?

Strong enough to carry that ideal?

If what awaits below is enough to truly break him, then the Heir of Unity wouldn't be able to face this entity in full.

Sometimes you can only face the future by facing the past.

---This appears to be one of those times.

[Tobias]

Raz Stone
Camelot, Round Table
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

Memories of the past.

A vision of fear but not hopelessness. Desperation tempered by bravery.

As a knight, it may be that he had to a certain extent forgotten what it means to truly have your back against the wall. Oh he had been in many fights. many battles, with high stakes. But he couldn't immediately off hand remember a time where he wasn't confident the battle ahead couldn't be one with combat skill and martial magic.

And song, of course!

But this vision was something different. It was the kind of battle where you had to trust more then just your own life to a roll of the dice.

Perhaps...perhaps that was why they had been instructed to bring squires?

Squires were forced to meet their limits repeatedly. presented with impossible walls so that such might be overcome. failure taught so that it was no longer something to be feared but something to be mastered. Regardless...

Dismissing the memory that appeared in mind was not a simple task. The most concerning thing about the vision was that he had felt as if he had been present, but what had been present might not have been "Him" so much as it was someone else. Which led to one final and maybe the most unpleasant implication of all.

If the world had been effected to such a great extent, and such basic Laws of the world were in flux, then there was wan final, nigh inviolate sanctuary that may well have been corrupted.

The very self.

If this world was a dream, developed as the stage upon which a savior might develop, then even the people, cheering in the crowd, and in the sound room setting preparations might not be who they were.

If you meet someone in a dream, they seem so real. More real in fact, then the people encountered in waking hours. But what do those dreams feel, when dusk alights and it is time to wake. To think such thoughts invited madness. In a real sense, a dreamer murdered an entire world each night, with no twinge of conscience or pang of guilt.

...It may well be that soon Raz would have a chance to learn the answer to what an oh so realistic dream felt when dawn breaks.

Tell me I am overthinking this.

You ain't never over thought something once in your life kid. Why start now?

Whats the play?

...I don't know Gumshoe. The old man sighed. I don't know.

Of course Dejah also raised an interesting question, though even the Kingdom's Bard didn't know if thinking about such was just out of a desire to take his mind off nihilistic questions about the fate of the world.

Do you believe her?

Cant say I do Gumshoe. When you have a collar on someone with means, motive, and opportunity its hard to take them at their word flatfoot. Then again, Far as I cant tell she ain't the only cat with that kinda Ruscoe in her collar. And if you take the whole 'fate of the world' thing as true, you could argue might be a cat's paw wut reached in and did it on her behalf. If you think about it just about everyone on this planet could be argued had reason to pull the trigger.

The dark haired man nodded. He was still on the didn't believe it side as well, but best to keep an open mind.

"Heh, might just take you up on that!" Raz said easily, keeping his internal turmoil tightly controlled. "Of course, I recently got a sword from Merlin, so I wouldn't want to seem unfaithful, but im pretty sure there are a few doujins which prove I can wield more then one sword at once!" He finished with a saucy wink.

...There was more to being an idol then singing and hand shake events. At its core, being an idol meant showing the world a smile that never ended, never dimmed or lost its luster, even when you didn't feel like smiling.

But even said idol's face...if it didn't stop smiling, at least noticeably stiffened when at the declaration of an S-Rank mission. Not because of the difficulty. At least not directly so. Such were rare, and Raz's other experiences with that class of mission had been with him relegated to support, singing and healing, not as the front line, but the bard was confident in his skill. No what concerned him was that if that was the classification of the mission then he likely wasn't wrong in his underlying assumptions about what the recently acquired information meant for the stability and longevity of the planet.

"Hmm...well if we are bringing Isako, and dejah, me and another knight, then it seems like we are doing fine for magic and battle power. I think it would be best to have someone who can create a good battle plan. With that in mind, perhaps I'll ask Erika? She and I work well together, and our COMPs get along. Plus since her COMP has already met Burroughs, he might pick up on something during this another might miss."

[Airen]

Raz Stone
Camelot, Round Table
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

---They say that sounds fine.

As good a pick as any, Erika Winters was certainly the tactical sort.

Yes, speaking words that perfectly mask the sudden burst of existential dread, of wandering thoughts, worst case scenarios, and the ultimate fate of a being that only exists in dreams when the dreamer wakes, the world around you seems to dim into a haze of sound that certainly makes sense, yes...

The conversation continues, while you pick Erika, Zerah seems to decide on a squire that is a bit more unknown to you, an "Aleta Gaumond," one of his assigned squires most likely, but...

It's hard to pay attention to anything else right now, because...

"..."

Dejah has been staring at you since your last words.

---It's a different gaze than normal, not something malicious, but rather the stare of someone that had picked up on something that others might miss; yes, there's a certain soul-piercing quality to that gaze, gaze that sees the joking face, hears the amused words, and yet does not feel that inclined to believe you at face value, yes...

"..."

She takes a step towards you, everyone else bustling about in a haze of chaotic talk, of scheduled assignments, phone calls being made, direct lines to the Xanadu Labs being requested, and yet...

Right now, she seems to outshine everyone else in terms of realism; the natural movement of a princess that demands attention perhaps, but her older face set in a frown, the digital form makes it's way over to you, and...

"...You won't disappear."

Says that quietly, lightly touching your face as she does.

It's a very ginger movement, very unexpected too, and there's a sort of familiar zap at the connection...

Not a painful electric shock, no...

It was more like... The feeling of a circuit being completed again? The same sort of feeling of "re-connection" you have with the DTG when you're disconnected from it for some time, a feeling that a Tamer only gets when touching their COMP, like some missing part of them had been put back into place, yes...

---It's strange.

"I won't allow it. Those who live in the world are my responsibility and so you will be alright."

---Of course these words don't really mean anything, she is effectively a stranger, one with all the means in the world to be at least some form of culprit, but she says the words anyway even knowing this...

"I am not the sort to let my Users perish, we will solve the problem and everything will be fine. That is how Xanadu works, we chase the Happy Ending until we get it, even if it is far away and can't be seen easily."

She nods.

"You may not believe me and that is fine, but I will believe in my Users until the end, so I just thought you should know."

And right after...

Ruffles your hair.

"...Oh, this is pretty soft, isn't it?"

...And then really ruffles it.

---A bit of a weird digital girl, this one.

[Airen]

Daisuke
Tokyo, Aoyama ~ Brick Lane
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it? Sofia-san seems really nice. And she tells great stories, too. Why were you so worried about her?"

"She was on her best behavior today."

The older boy sighs at these words, although the sort of lingering grin on his face does imply he didn't actually dislike the encounter as much as his initial reaction at the mall would have suggested...

"Was probably showing off for you, wanted to look like a proper noble, but she's really a mad scientist in disguise. As for moving the spot, well, yeah that might be for the best, showing up drenched wouldn't be the best look for us..."

He chuckles at this, although before he can say any more about it...

"Heeeey! Lexie!" Daisuke waves. "What's going on? You're 143% earlier than usual! Did you want the super early morning sweets fresh? You know you could just call and they'd hold onto some for you, right?"

---Lexie looks up at your call, and-

"Oh, hey Daisuke! Older Daisuke! Still a bit too tall Daisuke-!"

-responds with the usual sort of exuberant energy, as you and Shuichi move over to meet her beneath the awning-!

Certainly the girl is here way too early, when it comes down to it, it was a coin-flip if the problem child of the group would have been Chris or Lexie... One of them was inevitably going to sleep in, and in the worst case scenario it would have been both of them, but here the girl is already, chipper and loaded with calories that absolutely were the reason for that slight 1% increase in weight you had felt when she had landed on you the other day-!

"I uh, had a bit of a meeting with someone over here earlier today, that's why I'm up so early."

She answers with a chuckle, sheepishly rubbing at her own hair, and...

"He wasn't around, so it was sort of a wash... But the shop was having a sale, so everything turned out fine in the end!"

So saying, her voice is replaced with a pleasant sort of humming as she digs around in the bag...

"Cream-filled were all two for one! I couldn't turn that down, so I loaded my new bag with them! We don't know what the SLEIPNIR food is like right? So it's good to have something from home to fall back on in an emergency-!"

Yes.

She was certainly either thinking ahead, or...

...Making a snack hoard for the future.

...Probably the snack hoard for the future, as the awkward laugh she puts in at the end implies...

As for the message from that guy however, well...

This time it's not a bug... Or well, this time you manage to block the obligatory virus that he always puts in these sorts of things, but it was the low effort of virus that made it clear that actually affecting you wasn't the intent, rather...

He just had an image to keep up, you know?

No no, this time, the message itself seems to be the point, although the contents of the message...

Got you

thatguy: Bam! Linguistics settings overwritten!
thatguy: just kidding, im sure you blocked that one this time.
thatguy: but seriously, i checked the weather
thatguy: its not supposed to rain today
thatguy: if it does, try not to go outside, k?
thatguy: stalking a really sus girl over here, so cant say much more yet
thatguy: just trust me on this one
thatguy: wouldnt want you to get sick
thatguy: no fun if im not the one giving you the virus

...are rather... Strange?

[Airen]

Ayra Lilygrove
Nameless Forest ~ Kuzunoha Village
11/16/2026
Monday - Early Morning

“Like Burroughs…?”

Raising an eyebrow, the woman shifts slightly in her chair, head coming to rest on a raised fist.

"Yes, that's one of the names they're thinking of using, the Head Researcher on the project, a Ms. Alexia Wright, apparently wants to name them after her favorite author. It's the least important aspect of the project, but geniuses are the eccentric sort I suppose."

A chuckle.

---Although exactly why she thinks its funny is unclear.

On Aster's end, the search through the records is decisively unclear; while you do possess data on your time in the academy with Ayra, and can link most of the students with their faces, when you come to the long-haired purple girl (who was in your graduating class) her name is simply blank, casually blank, an errant zero in a world of data that is otherwise immaculate, in other words...

Some form of supernatural information erasure?

“I’ve seen her, I think, but when I try to remember her name my mind just… blanks.”

At this however, Mika nods as if it was expected...

"It's never so easy as just remembering, these sorts of things normally need a few hoops jumped through first. World has a twisted sense of humor that way."

She sighs again...

"I tried hacking, but it turns out the academy still uses complete paper records, they literally write everything down and lock it away physically. I'd say they were being paranoid, but well... I guess they were able to stop me, huh?"

Another laugh, brief, then she makes a waving sort of motion with her other hand...

"In that case, you'll just have to go and look at them in person. You're an alumni, a respectable knight, they should let you in to look at some old records right?"

She makes it sound easy-!

Although, in a sense...

It might not be hard...

"As for the joint mission, well... They've already taken off, so there's no catching up to them now. Not easily anyway."

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
Demonic Server, Hali Bay
11/16/2026
Afternoon, Heavy Winds

---It was too blatant.

There was simply no way that the youth could actually be so power drunk as to think he could get away with a conversation mid-battle, battle is a fast-paced instinctual thing, where minds race as fast as they can to out-think their opponent as their body moves to overpower them, it's not a place where every action can be confirmed, the battlefield is not so forgiving as to allow that-!

There are many rules.

A Trump Card played too early can be fatal.

Knowledge of how to use one's power was just as -if not more- important than the powers themselves.

Hesitance can be fatal.

Being reckless can be fatal.

---A constant storm of knowing when and how to strike, those are the things at the heart of a battle, and to see someone so blatantly disregard these sorts of core components, well...

It's too much.

It must be a trap, even if the link was tenuous at best they should be able to talk to each other mentally, therefore---

Spring the trap.

---It's a flash of preplanned moves, a series of strikes and counterstrikes that ends with a body being hurled down into the depths of a steel behemoth; it had certainly been a trap, the way the youth had been standing with amused eyes, palm facing your way as you emerged from the depths of the ship was certainly the tell-tale signs that the stupidity had been at least partially intentional, but...

That seals it actually.

The prepared lightning strike...

Had rebounded off your earlier protective bulwark, been deflected by a -surprisingly good- reflexive strike from the delinquent in question, but well...

That reflex turns out to be a poor one.

Hands grasp at his ankles, and the fool is hurled down into a sea of azure flames, ship bending around him at the impact, weakened metal finally feeling the toll of the flames as the ship itself lets out a harsh crack, and...

Nothing.

Momentum leveling out a good forty meters above the remains of a broken ship, the distinctive lack of a response from your opponent over the course of a handful of seconds, would seem to imply that he does not intend to retaliate, perhaps cannot retaliate, or...

Has relocated himself again?

Regardless, the books have all gone up and flames and down with a now sinking military vessel, while off at the pier...

Tsukiko seems to have wrestled Isamu into submission, her hand movements signs of an old style of magic as she seemingly tries to purge whatever psychic command had taken over his thoughts...

You could go over to them now, it didn't seem very dangerous to do so, and getting the whole group together would certainly serve as a deterrent of sorts if your opponent did return, but...

---Letting it go now.

---Thinking he had been beaten just by being slammed through a ship once...

---Feels almost like it was too easy.

[Bloble]

Daisuke
Tokyo, Aoyama ~ Brick Lane
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"Hm?"

Daisuke checks the weather. He goes through all the relevant sites, double checks, triple checks, looks up forecasts directly from the relevant laboratories, runs his own analyses using the raw satellite data, and comes to the conclusion that yep, it was definitely not supposed to rain today.

He looks up. The clouds in the sky are thick and heavy to the point of bursting.

"...sounds like one of his pranks, but just to be safe..." The mental avatar of Daisuke mutters to himself.

It's going to be a bad day anyway, what with having to tell Chris about his near mess-up earlier. Might as well make it worse. Worst-case scenario, he gets brought in and reprimanded for making a big deal out of the weather people being wrong. So long as Daisuke himself is the one shouldering the misfortune and not someone else, that's a perfectly acceptable trade. The young COMP forwards the relevant message logs to Chris, and to History and Saya as well. They'll pass it onto their buddies.

Still, wherever that guy is, he sure has a lot of free time on his hands to be looking up the weather. Probably hanging out at the local theatre again, wondering why no one's watching the performance he's about to mess up. If he has that much time, then...

Daisuke sets his language settings to random and types out a reply.

DAISUKE: No deberías estar acosando a las chicas.
DAISUKE: Ach cuirfidh mé in iúl do gach duine fanacht istigh.
DAISUKE: Nem fogom megkérdezni, hogy mit csinálsz, de.
DAISUKE: Kau tahu kita tidak bisa menahan seluruh penduduk Tokyo di dalam, bukan?
DAISUKE: ...mittam eam lineam evadit si scias quod ego nunquam auditum est umquam.
DAISUKE: Lana ka manaʻo ʻaʻole pilikia ka wai inu.
DAISUKE: Cadwch yn ddiogel.

Yes, while the COMP is certainly a bit worried now, it's not for himself; it's for everyone else in Tokyo who might be exposed to this rain.

Meanwhile, back in the physical world, Daisuke chuckles weakly at Lexie's comment about his height. It's true that as he is now, the youngest of them is also the tallest.

"Hehe. Can't let you give me the big sis treatment all the time, Lexie! That'd defeat the point." He has long-since learned that, for whatever reason, certain kinds of women love nothing more than playing the part of older sister. And while a young child he may be, Daisuke is also not so naive as to let himself be treated as a toy all the time. No, it's best to save that as a reward for good behaviour. "Oh, that's a nice bag. Really suits you. Just make sure to not get it covered in cream, okay? It's really hard to get that stuff out if it's stored improperly, and I'd hate to see a new bag tossed in the wash so soon."

Especially the cream-filled ones. Those are just filled to bursting. They always sell out, making it somewhat strange that Mama Mokujima had decided make them two-for-one. Then again, she'd run the Smokey Island Bakery for years, so certainly there must have been some business idea behind it... or maybe Lexie had just unknowingly benefited from a friends-with-my-daughter discount. In that case, it would be better not to tell her. She especially doesn't need to know the calorie count.

More importantly! The meeting! The meeting? She'd been meeting someone here? A guy?

There's only one obvious conclusion to be had. Months of otome VNs glimpsed over Chris' shoulder all point to the same answer.

Daisuke's expression hardens into a frown.

"...want me to check if the guy you're looking for is around here? Could tap into the street camera footage, see if any of them picked him up. I know we're not supposed to play around too much with the city infrastructure, but if someone stood you up for a date, Lexie, he absolutely has it coming. It's totally uncool to bail like that."

No way is he letting this go. Being tardy for that sort of thing is absolutely forbidden! Girls should be treated properly, not led around by the nose and then left hanging! This meeting had clearly meant so much to Lexie that she had even gotten up early just for it, and this guy had the nerve to miss it!? Righteous anger suffuses Daisuke's soul... until the humidity detector ticks up another notch.

"...oh, let's talk inside. I don't like the look of the clouds. Unless you're interested in that fountain. Shouldn't be anything special about it though."

[Airen]

Eva Ellet & Rossweisse
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

---Ultimately, the refuse sought by locking eyes with Anna is met with but a simple message, namely...

Roll with it!

---Thus, the rather 'violent' ice breaking actions of a certain brown-haired girl lead things onwards to the next step, to the awkward world of sitting at tables alongside each other, dancing the social dance that was half the reason anyone here had made the trip, but...

Shockingly enough, it goes rather well...

The initial tension present between the two groups really does seem to have been mostly shattered by the combined actions of Rossweisse and Catherine... Maybe it's just the disarmingly cute nature of the silver-haired girl, but the church that had clearly come here expecting some sort of abrasive meeting, of being taunted with some great darkness of villains cackling in plain sight...

Instead find themselves following politely, looking around not with blatant distrust, but something closer to curiosity at all of the machinery...?

It's still not the warmest reception, but combined with the sudden sight of a buffet (they really spent money on all of this, considering the actual sea of food that has appeared along the tables) well...

It'll do, most people are weak to food after all.

---And so it does.

Fifteen minutes later, and the remaining bits of ice seemed to been chipped away... It probably helpedMyr that the more abrasive members of the Rothschild haven't arrived yet, with Ross being an inherently adorable person, and Anna having that charisma that maids tend to possess, the holy knights seem to be having a hard time keeping up their guard, and as a result, well...

Parts of the two groups were bleeding together...

Even if only out of curiosity for what the other side was like, when no obvious danger presents itself, they simply couldn't help themselves. The tables were all big enough to hold far more people than what are here right now, and so little clusters of groups had formed or showed the possibility of forming, people drawn to other people, for instance:

"..."

A violet-haired girl, Myra Davis, has been staring at Rossweisse for awhile now with obvious interest... Shy interest, the sort that makes it clear she won't move to do anything on her own, but that she's also bold enough to keep obviously watching without really looking away...



"...You're Loki, right?"

Meanwhile, Catherine seems to have cornered a man in a suit, one with roguish good looks, but the sort of aura that automatically makes one wary... Considering her conversation with the NWAB Agent back at the Vatican, it was possible she was -much like how she had done earlier- going out of her way to form a sort of "understanding" with the more troublesome members of the other party, cutting off troublemakers at the source in other words, although when she sees Eva looking at her she smiles and waves, so...

It's okay?



David White is talking with Anna about something... Judging from the somewhat muted gestures, the two were discussing the nature of the food, recipes perhaps? It's the sort of casual conversation that anyone could manage really, just a bit more complex than talking about the weather, but comfortably easy in it's simplicity, and, finally...



"...Oh?"

...A strange woman that had appeared last, introducing herself as an "Alexia Wright," and wearing the usual mark of an NWAB Agent, has been wandering around with a friendly smile, going from small group to small group with a friendliness that doesn't really seem like it'd fit a member of the Rothschild, but...

For some reason, when she sees Eva, she smiles...

And starts walking towards her with all the obvious interest of someone who has seen something they find cute-!

And away from the intermingling of two factions...

A large artificial park, free of those potential stresses...

Also serves as an option...

[Tobias]

Raz Stone
Camelot, Round Table
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"That, my dear is what good conditioner will do for you!" Raz said, smiling easy. "And none of that two for one hybrid garbage either. Good shampoo, good conditioner, and then when the bottle tells you to repeat, you repeat, love."

...Raz hadn't been expecting head pats, but you dont spend as much time around the DTG without realizing that random head molestation was sometimes just part of life. Besides, he never complained when pretty girls put their hands on him.

After a moment he carefully clasped the hand on his head and took it in his own. There was a soft pat of flesh on flesh as he then took his free hand and laid it on top of hers.

"I appreciate what you are trying to say."

He said simply, running an eye through the room. Like as not most would just assume he was flirting, but there were probably one or two who knew him well enough to suspect a different sort of conversation.

"But let me say this. I am not afraid to die. I wont say I want to, but I am prepared well enough for it. Blaze of glory and all that. But..." At the word 'but' the bard's voice grew softer, and yet more determined. "I refuse to be...forgotten. And I don't believe something is a lie just because it doesn't exist. A song isn't a song from weird symbols on a page. A song is a song because there is joy in feeling it. Hearing it. experiencing it."

A flicker of bright teeth. A more honest smile then had been previously seen. And a glimmer behind dark shades.

"You are right about one thing...you fight for the Golden Ending. I will accept nothing else!"

And with that, the clever eye like the one seemingly possessed by the flighty COMP would probably see Raz give himself a visible shake to throw off the somewhat uncharacteristic moment of doubt that had consumed him.


Or well, maybe she wouldn't actually, if she were distracted by Raz taking that hand he was holding and whirling her in a quick circle then tossing her all the way out to a double arm link between them, still joined by hands. Raz's other arm he held out at full extension, beckoning to the somewhat bemused room, filled with people likely processing that something was about to happen.

And indeed, something did, As the Kingdom's Bard waved his arms grandly and the room began to fill with blistering patterns of green, gold, blue and red as the refined meeting room was suddenly filled with a multi-colored strobe effect that the wise knew was certainly coming from the holo-projection tech of the Hermes' Shades.

"Knights! Squires, King's, lords, and most lovely ladies, we got us an honest to God S-Ranked mission baby, we gotta party! Hell, we gotta Dance!

Raz gave Dejah another twirl before pulling her into an quick footed series of dance steps.

..Well, if there was one person who get get a bunch of stodgy old knights to throw a party before a big mission, who else would it possibly be!

[Airen]

Raz Stone
Aoyama, Tokyo ~ Brewed Awakenings
11/16/2026
Monday - Noon

---Getting Erika involved was a good way of getting everything to be done by the book.

It hadn't been particularly difficult to convince the squires to agree to the assignment, while the prospect of an S-Rank mission was the sort of thing that even the Tamers can't just laugh off, there's a certain sense of resolve in the bespectacled girl that made it impossible for her to really run away from anything, to be honest, her reaction had more or less been something like...

"Alternate dimensions? Experimental technologies? Potential cognitive obstructions? Yeah why not? That might as well happen today."

The younger kids were really mentally strong nowadays...

Or maybe they had just seen too many crazy things growing up?

Not nearly enough shock nowadays!

Still...

She was the sort that took mission details seriously, and the moment she had found out Dejah had a vested interest in not drawing attention to the group's future presence in Tokyo, well...

She had whipped out her phone, made some calls to a pen pal of hers, and...

"I need your stage apparently, talked to the technicians, it's getting upgraded."

...taken your shades, left both you and Zerah in a rented out Brewed Awakenings, just down the street from Xanadu Laboratories; her logic is simple, Knights, by their very nature, draw way too much attention, thus, both you and Zerah have been assigned to this location, and well...

Yeah.

Here you two are, while the squires -by their own volition, nay insistence- do almost all of the legwork, their uncanny ability to fade into the background of things serving them rather well here in the Magic City, of course...

It's quieter in Tokyo than the usual...

Not just in the store, where you and Zerah have been left alone with a single employee behind the counter, but outside too, it's rather quiet, although the sound of rain on the roof serves as a plausible enough reason as to why...

Still, it's not so bad, a bit of a final break before whatever insanity would come with hopping dimensions, so...

It's at this point, where you have been forced into doing basically nothing by your squires (a task they were shockingly good at) you turn to find some way to entertain yourself, be it to mess with Zerah -who is meditating cross legged along the side wall- or some other method...

---You see it.

Or rather, you notice it.

---The person behind the counter, or rather...

The demon behind the counter, wearing the usual employee uniform...

"..."

Locks eyes with you, and, after a long, long pause where it seems to weight it's options...

"We meet again, human!"

Acts like this isn't a strange encounter?!

Well, at least it wasn't going straight for a sword this time!

[Kuroyuki]

Rossweisse
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

After a few tense moments… It looks like everything was under control… Somehow. I think it’s mostly thanks to Ms. Anna and her charismatic nature as a maid. I really think she would’ve had any issues if I didn’t show up. It wouldn’t be too surprising if she had a contingency plan to handle everything by herself. Judging by our current turnout… She nearly had to use that contingency plan. And it was nearly my fault.

It looked like it was winding down enough for me to relax a bit from my guide role until the next group appeared. I decided to look around the room before grabbing a plate of food for myself. I saw Loki being approached by the person who headpatted me. I considered saying hi to her since she was the only one I kind of knew… But the pressure coming from her and the fact that she was cornering LOKI… Made me decide to not visit her.

I saw Anna talking with another person. It seemed to be something relatively nice compared to the other conversation. It seemed to be something about… Cooking? Recipes? I was tempted to go over towards them to learn some more about cooking, but… it probably wouldn’t be good if both representatives of Rothschild were together. So I should probably talk to someone else…

That’s when I saw someone staring at me intently. At first, I thought it was because I wasn’t exactly what people expected of a Rothschild member… After all, I’m well aware of our members… Tendencies, but they weren’t all that bad like the rumors say they are! But this stare felt different. Like their curiosity was directed towards me for some reason... So without thinking too much about it, I decided to grab a cheddar-spinach quiche for myself and… some apple cinnamon rolls for the mysterious girl. It shouldn’t hurt for me to try and talk with someone who is interested in me.

“Good morning, I noticed you haven’t had any food yet so I thought I would make this plate for you. Do you have any questions, Miss?”

For some reason, I feel like she’s familiar… But why is that...

[Tobias]

Raz Stone
Aoyama, Tokyo ~ Brewed Awakenings
11/16/2026
Monday - Noon

It was an almost surreal feeling, being without either his shades or the technology needed to holographically project them. Honestly Raz couldn't remember the last time his eyes had actually felt...exposed. Oddly enough, there was an almost naked feeling about it, showing parts of himself rarely seen. It felt...sexy.

Heh. Some lucky blogger was gonna snag a few photo ops and become an overnight sensation! The young man thought with a grin, rather enjoying the novelty of it. Of course to a certain extent he felt like his brand might take a bit of a hit considering how iconic his shades were, but it was for the Mission. Even before he was an idol, he was a knight.

Plus, who the heck would turn down a free upgrade?!

There was some time to kill of course, but what better way and place then a cup of coffee at Brewed Awakenings? Raz's current brew was actually a blend that advertised itself as being made exclusively from beans that came from an elevation higher then 2 thousand meters. When coffee was nurtured that high, the beans took an exceptionally long time to develop. This resulted in a much smaller ability to harvest large amounts of good beans. The flip side was the lengthy time of development allowed sugars to develop in the beans, adding a sweetness and floral aroma that was almost tea like. Perfect for relaxing with a scone in the afternoon!

Had Zerah not been around, he would have happily spent his time flirting with the delightful caramel skinned Japanese girls frequenting the shop. The Bard certainly had done his fair share of mission traveling so it wasnt obviously his first opportunity to meet foreign women, but they were rarely in so ready supply.

To put that another way, if you go to Italy, its a waste not to eat bread and drink wine. Go to Spain, enjoy the beaches. When you are in japan, have some sushi. One learned to enjoy the regional delicacies.

Women were similar.

...But again, That was only if Zerah was not around, and a useful opportunity to amuse himself in quite a rare moment of relative privacy considering. Indeed, Raz was currently workshopping a few different come ons most likely to shake the young swordsman out of his comfort zone when a new player inserted his skinless face into focus.

There was no way this demon could be allowed to go unchallenged, not after the previous duel had ended so unsatisfyingly! And that's why Raz, with a flash of determination and battle fury crossing his eyes for once unclouded by stage or magically crafted shadows took off at a leap, catching the counter in one hand has he vaulted both legs up in a single motion, landing in a half crouch that looked absolutely ready to spring into open combat.

"Skeleton! Matador! unvanquished enemy! Our battle concludes this day!" The dark haired man said, shifting his crouch to the slight hunch of an iaijitsu practitioner, his hand hovering menacingly over the handle of Lied Ortus. Of course, it wasn't even a second later that he he jerked and grasped, moving into open com....bat....??

When Raz's hand moved....it actually move just to the left of his katana, belted on to his side, and instead took a large handful of the clothing at his hip, grabbing a fistfull of his brand name shirt and tastefully dirtied pants...and in a single motion, flung his hand up, momentarily obscuring himself from view...

What could be seen?

White gloved hands, but of a different sort then might be used to catch the eye of a certain immortal. And similarly, there was an understated charm to the gentle silver chain and cufflinks. The dark vest, instead of being overtly dark and eye catching was a rich and thematically appropriate chocolate brown, matching a set of similarly colored pants which rode through to dress socks and hard rounded shoes. Even without the magics of the shades....Raz had transformed into...



Someone that looked like the server at a butler café catered towards women thirsty for more then just coffee.

There was a thundering crash and a brief but dizzying flurry of movements as he quickly assembled a set of serving cups and commandeered in idol espresso machine.

"The duel will be fought by customers!" Raz thundered when he was finished, pointing a white gloved finger at the Matador in open challenge, "Points scored on number served and relative satisfaction of those served! The stakes, the most important of all, honor of course!"

[Katie]

Ayra Lilygrove
Nameless Forest ~ Kuzunoha Village
11/16/2026
Monday - Early Morning

"In that case, you'll just have to go and look at them in person. You're an alumni, a respectable knight, they should let you in to look at some old records right?"

“Truth be told, they asked me to come speak sometime last year, but that was when I was… in a bad headspace, so I buried myself in work. I’m certain they’d love for me to come over,” Ayra says, thinking about the sorts of invitations she turned down. It wasn’t as if she didn—well, she didn’t, but she was doing work! Specifically, work that improved society. Surely they understood her turning down social functions wasn’t out of any sign of malignancy…

“Oh, I can bring Asuka too, and she can offer her perspective as a squire as well…” The idea is perfect. Asuka can soak up some of the attention and hopefully she’ll have an opening to dig through the records.

Aster: You’re so cruel, doing this to her.

She has to learn how to deal with the spotlight.

Aster: Dear Lord. That girl may be a threat to my existence, but sometimes you need to throw a dog a bone.

Excuse me, what?

Aster: Just offer her dinner or lunch or something, just the two of you. It’ll make her day.

I didn’t know she idolized me that much…

Aster: That’s… one way to look at it.

Aster: Anyway, I’m going to say this once, and you should repeat it to Mika. Okay?

Alright.

Aster: Burroughs told me that Charlotte Akarana has been seen entering and leaving the US NSA building.

Really?

Aster: You’re not doing what I asked!

“Aster says Burroughs told her that Charlotte Akarana has been seen entering and exiting the US NSA building,” Ayra says, rolling her eyes.

Aster: Oh, and there’s someone on Avalon who isn’t supposed to exist.

“And there’s someone on Avalon who isn’t supposed to exi—” Ayra pauses mid-sentence, the shock evidence on her face. “Wait, Aster, that’s a joke, right?”

Aster: Doing this relay shit is so frustrating I’m going to lose my mind. Just let me talk to Mika. She has your ideal family life, she probably knows, she’ll understand.

I’ll… give it consideration.

“If I show you something, you won’t tell a soul, will you?”

[Airen]

Ayra Lilygrove
Nameless Forest ~ Kuzunoha Village
11/16/2026
Monday - Early Morning

“Aster says Burroughs told her that Charlotte Akarana has been seen entering and exiting the US NSA building.”

"Having a bit of an internal spat, are we?"

Responding with an amused smile, first to the obvious rolling of the eyes rather than the information itself, the woman does pause a bit to think it over eventually, fingers drumming a light melody of the unconscious atop the kitchen table.

"But an NSA Building...? Which one? No, that's a dumb question..."

A brief moment of muttering, muttering that almost sounds like a computer running through information aloud, before...

"It's the suspicious one right? 33 Thomas Street? That would be one of the places to hide if you really don't want anyone to find you, but what is she doing over there...? Making deals with the American government now?"

It's not a question you can answer, merely the result of a habit of thinking aloud to herself (or some invisible other that you can't see perhaps), one that has her face fall back into those contemplative lines, brain working overtime to find the answer to a riddle she has just been presented with, but...

"I'll have to look into it some more later."

That's the ultimate conclusion...

As for her thoughts on the non-existent member of the Isles...

"Someone that shouldn't exist...?"

She tilts her head slightly, resting it again on the upraised fist.

"How so? You mean a dead person wandering around? World has quite a few of those running around right now. Probably an Alcheringa thing, popular wish for them to grant."

---Well, that's a bit concerning in it's own way, but it seems she didn't quite get what you meant, nevertheless...

“If I show you something, you won’t tell a soul, will you?”

"...Oh?"

...at this, the woman sits up straight in her chair.

"Well, I am a shady information broker for a vigilante group, but I can keep secrets if they're important..."

Her expression becomes slightly more serious...

"This something personal I'm guessing? I'm not particularly good at those sorts of talks, but I could give it my best shot."

...More Mom-esque, as it were...

[Airen]

Rossweisse
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

“Good morning, I noticed you haven’t had any food yet so I thought I would make this plate for you. Do you have any questions, Miss?”

"..."

At first, the younger girl doesn't say much at all in response to your question; while she had seemed a bit surprised at your approach at first, that surprised face had quickly become something else, an expression of deep thought, as you drew closer and closer to her, yes...

Was it because she was able to see your face more clearly?

Something else?

Regardless...

The first thing she does is simply stand up, and then somewhat awkwardly...

Does a quick circle around you? Looking you up and down, as if trying to figure out exactly what or who you were... It's a very awkward movement, the sort that almost makes her come off as hypnotized, or under some form of self-suggestion, like you were the sort of problem that her brain immediately went all-in to resolve, but...

For some reason, watching her do it, or rather, getting a better look at her face yourself, well...

For some reason it brought something to mind?

Like...

---That was strange.

You weren't exactly used to the ways schools let out here in America, but she should have been back by now right?

It's not like it was a new routine, you had done it every day for about a week now.

Yet no one appears.

---It takes a minute or so for the feeling of strangeness to become worry.

Where was she?

"..."

...What was that?

Was that a memory? Flash of something from a movie you had seen once? Vaguely remembered dream?

...Well, whatever it was, it had gone as quickly as it had come, and the girl....

"Ah..."

Seems to realize she's being rude at about the same time as you come out of your blinking stupor...

"Oh I'm sorry, geez Myra what are you doing-!"

She talks to herself aloud...

"You um, reminded me of someone, and then I just... Uh, I suck! Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to go super detective mode on you, I swear!"

She bows a few times frantically...

...Odd girl.

"I'll happily accept your gift of food!"

...Yep.

Odd.

[Airen]

Daisuke
Tokyo, Aoyama ~ Brick Lane (Smokey Island Bakery)
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

---Thankfully, the interior of the bakery doesn't scream that the owners are in any sort of financial distress.

There are no suspicious patches of the shop that are suddenly lacking in money, no broken chairs or dented walls, so the worst case scenario that came along with the two-for-one deal on the cream-filled donuts likely wasn't the actual one... Indeed, there's no sign for a two-for-one sale on the counter either (although there is one that says "Back in a bit!" in Momma Mokujima's usual neat (but energetic) handwriting...

Indeed.

You can safely say that the store is not in danger of closing from visual analysis alone, which meant that Lexie was -most likely- simply the recipient of a family friend sort of discount...

Best not to tell her.

"The fountain? No, not really that interested in it, was just something to look at, you know?"

Lexie laughs awkwardly, as if embarrassed she had been caught in some sort of calorie consuming stupor earlier...

"And nah, you don't need to look where he went," saying this in her kind voice, the usual forgiving Lexie, the girl nevertheless unconsciously crosses her arms as she thinks back on the meeting, "Not my boyfriend or anything, just my old boss."

She frowns.

"Probably got distracted with something random, can't blame him too much, his work happens at the drop of a hat, and well..."

The frown deepens.

"He's got no money. Can't save up enough to keep the lights on at his house, and he sleeps in his shop!"

...Huh, maybe she's more annoyed about this than she implies...

Her voice is still the same as always, but she's really starting to complain an awful lot-!

"Probably had to do something last minute to keep the lights on... Or turn the water back on..."

She sighs.

"Last time I was there the toilets wouldn't even flush..."

Ah.

That sounds traumatic.

She was way too good for this guy, whoever he was-!

Meanwhile...

Shuichi has moved to one of the tables nearby, pulling out some sort of minuscule artifact from his pocket, before setting it down and hitting a few buttons on his COMP, causing it to gently expand into a circle large enough for a group of eight or so people...

A translocator?

Type of magic device that enabled teleportation, a sort of portable spirit pulse terminal in other words, and a very very expensive piece of tech... Not really the sort of thing you can use in battle either, as you have to painstakingly input (manually) all the signatures of those that are going to use it or the thing won't actually function properly at all...

That seems to be what he's doing now.

The painstaking, manual input of everyone's spiritual signatures part...

Although as he goes about it, typing away at the terminal that has wrapped itself around his arm...

"...Hmm?"

He glances at it, as if Saya was talking to him, and...

"Not supposed to rain?"

Glances outside...

"...Someone hack into the town's weather device again?"

And sighs himself, expression turning into a vague sort of frown...

"It's not even a good prank... Well I guess it's the sort of thing no one really notices right away, but it's not even funny."

Finally, thatguy has yet to respond...

---Definitely up to no good.

[Satehi]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

Most of the people of the Rose Cross had begun to mingle directly with their hosts, the members of Rothschild. They formed their own little islands of interactions- ones that appeared cordial enough. Overall, the food and the particular choice of guides seemed to have done a good job in ensuring that the reception had gone well.

Eva was not most people.

While most of the others had moved on from the casual curiosity about their unusual surroundings to actually interacting with the people around them, she, so to speak, was still at square one.

Eva Ellet did not think of herself as particularly into machinery. Certainly nothing compared to those who were actually involved in making and maintaining it. She simply had what she considered a relatively healthy level of interest- in a literal sense, as it was relevant to her well being in a more direct way than most other people. Being curious was only natural…

And that aside, she was still not entirely comfortable here. Learning more about their surroundings, in the event anything happened- in her view, that was only a natural amount of caution to have.

But regardless of the reason, she had spent much of the tour much more interested in the ship itself, and as time went on and people split off into their own tables, she…

… was more or less by herself.

It didn’t really bother her.

However, she did recognize that this was not an ideal state for their given assignment, and so looking around, she spied Catherine. She seemed to be chatting with… someone, but as Eva returned the wave Catherine had sent Eva’s way when she noticed her looking, she thought it seemed like a decent option to join in.

Or would be, if not for the new woman who had appeared and now seemed to be approaching Eva herself directly.

That was... unusual.

What the look the woman had on meant exactly, she did not recognize, although she had a faint feeling that it might not be as pleasant as her smile might suggest. Maybe there was something off about Eva's appearance- she was pretty sure that there were no issues, but maybe since entering the Spirit Pulse, her clothes or hair had gotten messed up? Or maybe it was about her behavior thus far…

Whatever it was, it would be horribly rude to ignore it. Waiting until the woman came closer, Eva turned her attention from her meal to the woman, and spoke…

“Hello, miss…? Do you have some business with me…?”

…preparing herself for the worst.

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

---She was pretty tall, taller than some of the guys around here even...

Dressed in clothes that seemed prepped for the winter months (or perhaps the ship was somewhat more cold in the other areas) the chestnut haired woman certainly seems like she's stumbled out of one winter storm or another... There are the remnants of something like snow on her jacket, and her face is a tinge of red, the sort of red that humans get after being out in the cold for awhile, but...

Such things are unimportant.

Her physical appearance is unimportant, yes...

---There's something about the way she moves that makes her motives disconcerting, the smile is pleasant enough, and she seems like the most obviously friendly person in this room, but that in itself is suspicious-!

Uh oh...

Even Agatha seems to think so!

Of course, she says those words in her usual cheerful voice, the voice that thinks absolutely everything around her is exciting because she's more used to being stuck in a bland velvet room than anything else, but-!

Stranger danger! That's a carnivore smile! The look you give a plushie before you squeeze it!

Eh?

That seems like a bit of an overstatement right? It doesn't feel dangerous to you, not a predator smile, a bit mysterious perhaps, but regardless of what it was, well...

“Hello, miss…? Do you have some business with me…?”

...It's too late.

"..."

The woman takes a second to respond to your words verbally, although her eyes do widen at the sound of your voice, like the sound of it had been unexpected perhaps? Or was it the way you had said it?

You didn't think you had sounded weird, but...

"Oh my god..."

The first thing she says is that...

"Too cute! Too polite!"

They're the only normal sounding words she says too, because the rest of it comes out like a disbelieving squeal-!

"Everything about you is perfect! Are you real?! Is this happening right now?! How did someone so cute get on the ship and I didn't know! The voice fits! Why were you left sitting by yourself?! Everyone else in here has awful taste! Ahhhhhh!"

She has a fit.

She has a fit right in front of you?!

---Maybe Agatha was right, nevertheless...

"Can I sit with you? Let's talk! What's your name? You can call me Alexia!"

She has already sat down across from you, even as she asks for permission to do so, probably because she doesn't actually care about the permission itself...

[Satehi]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

For Eva, the first indication that something may be going wrong was the strange smile of the woman approaching. It was… although she had no logical basis for it, something told her that it was concerning.

The second indication is the warnings given to her by Agatha. It’s not clear what those warnings are about, but she does not doubt the woman’s judgement. Unfortunately, by then it is already too late.

The third indicator is the pause the woman takes upon hearing her response. And after that…

… there is no meaning in listing any indicators anymore, since something clearly has gone wrong.

"Can I sit with you? Let's talk! What's your name? You can call me Alexia!"

“Yes, that’s fine- yes, sure… I go by Eva Ellet...”

Dumbfounded at the sudden burst of energy that the woman unleashes, Eva can only awkwardly answer the barrage of requests the woman – Alexia - showers her in as best as she can. Not that it seems to have mattered much- the woman clearly is moving at her own pace.

Normally, Eva wouldn’t have considered this an issue. She had no reason to say no to any of the requests, whether that be seating or conversation. If anything, she would have been happy to say yes.

But…

… the whole response was so unusual she was confused how to proceed.

Trying to make sense of things, she noticed that there were a number of indicators that Alexia had been outside recently- in some very cold weather, judging by the snow, attire, and facial hue. This, perhaps, combined with the relatively warm temperatures indoors might be the explanation for her behavior, and so acting on her hypothesis, Eva tries her best to sound calm and collected…

“… Umm, miss Alexia, if I may… while I am more than happy to speak with you at any time, it seems that you have been out in the cold recently for quite some time, and you seem very... excited. If you’re feeling unwell, perhaps it would be a good idea to warm up in your room first, and I would be more than happy to speak with you when you are feeling better...?”

… but it is only that- an act. Caught off guard by the unusual energy radiating from the woman in front, Eva turns to help from the only person who seems to know what’s going on-

---Agatha, what do I do…?

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR - Artificial Park
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"Ahhhhhh! They don't make good kids like this anymore! It's unfair!"

---The weird fit continues.

"Already worried about me? It's fine, it's fine! I'm just fine!"

---Are her eyes sparkling now?

It sort of feels like they're sparkling now? Of course she's leaning a bit closer now too, so maybe it was just the better look at them you were getting? Of course, the energy flowing from this person is overwhelming, so much so that it put Catherine's earlier display to shame in an incomprehensible sort of way, but...

You hold fast-!

Problem is that seems to egg her on?!

"The snow is just the tough love of an old student! She's in her uncute years now, you see? No more following me around, clinging to my leg going "Sensei! Sensei!" Ah... The flow of time is cruel, horribly cruel! They get all tough and independent way too fast-!"

---It's almost manic in nature.

"Stop fawning over me Sensei, I'm an adult now Sensei, please stop trying to do my hair Sensei!"

These words seem to bring a hint of tears to her eyes, but really, the surge of emotional force here is too much, it's hard to say what she's actually feeling at all, although her own words seem to give her a sort of idea, as a flicker of a grin could attest...

"Although... I suppose I do feel a bit under the weather... There's a common room nearby with a heater, would you talk with me there? Recovering by myself would be such a waste, I'm like a rabbit, I could die of loneliness, you know?"

As for Agatha, well...

What to do? One moment. This appears to be a complicated sort of human, an airtight plan will be needed to escape... I shall consult my social experience books, the uhm, 'manga' as Elizabeth called them, one moment...

...She goes off to consult books?

...Wait what?

How was she doing that in your body...?