Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[palad1n]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
12/22/2026
Evening, Thunder Storm

As she listened to what her aunt had to say, Cosmos thought that Alisa Kingsleigh is an amazing woman.

Giving her eyes up in order to gain the means to appear to her family when they are at risk... To appear like a guardian angel (which she supposed explain the white feathers). Not to mention that meant her aunt had been able to hear God like prophets of old, and to be offered something like this... Is it not wrong to say that this is a "miracle" granted by God for her Aunt?

And to think she felt betrayed by such an amazing woman, when she's not even half the person her aunt is...

How prideful and conceited she was.

But that aside...

"P-please wait a moment auntie." She finally said after Alisa had finished speaking. "I... I'm not sure I follow. I mean, if you and mother weren't really killed, then of course I'm happy, but... Why would the culprit do that? What could they gain from making it seems like you and mother died?"

Indeed, believing in this claim isn't actually so hard or impossible; after all, the Man of Light did say something to that effect, didn't he? Whether she's really sure that they both had died, or whether she had instantly collapsed without really confirming it...

But Cosmos couldn't fathom the why, or how.

"I-I mean... It's one thing for me or Alyx to miss it, because we were too shocked, but... If it only seems like you and mother died, then-then how could nobody else notice it?" She asked with trembling voice. "The angels were there, and strong, capable tamers like Isaac were there too... Even a NWAB member like Mister Daniel was there, investigating, so shouldn't they have noticed if you and mother didn't really die?"

Really, this almost makes it seems like she doesn't want her aunt and mother to be alive, but...

She just couldn't help it...

"And-and auntie makes it sounds like doing... all this is easier than actually killing you and mother, but... isn't pulling something like this is significantly harder and more complicated? Pulling off something convincing enough to fool everyone making sure nobody sees the deed, and... and, what about the c-corpse that we saw? Were those fake? If so, then where are the real mother and auntie? But if-if those were real, then why not actually kill than just..."

Oh God, she's starting to hyperventilate again... Another panic attack...

'Deep breaths Cosmos, deep breaths. There is no need to hurry to make sense of all this.'

Right... Right, deep breaths... Inhale, then exhale slowly... methodically... Focus on the warmth and presence of auntie's hand on her shoulder...

'Disregard those inquiries and lines of thought for now until Alisa answers them. Regardless of the logic or feat needed to pull it off, focus on the fact that Mary might still be alive.'

Mother...

Yes, mother might still be alive. That's a wonderful news, and that means she doesn't have to look for a way to resurrect her, but--

'But if you have to think of a problem, if you want to focus on something negative... Rather than the circumstances Alisa and Mary found themselves in, why not focus on the bigger picture?'

The bigger picture...

"A-auntie, I... I'm sorry, I'm rambling and asking all these questions, but I..."

Right, deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Closing her eyes to do just that for a minute, Cosmos opened her eyes and looked at Alisa after she found herself calm enough to do so.

"... All that aside, the one thing I don't understand the most is... that you said this is all just a bad dream. A nightmare in the literal sense."

Indeed. Seemingly killing her aunt and mother, as hard, impossible and baffling as it seemingly was, could at least be understood to an extent; one thing that she thought of was that it was done to affect cognition in some form.

But the thing aunt Alisa said at the end is too strange and bizarre, she couldn't wrap her head around it.

"If... If this is all just a bad dream, a nightmare, then... Then how could I met people like Mister Daniel or Miss Sofia? Or JESTER, for that matter?"

As much as she wanted all of this to be a bad dream, she really doubted that was the case.

But then again, as she waited for her aunt to answer, a memory flashed through her mind.

"Did you truly look at what happened that day? Or did you simply collapse the moment you saw one of your worst nightmares?"

The Man of Light did say something similar, didn't he...?

[Airen]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
12/22/2026
Evening, Thunder Storm

"If... If this is all just a bad dream, a nightmare, then... Then how could I met people like Mister Daniel or Miss Sofia? Or JESTER, for that matter?"

"How?"

---At the end of the rain of the questions, her hand squeezes your shoulder in a reassuring sort of way, parental, like...

'It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay.'

...She was saying that, without actually saying it aloud, instead...

"That's a simple one, it's because they are asleep as well... There's nothing saying one cannot meet others in a dream, indeed, it's something that happens quite often, even if we don't always remember it."

She smiles softly.

"This one just happens to be a dream shared by everyone, one so real that it can be accepted as real, and thus, serve all the functions of reality. It is the tool with which this World sought to save others from the depths of their despair, and in so doing, reclaim a future that was otherwise lost."

---A bit poetic, although the way she closes one eye as she says it makes it clear even she thinks it's a bit of a dorky thing for her to say, still...

"But make no mistake... This World is a dream, but that does not mean it shouldn't be taken seriously."

At this, her voice grows more stern again, as if it was entirely necessary that you understand this concept in particular...

"A number of dangers lurk in the subconscious... That thing, JESTER, is one of them. I do not know it's true face... But it is a thing of fantasy, a being of the unconscious that is willing to do whatever it must to exist, to that end... It and those like it conspire to make this dream eternal, although whether that is their own will or that of another... I cannot say."

She shakes her head, and then...

Smiles apologetically once more.

"This World is our tool to avert a cruel fate, but to them, as beings who rule over Dreams, it is a place where they have incredible power. It is not unlimited power, there are rules even they have to follow, although those rules aren't quite clear to me in this form..."

Her hand squeezes your shoulder again, tightly, but still in a reassuring way.

"There are things we must do here before we can all awaken safely, but they will not want us to awaken for if we do they return to nothing... And thus, they have already set up the trap that will bind all of us to this place. In a sense... It has already gone off, there is no turning it aside now."

She kneels down slightly, so that the two of you are eye to eye.

"It will be pacification. They will make it so no one wants to leave. They know desires just as well as they do traumas, so they will grant every wish, every desire, give people the things they think they can't get in the World... Impossibilities... Miracles... They'll make a paradise and attempt to seduce us with it. An opponent that does not wish to fight is not only already defeated after all, it is an opponent that might just become an ally to them, take their side, decide that this dream is better than the reality. That is the trap they've laid out for us, the one that is already coming to life even as we speak."

---Around you both, the feathers begin to fall faster, just a bit.

"It may seem like a perfect world... But there is always a price, even if it's not apparent at a glance."

Again, she squeezes your shoulder.

"So when it happens, you will want to find a way to head to the North Pole. They won't be able to erase what exists there, not yet."

---At this she pauses, the usually jovial aunt perhaps realizing that she had been far too serious, far too somber, over the course of this whole conversation and...

"...The World might make it difficult, people will come up with reasons why you shouldn't and even your mother and I might be against it... But cheat if you have to, use puppy-dog eyes without shame, I don't think we could really say no to that..."

She chuckles.

"Never could, not really."

Then...

"As for your earlier questions... About why the culprit might make it seem like we died, well... It shook up the town, broke their sense of reality... Yes... I'm sure quite a few people were thinking this has to be a bad dream, that it couldn't be real, and by having those thoughts... They were able to slowly invade the 'reality' of the Dream through those people, morphing it into something they could control, or at least... That is my assumption for the motive, I cannot say for certain, even as I am... My vision is... Strange like this, uncomfortable at times, like trying to describe a fourth-dimensional space..."

...A strange undercurrent of emotion appears here, but she suppresses it rather well, so well that you're not certain what it was at all...

"But there are ways to explain our disappearance away... Trying to fight your mother and I isn't something they'd want, there's too big a risk they'd lose and they're not the type to pick losing fights... But luring us away from the city perhaps, or waiting until we left on our own for some reason..."

---They're just musings.

In the end she has no way of actually telling if this is the truth or not, but she does reason her way through it...

"The souls were removed from the bodies, completely removed, so no traces of our reiki would be present... Because of that, no spiritual signatures... Normal methods of fool-proof identification go out the window right there, making clone bodies is well within the power of something like JESTER... But then again..."

A pause.

A deep pause, an almost regretful one, before-

"...It's not an impossibility that the organization is compromised either, so maybe someone on the inside had something to do with it? I don't like pointing fingers into our organization, but impossible desires being fulfilled can be a powerful motivator..."

-She says that with a sigh.

"...But that's all just my musings on the matter, I can say nothing for certain I'm afraid..."

[palad1n]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
12/22/2026
Evening, Thunder Storm

--It's strange.

What Alisa had just explained at length isn't really something that can so easily be digested. The scope and the reality of the situation, that this is all just a 'dream' so real and shared by everyone that it's practically reality, beings of the subconscious that seeks to make this 'dream' eternal because they gain power in it, and that this is a way to avert something bad in the real world...

It's outrageous, really.

And yet strangely enough...

Cosmos Fairchild found herself readily believing what her aunt had said.

Not only that, her panic attack died down as she listened, her breathing calming down and eventually evened out as the reassuring hand of her aunt rests on her shoulder, telling her that she'll be fine. That everything is going to be okay.

And she believes that, too.

Some might have find it strange, but the reason why Cosmos Fairchild finally became calm and composed is extremely simple; there are three main problems that caused Cosmos Fairchild to crumble in the past week.

The first and biggest factor is, of course, the death of her mother and aunt, her small world falling apart.

The second is her lack of confidence in herself which has spiraled into self-loathing, believing that she's the cause of all this in one way or another.

The third, the fear and belief that she had never been truly loved.

And yet, whether Alisa Kingsleigh realized it or not, she had put those fears and problems to a rest in the span of a single conversation.

The first and biggest - that of her small world unravelling - was laid to rest with the revelation that her mother and aunt might not have been killed in the first place. It's not certain, but the possibility is there, and even if that's not the case... Even if her mother and aunt had truly 'died,' it still happened in the dream; in other words, as long as she managed to accomplish the thing this dream is supposed to do, then they all can wake up, and her family will be there waiting for her in the real world.

Of course, it might be naive of her to think that way. After all, the reason why they are all in a dream in the first place is because the real world has lost its future; in fact, there is a possibility that reality is much crueler than this dream and nightmare, not to mention Alisa warned her that despite being a 'dream,' it should still be taken seriously.

But even so...

Cosmos Fairchild chose to believe.

Her second problem was dealt with by giving her a clear mission and objective: to go to the North Pole. The reason why she lacked self-confidence is, in part, because she saw her mother and aunt as being perfect, and clearly aware of her own shortcomings and limitations - believing that she could never live up to their example - Cosmos became fearful of speaking up, of doing something new, of taking up a bigger responsibility that might put her in the spotlight, because she knew she won't live up to the standards and expectations that she had set for herself. She became a recluse, doing a routine that she knew is safe, where she won't fail or screw up and thus bring shame or consequences to her mother...

In contrast, Alyx was her polar opposite. Going out of the Vatican, doing missions, becoming reliable enough that she became her mother's bodyguard, usually following wherever her mother is going; eventually, whenever her mother needs help, or whenever there's something that must be done, it's always Alyx's name that's called, and not her own.

How could she stayed confident in herself after seeing that for years? What had she done in the past ten years, compared to what Alyx, her mother, or her aunt had done?

But now... now she had seen that her mother and aunt are not perfect, and Aunt Alisa is entrusting her with a mission most important. One that people might not even realize needs to be done, even though she had never proven herself to warrant this trust...

Go to the North Pole.

Such a thing managed to burn her spirit, lit something up in her soul.

Lastly, the belief that she had never been loved was broken with her aunt's appearance and a few simple words.

"...Use puppy-dog eyes without shame, I don't think we could really say no to that... Never could, not really.

It reminded her back to the day where it all started, the day where Mister Kenji was visiting.

She had never really voiced her more mundane, everyday concerns to her mother, not wanting to burden her when Mary is already so busy, but that day, when she voiced her want to be the guide instead of Alyx... Her mother had granted her that desire with a smile. And of course, whenever she asked for trivial things like hugs, or to sleep together, or to be sung a lullaby, her mother always tried her best to fulfill those too when she asked.

Like Illia always said, her mother is not perfect, and perhaps Mary simply doesn't know what she wanted or need without her saying it, because whenever she asked her mother for something, Mary had never said no.

Cosmos couldn't believe that she managed to forgot such a thing.

And if that's the case, then...

Just like how she's always scared to show some of her uglier, less-desirable side to Mary, then perhaps the reason why she had never known her mother's imperfections was because Mary thought the same thing... Always wanting to show her best, not wanting to appear as less than perfect...

The thought that she shared such a similarity with her mother brought warmth to Cosmos' heart.

She'd need to have a long talk with her mother, to be truthful and honest, to reconnect their feelings and truly get to know each other better, but that... That can wait, for now.

There's something that she must do first.

"Thank you, auntie... Thank you for telling me all this."

--A genuine smile, one that she used to wear whenever they had their morning tea time in the past.

"I understand. Everything is going to be okay... God won't give someone a trial they can't overcome."

And how could she forget about The Lord? Everything that had happened up to this point... All the pain and suffering that she felt, everything has led her to this moment, where her aunt has appeared before her. Where her problems are addressed and laid to rest, even if not completely.

God hasn't abandoned her.

In her heart, Cosmos silently praised the Almighty God and asked for His forgiveness for wavering in her faith and belief.

"So... Is there something specific that I need to do in the North Pole auntie? Dangers I should be aware of?" Cosmos asked, noticing the feathers are falling faster, an indication that time is running out. "And regardless of how I'd get there... Could I tell everything I learned here to Miss Sofia and Mister Daniel?"

There's no doubt or hesitation in her voice now; Cosmos Fairchild had set her mind to accomplish this task, however improbable or hard it might seem.

Even if there might be traitors in Rose Cross, even if JESTER can do things such as creating clone bodies and ripping souls out in this dream world...

As long as God and her family is there with her, then Cosmos Fairchild won't lose her heart.

Wise Up!

Against Doubt
Special Trait
Having been a spirit tamer for nearly a decade and having an unshakable faith in God has made Cosmos a fairly self-assured girl, unwavering no matter the situation or opposition she found in battle. After all, as long as God is with her, then there is nothing to fear.

Devotion
Minor Trait
A single-minded devotion to two particular subjects: her faith, and her mother. Together, it forms a special will and determination to see things through, a selfless love that wouldn’t make her hesitate to throw her own life away for the sake of her devotion.

It’s a Small World
Minor Trait
Ever since her meeting with Father Abel, Cosmos has grown a strong sense of paranoia, especially towards other Rose Cross members. In order to protect herself and her mother from any possible slander or openings, Cosmos limits her social circle and those she can trust only to her family - Mary, Alisa, and Alyx, alongside Illia and Sariel. Having her world be so small means stronger bonds and love, and as long as this small world remains intact and fine, Cosmos would be able to go through all obstacles and hardships, no matter the odds or prospects.

However, this limits and slows down her bonds with other people - especially those from Rose Cross.

[Airen]

Logan Starbright & Mokujima Chris
Lobby
11/16/2026
Monday - Late Morning

---In this instance, it's all a matter of perspective.

While the world certainly has an agreed upon shape, a general form that everyone can see and interact with, it would be a mistake to say that each and every person didn't have their own point of view. Even if only in a subconscious sense, the trials and tribulations that one has endured throughout life change the way they see things, although even in the supernatural world, it is rare that such differences become literal...

---Mystic Eyes.

---Magic Eyes.

Call it what you will, it's not an ability that Mokujima Chris has seemingly possessed before in her life, and yet, it makes a strange amount of sense all the same... Yes, the world isn't so kind as to hand out sudden power-ups or upgrades out of nowhere... Certainly there have been battles in this world that seem to deny that reasoning, that do, in a sense, seem to imply the world operates under rather bizarre laws at times, as emotions have been known to facilitate miracles, but...

Even then, there is always an underlying cause, a reason why such a thing can happen, the seed is always planted first.

---The code is familiar.

Looking at it it makes sense, no different from the software coding you perform in your university classes, just bigger, massive, unreasonably large, but perfectly sensical if you looked at it in bits and pieces.

---It makes sense to you... And that's probably why.

The seed was planted in your knowledge, and that knowledge had shifted your cognition enough to allow... This...

---A glimpse at something you shouldn't be looking at, like the World itself was running on some sort of source code behind the scenes; it's something you'd have to put some thought into later perhaps, after all of this is done, but...

Yes, but...

For now...

It's all a matter of perspective.

A tearing motion, like pulling an arrow from a body.

For Logan and the others it's simply a bizarre motion, a grab at what seems like nothing, followed by a triumphant clench of a hand as a girl refuses to let what she broke free go, and...

A number of things happen afterwards, all in rapid succession.

---A Goddess blinks in surprise as an invisible curse stops strangling her core.

---The bizarre crystalline monsters begin making tearing sounds behind the compartment, violent pops and cracks that made it seem like they were detonating the materials on the other side somehow, all in the service of breaking through to the other side where it knows where life resides-!

---Chris feels a crack, that's how best to describe it, a crack, a violent internal pop as something like a punch, or perhaps the returning side of a massive, stretched rubber band, hits her square in the face, or rather, right in the eyes. It's enough to send her reeling, an invisible intangible force that struck in the same moment as she pulled, as if to punish her for whatever it was she had done, but...

It's not enough to make her let go.

Oh no, while she can no longer see it...

It feels like something is still there in her hand... Physically this is false, there is nothing purple there in her fist that can be seen, but...

It's still there.

Somehow you know it's still there, an invisible line gently pulling at you, but-!

"...Okay."

---Seeing everything go down so quickly, a Goddess, feeling much better than she had before...

"My turn. No more jokes."

...Simply says this.

She's not smiling, the look on her face is one of infinite determination, having moved from general concern to a steel will after noticing the brief flash of pain Chris had gone through, and...

She snaps her fingers.

---Just like that, the sound of the monsters stops.

---Just like that, the world around you shifts entirely, yes...

A teleportation ability so casual that if you blinked you might not have noticed it had gone off, performed in an area that specifically makes such things difficult to accomplish, Yamuna...

"Stay here for a moment please, I will retrieve the girl outside and then return here."

Says this, preparing herself to move again...

As everyone finds themselves standing right in the middle of a room that's familiar to Chris...

Because, of course, it's her own room...

It looks just like it always does, nothing out of place except for the hole Lexie had made in the ceiling earlier in the week, and...

No sound of anything moving outside the doors, either....

[Bloble]

Logan Starbright & Mokujima Chris
SDCD Dorms - Chris' Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Late Morning

With a snap of a goddess' fingers, the world around the group shifts and changes.

The location they have been teleported to needs no further explanation. Or perhaps it does, and only to Logan Starbright, who has not yet been there. Unlike Eve and Chris, he may perhaps not know who this mess of blankets, merchandise, and electronics belongs to. On the shelves, which rise all the way to the patched-over hole in the ceiling, limited edition figurines and signed CDs share space with partially disassembled power cores and titanium alloy joints. One massive screen takes up a third of the far wall, consoles crowding around its base, and three others form one half of a hexagon atop the desk in the opposite corner. Precariously balanced on the mini-fridge sits a half-finished metal arm, its interior hollow and exterior coloured black and red and covered in cutesy stickers. And of course there are a dozen different pillows thrown about, at least one dripping with oil and used as a resting mat for all manner of archaic tools, wrenches and screwdrivers and pliers thrown haphazardly with it into yet another corner.

Finding herself back in her room, Mokujima Chris heaves a sigh, followed by a grumble.

"This is... the second time... this morning..."

Hearing the voice activated command, the lights flicker on, illuminating the otherwise gloomy room. Chris stumbles towards an out-of-place cupboard among the tools. She bends down, rummaging through it with one hand, the other tightly holding onto something that none in the room can see. After some clittering and clattering her arm emerges, triumphantly holding up an electric kettle, which is immediately plugged in and left atop the cupboard to heat up some water from a plastic bottle. By its side are soon placed several differently-shaped cups, spoons, and jars of sugar and honey. A bundle of whole, tied-together tea leaves is finally thrown in, after which Chris straightens her back, sighs, turns-.

Trips over nothing.

With an almighty thump Chris' free hand shoots out and grabs onto the nearest source of support, Eve, halting her own fall before face meets carpet. Knuckles clench as she breathes heavily, holding on by a single sleeve.

"..."

Heartbeats pass. The ache behind her eyes abates. Chris raises her free hand, removes her glasses and tucks them into her shirt pocket, and and rubs at her eye, muttering something that sounds like a "Thanks, sorry". She tests her legs again, one and then the other, and finally lets go, slowly standing up straight as if nothing had just happened.

Logan and Yamuna find themselves the sudden targets of a baleful stare, one half of which is a bit more bloodshot than it had been a minute ago.

"Make yourselves... at home. If you're leaving... good luck. And... leave a 'connection'. So we aren't... split apart again."

Contrary to the resting glare, the words are welcoming, if blunt. Indeed, with the curse removed, Yamuna is back to being the Goddess of Life. Which means treating her like an invalid is no longer an option. All they can do is hope she can get the job done. The real worry is that the enemy will use their separation to shunt them onto different layers, as they clearly did during the group's stay in the simulator.

As painfully bright as Yamuna has become once more, Chris would not like to be away from her.

But also, she has already been forced out of her room once this morning. A second time would be most unwelcome.

Having said her part, Chris stumbles over to the computer desk, hissing momentarily as her damaged depth perception and impaired sense of space team up to cause her to stub her toe onto its corner. She sweeps aside nuts and bolts and an empty ramen container, and withdraws a thin laptop from a pile of electronics nearby. It is wrenched open, showing that it had merely been in sleep mode - and to anyone with a keen enough eye, had been browsing some rather shady-looking sites and chatrooms. All of which are immediately closed. The bionic arm is brushed off the fridge and the laptop is left there instead, after which Chris removes a small data key from her pocket and plugs it into the side, allowing it to run an automated analysis of the data file named 'End of Reverie Complex'.

Turning away from the computer as a progress bar appears, Chris opens up a drawer and takes out yet another laptop, this one black and bulky and rugged and with a comical antenna extending upwards from it chassis. She places it on the desk, ignoring the much larger monitors behind it, and flips it open. As it boots up she rummages through the pile with the same hand, discarding several prospective items, until finally she has found what looks like a flat metal box riddled with holes. The box is placed on the desk and the wires sticking out the side are swiftly attached to the computer, which has by now finished turning on. She taps through menus, opens up a program, peers at a glowing green line that now bisects the screen horizontally, and nods.

She pauses. Glances back at the others in the room, somewhat sheepishly.

"There's... food in the fridge. And, uh, a microwave. In there." She waves at a random pile of electronics."Help... yourself..."

Then Mokujima Chris unceremoniously raises her right hand, which has been clutching the invisible curse with all its strength as if it were a spider's web leading out of hell, and slams it onto the box, which immediately lights up with colour and code.

Fingers fly across the keyboard. Lines of text and numbers and symbols cross the screen and grow as fast as she can type.

How long does she have? Before the observer, the enemy, comes back? How long before this effort is also silently sabotaged? Before the curse finds a new target or is completely withdrawn?

Doesn't matter. Now is the chance. It must be taken. Before things get worse again.

They cannot see it. Cannot perceive it. But it is here. If it is here, and they cannot see it, then...

All they need is a way to alter that perspective.

"Try... wiggling... out of... this..."

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR - Common Room (?)
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"..."

For a moment, the hand simply does nothing in response to your words.

Of course it is a hand, and hands cannot speak, but the way it ceases it's beckoning motion as you draw near to it makes it clear enough that the owner is aware of your presence... Still, no words arise to meet your own, a likely consequence of the fact that Agatha wasn't actually allowed to exit the room on her own due to the punishment she was under, but...

It is still moving around...

Looking almost like a snake on the lookout for any signs of movement on the outside (even though it is a hand and that sort of thing would be ridiculous) the hand nevertheless makes a big show of looking to see if anyone was paying attention, but...

"..."

...Even knowing this, or perhaps because of it, it still comes as a bit of a surprise when the hand suddenly grasps at your shoulder and pulls you through the door with surprising strength...

Or well, considering the hand belongs to Agatha, perhaps it isn't that surprising at all?

Nevertheless...

...The room remains the room, a bizarre cross between a disco zone and a swaying ship, the light creak of a boat on shaky waters audible, even as the room itself remains perfectly still, perhaps as a courtesy to avoid motion sickness with the guests?

Regardless...

"Yes. Wanted something. I sure did!"

Pulling you through the door in a manner that was somehow both gentle and forceful, the tall woman makes a strange point of shutting the door behind you as she pulls you through, as if she was wary of some sort of monster trying to grab you from the other side...

But of course, that is nonsense.

"I uh... Brought you here to show you that the room still exists here, yes!"

For some reason, she sounds almost nervous after shutting the door, looking at it like she thought something might kick it off of it's hinges, and even instinctively putting her body between it and you as a consequence...

This is strange behavior.

---She seems to recognize it as such too, because soon after she notices it, she twirls back around to face you.

"There are no secret motives here at all! Nothing ulterior about it! And certainly nothing that could be argued by a lawyer as rule-breaking either!"

She nods.

Almost a bit too eagerly.

"As you can see, the room can follow you wherever you go! How are things on your end? Have you made instant friends with anyone?"

---Yep.

A bit strange.

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright
Lobby
11/16/2026
Monday - Late Morning

Miracles are not always flashy. In the Magic Age, the supernatural is commonplace, and so are its phenomena. While quite a few beings and incidents tend toward the extravagant as a sort of rebellion against reality and normalcy or an establishment of their presence, it’s no less likely for truly extraordinary occurrences to have truly ordinary appearances. One can seal soul-shackling contracts with a mere handshake, disperse otherworlds with a snap of one’s fingers - and even release deadly curses like pulling out a splinter.

Chris recoils as the thing she grasped suddenly gives way, the void thunders like a drummer drumming with dynamite, and neither matters much because the Sun is no longer trapped in a cave, and none shall escape its terrible and baleful glare.

They’re in an unfamiliar room. To him, at least; it seems this is Chris’s room, given how she’s making herself at home. A place of safety where they rest while Yamuna handles everything.

Chris stumbles and narrowly catches herself, breathing heavily.

Yeah, right.

He walks over to the brunette and lightly taps her shoulder, sending a pulse of Dia toward her injured eyes. “Sorry, Chris. Perhaps next time.”

Despite his resolutions, despite his efforts, despite his spells, a woman without a COMP grasped a curse with her own hands and suffered the consequences. And now he’s supposed to sit back again while someone else takes on the risk? Absolutely not. He walks away from Chris to stand before Yamuna with no less resolve.

“I’ll go with you.”

Logan defies the Goddess, because he knows quite well that it’s when you’re most secure in your victory that you’re at your most vulnerable. He will never make that mistake again.

---

Spoiler:

Auto-Skill: ???
Spells Set: ???, Dia line, ???, ???, ???, Eye of the Fates
Spells Used: Dia, Eye of the Fates
Heat: 7/9

[Satehi]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR (?)
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"As you can see, the room can follow you wherever you go! How are things on your end? Have you made instant friends with anyone?"

Finding Agatha’s behavior a little weird- her rather forceful way of getting Eva inside, unusual tone of voice, and the strange way she seemed oddly concerned about the door- Eva takes a moment to look around the Velvet Room which Agatha seemed oddly insistent about…

“…? Well, yes, that is indeed what I can see…”

… and unable to find anything out of the ordinary about it, remained confused. It all seemed normal: as much as the Velvet Room could be considered normal, anyways.

Perhaps it might be better to say it looked just like the last time she visited?

“Things on my end are, well…”

She thought back to the last couple of interactions she had. Cosmos and Alyx were the first this morning: she thought that they had gotten along alright, but there really hadn’t been much for them to talk about. Next was Myra, who had brought up a topic that made their discussion rather awkward, and after that was Alexia and Evita... the latter of which she would be hard pressed to say she got along with.

Overall, with an exception for the first pair, it hadn’t gone particularly smoothly…

“…Alright, I suppose.”

But she wouldn’t say things had gone badly. After all…

“A lot of the people I talked to today seem like nice people. I think, with a little more time, we might be able to get along well.”

Things may have gotten off to a less than ideal start, but there were only good people among the people she had met today. Perhaps it was a naïve judgement to form from such short interactions, but Eva did genuinely believe that was the case, and thus in her view, there were no issues.

“Nothing to worry about, really. How about you? You seem…”

Adjusting her view to look once more at the door that Agatha had hidden behind her, she continued with a hint of concern in her voice.

“…distracted…?”

[Airen]

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

It begins with the snap of a single finger.

The invocation of a magic far greater than any one person.

One possible manifestation of the great and terrible power that existed within the hearts of humanity.

Accompanied by a sky of myriad colors.

The World, for a time, completely gives in to the wishes of it's occupants.

---It ends.

While the bizarre, oil-like shadows that had been creeping throughout the streets respond to the sudden invocation of a great and terrible power, there is no longer and sense of fear or anxiety present within them even as they resist. For resistance is futile, it matters not that the curse that had overtaken this city was both powerful and insidiously subtle, it matters not that it was on the level of an A-rank phenomena, a power that was akin to a myth in it's own right, the strength of this power, that of the World-Wide Concert, quite simply breaks it over it's knee.

Entirely without effort.

The shadows attempt to rise, to resist, to assert their insidious will on the bodies and minds of those in the city, and yet they fall all the same.

The darkened sky is replaced by one of myriad colors, storms banished along with the fall of the curse.

The power that explodes out from Raz Stone's body ensures it.

While his own power is certainly present within that explosion, the swirling colors are those of countless different reiki signatures, a spiritual existence so heavy, so unfathomably large, that the World simply cannot handle it properly. The sky lights up, reiki taking over for the golden light of the sun, the horizon seeming to stretch and expand, the sky as far as the eye could see is illuminated not by that distant star, but simply the willpower of the people on the planet. The air is saturated with it, an intense combination of reiki that has the air burning and reality fragmenting, the bits and pieces of the broken World looking like stardust, flowing along the streets as if caught in an invisible wind...

Eyes fall on the land.

They can't be physically seen as themselves, but they are the roaring storm of reiki, the myriad colors that restored order to a world submerged in nightmares, that returned the lost ones to their proper places, that set right the illusions that had stolen so many away, yes...

---The nightmare breaks.

---Aoyama returns to something resembling it's usual form.

The silence shatters, streets that were empty refill -as do the buildings- and the land returns to life beneath the myriad colors. Those that had been set against you by that strange power stop where they are, surrounded by stardust, by that reflection of the distant sea, something inside of them shatters, or more correctly is set right, and...

"Hah... What...?"

Hostility disappears entirely.

The Ibaraki that had followed you through the door is clutching at her head in mild confusion, and you are sure the others are in the same way.

Yes.

---While it is not exactly the intended use of this power, it seems that something in it had broke the curse over them... Perhaps it was the same as the curse of the oily shadows? That bizarre magic that seemed to twist minds, perhaps implant memories, all for the sake of manipulating the actions of others so that they believe it is their own choice, or perhaps...

That they have no other choice...?

---That curse is long gone, so there is no way to say for sure anymore, nevertheless...

Voices cheer you on.

Countless, fans from all around the World, their power merging with yours to give birth to this phenomena. They can see you, even if only in the backs of their minds, and while the heart of the phenomena is here, the storm of reiki that challenges divine law, and sets the World aflame with the will of humanity, this power is sure to reach them as well...

Yes.

The stage is set for all those who wish to walk it.

But, up ahead...

No.

Atop the building to where Matador had dashed to face it's opponent...

The woman from before, the one in the strange clothing, and who was now the only obviously hostile person in the area...

"So this is... Hahahahahahaha-!! Nice! Nice! I guess I lose, huh?!"

Just starts laughing to herself.

As if this entire scenario was hilarious.

---It's an odd response.

But, considering her circumstances, where she is literally the only hostile person around, well...

Maybe she's just going crazy?

_____



World Wide Concert: Activation Okay!
Duration: 10 Rounds

World Check

Xanadu: Ok! Gain "World of Hope: Xanadu."
Revolution: N/A
Ruina: N/A
Lunar: N/A
Cradle: N/A

Current Active Effects:

Our Stage: Nightmare Fiction is dispelled and cannot be reapplied until the effect wears off. Additionally, because of the amount of people watching the event, the ability for non-human Observers to interfere with proceedings is weakened, however as a downside, Virtual Shift Auto Skills also cannot be utilized, even by allies.

World of Hope: Xanadu - When battling against Sefirot entities, all allied units ignore their immunity to conventional forms of damage, this includes civilians.

Curtain Call: Allied Units can choose to move to Raz's physical location for the duration of the effect, regardless of the physical distance between them and him. When the effect ends, return them to their original place as the World forcibly restructures itself and puts everything back where it belongs. In the event that an unbreakable connection with an ally exists (Maxed S.Link) it is possible for them to even transcend impossible states (such as death) momentarily in order to use this effect. Even if an ally chooses not to move to where Raz is, it is always possible to observe his surroundings with the Mind's Eye, and one is still considered an ally by the magic.

Inner Star: Choose the character's best trait/skill. While under the effects of World Wide Concert, any action taken involving that ability will be enhanced to a degree, as if the character held the Dancing All Night perk. The chosen trait/skill cannot be changed afterwards, and will always be what is enhanced under this ability. Additionally, by performing a flourish (focus entirely on completing a single action/task that involves your chosen trait/skill, doing nothing else that turn) succeed at it as long as it is physically possible for you to do. Finally, for the duration of the spell effect, those under the influence of this magic are considered to be innately supernatural, keeping their elemental resistances even if their Harmonizer breaks, and being able to keep their battle stats without a COMP.

Common Ground: Any attempt at using generic fusion spells amongst allied units -even if said units don't know each other on a personal level- will be considered successful.

[Airen]

Amamiya Sho
Aoyama, Streets
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

"Huh-?"

---A questioning voice, inaudible over the roar of the passing winds.

It's a complete reversal of fortune, or rather, the result of your inherent ability to roll with the punches; in the current era, in the magic age, it is not uncommon for people to get carried away and think more of themselves than what the reality dictates... Where magic has become a new set of rules that can be actualized inside the World, that does not mean old processes have gone away, indeed, science remains as powerful as ever, and far more subtle in it's works and in that regard-!

It's an excellent sucker punch.

"Hahaha, seriously?!"

She laughs.

Magnetite surges with sparks, the dull green of the multiplied slimes flaring to life with piezoelectric current; it's a tactic that only works at the end of this particular chain... If this were but the power of a single modified slime it wouldn't mean much, a single burst of this sort of electricity would still be on the level of a lesser phenomena, a particularly painful surge of static electricity perhaps, but nothing that could change the flow of this sort of battle, however-!

The amount gathered here is not to be underestimated; while your opponent has certainly knocked a number of them away in her struggles, the demon-tide still clinging to her body is by no means insignificant...

The hair on your body stands up.

There's a rumbling, mechanical sound, the air pops and sizzles, light reflecting in the countless raindrops that fall even now, accompanied by the more natural forms of lightning up above, in a world that is quickly falling out of your view, yes...

"Nice! Nice! I thought you were flailing around in life with entry-level problems, but that tenacity of yours is an actual good point, huh?"

...Your opponent even praises you.

But then...

Yes, but then...

"Ah well, I'm down, let's do this-!"

---Insanity.

A normal person's response to this scenario would be defense of the self, to put up some sort of barrier in order to minimize the damage and yet the moment you start laughing aloud, no...

Before then...

That person has already put her feet on the 'wall' of crimson light, kicking off of it with all the force her body possesses-!

Naturally, this triggers your trap.

No, to be frank, this action supercharges that trap-!

Where a normal person would do their best to avoid damage, this entity simply does not care; while the action of her moving towards your mostly helpless self at godspeed is one that will charge her own self with electricity, it's a play that she's simply willing to make, after all-!

She won't die.

Of this truth, she is more confident than anything else, therefore-!

The moment after body goes up in electricity, tinted red through the reflections of her reiki.

So does yours.

Between yourself and your opponent, there is one shared aspect of your existence:

Resistance to electricity.

Where your soul recoils at physical attacks, it stands somewhat more resolute against these sorts of forces; even so, the explosion of lights, sound, and fury rocks both your body and her own, and...

---It's not gonna stop.

Like a meteor crash without end, the storm of electricity threatens to carry you both down forever, or rather, it'll continue carrying the both of you down until the slimes change their composition or rot away, but...

---Will you manage to stay conscious till then?

Natural resistance only goes so far, and while you might be able to get yourself out from underneath this meteor with some effort, powering through the stunning effects of the electricity through your natural resistance to this sort of magic, your opponent-

"Hahahaha, isn't this fun kid?! It's like a game of chicken! Whose nerves will fry first?!"

-keeps saying insane things like this, cackling all the while in spite of her body being throttled with lightning, and...

You can't see her.

You can't see anything through this electric storm, but seeing as how the constant resistance to the electricity is starting to heat up the air all around you...

You gotta do something-!

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
11/16/2026
Night, Clear Skies

---An older sister's pride makes it impossible for her to take your arm, but it seems the offer alone is enough to perk her back up into a more normal standing position, as if she realized she had been showing a bit too much weakness for her own tastes-!

Still-!

"Gramps came back too. He's in his room, doing... well, whatever it is that he always does there."

"Is he?"

-this gives her some pause too, a clear blink, the stopping of all motion for a moment as her body processes this rather unexpected bit of information, then...

"Huh... Well, that's almost everyone then... Kind of a shame we're missing a few."

...A smile tinged with sadness, or perhaps, a bit of nostalgia...?

Of course it's only natural, with all of the more 'rare' members of the house strangely appearing today, it was obvious she'd be a bit sad that the entirety of them couldn't be here... Kazuya and Yuka were in the city somewhere of course, so their absence wasn't a big deal, she knew where they were, but when it came to a certain Old Man of yours, well...

It seemed he had missed the memo, as it were...

The only one who hadn't made their way home in quite some time...

Everyone missed him, even if they hid it.

---Although that might just make his absence worse, right...?

Either way...

"Ah well, can't really do much about it."

Noriko ultimately just chuckles and shakes it off, once again realizing she's putting off a certain sort of atmosphere that she'd rather not-!

---And thus, inside you go.

The plan is simple enough, acquire the ice cream, put a movie on, and then perhaps head to the outdoor baths to wind everyone down, get rid of the lingering sand that always found a way to stick to people after the beach...

It's a good plan, a decent plan, one that doesn't bother any of the busy members of the household too much, and keeps your friends entertained, but-!

An extra factor makes itself apparent right after the three of you enter the building, Fia still giggling cheerfully on your shoulders.

---It's not anything your friends (and whatever Anima is) are doing, no... Isamu is just staring at The Door with rapt interest, as if he had thought you had perhaps been telling him some sort of joke earlier, only to find out that the joke is very much not a joke, and that The Door is in fact a bizarre occupant of the house, indeed, the Door is the Door, to the point of sometimes intruding on family photographs, but...

"Nose...? That was a nose, right...?"

He's saying something about a nose in an almost hypnotized voice, but again...

He is not the issue.

The extra factor becomes more apparent upon looking at Tsuki though, who -in a surprisingly fussy way- seems to be organizing shoes and bags around the entranceway, the change to a more mature outfit also seeming to bring about a bizarre change in her normally lazy nature... Unless this was just how she behaved in other people's houses? Then again, she was way lazier at Isamu's place, but she might also not consider that someone else's house, but...

She's stopped in place, ceasing her fussy micromanaging of people's things to look up towards the stairwell in what seems like mild alarm, where...

"..."

-your mother is moving around, still wearing that strange metallic dragon-shape mask she always puts on to sleep.

Her presence is commanding, something heavy, even without taking her spiritual pressure into account, the amazon-esque woman was still striking in appearance, tall enough to put many men to shame, her confident stride is even and stable, powerful rather than graceful, but...

"..."

She says nothing to anyone, at least not at first.

Walking down the stairs, she encounters Anima, who seems to have a weird pride spasm as the taller woman walks right at her without any clear intention of stopping... Her eyes light up, as if realizing she could perhaps get a fight with the woman that was so talked up as invincible if she happened to be a bit rude to her, and thus refuses to move out of the way, no, plants herself right in the way-

"..."

-and is moved, cleanly, silently, without any effort on Red's part even though Anima had been making a clear effort to be a brick wall.

Yes.

A powerful -but gentle- brush to the side, so casual that you're not sure that she realized she had even done it, indeed, this behavior, the casual indifference to the World around her, it was...

---A half-asleep mother when she was looking for something.

Food?

Caffeine?

Impossible to tell at a glance, but...

"Hmmm..."

She starts rummaging through the fridge...

Really...

She doesn't seem to actually realize anyone is there...

"Never fails..."

Noriko chuckles.

[Verg Avesta]

Blaise Pendragon
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
11/16/2026
Night, Clear Skies

"Mom..."

Blaise's word is akin to a sight as he started towards the kitchen, making sure to bend over a little bit on the doorway so Fia didn't hit her head. It seemed that their guests had more or less started to settle down a little bit, though Isamu's current state might mean that The Door had decided to be on a slightly mischievous mood... something Blaise wasn't sure he liked the implications of. Tsukki, on the other hand, was showing a surprising amount of courtesy. Maybe the girl was actually putting up airs and trying to make herself seem far more considerate and helpful than she usually was.

... Yeah, she probably was. The bespectacled girl was definitely trying to earn some points here. Maybe she was after something. More food, maybe?

It's not as if she had any other reason to try to appear very unlike her usual self, right?

And as for Anima...

"........."

Blaise could only give the one-eyed being a somewhat pitying stare, patting her on the shoulder as he passed by the staircase on his way to the kitchen. She had tried. She had clearly tried. But there were some things you simply couldn't do in this household.

... Maybe he should really give Anima a bigger portion of ice cream tonight. Anybody would start getting depressed after all that she had experienced today. And well... it was just starting to look a little sad.

--- Still, now that he had arrived to the kitchen, there was something Blaise needed to take care of first.

Namely:

"If you're looking for food, there's leftover in those tupperware boxes. We went to the beach today, so if tuna's alright, you can chow down the rest of it," Blaise informed his mother as he helped Fia down from his back. "I'll be making some tea and ice cream too, so once you're done with the fish, feel free to help yourself with those. Though uh... don't eat it all. We've got guests."

... For some reason, Blaise found himself feeling oddly flustered.

Why?

It's not like there was anything weird about this situation.

"... I mean, I brought some f-friends over, so you're not the only one eating desserts today," the blonde boy added, scratching the back of his head. "So some restraint would be nice, yeah."

Oh wait.

... Thinking about it, this was the first time he had brought friends his age (?) home for a visit.

[Airen]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
12/22/2026
Evening, Thunder Storm

"So... Is there something specific that I need to do in the North Pole auntie? Dangers I should be aware of?"

"There should be a... Military base of sorts up there, you're going to want to find the main computer, the server on the base, that should have enough information to really get things going... Explain the situation a lot better than I can in... This form... You're going to want to find the data about the X-Cross."

---Again, a gentle smile, although one with a hint of regret.

As if she disliked the fact that she wasn't able to be quite as helpful as she wished, the regret of a parental figure that perhaps wished to shield others from the World, but knew that it was no longer possible for her to do so entirely, yes...

"As for dangers, well..."

A pause.

Yes, a heavy pause as she seems to struggle to put something into words, and...

"Beware the Sefirot."

She just says this...

"They are interested only in destruction, resist them at all costs, they are something that could destroy this place and everyone in it regardless of the circumstances."

Before squeezing your shoulder again in solidarity.

"Thankfully, they are much more obvious about their existence than something like JESTER, you won't have to do it alone, the World will help out of self-preservation if nothing else... But all ten of them must be dealt with eventually, as long as even one remains, this World will always be on the brink of an apocalypse."

---Sefirot.

What a strange word, and one that felt... Vaguely familiar...?

Like Preciel, a word that resonated deep in your core, as if the very act of hearing it had shaken something loose inside of you, but...

"And regardless of how I'd get there... Could I tell everything I learned here to Miss Sofia and Mister Daniel?"

...Before whatever it is can really awaken, Alisa...

"...That's a decision you'll have to make on your own."

...Finally gets around to answering this particular question...

"This situation is one that cannot be solved by any single person or being by themselves, so being able to trust in others is a necessity... That being said, there are no perfect beings in this World, sometimes people lie or have ulterior motives, this situation... It's not just beings like JESTER that are taking advantage of it, I'm sure a number of people that you might not suspect at a glance also have some stake in this event..."

The serious expression returns here, as if again wishing to make sure to drive this point home.

"So whether or not to trust someone... That's a decision you'll have to make on your own."

She nods.

"Don't spread information recklessly, but if you feel like someone can be trusted, then it may be alright to put your faith in them. It might be a rocky road at first, but the World isn't always a cruel place, trust can be responded to with trust, and believing in others... Does work out a lot of the time."

The gentle smile returns.

"If nothing else, your family should be fine of course, we don't have much reason to be particularly nefarious, but... it's not something we can solve by ourselves either, and there may be... Other complications with trying to tell us about it. It's the move anyone watching you would suspect, after all..."

A strange chuckle, as if the woman herself wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that, only that it was, in some way, a truth she felt she must share with you...

"But if you want my opinion... Sofia and Daniel... Both of them have wishes they want fulfilled, just like any other being, but... I don't think it would blind them entirely."

She turns her head at this, up towards the top of the restaurant, where a waiting Sofia is probably lurking somewhere out of sight, and...

"They helped you get this far, no? So if you feel like you want to remain connected to them, then... Broaden your horizons, expand your inner circle."

She nods.

"It's a decision you'll have to make."

The feathers fall even faster, and the woman...

"...But it'll be fine, I'm sure."

Rests her hand on your head, in the common motion of an adult comforting a child...

"So."

A pause.

"Are you okay?"

She asks her final question.

[Airen]

Daisuke
???
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

---Leaning into the mimed hug had caused a bit of an interesting reaction, a brief twitch and some strange hard-to-place noises from the body behind you, as the girl that had mostly been doing it as a joke (seemingly) doesn't actually know how to respond to actually having a boy in her arms, but-

"Oh, but please don't put yourself in a tough situation, okay? It's important to take care of yourself too!"

"...I'm used to tough situations."

-eventually, she seems to break through the weird fit more or less intact-!

"Nothing... New. You could torture me and I wouldn't break~"

---Odd words.

---A strange thing to say in response, but then again, Sakurako had never exactly given off the aura of a normal person...

"But heh... If I'm in trouble... I guess having a Knight in Shining Armor again wouldn't be too bad... Although Dark Knights are cooler..."

Again?

She chuckles.

"Yeah... Bright Justice... That's very... 90s..."

Then lets go.

Her footsteps sound lightly through the data-scape, a shuffling lazy sound that nevertheless has her wandering around in front of you, gaze going up towards the massive despair-engine above, before...

"Now let's see... How should I do this..."

Her gaze returns to you.

"Guess I could cheat... I know where Chris is, so..."

Her voice trails off a bit, getting quieter...

"Rubber-band effect...? Spatial distortion through mantling...? The World wouldn't notice right? Right? Right. Yeah. That's a valid magic theory here... I think..."

Mutterings to herself, then...

"Ok."

A lazy clap of the hands, along with the advent of a somewhat lazy voice.

"I... think I got it. I can send you right to Chris, body and all..."

She nods.

"...Probably."

Before adding that qualifier onto the end of things...

"...Most likely... It should work... Maybe..."

Oh no.

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
SLEIPNIR (?)
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

“…distracted…?”

"Distracted? Me? No, not at all, what makes you think that!"

So says an obviously distracted person, as she keeps glancing at the door behind her with vague concern...

"There is definitely nothing strange going on outside of this room, of course, if such a thing were to be the case, I would definitely not be allowed to interfere directly with the conscious world like this, so there is absolutely nothing strange going on outside at all! No rules are being broken, none!"

She says.

---To both you, and the space around you, as if she was talking to the Velvet Room itself...

Or perhaps, one of the people that you knew were in here somewhere but that you never actually managed to find...

"You can't prove anything!"

Yep.

That one was definitely more aimed at the World around you then you, but...

It's a somewhat concerning declaration...

"So. Now that we've clearly and legally established that I am definitely not distracted, and that nothing strange is happening, why don't we sit around together for... Oh, I don't know, five minutes?"

---Was she trying to say something with all of this?

"Surely we can find something to talk about! Ask away! I'm feeling very helpful today!"

---It sorta felt like she was trying to say something with all of this...

[Airen]

Logan Starbright & Mokujima Chris
SDCD Dorms - Chris' Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Late Morning

"Make yourselves... at home. If you're leaving... good luck. And... leave a 'connection'. So we aren't... split apart again."

"Yes. I suppose it did seem Observation-based, didn't it?"

---Ultimately, the Goddess -in her serious mode for once- responds to these words in an unsurprisingly benevolent way. Crossing the room to the door at them, the tall azure-haired woman taps on the frame once with a single finger, and a wave of Reiki extends outwards from it, consuming the room in it's entirety (as well as the room above) and coating it all in what seems like some sort of Bounded Field, made with Reiki so tightly-packed that you're pretty sure sub-atomic particles would have had a hard time getting through it...

"Locked the room here in space, now..."

Another tap.

The door glows, shifts to blue, and then...

"Bingo, physical connection established~ There, that should make it a bit more difficult for them~"

...Casually makes what can only be assumed to be a wormhole to the outside, another feat that should be more or less impossible inside of the confines of this base due to it's defensive enchantments, but another sign that this being really just follows her own rules when it comes down to it, operating under an entirely different set of restrictions from everyone else in the World, but...

“I’ll go with you.”

...When this request is made, or rather, when her wishes are defied by a human, she...

"Okay."

...Doesn't really argue against it.

"Just make sure to stay behind me, we're walking into a relative unknown... Might be safest to hold hands, even~"

Is it surprising that she's so agreeable?

Certainly as a Goddess she has a bit of an ego, there is a moment of silence at the words that makes it clear she had considered saying no for a moment, as her default stance is that of a protector of humanity, and thus, she does not wish to do things that would put humans in harm's way, but...

After a moment it had faded, like her moment of thought had revived something from the past that had shifted her answer from 'no' to 'okay, but with some restrictions.'

As for Eve, well...

Looking back and forth between the boy and the Goddess, as well as Chris, who has successfully managed to force an invisible spell into a scanner, she...

"...Should I go with them...? Stay...?"

...Asks the obvious question...

Or rather, the sort of question a Knight should ask the person they had chosen to guard-!

[Bloble]

Daisuke
???
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"It's... 90s...?"

A bashful expression crosses Daisuke's face. Had he actually been out of date the whole time? But Chris herself had suggested that name!

Could it be... had she deliberately given him something retro and cheesy?

No, that isn't possible. Obviously not. Bright Justice is definitely cool!

The COMP folds his arms with a boyish pout. "W-well Bright's gonna be back in fashion soon, just you wait. You won't think Dark Knights are cooler after you see what a jerk Dark Justice is!"

Really, that guy is just the worst.

"I... think I got it. I can send you right to Chris, body and all..."

"Eh? You can do that?"

Is she serious? He's only connected to the server, and his physical body is still back at the house, yet she's saying she could teleport him to his buddy's location immediately? Even for a spirit hacker that would be a feat, and to claim to be able to do it remotely is most impressive. To be able to see his buddy again after this stressful situation... nothing would be better.

And, yet, Daisuke shakes his head and smiles gently, holding up his hand to calm down the musing girl.

"It's fine. No need to go that far, Blackrose-san."

It's not because he's worried about the calculations or anything. If he were that apprehensive, he wouldn't have trusted Lexie to take care of Chris. Rather...

"I'm still on patrol. Can't go home early. Besides, Shuichi and Lexie would panic if I just vanished. Things are getting dicey down there already, wouldn't be good to give them something else to worry about."

Yes, he still has something to finish here.

"I'll just go back to my body. You've already helped out a ton, so no need to do anymore. If Chris wants me back she'll contact me herself."

He blinks. Leans in close. Smiles, realizing something, as he looks up at her avatar and its faux-lazy expression.

"You'll also message if you need anything, right, Blackrose-san? It wouldn't be very 'Bright Justice' of me to leave a fair maiden alone when she's in trouble."

[hero]

Amamiya Sho
Aoyama, Streets
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour


"Ugh---?!"

Something hits me.

Initially I can't tell what it is or what angle it has come from, and I am left with just the certainty that things have taken a turn for the worse. If I had to describe it, I'd compare to suddenly becoming the shell fired by a cannon, as the speed at which I was falling a moment ago does not even begin to compare to the speeds I am moving at now. But that's not quite right, It's not me who has become a cannonball, instead, I just happen to be the bystander who absentmindedly dared to walk into its path. Amamiya Sho offers no resistance as Anima's volt-charged tackle crashes into it mimicking the glorious descent of lightning.

"Guah...!!!"

I can't think.

I can't think straight.

Like a gadget tossed into the water, the conditions I've been thrown into completely shut my ability to come up with a plan on the go. It might be motion sickness at work, the pain from the constant surge of electricity running up and down my body, the exhaustion that's been building up over the past few days, or even the realization that my opponent is simply out of my league. Regardless, there are so many alarms ringing in my head at once that I've lost sight of everything I was supposed to be doing.

My mind closes in on itself in an attempt to make the process less difficult. By accepting defeat, it can reduce the time it takes for the individual to get over it and take the next step. It's a self-preservation tactic it knows too well, alas, it is also one that never considers the true extent of the consequences of doing so. Given how fast things have escalated, it is safe to say my brain still does not understand that giving up this fight might very well mean the end of my life in a literal manner.

"A game of chicken..."

I can't see my opponent. Truth to be told, I can barely hear her amidst the cackling of lightning, even though she's making an honest effort to let herself be heard. But those words, those words that I can't even tell if they belong to her or not, force a part of me back to my senses. The reason is simple. It reminds me of us.

A game of chicken huh?

Isn't that what's we have been playing all along?

When society shoved us aside, calling us out for being different, deeming us defective models of the ideals we're supposed to represent, all we did was fight back. Sometimes alone, sometimes together as one, we all found the courage to stand up once more and step on the gas in spite of the consequences.

Even now, we face the same sort of challenge day after day...

"You want to play a game of chicken...? Well, that's too bad for you, Ms. Troublemaker..."

There is not much Amamiya Sho can do. The natural resistance his harmonizer has towards electricity might provide him with some freedom of movement even if the face of a dangerous discharge, but it is a far cry from what it is needed to break free from the grip of a foe that clearly overpowers him.

However.

However, the same principle does not apply to his allies.

"Because..."

He can no longer influence the battle by taking command and issuing orders. Right now, he doesn't have enough strength or time to bind his allies to his schemes. But there is nothing wrong with that, as Kyp and Kioka represent a key portion of his strength. Judging its worth based on Sho's wits alone is not the right way to measure the combined might of this unit.

It's his turn to rest...

And their time to shine...!

"Because that's the one game we cannot afford to lose-!"

-------

Something changes.

An oppressive force surrounds the slime that formerly restricted itself to the movements its master told it to make. This is its own spell, its own strength, the one it has acquired without the aid of anyone else. It's also its own will, guided by nothing but natural instinct.

Yes.

The one thing Kyp can never get enough of.

It doesn't matter if it is edible or harmful, if it is delicious or expired.

Like a pet, if a treat presents before its eyes, it will not hesitate to grab a bite-!

It drains spiritual force.

It drains a portion of his and a portion of hers; the electric appetizer serves to make the experience more thrilling.

It doesn't matter if their bodies are made out of flesh or out of shadow, even if they were made out of diamond, this is the sort of technique that bypasses defenses as if they weren't there in the first place.

Word of advice, do not challenge Kyp to a game of endurance.

He did in the past.

And he lost by a long shot.

-------

At the same time.

The AI that was born as a copy of another bares her fangs. She's timid, frail and self-aware, but she's also the strongest individual Sho has ever known. When pushed to a corner, when there is no choice left but to fight, she's not half as fierce as she is right now, when she can tell that someone else needs her to act. It is then that Kioka ceases to be 'Mirror', a reflection of someone else, and becomes 'Mirror', the reflection of her true self.

Aura Shield.

Out of all the common spells run by this COMP, it is by far the most commonly used. Thanks to some adjustments, Kioka has been able to remove it from its usual niche as a makeshift defense against sudden attacks and transformed it into a tool able to fulfill a number of different purposes, from employing t as a weapon to using it as an obstacle to seal off an enemy escape, among others. While it is true that most of these ideas were developed by her master's creative mind, she has always been the one responsible for making these variations of the original technique work smoothly. Needless to say, her processing capabilities are below average in terms of military models, so it was not something she was capable of doing from day one. She had to learn, make mistakes and then patch them up, all while supporting a Tamer that constantly demands more and more of her attention in order to perform increasingly reckless moves during battle.

So, while the Slime Series is stands as Sho's trademark move, Kioka has made Aura Shield hers through years of hard work.

The denser the barrier is, the stronger it becomes and the harder it is to move around.

Error.

Failure to reach peak level strength. Current processing module only allows up to D-rank.

If that is the case, then compress it.

Reduce its surface to a small point if necessary.

It needs to be able to withstand enough damage to grant victory.

Any other arrangement simply will not do.

Placement is important.

Amamiya Sho might have 'lost sight' of the enemy, but that's not a problem an A.I. like her cannot circumvent. If anything, it just means the ace under her sleeve is properly concealed as well.

Calculate position and timing. Mistakes can be fatal.

She will not accept such thing.

She pulls her finger on the 'trigger' and...

"Dodge right."

It's an empty warning.

Amamiya Sho wouldn't be able to dodge a rising projectile shot from under him under these circumstances not even one time in a hundred. But that's okay, because she already has calculated what his motions would be, and a slight, subconscious turn of his head, of even one centimeter to the right proves to be enough room for the 'bullet' that aura shield has become to soar freely past him and into the lightning comet that Anima has become.

Kioka has aimed properly.

To the spot between her eyes.

Spells and Actions Used

Amamiya Sho

Absolutely nothing!


Kyp

-Spirit Drain-
Rank: D
Type: Spirit
Through physical touch, drains the spiritual power of the target in order to restore one's own.


Kioka

Support Magus (COMP Action): Cast a spell (E-C) of one's own accord rather than that of the User. Spells cast in this way will not be stopped if the user themselves is interrupted, but can be stopped by hacking spells or abilities that target the A.I themselves. Can be used to resuscitate one's user through healing magic, however, if the user is unconscious while a spell is cast, the cost of spells doubles due to having to bear the burden alone. Cannot be used alongside other COMP Actions.


-Aura Shield-
Rank: E-C (D)
Element: Spirit
Different from the Karn and Wall Families of Spells, which could be said to guard against “spells” themselves, Aura Shield is simply a barrier of spiritual power one places in between themselves and the danger in question; a projected shield that can only absorb so much damage before shattering. As a spell it relies more on the skill of the user in order to utilize it effectively, as it can only defend in a single direction and thus requires active participation from the User. Particularly strong against projectiles such as bullets or low ranking elemental spells, as well as weaker Melee Attacks.

Rank of the spell determines how much power was put into the shield, and thus how dense of a barrier it is and how much power it can stop; on the flip side, the denser a barrier it is, the harder it is to move it effectively. Lasts until it is broken by an enemy attack, and even if it breaks, is capable of reducing the damage from spells somewhat by acting as a dampener.

As a warning: User’s lacking in physical strength might be physically blown away by the sheer force behind powerful attacks in spite of defending against it with the shield, due to having to physically hold it in order for it to be effective. This can cause them to lose their balance and be opened up to subsequent attacks in other ways. Cannot directly defend against ‘Pierce’ effects, but if the user is skillful enough, can be used to parry strikes that carry those effects.


Explanation: Kioka created a small, super-dense shield (D-rank) and placed it some place in the path of falling Sho and Anima. This so called 'rising bullet' is in fact stationary, and it uses the falling victims momentum against them. Instead of being 'shot' towards Anima. It's Anima who'll ram her forehead into it at supersonic/anime speeds.

[palad1n]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
12/22/2026
Evening, Thunder Storm

"There should be a... Military base of sorts up there, you're going to want to find the main computer, the server on the base, that should have enough information to really get things going... Explain the situation a lot better than I can in... This form... You're going to want to find the data about the X-Cross."

"X-Cross, military base, server... got it." Cosmos nods.

Of course, Illia automatically put these information in her database, but Cosmos commits them to her memory anyway; It never hurts to be careful after all. Her only worry is truthfully whether she'd be able to operate the computer, but hopefully Illia - and perhaps Daniel and Sofia - could help in that regard. Not that she's computer-blind or anything, but she's not really as experienced with them as she would have liked...

As for the matter of enemies...

"Beware the Sefirot."

A strange feeling washed over her the moment she heard that name.

As an avid reader of legends, mythologies and everything supernatural, naturally the name rings a bell in her head; the Sefirot is a concept in Kabbalah if her memory serves, even if the details escaped her at the moment, but at the very least she vaguely remembers the concept being tied to God... So to hear that the Sefirot are their enemies somewhat unsettles her, even if the concept came from a different religion.

And yet, she felt that that's not all the reason why the name felt strangely familiar.

It's on the edge of her mind, that feeling of nearly remembering something but failing to truly grasp the missing memory... Similar to her recollection of her past self as Cosmos Semesta Preciel, so close yet so far that it won't come back without some specific trigger.

--Wordlessly, she shoved that feeling and thought to the back of her mind. It is not important for now, certainly not as important as what Aunt Alisa had to say regarding the matter of trust.

Perhaps her answer is to be expected, that in the end it all came down to her decision alone, but...

"If nothing else, your family should be fine of course, we don't have much reason to be particularly nefarious, but... it's not something we can solve by ourselves either, and there may be... Other complications with trying to tell us about it. It's the move anyone watching you would suspect, after all..."

This one came as a surprise.

Well, perhaps not if she really think about it, but she suppose there are many factors to be considered...

In the end, she'd think about it when the situation calls for it. After all, she doesn't really want to put her family in danger if she can help it, and she hasn't seen any of them for a week or so. Who knows what Alyx is doing, or how her mother and aunt is actually faring in this dream...

So she'd think about it if she actually meets them.

Right now, the more immediate problem is whether it's still too early to believe in Sofia and Daniel, and her aunt's words put that matter to rest. She was the one who brought it up first after all, so naturally Cosmos has already trusted them to a certain degree, but the red-haired woman's words extinguished any lingering doubts that she may have felt.

After all, they didn't abandon her, nor did they let her mope and be miserable. Sofia even dragged her here against her will and protest, and even though they pushed her to move forward, they're also surprisingly considerate to someone they just met.

She'd undoubtedly be more paranoid if they're Rose Cross tamers, but they're not, and thus Cosmos felt a little easier to trust them.

After all, it'd be reassuring to not do this alone.

"So. Are you okay?"

--And finally, Cosmos knew that her reunion with her aunt has come to an end.

She looked up to her aunt, whose hand is now affectionately resting on her head, and pondered. How she wished this moment could last longer before she must return to reality, to face the task ahead--

But it must end, and Cosmos Fairchild accepted that fact.

--Her heart feels calm, and once again Cosmos found herself to be able to give an honest smile to Aunt Alisa. She doubted she could really put into words just how grateful she felt, but...

"Thank you, auntie."

She could at least express her gratitude by thanking the woman.

"I'm okay now."

Unlike her reply to Sofia earlier, there's no hint of sadness or melancholy, or hints of her forcing herself to say that in order to move forward and not think about her grief and loss.

Even if it has certainly not solved all of her problems, right now Cosmos Fairchild felt okay.

That's why...

"Let's make a promise, auntie."

Cosmos asked one final request to the red-haired woman as she extends her pinky.

"Let's have tea, cookies, and play UNO together with mom and Alyx after everything's over. Just like always."

An oath to succeed, and to be reunited with her family.

[Airen]

Amamiya Sho
Aoyama, Streets
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

---It's a perfect example for the reasons why the A.I exist as they do.

Battle partners, entities that can take over certain functions when their User proves incapable of doing so themselves; it would not be a mistake to say that every battle against a modern-day Tamer is actually a battle against two different individuals, and thus, even if one side of the equation appears to be down, stunned, it would be a mistake to let your guard down until you're sure that both of them are taken care of...

In this instance however, your opponent does no such thing... From the start she has been reckless, or rather, the most joy this individual finds in life is in combat, to her it is quite literally akin to a game, something she does for fun, and as a result, her carefree actions are both destructive and reckless... Certainly, she has no actual intention of killing the boy called Amamiya Sho, but because she feels a fight should go on until one side can't do anything anymore, she is perfectly content with leaving such a thing as a possibility, an accident, something that will keep the boy on his toes.

---But such deductions are irrelevant, what is important is that reckless nature.

Charging right in without hesitation, because it's the most fun for her that way. If her response to the lightning was simply to endure it, force a makeshift contest between you, then it's clear that she hardly bothers to dodge attacks.

Perhaps she enjoys the pain?

Perhaps she sees it as part of the game?

But whatever it is-!

---It seems to hold true in this instance too.

Like a crashing bullet, a tiny shield slams itself right into the head of the target. Kioka couldn't actually see her directly of course, the lightning storm had more or less destroyed the visual abilities of you both for the time being, but calculating the possible movements of the target in this instance hadn't been too hard, especially with all the talking she was doing, yeah...

The sound it makes is like a gunshot, followed by the shattering of glass.

It's loud, louder than even the lightning for a moment, and with it...

"Ghhhkk---!"

Comes a grunt of actual pain, not the joyful laughter that had come with the electricity...

It's an unexpected grunt, as if the target hadn't seen it coming, and thus hadn't had time to prepare herself for it, and-

Right after, as she's reeling from the sudden shot to the head, no, simultaneously-!

---A feast.

With the target already completely bound up within it, being electrified as everyone plummets into the abyss, there is little they can do as a slime greedily begins drawing her reiki into itself.

There's so much of it.

If the entity doing the draining were any smarter, they might realize that this being seems to be getting power poured into her from some insanely potent outside source, but for Kyp...

Well, it's just a glass of water that never seems to empty, or perhaps, the spiritual equivalent of an all-you can eat buffet, and so it latches onto her with surprising strength, unwilling to let go, to let the target get away, and in it's stunned, almost drunk thrashing, and with the weaker form she had taken on due to a certain deal...

STR Check (Anima): Fail

...She can't break it's grip.

Yes.

---It appears you've kept her from fighting back for the moment, albeit, still suffering from the electric storm of your own creation, one that continues in spite of the lack of action from both combatants, continued more by gravity than anything else at this point, but...

While the situation doesn't seem to have changed too much...

Perhaps buying those couple seconds of inaction from your opponent was enough...?