Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Brewed Awakenings ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"Anna, can I ask you to prepare one of those coffee batches you enjoy? I think I'm still half asleep, dreams still playing in the back of my head."

"Sure!"

---Chipper.

Like someone who had been caught in the midst of one of the best days of their life, Anna glides around the shop to the siphon maker with a hint of a song on her lips. With Vincent gone, it seems like a reasonable assumption that he's left the shop in her hands; if there was any customer that would be capable of such a thing, it was certainly Anna, and well...

She had always loved coffee.

...Maybe this was some sort of dream job for her?

The modern world was bizarre in that regard, with the advent of magic becoming commonplace, the aspirations of a lot of people remained surprisingly mundane; the pilot of a legendary OOPart secretly wishing she could be some sort of barista sounded quite feasible, to be honest...

As for Astra...

"The third proposition...? Well, yeah, I suppose it's sort of fun to look at it in retrospect."

It seems she's already hit that point in the paper, or at least, is vaguely aware of what you're talking about, although it doesn't strike any deeper chords than that seemingly...

"It's not just him though, it's like she grabbed a bunch of different articles, stapled them together, then threw em at me because she thought it was funny..."

She waves the paper stack at you.

---It is somewhat lengthier than Bostrom's paper alone would imply, although no other titles are able to be discerned through visual means.

"...Well, that's basically what happened actually. Threw em at me. Literally."

She sighs.

"Silas R. Beane, Zohreh Davoudi, Martin J. Savage... Some stuff about testing the hypothesis through the observation of cosmic rays, which strikes me as a little dumb, I mean-"

And now she's just starting to rant at you...

Like she had been looking for some poor victim to offload her thoughts onto...

"-if the World is hypothetically, a simulation of some sort... Proving it seems like it'd be a really stupid idea! I mean, it'd be kinda like a drug trial right, pointless if the test subjects know what is the drug and what is the placebo. A simulation that comes to realize it's a simulation may no longer be useful to the creators, so they'd just end it. Boom. Wiped out by post-human civilizations because we know too much... Of course, we could also test it and get no proof that we're a simulation, but then that means the results of the experiment are boring, because it will prove nothing... It's kinda silly. The results of the experiment would only become interesting when they also become dangerous."

She nods.

There's a certain proud student energy to it, like she was looking for some kind of validation from a classmate, but it only lasts for a heartbeat, after all...

---This is the Rothschild.

Most relationships have a thin layer of sarcasm over them...

"But anyway, moving on from that... That Wright lady is nuts. This packet is chaos incarnate, there's a written copy of the Arecibo message, some observations on a weird radio transmission picked up in the 70s, then twenty-three pages that are just the number 23 written over and over and over again! Twenty three!"

The rant ends.

---There's a bit of silence, then...

She goes back to flipping through the packet, face tinged slightly red, as if she too was aware of how bizarre her outburst had been...

No response to your talk about a dream though, however...

"Oh right Anna, I'm thinking of going to visit my family sooner than I'd planned. You made me promise to bring you along right?"

"...Oh yeah, that's right."

Anna nods, sliding a cup of coffee across the counter to stop in front of you, the liquid so still during the journey that it's actually baffling...

"Wanted to show Ida I turned out just fine as an adult, really rub it in her face."

She admits to slightly impure motives in a completely neutral tone of voice.

"Time-wise it's sort of perfect considering the vacation time... Although the Pulse Network is down, so actually getting back to the Karlfeldt mansion would be... A bit of a pain..."

She frowns.

"I'd fly us in mine, but my ship is uh... In the shop, too."

...How inconvenient.

[Zurvan]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Brewed Awakenings ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

For a time, Ludwig watches on as Astra speaks with more enthusiasm and pride than their previous encounters. Either having entirely forgotten this morning's events that still are clear as day to the Karlfeldt boy, or having such memories be rewritten entirely. In fact, thinking on her words some more, if she's been here for the last few days... she never even went to Japan with Logan did she? Neither of these girls react to the talk of Ludwig's 'dreams' either, which would make sense if the events of this simulation are so different that events of weeks ago never actually happened.

There has to be a certain catalyst there however, a reason why this world version is safe from the doomed efforts that other simulations have had. Given Marlene's account of things it would appear that in this version of events, the knowledge of the other worlds was never recognized.

With the ship's engines being out of commission as well as the Pulse Network being down, traveling has returned to the more standard ways. So while going to the Karlfeldt mansion would be a pain... going to the North Pole would be an utter nightmare to travel to...

How very unfortunate.

Despite these internal thoughts, Ludwig nevertheless manages to hear the proud student out. Smiling softly as Astra notes Alexia's insanity, while it's nowhere near how a more normal person would act, it's notably more animated than any previous encounters have played out between the two.

Maybe due to recognizing -if only partially- what the zany mentor was trying to accomplish?

When Anna slides the coffee over to Ludwig however, his facial features almost seem unreal compared to other times.

A warm smile as he looks on, seeing Anna in her element. While it sounds stupidly sappy, it would appear that her good mood is almost infectious on the inheritor.

Even in receiving unfortunate news, the boy actually frowns rather than carry that expressionless mask, thinking on matters internally.

Eventually however...

"...Anna, do you remember what we spoke of before that promise. It's important that you really try and think about it, okay?"

...Ultimately asks something rather strange.

Unwilling to let the dream topic go just yet, Ludwig tries once more to see whether some fragment of past events remain.

...Even if that particular memory is somewhat embarrassing to think back on.

As for Astra.

"Alexia is rather insane yes, but perhaps that's only natural for geniuses like her. All I can really say on that is that she's putting her faith in you to understand a certain shared theme, and the greater implication it carries. She has faith in you, so keep at it."

...How frustratingly vague.

"Hypothetically, there might be certain advantages to only a select few knowing that their environment is a simulation. Stay under the radar long enough while maintaining the grand illusion to the world that all is as real as reality gets, and slowly but surely a singular resolve can become quite dangerous indeed. A beacon of change... or at least, that's what I've come to consider, as a sort of thought experiment. Another interesting side branch to consider is the ultimate goal of such simulations. If they served a purpose beyond testing the theory itself, perhaps it becomes important that certain actors realize what actions they ought to be doing."

As Ludwig begins his own rant, suspicious as it may come across given certain inclinations, he unknowingly returns to his usual more solemn and cold outlook. He gently stirs through the rich contents of his coffee cup as he continues:

"And well, given that the SLEIPNIR itself is of alien origin, it's hardly a surprise if there were extraterrestrial life out and about. Observing us like ants, or perhaps struggling through their own share of troubles. Despite her behavior, Alexia is annoyingly clever, so if I were in your shoes I'd keep an open mind about just how absurd the world can be."

The mental image of Alexia literally throwing the ridiculous nature of the World's current predicament in someone's face, while they fail to comprehend it's full intent is somewhat humorous to Ludwig now, given his own plunge into a dream and what that ultimately had meant.

Rather blunt indeed.

There is even the slight chance that the old mentor is aware that such methods allow for others to chime in and learn of the truth on their own terms, or seek out those that have realized it themselves before, but that's impossible to verify at this point.

Still, seems that for now it's not quite enough, leaving the Karlfeldt inheritor some room to play in. Hopefully enough room to take a few more steps.

"After all, it's not every day that the dead rise up for an assault. Or that the ship's engines have issues... Nothing is quite as it seems, it's a strange world we live in."

The only place where you can dream.

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright
Logan's Room ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Noon

Recently, Logan Starbright has come to dislike silence. He busies himself with training and studies, with the crackle of spells and clangs of weapons and clatter of typing because when he has time for silence he has time to hear his own thoughts, and there are few things more unpleasant than being alone with his own thoughts. This was a mistake. She wasn’t responding conclusively to the keywords. Should I have mentioned that last keyword? No, depending on the stability of this world that could end everything in an instant. There had to have been another way. What about having her run a full system scan? Amelia had disordered data. So? Verity has higher specs. It could’ve worked. You didn’t have to force Amelia into the nuclear option. She brought it up herself though. And? You know damn well how she can be. God, I’m pathetic. I should’ve stopped this. What if she is Verity, though? What if she’s not?

Choice turns of phrase reminiscent of a birthday party he went to as a child shatter the silence.

"Not great. This is absolutely insane... But it's a good thing you talked to me about it first."

Was it really? Or should he have not spoken of it at all, instead searching for even the smallest of leads to escape this situation?

"We should... Go somewhere else. Somewhere away from the ship... Boat maybe? There is a lake outside… This isn't the sort of thing you want to discuss where you can be overheard by anyone... Just as dangerous for you as it would be for others."

Isolation is dangerous, but if it reduces the risk for others…

“Call it a fishing trip, then,” says a deeply frowning Amelia.

"Viewpoints that are... contradictory to accepted reality... Are often seen as destabilizing elements by the World after all, especially if the one holding them has high potential to mess up the current narrative."

So this entire world is hostile to me. Logan twirls Amelia through his fingers again. Does Sarah have to worry about this as well? Is she fighting right now in some place I can’t see?

"Best not to draw too much attention to yourself right away."

As Amelia dispels her manifestation, Logan watches Verity float toward the door. He’d bower those shoulders with worries she’d never conceived of. He’d carved taut lines into her once-innocent face. He’d stolen the warmth that once lit those iridescent eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Despite the weight of guilt and the hypocrisy of denying his own decision, he looks straight at her, whether she turns back or not. “This wasn’t your burden to carry.”

[Airen]

Logan Starbright
Starnberg Lake - Germany
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Noon



"..."

At first, only silence heeds your words.

Her floating figure stops in the doorway, the quite bobbing figure almost like that of a particularly small ghost; hair shines naturally, a gradient hue of colors that shifts and swirls in a clearly supernatural way, a being that was not human, couldn't be human and yet seemed to be so full of human emotions...

Human weaknesses, and-

"...What are you apologizing for, if anything, it looks like the other me dropped the ball."

...Human strengths.

She doesn't turn around of course, so it's impossible to see the expression she's making, however...

"And from the looks of how freaked out she was... Something spooked her pretty bad, in that case, it's probably too big for any one person to try to carry by themselves."

She glances back at you.

Gradient eyes have steeled a bit, but there's a hint of a smile there nonetheless.

"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault."

She turns back around, and:

"Not fair to ask anyone to be perfect...."

Drifts through the door.

"Not even if the one asking is yourself."

----Light words.

Casual, and...

"But a fishing trip... Guess that'd work... Wonder what they have in the lakes around here... Could be an interesting experience, oh, ooh, get a rowboat! I'll manifest a proper body so you don't look lonely!"

One she seems to feel a bit awkward lingering on, or perhaps...

Childish innocence does remain somewhere in there in spite of the sudden increase to the weight of the atmosphere.

[Airen]

Hiyori
Aoyama, Tokyo ~ ??? Residence
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Morning

"..."

Your flat complaints are met with a flat stare.

While your remarks are understandably incredulous about the nature of her response to your plight (after all, you had been completely honest for once) her expression doesn't change from it's vaguely serious line throughout the entirety of it, at least...

"...I see."

Not until the end...

"Being a Tamer's COMP doesn't imply invincibility kiddo, human-based psyches are just as liable to make mistakes as humans themselves are... Important aspect of avoiding the whole technological singularity issue."

The serious expression shifts to a vague smile, then, with a bit of an overdramatic sigh...

"But alright, I'll believe you for now. Mark off hallucinations as a possible answer, and then we're left with... Something bizarre, I suppose. Something so bizarre that -if taken at face value- it would break almost every rule of modern magic I know..."

A bit of a smirk crosses her face.

"...You also told me you had a weird program installed by the way. Dream-Weave, right? Then right after it activated all the weird stuff happened? Sounded a bit suspicious to me, so I figured I'd ask about it like a heartbroken parent from 90s- America! D.A.R.E! D.A.R.E!"

...Yep-!

This person is strange.

"So my suspicions weren't entirely unfounded, you see? But if everything is as you say... Then..."

She raises a hand to her chin, then, after a moment...

"...Seems like talking to uh... Miss Smug about it would be a solid choice, no?"

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
Aoyama, Brick Lane
11/16/2026
Night, Thunderstorm

---The wall of stone shatters beneath your fist.

While the hardiness of the substance was supernatural in nature, and it appeared to grow and spread like a sort of rock-based cancer on the World itself, neither of these two factors do much to keep you out.

Rock shatters.

Debris shoots outwards like shrapenel, but none are able to so much as pierce your skin; it's the joys of a natural resistance to physical phenomena, to be able to so clearly exist in the world around oneself, strong and immutable, and thus...

You fall through the cloud of dust and debris into the depths of your own home, doing the sort of property damage that would ordinarily result in quite the talking too from every member of your family.

---But emergencies are emergencies, and considering how everyone inside of this 'Nightmare' was talking about it, it was perfectly possible that all of this was simply happening inside of your own head, in other words, a literal sort of dream that had tangible consquences in the living World...

Anima seemed to think the World itself was responsible, but in your view.... It felt a bit too convoluted, no, it felt a bit too... Malicious.

The World doesn't torture people, at least not knowingly; it is a simple colorless force that acts only to ensure that reality makes sense, to that end, the actions it takes should be just as blunt and without emotion...

Merciless, but not cruel...

This was... Not that...

There was a tangible malice to everything, not just in your pursuer (who vanishes the instant your fist makes contact with the stone) but even your house itself...

It doesn't quite feel safe...

Not like it usually does anyway.

The stone has invaded the inside too, on the second floor, the doorways of everyone's room have been bricked up with the same stone as the outside, and the darkness that exists in the depths of the house seems to almost eat away at whatever light comes in from the outdoors...

A tangible, eager darkness, one that made seeing the state of the bottom floor quite the herculean task, nevertheless...

That's not what you're here for...

Strangely, Fia has gone quiet.

She had been making a lot of noise earlier, audible whimpers like a child being scared of thunderstrikes outside their window, but right now...

Nothing.

Your parent's room, your aunt and uncle's room, your grandfather's and finally the guest room...

---No sound comes from any of them.

Only from the rain outside, and the cracks of near-constant thunder...

[Airen]

Daisuke's arm
Tokyo, Aoyama ~ Moonlight Samsara
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"...Heh, okay. Not a fan of hitting a woman... But I guess it can't be helped sometimes."

In the end, the voice of an ally drowns out the rising sense of panic in the youth; where the voice had been strong but strained, the stressed out voice of someone who was trying a bit too hard to handle everything on his own returns to the smooth calm tones that are Namasaki Shuichi's trademark...

Calm, and just a little bit cocky.

"This should do."

An armor of electrical threads, sparking violently along a body that feels nothing from it's force; in terms of makeshift weapons it's unorthodox, a whip was a rare enough weapon outside the confines of the church (where a certain family of church tamers actually favored it as a tool) but if there was one thing the Ace of the SDCD was good at, it was showing an absolutely impossible level of competence with almost anything he touched... A once over of his own body follows these words, and the simple nod of a head and reappearance of that ever-confident smile assert the re-ignition of battle-!

The flicker of a dashing body leads to the boy's heel crashing into the ground long before he reaches the girl; it's a purposeful miss, the scattering of razor rock and dust like a shotgun blast all it's own, but-!





An obvious feint.

Cutting through the darkness of the impact comes the clear cracking sound of a whip, of the electrical threads being unwoven from a body and launched forward with professional grace, and yet-!

"...Still predictable."

Every bit of shrapnel is destroyed, a whip is not only sidestepped but caught outright, electricity searing into her flesh but her expression emotionless in spite of it all; the woman has been frowning since the appearance of Daisuke, like your arrival here had made her plan -whatever it had been- much more difficult to utilize, and yet...

"Relying on others will only take you so far, Shuichi. To start with, you're different from them and you know that don't you? Eventually, you'll have to stand alone."

A question posed into the darkness on the other side of the whip; in spite of the bright full moon, storm clouds are gathering rapidly up above in a manner that is blatantly supernatural... It's the result of Shuichi's auto-skill, a form of environmental manipulation that changed the battlefield to one that suited him in the late game, and yet...

"..."

No answer comes to her strange words.

After all-!



The youth had already disappeared into the very wires that had covered his body-! It's the same principal as traveling through power lines as electricity, a self-transmutation that ends in a surge of force at the point of contact, a body that had become energy becoming real in her hand -forcing it open in a moment of surprise- and the instant thrust of a fist that sends the woman rocketing into the sky, the dark-haired youth following after her seamlessly, intent on taking advantage of the first opening he had gotten-!

---

As for contact with Saya however, well...

Physically, she appears to be fine, nothing has gotten into her physical circuits, but...

A stream of nonsense data assaults your senses, like she was having some sort of cognitive breakdown perhaps? It could be a similar situation as to what was going on with History, but unlike History, it seems that there's no hidden meanings in her ramblings, or at least...

None that you are able to perceive just yet.

Although in terms of feelings...

---Get away.

A pushing sensation, like she wanted you to leave...?

[Satehi]

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

"But what were we talking about before this...? Your weird SLEIPNIR dream?"

“… Yeah, there was something about it that bothered me, but…”

It was clear enough from the way that Catherine was acting that she didn’t want to talk about the subject anymore. Understandable, given the way that she had described it- and so, if Eva had just dropped it in favor of discussing what she had originally come here for, then she would be complying with Catherine’s wishes. From a perspective, that might be the right thing to do as a friend.

But Eva simply couldn’t be comfortable with that.

It bothered her.

And so, even if it was against Catherine’s wishes, she had to ask again.

“Before that, I just want to make sure- are you sure you don’t want to talk about it anymore...? If you want me to drop it, then I can, but if there’s anything I can do to help, then I’d like to do so…”

[Airen]

Aislynn Wevere
Saint Vivienne ~ Nightmare
11/16/2026
Monday - Evening

"Help you avoid it huh? Hmm..."

Well, that's doable enough I suppose; I'm not strong in the same sense as I used to be, so just snapping my fingers and ending the curse outright is a bit beyond me, can't just warp time forward either, we're both stuck in this mess of a curse until it runs it's course through the both of us, but...

Just avoiding the nightmares?

That's doable.

I can totally do that, but the price...

What the hell do I ask for? If I do stuff for free I'll just look like a hero and people will get a bit too attached to me... Can't have that, my fragile heart couldn't take the sheer irony of humans stripping me of my power and then crawling back to me later on, I'd throw up, I swear to the creator I wouldn't be able to handle it, so-!

What to ask for?

I hadn't actually expected her to agree after all, I think she thinks I'm one of those Alchera things...

And that's not quite the case.

Well, from a certain point of view I could probably be called an "Alcheringa" yeah, but my origin point is a bit different from the Deus Ex Machina, we came from the same place, but by no means am I subservient to that thing, we just sorta both wound up here somehow...

Ah damn, I'm doing it again, thinking to myself a bit too much; bad habit for when people ignore you, not used to being able to be perceived so casually, but those are the benefits of this scenario I suppose!

"Very well, I will help you avoid the Film Obscurite Etendu, and I will keep it away from Ayra as well... But only for tonight."

I say, with some obvious gravitas, flipping my hair to the side as I straighten my back like I've seen those noble women do down here; not quite sure why a straightened spine implies nobility, but-

-no wait, I totally do get it.

It's because when you're taller, you can literally look down on others right?

...

Geez, humans are strange sometimes...

"In exchange, I want you to..."

A pause, then...

"...Hang out with me until the night ends."

I drop an absurd request on her lap.

Let's see how you respond to this one, old buddy-!

[Airen]

Mokujima Chris
Himawari ~ Dirac Sea
??/??/????
???

---Pounding headache, aching joints and a bizarre pressure wrapping around your legs.

"..."

Those are the sensations that greet your return to reality, an overall haze of pain, the taste of blood in your mouth -it seems you had bitten yourself at some point- and limbs wrapped in what you would call a bit too much gauze... The blood-flow is a single pull of the knight from being cut off to your legs entirely, a sign that the person that had put them on you was a bit clumsy, or had perhaps underestimated their own strength? Regardless, it doesn't seem like you're in much danger now, the general aura around you is far less chaotic from the screeching sounds that had accompanied the world falling apart around you, and behind you...

---Something warm?

A familiar reporter, slumped against the wall behind you with her head hanging down, bandages wrapped around her forehead in a way that made it clear her head had bashed against something at some point; she's serving as a makeshift pillow of sorts, a result perhaps, of the situation the two of you had been in before the impact had driven your consciousness away, but...

She seems to be unconscious, so that's a blessing of sorts, right?

Still...

More importantly...

There's the hum of an engine vibrating through the wooden floor beneath you... You're not in the helm, that much is clear merely from glancing around at the room around you, you're in one of the many rooms you had explored earlier with Lexie, one of the messy ones, filled with scattered devices and games, and...

"...Hmm."

A silver-haired android tapping away at a laptop on the opposite wall, seemingly engrossed in...

Whatever was on her screen...

In that regard, it seems everyone is accounted for...

Except Logan.

[Airen]

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

"..."

For a moment, silence is the only response the girl has for you.

It's the obvious response of course, everything about her words and body language had been screaming that she found the topic somewhat uncomfortable, to the point of trying to desperately switch the topic onto another track, but...

Simply ignoring the problem like that didn't sit well with you, at least not this easily; some people might say it's the wrong thing to do, to redirect the conversation back towards a topic she had been steadfastly moving away from, but there are times where you have to push things a bit if you want to help someone...

Sometimes just doing as they like is detrimental to them, but...

"...You're not running away, right? Good enough for me."

...A strange answer emerges after that painful silence.

"Normal response from others is distancing themselves from the afflicted, it's a supernatural mental illness that isn't well understood in the public and could be dangerous from a certain point of view, so it makes sense most people would react that way. I've done the research on it."

Her voice is quiet.

"Most afflicted hide it because of this, people will look down on them, so of course they hide it. Eventually their friends find out about it, and then a fallout could occur, a worst case scenario of course, but one that no one wants to even risk, let alone go through themselves. Alienation from others makes the symptoms worse, so does fear, and a combination of both can even make them fatal in the worst cases."

Quit but clinical, closer to the more stoic Catherine you knew, although now...

It was unclear how much of that stoicism was natural and how much was a side effect or a symptom...

"...This doesn't seem like it's going in that kind of a messy direction, so it's good enough for me."

---Another bout of almost physically painful silence, then...

A simple nod, the shadows cast from the trees outside almost seeming to scratch against the walls of the room behind her.

"This all comes from my own mind anyway, I should be able to deal with it eventually, so..."

Her face twists a bit, just a bit, a self grimace, then...

"...So yeah, let's drop it for now, alright? Long as you don't run away from me screaming or stop hanging out with me because of this, that's good enough for me."

[Bloble]

Mokujima Chris
Himawari ~ Dirac Sea
??/??/????
???

An unfamiliar ceiling.

When Mokujima Chris - who does not easily relax in foreign locations and must be dragged into sleepovers by her next door neighbor - opens her eyes, she is overcome momentarily by discomfort. Things are missing. Out of place. In her body and all around. A pounding headache. Blood in her mouth. Arms and legs wrapped up tight. Joints aching. Daisuke nowhere to be seen.

But most of all, a deep fatigue in every corner of her being. A dull ache that drives away all memory of the desperate strength of before. A sign that her body and mind have only just begun to recover and are nowhere near okay.

She can't hear Raz Stone's song anymore.

"............................................"

Chris stares at the unfamiliar ceiling for a minute, listening to the click-clack of a nearby keyboard and the soft heartbeat and breathing of her pillow. Then she decides enough is enough.

"...mrgh." Her first attempt at speaking ends in failure. Her mouth is dry inside and out, all over. Chafed lips. Throat and tongue sore and bleeding. There is no second attempt.

Instead Chris rises. Her back protests, but not enough, because a moment later she is sitting up and her head is spinning and she squeezes her eyes shut until the rushing of blood in her ears dies down. She blinks and slowly, slowly, slowly turns, testing out her own body as if it is a delicate instrument full of cracks. Which it may very well be, judging by the lack of medical care or Harmonizer support. No healing, which means the moment she loosens the gauze around her legs and blood rushes in, they will remember they are full of shrapnel and broken bone. But her fingers should be fine, right?

Chris looks at her hands and realizes they are white clubs, wrapped up tight with nearly as much gauze as her legs.

"..."

She shifts, taking her weight off of Aleta. Twists to get a good look at the strange Tamer. Feels pops and aches as bone and joints protest. The woman who'd served as her pillow... seems fine. In better shape than Chris herself. But that gauze around her head, does it mean...? No, it doesn't. In fact, it's not even red. "...no bleeding?" Chris mouths to herself, blinking. Then why wrap it in the first place? There's nothing scary about an unconscious person, so it's not at all difficult for her to close her eyes and push her forehead against Aleta's, measuring the other woman's temperature and getting a feel for her blood flow through physical contact.

"..."

Completely fine. Truly, fools are fortunate. With that worry cleared up, Chris turns away from Aleta and squints at the rest of the room that is not her room.

"...hrm." Problem. Everything is blurrier than it should be. Her glasses. Where the hell are her glasses?

She glimpses a familiar android, or at least someone that resembles her, tapping away at a keyboard on the other side of the room. No sign of Logan. He must be steering the ship or similarly unconscious.

"Eve," Chris whispers in a voice like sandpaper being dragged over concrete. "Help."

She raises her useless hands and waves them around, as if asking to be picked up.

[Airen]

Mokujima Chris
Himawari ~ Dirac Sea
??/??/????
???

The clicking of keys stops at the sound of your voice.

It's not a gradual stop, it's a sudden and abrupt stop, as if the priorities of the person typing had shifted the instant they noticed you had returned to consciousness; indeed, the blurry figure of what was almost certainly Eve shifts in place against the far wall, looking over at you with an expression that your glasses-less self can't read, then-

"One moment please, Lord Gokurakuin."

She apologizes to someone with a strange name that you don't recognize, before setting the laptop aside and standing up; in comparison to you and Aleta (who had only made some vague mumbling noises at the forehead to forehead contact) the android-that-is-probably Eve seems to be more or less unharmed, or at least, if she is damaged, she isn't using the same sort of medical techniques on herself than she had probably used (sloppily) on others, in fact, if she was the one that had (attempted) to bandage everyone else, that unfamiliarity with the flesh and blood form might actually explain the... Relative, ineffectiveness of the procedures...

She isn't used to it.

---A flaw, in her otherwise perfect nanny routines?

Nevertheless-!

"..."

For a moment, she stands directly in front of you, looking at your waving arm self with mild confusion, then...

"...I see. Very well."

She nods.

Reaches down...

"Up we go."

And lifts you up easily into her arms, body naturally putting you into a princess carry...

...What was up with that?

Why were all the girls around you so inherently gallant...?!

"I have your glasses right here, they are relatively undamaged, in comparison to everything else."

Her voice sounds proud, as if this was some sort of achievement, then...

She gently pushes them onto your face.

---Yep.

Definitely Eve.

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Brewed Awakenings ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"Before...?"

Anna frowns.

Crimson hair falling gently against her face as she finally stops darting around behind the counter, her hands automatically go up into a pose reminiscent of Vincent's own, an ambivalent cleaning of a glass behind the counter as she seems to consider your words.

"Hmm... This isn't about the revelation I was a maid once right? You're not haunted by the fact I did your laundry, are you? Yes, I've seen everything, but that's fine~"

She says it like a joke, but there's a certain inquisitive light in her eyes that appears the moment you call the matter important; perhaps it was simply a result of her nature as Team Mom, but that look...

It was one that was thinking hard, or perhaps, simply trying to be useful to someone else, either way...

"Or about that big gathering over in Tokyo? I thought it went well, Lady Adala's friends bullying her into that swimsuit at the party was quite the sight, never thought I'd see the day."

...She says some alarming things in the end, as for Astra...

"..."

She ultimately just huffs ever so slightly at your words, obviously resisting the desire to roll her eyes at what she must have thought was a blatant attempt at making things more complicated than they needed to be; silver hair falls back into her face as she turns away from you, and...

"Well, I suppose the World is Strange."

Shrugs it off.

---Much better than the way she had exploded at you last time, before everything went to hell, but probably not the reaction you were hoping for either...

"Some things are better left undisturbed though, even in the modern day."

A chuckle.

"Hidden truths can be dangerous. Any creator of a simulation this big might as well be omnipotent to us, and Aliens... They'd wreck havoc on this planet... The SLEIPNIR is proof enough of that already, and... Urgh, I don't even want to think about what their existence on planet might do to "The Common," uh... cognition, space ruins everything always, best to keep our eyes on Earth."

A hardline-stance-!

Although as she turns back to her papers at this, you...

"..."

See an unfamiliar man walk into the cafe.

He's tall, with a long sweeping coat, with features that are ultimately somewhat generic and yet...

Everyone notices when he enters, an unmistakable, unnatural presence akin to a charmed existence, one that has both you and the girls looking over at him as he wanders off to sit on the other side of the room by himself, head resting atop his hands in a pose that made it clear he was waiting for someone or something...

---The girls, after a brief glance at him-

"..."

-pay him no more mind than that, as if it wasn't really that important, or perhaps...

They just knew him from somewhere?

[Zurvan]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Brewed Awakenings ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"Hidden truths can be dangerous. Any creator of a simulation this big might as well be omnipotent to us, and Aliens... They'd wreck havoc on this planet... The SLEIPNIR is proof enough of that already, and... Urgh, I don't even want to think about what their existence on planet might do to "The Common," uh... cognition, space ruins everything always, best to keep our eyes on Earth."

"..."

For a time, Ludwig remains silent. Thoughts overrun the boy who is realizing more and more just how much has changed already. Events that had transpired in his memories seem to have been altered, with likely the attack on the SLEIPNIR not having taken place in this particular scenario.

With it, Lara and Sarah's fates are dubious, if rather grim given their previous states...

"...Maybe. All the same, I can't really turn a blind eye to things."

Ultimately, the boy mumbles mostly to himself. Loud enough for Astra to overhear, yet not necessarily intentionally so. No new hints are spoken, no insights teased.

Despite his and his COMP's initial defiance to Binit's new world simulation, the boy is not without doubts. Plunging others, no, the entire world into danger for the sake of people he's never even met --or at least doesn't remember doing so-- because their fate is far too cruel, it's not something that one should do without caution or the volition of others. Prior events have already showed the Karlfeldt boy how powerless he is, and that truth is only amplified with the Administrator that has overtaken Xanadu. Yet to do nothing with the hidden knowledge, to let others suffer without end through his inaction...

Recovering his previous tone, the Rothschild nature flows through the boy.

"You won't get anywhere with your homework if that's your mindset. Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power. And frankly, I'm done being powerless."

As if to change the mood that Ludwig had fallen into, Lydia chimes in.

Sooo~ I looked into the 23 matter, and surprisingly there's quite an amount there. Seems certain people suggest it holds some intrinsic value, with multiple events featuring the number in some way. There's some group calling themselves Discordians, with 23 being the holy number of their goddess Eris, who supposedly oversees the world. The number 23 itself is part of a mess called The Law of Fives, which states that: 'All things happen in fives, or are divisible by or are multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly appropriate to five.'

He rises from his seat, moving over to Anna while murmuring on the implications of Lydia's findings. Thoughts continually buzzing about.

Five... Five Alchera's? Five Worlds? Five... Administrators? It is rather suspicious Alexia seems to know so much, maybe she too is---

Uh Lud, remember this isn't your homework. Alexia somehow knowing you, of all people, would meet some Admin overlord, realize from me that there's at least three other admins out and about aaand tie that all up with some vague hint, a hint that is just a number mind you, in Astra's stack of papers on the off-chance you'd see it and get the hint that Ms Wright is Admin Number 5, that's just insane. She might be smart, but she's not all-knowing. Sometimes an old mysterious insane lady is just that, insane. Besides this Law of Fives is noted to something akin to a self-fullfilling prophecy. The more you look for it, the more you'll see it. Simple pattern recognition. In addition, if you try hard enough, everything can be related to the number five, as you've instantly demonstrated.

Moving essentially on autopilot, mind occupied far more with Lydia and Alexia's hints, he eventually reaches Anna.

Without thinking, his hand moves towards her face, gracefully sliding the crimson hair strands behind her ear.

"Different memories... Or different events altogether..."

Words stumble out unknowingly.

Still, there is the interpretation that the Law of Fives is in truth a symbol for the observation of reality changing that which is being observed in the observer's mind. You know, Schrödingers cat. How the act of observing a quantum system can change the outcome. And how without such an observation, there is a superposition of multiple states, where any possibility is technically possible. Only once observed does something become, in that regard it fits well enough as a warning of sorts, towards you and Astra. Also, wow, that's a bold move.

Lydia's words focuses Ludwig's mind back to reality. A reality where, suddenly, the boy finds himself looking down into an unexpected pair of eyes.

"...Ah."

Looking away in a flight of panic, the Heir of Unity's gaze falls on the stranger.

"Who's he?"

And once again, hopefully a shift in topic is enough to break away from what just happened.

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Brewed Awakenings ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

---You certainly hadn't meant to do it.

The movement of a hand to someone else's face, the gentle tucking of crimson hair behind an ear...

Perhaps it had been an unconscious attempt at getting a clearer look at her face? At seeing if some spark of hidden recognition would exist in her eyes? In the end, the motives are unclear even to you, but the effect that those unconscious movements -unconscious words- have on the atmosphere is both sudden and absolute, yes...

---All thought of Astra's homework is thrown aside by all parties, as Anna freezes in place at the contact.

---Off to the side, Astra's hands rise up, slamming into her own face as her mouth opens in mild shock, a muffled "oh my," slipping out in a way that was absolutely juvenile in nature, the surprising realities of a woman that was still in her late teens emerging from the normally hard-ass disposition of a Rothschild Tamer, one who is leaning forward to watch the proceedings with wide eyes now, and well...

"Uh... Uhmmm..."

Those eyes, and those words, seem to restart Anna's brain-!

"Were you uh... Chasing away a mosquito or something?"

Face is flushed crimson, and the words are a bit of a reach, an instinctual sort of deflection-!

"Did I drink too much at the gathering? Did I forget something super important?"

Eyes dart to the side, then...

"Did I lose memories of my youth to alcohol?!"

...Another concerning remark from her, one that has her holding her head in both hands as she tries to burrow down to the heart of the mystery that was your actions, while Astra...

"Hahaha! So it's like that? Or maybe that's just how you want it to be? Spicy~"

...Cackles in the background.

For a normally quiet girl... There was definitely a form of immature teenager in there somewhere...

Perhaps exasperated by how closed off and stoic everyone was normally?

Hard to say really, for all you knew, this might actually be something closer to her true personality... Still, her cackling fit lasts for but a few moments more and when it ends...

"As for who that is..."

She gestures towards the distant man -who had glanced over here at the cackling himself- with her head, one eye closing as she suppresses the giggles and returns to her more stoic self...

"...That's the guy that lives in Chiyoko's room, I'd say it's scandalous, but... Well..."

She leans forward onto one arm, papers forgotten at her side...

"I've never asked too much about it. You know how things are around here, keep to your own business."

[Zurvan]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Brewed Awakenings ~ SLEIPNIR
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

L-Lydia!?

GOOD LUCK LUDIWG GO GETTEM!!!

---Any aid is denied without remorse.

Which one of the two is more red in this exchange... is hard to say, neither of the pair is particularly far off from Anna's crimson hair color. Much like last time with Anna, leaving Ludwig to his own devices leads him to dig his own grave. But while this one's much deeper than last time, in contrast Anna's reaction is much closer to how Ludwig had reacted before.

It is... quite adorable.

Of course, being on the other side of things for once doesn't make the situation any less awkward.

"Were you uh... Chasing away a mosquito or something?""

"Err, no, I..."

Despite the situation and incoming panic at actions beyond explanation, it does seem that last time's events... never happened for the girl.

And that realization is felt, even affecting the tone in a somewhat somber manner.

"Did I drink too much at the gathering? Did I forget something super important?"

"I-it's fine if you don't remember, I guess it wasn't that important... please just forget it."

Even when he first arrived in the ship, Ludwig had felt a sort of kinship with Anna. Perhaps it was due to their respective personalities being similar, or maybe it was just the feeling she gave off? Perhaps subconsciously Ludwig had recognized her from his past, before Adala had saved her from a life of servitude under the Karlfeldts. A certain reminiscence of the elements at home, even after all those years.

Whatever the reason, there was always a certain comfort the boy felt around her. As if he could be himself more with her, to let himself lower his guard if only a little. A sense of safety and understanding. Soon enough one visit led to another, coming around for lunches, or just to snoop on the screens and consoles. Any excuse would do, and without ever realizing it, something intangible had started to form...

Or perhaps there was already something there? A childish promise... that had become something more?

Still, Ludwig realizes that this much is clearly too relaxed as he dons his usual mask, colored cheeks the slowest to return to normal, eyes trailing off to Astra who--.

"I've never asked too much about it. You know how things are around here, keep to your own business."

--says this.

To the Telepath.

The same Telepath she exploded at this very morning... Truly, there is no recollection of the events of that world left in either of these girls' minds.

...Screw it.

One final effort, just to see if there really was nothing remaining of last weeks events. Embarrassment be damned.

Taking her hands in his, slowly turning her face back towards his, carefully sensing if there's any resistance.

The stranger can wait for a few moments longer, surely.

"Anna, on second thought, I can't let this slide. Please, come with me for a moment."

Lydia:

Save it for later, just keep an eye out for Chiyo's roommate.

And so, without letting go of Anna's hand, Ludwig takes her just out of Brewed Awakenings, for a simple question.

"Anna, you're free to decline, but if it would not trouble you... could I take a look at some of your memories?"

A question with potentially dangerous consequences...

[Bloble]

Mokujima Chris
Himawari ~ Dirac Sea
??/??/????
???

"Wah."

Mokujima Chris is lifted into the air. A pair of miraculously undamaged glasses settle on her face. She is thus able to see the gallant person who just hoisted her up.

Princess style, huh? Eve has good form. Possibly even better than Shuichi. This is the third - no, fourth time in two weeks that Chris is being carried around. The world must be having a laugh at her expense. Yet the android isn't laughing. She's completely sincere, wearing an expression that says 'I performed admirably, did I not?' Just like a child that has made a splendid peanut butter and jam painting across the kitchen wall.

For those types there's only one option.

"...well done."

Chris reaches up and pats Eve's head with a wrapped-up hand. At the moment it is all the positive reinforcement she can give.

She then turns her eyes to the surroundings, doing a second sweep of the now sharp room. As expected, it's a mess. But her things are here. That laptop is working well enough to communicate with... who is she communicating with, anyway? The engine is making some splendidly solid sounds as well. All things considered, the fact that they are alive and here is almost worth celebrating.

No time for that, though.

"Status report?" Chris asks. Then, after a few moments, she remembers where her position, being carried by a princely woman she barely knows, and adds a strained addendum. "And. Um. If your arms... are tired... I can sit..."

Chris looks away, feeling momentarily self-conscious. For lack of anything better to do, she brings one of her hands to her mouth. Perhaps she can untie the bandage with her teeth instead of saying more silly things...

[Satehi]

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

“… I see.”

… Eva had thought it before, but it was very unusual to see Catherine so self-conscious and vulnerable. She didn’t like it. It felt wrong to see her like this.

“Thank you for explaining, even though it’s such an uncomfortable topic… I won’t bother you about it anymore if you don’t want me to.” Although she knew Catherine wanted her to drop it, she couldn’t help but add a couple more words “Although, just so you know, I don’t think any less of you for it- so you don’t have to worry…”

There was, of course, a perfectly logical explanation- the issues that Catherine was undergoing with her shadow were apparently severe, poorly understood, and a possible source of social stigma- it was a secret that anyone would absolutely want to prevent from leaking out.

The fact that Eva was learning about it… was probably not a matter of trust. It was more of an accident, and she was sure that if Catherine could, she would have gone back in time a couple minutes and made sure Eva never stumbled across her secret.

Even if that might have been logical, Eva didn’t like it. There was nothing about that secret that Catherine should have felt the need to keep hidden from her, and with that thought in mind...

“Anyways, about the SLEIPNIR dream…”

Taking a deep breath, she looked Catherine right in the eyes to make it clear that she was perfectly serious about what she was about to say.

At first, when Catherine had initially shut down the idea as a mere dream, she didn't really know what to do- but at the time, it was hard to find an excuse to back out without giving off the impression that she didn’t want to talk with Catherine anymore now that she learned about the medication.

Now, though, she knew quite well what she was going to say.

“I’ll be honest. You were honest with me, after all, and I appreciate that, so I should do the same, right?”

She had no idea if this was actually a good idea: Agatha, who seemed most knowledgeable about it, didn’t exactly say that she couldn’t discuss it with others. But this was only fair, since Catherine had told her about her own secret: it was now her turn to share hers.

“From your perspective, this might seem a little crazy- but for me, there was no dream involved. Earlier this morning, I remember us boarding the SLEIPNIR, on an assignment with the other factions to go investigate the north pole.”

She continued, well aware of how crazy what she was saying would sound.

“Does any of that sound familiar at all? It doesn’t seem like anyone else remembers, but you sounded like you did…”

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright
Starnberg Lake - Germany
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Noon

"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault."

Amelia had said that too, hadn’t she? “You haven’t done anything you need to apologize for, so stop apologizing!” It’s true that he doesn’t know how he came here, and that he didn’t cause the underlying situation. Still, there had to have been a better way. Files to study or anomalous phenomena to observe. Just because she said it was fine didn’t make it fine. Right?

A nascent smile crinkles her cheek.

“This was your fault.”

Icy eyes glare at him in utter disgust.

He needs to be perfect. That’s what he’s meant to be. That’s what earns love.

Logan doesn’t loosen his white-knuckle grip on Amelia until he reaches the hangar. He walks to one of the supply stations on the wall and checks out a nautical capsule, a cooler, bait, a couple of lifejackets, and any other supplies he didn’t bring with him before taking a deep breath and walking toward the nearest hatch.

He exits the SLEIPNIR, pale sand shifting below his feet. The lake surface glitters under the bright sun overhead, and Logan winces as his eyes adjust to the first natural light in a while. No rainbows or butterflies, at least. Or static. Gazing sideways reveals an uncharacteristic lack of people at the popular tourist spot, yet plenty of footprints. Are those from engineers and Tamers conducting diagnostics, or leftovers from tourists before the SLEIPNIR landed? Either way, Verity was right - this lake is isolated. A cool wind blows off the lake as he walks toward it, peering briefly at Rose Island visible in its center. No reason to go there for now. He twists the nautical capsule, tossing it gently toward the shore as it beeps - and it expands in midair into a sturdy rowboat with a motor on the back. Logan loads his supplies into the boat before donning his lifejacket and helping Verity into hers. And with that complete-

: “Aren’t you forgetting something, Logan?”

: “No, I don’t think so.”

: “I’m not letting you play dumb on this one. The hat, Logan! The one in your tackle box!”

: “...Right. That. That hat.”

He sighs a sigh that replaces his usual depression with a profound exhaustion, pulls a brown and green cap from the lid of the box and puts it on his head. “Of all of the Secret Santa gifts, why did it have to be this?”

The hat reads:

I am the reel of my rod
Line is my body and bait is my blood
I have cast over a thousand hooks
Unaware of impatience nor aware of fish
Yet, these hands will never catch anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Fish Works.

: “Did you ever figure out what that poem even means?”

Logan pushes off from the shore, rowing the boat into the pristine lake. “Nope. The only results I got were from some fringe lunatic forum - Beast’s Lair - filled with people trying to manifest Virtual Shifts without magitech.”

Soon enough they reach a suitable spot in the lake, and Logan activates the boat’s anchor spell. He attaches his custom fishing attachment to Amelia, sets a line, and casts it into the lake.

“Let’s begin, then.”

---

Wise Up!

Spells Selected: ???, Eye of the Fates, ???, ???, ???, ???
Spells Used: Eye of the Fates
Heat: 3/10

Mundane Skill: The Great Outdoors - Logan acquired this skill due to his childhood tenure as a Boy Scout, excursions on the family yacht, and various experiences prior to his induction into Rothschild. He is reasonably familiar with the environment and its navigation and interaction. While he’s not a master of any particular pastime, he knows the general specifics of and has moderate proficiency in each.

Walking through nature, particularly forests, helps Logan relax. The brief time he spent in the park with Astra was his first such excursion in many months.