Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[Katie]

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne (?) ~ Clock Tower
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

Asuka’s astute observation is eerily correct. How in the world are they in a LOVELESS? For what reason are these armed soldiers even raiding one? Still, she’s not sure what’s more surprising—that Asuka has been to LOVELESS so many times she can identify it on sight or that every mall is apparently exactly the same, down to the layout. Both of those are things she really doesn’t want to think about right now.

Isn’t it kind of messed up that a commonality between universes is a mall chain? The evils of capitalism aren’t just constant, they’re exactly the same?

Can’t you use all that processing power on figuring out how we escape?

Let’s just go up, then. Maybe we can slip past them. I know you don’t wanna fight, and it’s better to corral them all in one spot.

Thank you.

...You’re welcome.

Aster’s surprised tone makes Ayra feel a bit guilty, but there’s time to resolve the problems in their relationship later. There is a plan, and they have to act fast.

“Asuka, let’s just go up. We might be able to sneak by and get out if they all funnel in and follow us.” With those words, Ayra takes the lead.

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright & Amelia
SLEIPNIR - Logan's Room
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

Shinar. Etemenaki. The looming presence of a gargantuan tower, so overwhelming that it asserts itself in the sight of those forced to deny themselves the heavens. The biblical implications and potential resemblance to the enemy they’d banished from Aoyama escape neither Tamer nor partner. Nor does the unfamiliar terminology.

: Arcadia Presence? Demonica Soldiers? The hell are those?

: The boss and minions, I suppose. I don’t know more than that either.

Both players experimentally swing their weapons in-game before heading toward the orphanage.

: “I bet there’s some useful spells in there!”

: “I’ll get a head-start on you in the city if you take too long. 60…59…”

[Bloble]

Daisuke
Brewed Awakenings, Aoyama
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

"Oh. Um."

There is a long silence as Vincent stops speaking, only punctuated by the soft sound of cloth wiping glass.

What can they say? History, vague as it is, is a heavy one, painting a rather bleak picture. The world is strange, and the shepherd God, who once withstood this same sort of nightmare, cannot even properly tend to his sheep. What can the dreamers say to that? Daisuke's processor whirs in confusion and worry, for the man before them seems both more and less human now than before.

In the first place, he can't even comprehend how the world could be strange. If it is strange, then the strange world is all the young COMP has known. How could a being not even twelve months old ever grasp that strangeness? Perhaps for a god, or an older being, it's different somehow. But then, how can he understand said being when they are so different?

In the end, as the ten thousandth CPU cycle comes up with no satisfactory reaction, Daisuke moves. The command comes from somewhere deeper than the machinery that powers the shell he calls a body. Deeper even than the logical centers that form what would in human terms be a brain. From the the tiny fragment of crystal that makes up his COMP core, a shuddering spark leaps forth and hits the motor control center directly, executing a command.

With a jerking motion, Daisuke's hand closes around the handle of a cup left on the table between everyone. Whose is it? He does not have time to wonder, for Daisuke immediately brings it to his lips and in one motion throws his head back, pouring the whole contents of the mug down his mechanized gulllet - and across the artificial taste buds Chris had installed so recently.

"Aa-aa-aa---aa-aaa-aa--aaaaah."

While it may be meant to mimic a sigh of relief, it sounds like no such thing. Daisuke's mechanized voice shudders as gigabytes of pure bitter dark roast taste blast through his sensory channels.

"T-t-t-this c-coffee's great, Mr. Vincent. Thank you!" he boldly lies. "I r-r-really ap-p-preciate it! I'm sure you d-didn't make it because you thought you should, b-but because you wanted to!"

[Airen]

Daisuke
Brewed Awakenings, Aoyama
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

---An attempt to break the awkward silence.

The moment where all listen to a God and come away with different opinions, where a certain problem is presented to those seemingly without a way to solve it... Where a situation that was rapidly becoming more and more complex, was threatening to override the sensors and turn the investigation into something nonsensical, yes...

You make an attempt to break that silence.

Is it clumsy?

Perhaps.

Even so...

"Well, running a coffee shop was one of my dreams. By that I mean aspirations, not the mess that we seem to have found ourselves in right now."

The older man chuckles, the same human tone as always coming forth from a man that had revealed himself to be far more...

"Although..." He frowns at you. "Do you need sugar? Cream? It's rare to see kids your age drink coffee black... It's more of an acquired adult taste."

...In a similar effort to reawaken the room, and indeed...

"I still don't like the taste of it that much," grunts Noriko, chuckling to herself in her booth. "I'm just in it for the caffeine. Better coffee than those energy drinks. Can't handle the sugar at my age."

She grimaces at the words "my age," a result of a self-inflicted wound-!

Lexie still seems a bit confused, but has cheerfully started preparing a second mug of coffee with practiced airs, packs of sugar and cream flying into a brown mug as Shuichi just chuckles to himself, but then...

"...Daisuke."

Saya speaks up.

Or rather, she gives you the A.I equivalent of an elbow bump, a light tap to get your attention, followed by...

Private messages.

In other words...

The A.I equivalent of whispering, talking so that the Tamers won't know about it...

"Remember back at the mall? Didn't you get a weird paper from that weird girl? What was her name? Wevere?"

A pause of obvious uncertainty, then...

"Perhaps that has something to do with all of this? Things started to get weird for us right after we left, right?"

[Bloble]

Daisuke
Brewed Awakenings, Aoyama
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

"N-no, black is fine... er, well. One sugar and a bit of milk couldn't hurt, I guess. Better to make it two, just to be safe. Y-yeah."

As Daisuke wilts beneath the pressure of adult discussion, the atmosphere slowly relaxes back into that of a grazing field for the sleeping sheep tended to by the shepherd god.

He hears another knock on the metaphorical door, however, that raises a question he had been subconsciously avoiding the whole time.

"Remember back at the mall? Didn't you get a weird paper from that weird girl? What was her name? Wevere?"

"Oh, Ai-chan? That was just an IOU sorta thing. She wouldn't do anything this mean!"

Daisuke's initial response is determined, direct, and decisive. Of course Aislyn Wevere couldn't have caused all this. He is almost surprised by how forceful his own claim is. Does he truly believe what he has said, he wonders, or does he merely want to believe it that badly? That he hadn't misjudged, that shaking that woman's hand hadn't been a mistake, that he had made a friend instead of turning his back to an enemy? What would Chris say?

"...um. Well. I'll just re-examine the memory data. Just in case."

The COMP flips back through the records he has, holding them up to the light and running them through the current situation. Almost immediately a connection arises.

"Noriko-san was on her list!" he says, sending an excited buzz along hiss peer-to-peer connection to Saya. "There were a bunch of other names, too, but there was also a 'Mochizuki Noriko' on there. No one else that's here, though. I guess Sakurako-san, sorta."

Daisuke has to hold himself back from immediately hopping over to the caffeine-starved cop and asking her if she's ever met a Wevere. To look over evidence is one thing, but to directly try and implicate someone requires a bit more than just this. He has to consider the feelings of the accused as well, before putting her on the stand. A police officer is sure to meet a lot of people, he reasons. Especially those like Aislyn who get into lots of trouble. She was probably bailed out one time and got an autograph to commemorate the occasion.

Trouble, though.

Trouble, trouble...

"She gets into a lot of trouble...? Like being attacked during a rainstorm at night by weird television monsters... and exuding that uncomfortable aura of reiki... come to think of it, it sounds almost like a curse. Like there's a bunch of malice stuck to her for some reason. It's not unusual for curses to spread from one person to another like an illness, so maybe I caught something? It just doesn't sound right, though!"

Similar to their current situation, but not similar enough. There's gloomy weather of all sorts about, and creepy televisions and radios are a popular enough form for human darkness to take that similarity and coincidence are equally likely. Another thought comes to mind immediately. One of Chris' lectures, where she went on for nearly fifteen minutes about how coincidence was a 'spook' or something like that. Daisuke hadn't understood that one very well.

"I really don't think that page is trouble, either. Ai-chan said it was part of her good luck charm. And besides, that doesn't explain why Akiko-san is here, or Lexie; they never met her at all. Even if Ai-chan is cursed, and spread it to me and then Shuichi and Lexie once we met up, it wouldn't explain why Sofia isn't here either; she was with us too."

Daisuke's words are more uncertain now than he'd like them to be. Part of the flaw of being a self-styled detective COMP is the ability to second-guess himself constantly, without the raw gumption to pick a deduction and go with it that comes only with experience. Where an older COMP might have reached a conclusion by now, he cannot do so alone.

"It... doesn't sound like it has anything to do with this, right?"

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
Karlfeldt Estate ~ Forest
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"..."

The woman had withdrawn her hand from you with a chuckle, a sign of some mild form of amusement inside of a situation hanging by the edge of a knife.

"You'd be twitchy too, if the church saw fit to try and execute you every chance they get; being stabbed out of nowhere was a little amusing the first couple of times that it happened, but I'm afraid that it grows rather wearisome after six or so times, sneak attacks are hardly sporting after all..." Another chuckle, a darker one that nevertheless carries her forward into the woods. "I'd prefer they at least try and talk to me before burning me at the stake, you know? I spend a long time in that house thinking of villainous, 'Lady of the Castle' speeches that I never seem to get to use... It's always straight to the battle with the holy warrior types nowadays."

---A talkative, almost cheerful personality?

"It's no fun. None at all. The art of dramatic banter was lost to the Ancient's followers after the crusades I suppose..."

The darkness of the woods seems to lighten, the path opening up again, the crowding trees and the monstrous shadows of their branches banished by the presence of the woman wandering through them, as if they knew that it was their duty to part before this person, to not bar her way...

Who was she really?

Her talk of the house implied a certain important position in it, so...

Was she the head of it? If she was, then wouldn't she have been the one to hand out the key you were looking for now...?

Or was that not the case?

"Still, you seem reasonable, so I'll tell you something I've learned over the years... Just because we might wind up fighting soon doesn't mean we can't be friendly with each other right now. Allies and enemies can be surprisingly mercurial things, an ally of one day can easily be the enemy of the next and vice versa... It all depends on circumstances, and pragmatically speaking... Others are most useful when they are in their friendly phases."

She glances back at you.

---Eyes still lit like the full moon, a mark of ever-present inhumanity in this human-shaped entity.

"So how is the Velvet Room? Is the Devourer doing okay in her rehabilitation? If it's marked you -and it has- you must have seen her inside of your dreams, no?"

[Airen]

Ayra Lilygrove
LOVELESS ~ Second Floor
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

---Up to the second floor.

Orders are acknowledged with just the briefest of nods, the flight up worn down escalators decisive, well aware of the strange armored figures that are fast on your heels. There may not be a need to go as far as the freight elevator or the emergency exits; depending on how good your pursuers are, it may be possible to just hide up here and double back on them, sneak past and go in a direction they may not consider at all, and thus-

"..."

Darkness becomes you.

To play the role of Joker is to gain a certain talent for the subtle, the infiltration phase that always proceeds the more flashy exit. It's not exactly magic, but the art of knowing where to conceal oneself is one that comes naturally to you now, and for Asuka, well...

---A twitch of the hand, a minuscule flicker of reiki, and-

"..."

-light bends around you both as a clear cylinder forms around the both of you, touching both ceiling and floor. It's a common enough invisibility formula, operating through erasing one's physical presence through the creation of a glass pane that manipulates both light and heat rays in order to avoid both visual and thermal imaging systems. As a squire, she is expected to be of a more heroic sort, not the type to go for backstabs or sneak attacks, but...

These things are just the reality of the world sometimes; being able to turn invisible is a handy enough skill, another layer of stealth on top of positioning in the room and-

"..."

-one enters softly, the metallic thud of their boots steady and controlled, striding into the room with their strange rifle at the ready. In spite of their lack of reiki, the person -or perhaps the suit- is moving quite quickly, their movements seeming more like a glide than a run as they move towards the center of the room; it seems like only one of them has chosen to come this way, as even after a good fifteen or so seconds no one else comes through the hallway the three of you had used... Was only one of them going to come in through that window? Was another going to breach at a different point? Had they surrounded the mall in it's entirety or just one section?

If their goal was to catch runners that would probably do it... The sheer speed with which they had apparently noticed your intrusion into the mall made it rather clear that they had been waiting outside of it for something like this to happen, but...

"...Hah... Not in here..?"

...those thoughts quickly come grinding to a halt, as the lone soldier finally speaks aloud, voice echoing out from what must have been speakers on her helmet, and...

"Really? You kidding me suit? They're obviously still in here~" The figure chuckles to itself. "Sensors on these helmets suck, I swear..."

...It's a very familiar voice.

Pleasant.

Good-natured.

Sort of jokey.

A voice that not just you and Aster, but even Asuka recognizes, even before she takes her helmet off and that becomes recognizable too, yes...

"Hello? Dimensional deviants?"

Calls someone that looks and sounds remarkably like Tsukiko, at least from this distance...

"If you two are still hanging out in here, would you mind just coming out now? It'd be a lot easier for everyone if you did~"

A pause.

"I'd rather not fight if I don't have to, you know? But I can't just let aliens show up here whenever they like~ Boss told me to capture anyone that pops up through the tower. You know how it is right? Work rule #1: Boss's orders are non-negotiable! Or well maybe you don't, I don't actually know what it's like where you're from, hah..."

Asuka looks at you (visibly confused now) and...

Yeah.

Now's about the time for confusion...

Is that Tsukiko? Or just some sort of look-alike?

And if it is her...

What the hell is she doing... Where this is...?

[Katie]

Ayra Lilygrove
LOVELESS ~ Second Floor
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

What the fuck?

What the fuck?

In a rare display of unity, Tamer and COMP both express the same thought. A million thoughts race through Ayra’s mind, but the neurons in her brain all come to the same conclusion. If she’s going to get answers, she has to be open for direct confrontation. She’s not sure if she and Asuka can keep running if this… person has managed to see through their ruse. Who knows how many are like them running around?

Ayra. Do you think this is her?

I don’t know… and it doesn’t matter at the moment. I’ll make a distraction.

I can’t tell if you’re a moron for thinking you can’t get caught or way too trusting in Asuka to weasel her way out when given the opportunity.

It’s only right the teacher paves the way for her student.

If you insist.

Aster: Asuka, make a run for it when Ayra gives you the signal. We’ll be alright.

The Knight of the Round slips out of the invisibility formula into plain sight, as if she teleported into reality. She holds herself with an unwavering air, Aster’s obsidian blade contrasting with the soft pinks and whites of her clothes. The seriousness of a warrior wrapped in the dress of a civilian. If there was any surprise on Ayra’s face from the earlier revelation, it has been replaced by an overwhelming determination.

As long as there is someone who views her as a Knight, she will uphold their standards.

“I find it difficult to believe that you aren’t looking for a fight dressed like that,” Ayra says, waiting for her opponent to make the first move. It’s a practiced arrogance. She can’t lose for Asuka’s sake, so there’s no need for her to even entertain the thought of weakness. She points her blade at her foe, accompanied by an unashamed smirk.

“Ayra Lilygrove, Knight of the Round. You?”

[Satehi]

Eva Ellet
Karlfeldt Estate ~ Forest
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

Rather than generate any sympathy, hearing about the woman’s past escapades with the church only made Eva wonder if it was really okay to be holding a temporary alliance with such an individual. But still, even knowing that her predecessors would not have approached this woman, Eva liked to think that they would have found her decision acceptable. For one, it was very clear that this woman was rather strong, and an unnecessary fight was definitely not in her interests right now.

For another, she seemed to be knowledgeable, very willing to talk, and spoke in plain terms. For Eva, who only had a vague sensation of what she should be doing, that combination was invaluable.

“… I’ll keep that advice about temporary allies in mind.”

She couldn’t refute the practicality of what the woman was saying. Nonetheless, it just didn’t sit well with her, to blur the line between ally and enemy like that. It was uncomfortable. She much preferred things to be simpler, clearly divided into black and white.

“As for the Velvet Room…”

This one caught Eva off guard.

“… it’s a very blue place, I guess. My visits there are enjoyable.”

After all, Eva herself didn’t know much about the Velvet Room. It seemed like the sort of thing where it would make sense as time went on- that was at least, the impression she remembered receiving. It was awkward, to be admitting this ignorance to someone who might be her enemy- but there was no point in pretending she knew much about it. She didn’t- and although she was more than okay with waiting…

… Eva couldn’t deny that she was, a little curious. Especially given the present circumstances, where she only kept her memories thanks to Agatha’s influence.

“I don’t really know that much about it, to be honest. This is the first time I’ve ever met someone else who knew about it. Although…”

Perhaps this woman as an information source wasn’t the most reliable, since…

“I think you might be mistaken. I’ve only met two individuals there- a man with a large nose, briefly, and a nice young woman. I don’t believe either of those fit your description…?”

To Eva, associating either of those with the Devourer was unthinkable.

[Airen]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
Monday - Noon
11/16/2026

---Nightmares.

Not a foreign concept to you, even before all the weirdness of the past few weeks, when fantasies that embodied a number of your darkest fears had come to life in a way that had felt far, far too close to home...

The old nightmares were different.

Stars flickering out of existence before your eyes, one by one at first and then faster and faster, like a chemical reaction that had gone too far, one that was rapidly spinning out of control to a point of no return, like they had all been swallowed up by an invisible black hole, or some sort of singularity.

A sky full of stars to a sky full of nothing, a simple, symbolic image that had nevertheless always filled you with a strange sense of unease that you couldn't quite quantify, yes...

If you had to give a name to the feeling behind those old nightmares, it would have been something like...

Void?

The Last Question

Entropy?

---Something like that anyway, even now, it's an image that brings forth a strange sort of existential dread; ideas that come to mind almost like intrusive thoughts, long lost memories in buried thought processes, yes...

You were no stranger to nightmares.

"Hmm..."

With the affirmation of the people around her that the topic is indeed one that might interest them, the somewhat dreamy, casual sound of your aunt's voice accompanies the slow tapping of her fingers on the tabletop. A rhythmic sound that joins that of the midday rain, thrumming along the rooftops of the LOVELESS mall...

"Well, in that dream... I believe I was walking with someone... A few someones actually, although I can't quite remember their faces, it was very unclear as far as dreams go..."

She starts slowly.

"It was raining... A thunderstorm? Something like that..."

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Endless fingers drumming on that stone countertop.

"We were going to St. Peter's Basilica, everything was normal, everything was fine, although I think there was a weird golden tower around, and then, right after we got inside the church..."

Here she pauses, a slight frown breaking through her normally pleasant features, and...

"...We ran into the White Shroud."

---Daniel listens intensely like he always does, fingers steepled and eyes lit up with curiosity; Sofia seems to mostly just be listening out of politeness... Or perhaps out of that strange respect (admiration?) she seems to have for Alisa...

And you...

Familiar...

Doesn't this sound a little familiar...?

-----


Daisuke
Brewed Awakenings, Aoyama
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

"..."

Actual ellipsis, the bouncing, persistent typing emoticon of a fellow A.I that seems to be thinking as hard as she possibly can about your words, to the point where she's having trouble coming to a conclusion about your final question...

"..."

Your defense of Aislynn Wevere had been a spirited one... Delivered with a forcefulness that seems to surprise even you, a mark perhaps, of your desire to believe the best in everyone you meet, to not be deceived by appearances, and...

She had certainly seemed friendly enough at a glance, a woman that had seemed to be suffering under some sort of curse yes, but not a malicious entity in and of herself... It's a conclusion that is only reinforced by referencing your memory data; while your instincts and sensors had gone on the fritz the moment she had appeared, an inner voice screaming that she is an enemy to both humanity and humanity's allies, that 'curse' had seemed to lessen in effect on you overtime, like the more you challenged it, the more that irrational fear had relented...

Of course that could mean anything; the ceasing of your instincts crying could have simply meant that she had worked some sort of magic on you, but...

The look on her face after you had touched her, and then not fled...

A look like surprise? Then gratitude?

---It's hard to believe someone like that is actually an enemy. It's an emotional reasoning rather than a logical one, a sign that you might share in Shuichi's unfortunate weakness to some degree, but...

That's the feeling you get.

Whether the feeling is 'correct' or 'incorrect' is not something that's really possible to say...

"...There are some holes in the idea that she's behind everything, yes."

Ultimately, Saya admits to at least this much...

"But her name... Doesn't it come out to mean Dream Weaver?" A pause, the typing symbol again showing it's hesitant persistence. "It's rather on the nose, isn't it? Sure, it almost feels too easy... But can we safely call something like that a coincidence?"

---Suspicious.

Her suspicions about the woman come clear over the messaging, hints of it in her reiki line itself.

"She gave me bad vibes too..."

---Is this opinion because of Aislynn's apparent curse? Or just the instincts of an experienced plume?

"But you're right... We didn't find the Empress here either..."

By that, she must mean Sofia.

"Although she's also the sort that might just be hard to curse..."

Another pause, more thinking, endless thinking, then...

"But hmm... An IOU you say? What do you mean by that? What did it say?"

[Airen]

Logan Starbright & Amelia
SLEIPNIR - Logan's Room
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

(BGM On)

----Hollow Fields.

The text that paints itself on the screen as you move towards the orphanage, ultimately seems to be the name of the facility itself. It's a name with rather ambiguous connotations, something that 's not quite as bright as what one might expect of a facility that shelters children who are lost in one form or another, but...

The inside makes it seem like a normal enough place; everything from the carpeted red floors to the pale-whiite ceiling tiles are clean and obviously well maintained, the mark of a facility that seems to be on the up and up, in spite of the somewhat distressing name. As an orphanage, there are naturally a lot of child NPCs wandering the floor, some watching television, others reading books from what seems like the library section of the facility (strangely, a computer seemed to be inside that room as well, labeled "Emergency Contact), playing a few arcade machines in the garage (Polybius?) and even some (the older looking ones) going through the motions of preparing meals in the kitchen, not as a looped animation, but rather as a true, linear sequence of events? Yes, pots of water that go on the stove actually boil after awhile and are used to make noodles, tables that were empty are slowly being filled, that sort of thing... Combine that with the obvious clock at the bottom center of the screen (it reads 1st, 9 AM at the moment) and it seems to be implying that this stage is one with a proper time system?

Where the NPCs had a set path of things they would do at certain times of day?

It's a bit of a strange mechanic, but intuitive enough in the grand scheme of things, although strangely...

Once you had entered the orphanage, the timer counting down from 3 minutes had paused? The game doesn't draw attention to it, it's simply something the both of you notice as you take in the sights, after experimenting with your movesets in game and finding that, well...

To put it bluntly...

Your 'characters' in game seemed to more or less function like Logan did in real life?

Of course the actual method of doing so differs greatly, with button inputs and ability cooldowns serving as the digital replacement for the HEAT system you knew so well, but...

It's certainly strange.

But considering how much this 'Dream' was influencing this game already, it's probably not all that surprising that it's started doing things like this too...

Still-!

"Hello! Are you the caretaker of this place?"

Rice has gotten ahead of you a bit, having made her way to one of the older looking NPCs in the room, a woman who seemed to be in her late teens, an adult, rather than another one of the kids, speaking into the microphone on her controller to initiate the 'talk' action, and...

"...?"

The NPC turns to her in quite the organic way, taking a moment to even act confused, a question mark floating above her stylized head, before...

"Ah, yeah, something like that I guess~"

She responds, in a cheery sort of way. Her voice the sort of familiar that has you mentally doing a double take, because...

Didn't that...

Wasn't that voice, the face in the artwork...

Wasn't that just Ayra's girlfriend...?

Or well, ex, according to Eliza... (still a tragedy, they were so cute together)

"How's it going?" The Tsukiko look-alike continues cheerfully, even as Rice seems a bit surprised at the depths of this response. "You a new kid? Sorry, you caught me at a bit of a bad time... There's some stuff I gotta go do right now, but I can help you out when I get back~"

"Feel free to help yourself to anything in the fridge~"

So saying, she starts to move towards the two of you (or rather, towards the door) before....

"Oh! Sorry, didn't see you two either~"

Pausing in place.

"Are you with the kid over there? You guys can raid the fridge too, if you want, I know it's kinda rough out in town nowadays~!"

Very...

Accurate responses from what should be a completely normal A.I...

[palad1n]

Cosmos Fairchild
LOVELESS, Moon Under Water
Monday - Noon
11/16/2026

Cosmos could feel her heartbeat quickening as she listened to Alisa's dream.

There were a few new details that she wasn't aware of - like the golden tower - but the thunderstorm and her aunt going to St. Peter's Basilica sounded all too familiar, bringing back unpleasant memories that she's not too keen on reliving.

Thankfully, she doesn't break down; perhaps the more relaxed atmosphere helped to calm her down, or maybe the fact that Alisa is alive and well here with her made the memory felt like a nightmare rather than something real (though then again, they're currently in a dream, so perhaps the comparison were moot), but she's thankful all the same. That means she could try to learn more about what happened without worrying everyone.

"...Were you with mother in the dream, auntie?" Cosmos asks, her fist clenching unconsciously as the memory of her brief encounter with the White Shroud flashed in her mind. "And... what does the White Shroud want?"

[Bloble]

Daisuke
Brewed Awakenings, Aoyama
11/16/2026
Monday - Dark Hour

"It's one of those "if you wanted anything what would it be" sorta things..." Daisuke explains sheepishly, at least as much as one can through the COMP equivalent of a text chat. Dream Weaver? How had he missed that!? He 'feels around' the internal storage compartment where he stored the paper, confirming its location and contents, and transmits the text string over to Saya. ""Wish for it and it might come to you", sorta like that. I don't know if it's just words on a paper or an actual good luck charm or something else. Maybe there's some power to it. Her book did seem to be magic..."

Perhaps, he considers, it may be of help to try using that piece of paper. Not that he knows how to. Maybe you just hold it and think really hard about something you want? Magic tends to be convenient like that, doesn't it? Chris once explained that back in the old days when the public hadn't discovered the supernatural, everything was way more finicky and required complex rituals and invocations and reagents and basically only really wise or learned people could do it right. She then followed it up by saying that nowadays you could mostly scrape by just by throwing your spirit in the right direction and letting the underlying formulas handle the complex part once the coding was done. So it shouldn't be difficult to figure it out, Daisuke concludes. It starts by just thinking of something...

"...But it doesn't matter," a part of Daisuke says, telling Saya as well. "How could I call myself a Spirit Tamer's COMP if I relied on a good luck charm to do my job for me? We're supposed to be the front line of defense for Aoyama and our partners. If there's something we want, we achieve it ourselves through hard work and cooperation. It's not like I'm not grateful, and I wouldn't refuse someone's help if they offered it, but it'd be wrong to use something like this here. We have to solve this mess, not just for ourselves but for everyone else who's had to suffer. This nightmare isn't something we can't defeat."

Perhaps it is something he has inherited from his buddy: A streak of stubborn pride running beneath his soft outer shell.

"Saya, I won't pry into Shuichi's past with that white-haired girl, or into whatever happened between Lexie and her sister. However..."

Daisuke pauses, collecting his thoughts.

"There's something strange I've been thinking about," he says, both across the connection and out loud for the people among them. "That odd green moon in the night sky. I've never seen nor heard of anything like that before. It seemed to disrupt COMP funtionality, at least until I got rid of it... and that was more of a lucky guess than anything. Are any of you more familiar with it? We COMPs aren't supposed to be that easy to scramble."

[Airen]

Ayra Lilygrove
LOVELESS ~ Second Floor
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

"Oh, wow."

In response to your confident words, that practiced arrogance that defines how you see yourself as a knight, comes little more than a single blink, before a completely shameless wolf whistle. It's a move that's almost entirely on brand for the Tsukiko Yonagi from the years at Saint Vivienne's, the roommate that pretended like her harassment was something vague, rather than concrete fact, and-

"You're cute. I don't normally get sent to capture the cute ones."

-yes, this feels familiar.

Distressingly familiar, the devil-may-care attitude hiding a hint of nervousness, that of a soldier that was confident, but also somewhat more inexperienced than the Tsukiko you knew...

Yes.

This doesn't... Quite seem to be her, now that you're getting a better look at her, this apparent doppelganger looks a few years younger, but-

"Ah, sorry, sorry. That's not an answer to your question, right?"

-she chuckles, running one hand through her hair in one of Tsukiko's nervous tics, but also maintaining an unblinking gaze on you, a mix of serious and unserious behaviors that have you thinking this just might be some sort of front, or persona...

"I'm Tsukiko Yonagi, Shinar Defense Force. Nice to meet you."

She smiles.

---It too, is distressingly familiar, a manifestation of nostalgia in it's purest form, but...

Your focus is also absolute.

This person doesn't aim her gun at you, but she doesn't quite lower it either...

"As for looking for a fight? Well... I mean, we've had a few otherworldly visitors in the past. Never ends well when you just let aliens show up and wander around your world freely, you know? That's how people get hurt."

She says, her cheerful tone hiding the sort of determination that makes it clear she intends to carry out her assignment until the end...

"Last few groups came out swinging, so can't blame me for coming here prepared for a fight, right?"

She smirks, perhaps as a response to your own smirk?

"I mean, you do seem like the type that might be just as dangerous as you are beautiful, carrying a sword like that around..."

Zero shame.

None.

Absolutely none...

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
Karlfeldt Estate ~ Forest
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

Great Devourer.

An enigmatic name for one of the two entities listed as an S-Class threat inside of the Rose Cross's databases, albeit, one whose file was almost completely censored in comparison to the other known S-Class threat listed in the archives. As far as the Tamer organizations were concerned, an S-Class threat is one that is capable of outright ending the world, not just wiping a country or two from the map, but rather obliterating the planet (or at least humanity) in it's entirety, a feat that even the Gods were incapable of doing nowadays, with most of their manifestations simply being considered A-Class phenomena, or "an entity capable of destroying a country."

So the two S-Classes...

One was the Kyuubi, hailed as a manifestation of humanity's darkness, a sort of collective shadow for the entire human race, it was a being that was capable of challenging all of humanity because it itself was the entirety of humanity, their twisted, destructive self that exists on the other side of a metaphorical mirror. In it's files it was also heralded as "Nyarlathotep," and it's attack in the year 2008 had been one of the many events that had destroyed the masquerade around magic and introduced the concept to the populace of the planet at large...

The planet itself being lit on fire with cursed black flames was the sort of thing that was difficult to hide after all, still...

In the files, it was listed as being sealed, in video game terms...

It was much like a final boss that had been put back to sleep. Something that would emerge again at some point in the future, but one that shouldn't be a problem for your generation, something that was being handled by others in a land that was far from this one.

The other S-Class threat, the "Great Devourer," was...

A bit more lacking in terms of details honestly? It was listed as a "God of Light," a 'superior observer' to humanity, an enemy whose thoughts could overwrite the human traditions of the planet with it's alien will, and who was listed as "omnicidal" inside of the few records about it that were public, apparently seeking the complete erasure of both human and demon life in order to maintain some sort of self-desired cosmic balance...

There's not much to go off of really... Much like the Kyuubi it's also listed as being sealed away, and when asked about it in Tamer classes, Mary had simply said that the Devourer was a "soul of infinite sadness," but sad soul or not, it's always felt like bad news to you.

Something that desires to destroy everything would naturally be the enemy of everything, it's easy enough to fit that into your worldview; and when you try to apply that sort of concept to either of the Velvet Room residents?

Well...

Neither seem omnicidal, right?

Agatha in particular seemed almost completely harmless...

"Really?"

The woman chuckles at your conclusion, an ambiguous noise that fit a bit more into the vagueness that supernatural entities seemed to love so much...

"The man with the large nose, and a nice young woman..."

Another chuckle.

"Well, even if you haven't met it, I know for a fact it was sealed inside of the Velvet Room... And it's certainly met you."

She turns back, just for a moment, to look you in the eyes.

I's not a hostile gaze... More of a curious one?

Or perhaps just amused?

"It's power is protecting you. If you really don't know why that is... Then I suggest you find out it's motivations. If it likes you, then you should sway it completely to your side, get it to take up arms again..."

Another chuckle, crimson eyes moving from your face to the darkness ahead of you-

"You would be hard pressed to find a more powerful ally than that, especially in this... Situation you've found yourself in..."

-and stops.

"...Ah, it seems my charge is coming to us."

As a figure bursts forth from the woods in front of you, and-

"Hah... Hah..."

-reveals herself to be the -vaguely familiar- figure of fellow Rose Cross Tamer Saria Justice?

She seems to be somewhat out of breath, looking for all the world like she's been sprinting for hours, but...

"Huh... Ellet?"

She pauses when she sees you, eyes flickering over to the taller women for a moment (although seeming to recognize her as not being a threat immediately) before turning her gaze back to you...

The two of you aren't friends, she was a coworker you saw from time to time at best, but...

"You're stuck in this mess too...?"

The concern in her tired voice seems genuine enough...

[Airen]

Raz Stone
???
??/??/????

---Light shines one more time.

Body screaming in protest, at the abuse that has led you from one battle to another, from strange alien god-spiders to the first murderer himself, the flash of a blade is one that threatens to decimate your own body just as much as that of your opponent. Muscles screams out and tear, the body that has never been given enough time to heal finally showing the marks of that damage as you slash at your foe from waist to hip, fighting on with that relentless spirit inherent to humanity, to fight until you are literally incapable of doing so anymore...

A very human trait, admirable and foolish at the same time.

It all depended on your point of view, when it came down to it.

---Light flashes.
---The feeling that reverberates in your hand is not that of blade striking flesh.
---It is more like a blade hitting rock.
---Inherently unyielding.

A hand had batted the strike aside, the mark of an opponent who was no longer trapped inside the depths of his own arrogance. Arrogant enemies are of only two types really, those that double-down when confronted with their own weakness, choosing to dive into denial in order to reject reality...

"Hah... So that was the trick...?"

...And those that learn from the moment, and start taking things seriously.

"I'll have to keep it in mind."

Those are the ones you really need to take down in one decisive moment, unfortunately for you-

"Never could figure out how to hurt myself."

-Cain seemed to be of this second, far more annoying type.

The counter-blow is merciless. A fist bearing an incomprehensible weight that slams down onto your chest -right above your heart- with all the force of a freight train careening off the tracks. The armor beneath it shatters immediately, not from the kinetic energy, but rather that strange magic that coated his blows. It's a magic that rends the life of those before him. Whether it be the life of a person or the life of a spell, all that is touched by those reaper-like fists is apparently brought to a sort of end, the armor of frost that Erika had provided you is no different in this regard...

It disintegrates in the face of that magic, absorbing it's fatal whisper, but the kinetic energy behind the strike?

That goes straight into your ribs.

Something inside of you shatters.

The bones inside of your chest are the likely culprits of course, shattering as you are struck dead on with monstrous strength, a blow that's enough to paint your world dark for a moment with agony as all the momentum you had built up until now reverses, overcome by your enemy's attack. You start to fall, struggling to remain conscious even as your body is forced into overdrive, your soul freaking out at the damage that has just been done to you in the span of a single blow and trying to regenerate all on it's own, a natural adaption born from your unfortunate tendency to court death, but-

"..."

Even in the fact of that...

Even as your body is propelled downward, a rising star becoming a falling meteor...

You smile.

Or at least do your best to smile, meeting the hostile gaze that's focused itself on you, as-

"Haaaaaaaaaaaah-!"

Erika Winters slams into your opponent at around mach 13, if the DTG's calculations were correct.

Brute force.

Pure brute force. Not the mark of a flight ability; it's the mark of a reiki explosion that had propelled her all the way from the mud below up to the battlefield far above her head, to the roaring storm of winds and detonations, a leap that -if gone unopposed- might have just been enough for her to literally leap from the surface of the planet into space itself, albeit at the cost of most of her energy, and-

"...!"

-that seems to be the plan.

The charge is one that you are barely able to perceive in your current state, fading in and out of the darkness of unconsciousness... You feel it more than see it. Two furnaces of magical energy rapidly fading into the distance, to the sky above, manifested more as artificial stars than as people, regrettably, you don't get to see the look on his face a second time, his expulsion from the planet happens too far away for you to witness it as anything other than a feeling, the two energy readings clashing a few times before the friendly energy is propelled back towards you, while the hostile energy is propelled so far away that you eventually can't sense it anymore...

And the friendly?

"...Fucking..."

Well...

Somehow...

"Concept..."

The heavily breathing form of Erika Winters, who is swaying a little bit from reiki exhaustion and her earlier wounds...

"Magic..."

Seems to have caught your body -princess style- before you could slam into the ground...

---How gallant.

"Bullshit..."

---If a bit foul-mouthed.

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Outside the Karlfeldt Estate
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

---What was that?

A flash of something across a long dormant link, emotions, feelings and thoughts, a bizarre sort of internal history that spring to mind of it's own accord before falling back into the depths of repression. They are thoughts that belong to Lara Karlfeldt, thoughts that don't seem like they should have a place here, in this world of dreams and nightmares, a world where the figure of your sister exists only as an internal shadow, a powerful memory, strong enough that it has come to life to wander the depths of your subconscious, but...

It does appear.

The link comes to life, thoughts buzz on the horizon of your internal landscape and you become aware of an impossible shift in the setting, namely...

"..."

The false Lara suddenly seems to have all the properties of the real one, like an invisible hand had taken the reigns of the thought-form from you, but...

For now, no time to dwell on the bizarre occurrence.

In order for this sort of attack to work, you must believe in the existence of the falling star with all of your might; it's an extension of the power the tulpa Lara had coaxed you into using, giving shape to illusions was the same thing as giving shape to reality if the 'reality' was that of a fantasy, a nightmare stage in the unconscious where the chains of the real world both loosen and tighten, where different sets of rules seem to apply, so...

Take what you know, make it work.

Give shape to illusions, transform that illusion into reality-!

"Oh?"

The maid looks up at the falling star, a bizarre, but still graceful smile crossing her face. She doesn't seem particularly bothered by it of course -she was not the sort of person that would ever show those sorts of emotions on her face- but the way in which she digs her heels into the dirt, spreading her stance out a bit as if she meant to catch it, shows a certain seriousness to her response that is almost surprising to you... Being who she was, you had half-expected her to just try and dodge it, to really grind in how ineffectual the attack was through simply avoiding it, throwing out some line about how she wouldn't allow a single speck to stain her uniform or something like that, but-

"---How delightfully merciless, young mistress."

-it's only on closer inspection, through the wind-storm and a sea of still roaring familiars (it seems they couldn't overpower the gale and knew it, as they were hovering just outside of it's range) that you notice the strange marks on the maid's legs, like hands made of grasping shadows, the darkness of the fields clawing at the vampire that was ordinarily perfectly at home in such blood-stained nights. It's a mark of Lara's power, one of the same powers she had shown on the deck of the SLEIPNIR weeks ago, that strange control over shadows...

Shadows that are working to hold her in place.

Bind her, so that a star might fall upon her.

Yes.

---It's not that she doesn't want to move, but more that she simply can't, victim of one with an affinity for the darkness that was far greater than her own. She seems to find it amusing, eyes turning from the falling star to the girl that was beginning to feel more and more like a proper manifestation of your older sibling, and-

"---It's a shame though, I suppose I never could replace that creature in your heart, could I?"

-still smiling, the woman raises a single arm up, as if to push against a sphere that was far larger than her -too large to be feasible, physics simply wouldn't allow it- and indeed-

"...You'll regret that, in the end."

-the star drills into the ground where she stood, light enveloping her entirely, slowly (it's speed had lowered drastically the moment it had reached the maid) tearing open the earth and persisting in a way that's quite unlike a normal meteorite -that which should shatter upon impact- no, it maintains it's shape, a merciless blue flare piercing the ground, shaking the earth that held the Karlfeldt residence -but somehow not toppling it- and...

"..."

Watching it, face set in absolute concentration, as if staring at it hard enough would speed on the azure mass...

"..."

The feeling you get from Lara Karlfeldt...

Is that she's not convinced by the sight in front of her, and the dogs...

The maid's hounds...

Are still very present, albeit...

Held at bay by your auto-skill.

[Zurvan]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
Outside the Karlfeldt Estate
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"I know. I still have much to learn."

The enemy before the Karlfeldt siblings was something peculiar. Based on the interaction with Eva prior, it seemingly shifts its form to haunt those that would try and fight against it. A malicious and red form of energy that locked itself onto one aspect of fear.

If such an observation is indeed correct, rejecting the image has a few meanings. Most likely, the denial of the shape taken does have the effect that its power over the target lessens, after all a fear that doesn't grip the heart and freezes one in its tracks is not a fear potent enough to truly hinder existences such as Tamers, even if their fears can be the stuff of nightmares.

...It also means that, if one form of fear isn't potent enough... another form may.

Despite having considered this before, the notion of the maid relinquishing her teachings is one Ludwig did not entertain. It simply didn't fit with his image of the person, one that didn't even stop teaching after you had learned the lesson. If it was her, there would always be another lesson hidden away behind the last one, one key insight that she had meant to implant within the young minds of the Karlfeldt children.

And so, the desire for this to be a lesson too, using herself as an opponent to combat a terrifying monster, won out against the fear.

For now, at least. There is still too much the boy does not know, or realize.

His focus spent still on the falling star, as if desperately keeping this thing at bay, Ludwig speaks out to Lara as he tries to puzzle out these new memories.

"Lara... what was..."

---Appearing from a flutter of butterflies, Lydia takes shape once more. Her watchful eyes look Lara up and down, as if considering just what has happened, before ultimately saying...

"The real deal is here huh. Good to see we're on the same side once again Sis... Sorry about what happened, back there."

"..."

Back when Ludwig had... ceased to be... those two along with Sarah Starbright had seen fit to rebel against the Single Will. The guiding star with the power to turn possibility into reality. The alliance sort of crumbled apart quickly, with the arrival of Leah Ellet and Lydia going out to meet with the Fourth Administrator.

Does the genuine sister even remember such events now, or had this new world order washed away those memories from her? Had the COMP AI her plea to Vincent any effect, or did she greedily wish for more than what was offered?

Such questions too, will have to remain unanswered for now.

The hounds still remain, encircling the siblings in an attempt to find a weakness within the personal windstorm manifested. As such, this creature still retained the form of Ida Voight... but for how much longer? Was she even there still, given what Ludwig thought of her? Lara held her in place yes, but now that she lost line of sight what was stopping the maid from appearing elsewhere as she had done so often in the past?

The Heir of Unity considers his options. Staying here and preparing for a possibly worse foe to take shape, flee like the two church Tamers had done previously?

Or perhaps...

I care because I care, huh. I guess that sentiment binds us even beyond death... It's worth a shot.

"Lydia, Lara, we're heading inside the manor. And don't even think about staying behind here to fight off this entity."

Declaring his --admittedly dangerous-- intention, Ludwig awaits for Lara's response. He doesn't want to part with her yet again, especially not with some grand standing against overwhelming odds. It's exactly that kind of behavior, this nigh compulsion to protect the others from harm, that had landed them in these interesting times.

And possibly, what had been the end for all three thus far.

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright & Amelia
SLEIPNIR - Logan's Room
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

Amelia snickers.

: “I can’t believe you were counting down in a safe zone. Lol. LMAO even.”

“It’s been years since I’ve touched this, you know,” he grumbles.

A number of things become apparent upon entering the orphanage. Firstly, the well-kept appearance and liveliness of the NPCs suggests a fair degree of social order. Secondly, there’s a surprisingly robust time mechanic; would the stage undergo changes depending on the time of day? Thirdly, there are various points of interest in the building, such as a library, a computer, and arcade machines. Polybius. Is that a minigame?

"What happened in Revolution can be blamed on Polybius."

Logan frowns. End of Rev. Is that where the game setting came from?

Before he can investigate further, he hears a nostalgic voice and sees a familiar face.

: “Tsukiko-”

: “-Yonagi!?!?”

““Since when was she here!?””

: Amelia, did you download a weird mod or something?

: No way, I just stuck to the official expansion packs!

: Did she even give out her rights for the game?

: Maybe the dream’s populating NPCs with people from your memories?

: ...I hope not.

"Are you with the kid over there? You guys can raid the fridge too, if you want, I know it's kinda rough out in town nowadays~!"

Logan hesitantly raises the microphone to his face. “Yes, La-” He pauses. “Thank you.” And with that, he directs his character to the library to interact with the books.

Amelia gamely follows up. “Rough out? Will you be fine, Miss…?”

[Airen]

Amelia
SLEIPNIR - Logan's Room
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"---Miss Tsukiko. Although I'm still in my teens, not really 'Miss' age, right?"

The woman chuckles, the alarming familiarity of that voice continuing to give this encounter a real surreal quality...

"Still... Are you concerned about me?" She smiles at you, a spark of what seems like mischief present in her eyes. "No need to worry, I'll be just fine. I may not look it, but I'm a soldier, you know? SDF."

Sounding somewhat pleased with herself, the woman speaks of that acronym as if you should know what it is, even as she moves away from you and towards the door, stopping only to lace up what seem to be a particularly well-cared for pair of combat boots.

"I know what to do if a void-out happens, it won't catch me."

Void-out?

Another term, casually dropped as if it should be apparent to you what it is...

Meaning...

She really doesn't notice anything off about you...?

"I'm heading straight to Babel anyway, so nothing like that should happen around me." Boots laced, she stands, throwing on what seems to be some sort of tactical vest and putting one hand on the door to the outside. "Gotta get this lock-down under control, people have a tendency to start doing... Odd things, if they feel insecure for too long, and well..."

A grimace.

"...I can't say these aren't insecure times. But it'll be alright. Everyone just has to hang in there a little bit longer. As long as we've got Babel, we'll be alright."

---

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

---It's a normal enough library.

Sectioned off into both fiction and non-fiction categories, the most surprising thing about the library at first is how many of the titles are ones that you can recognize at a glance. While there's nothing particularly modern here, you could remember those books about a kid wizard from the late 90s, or those horror novels that had been marketed to kids back before you were born and were becoming so much nostalgia bait now... Goosebumps? That was the name right?

You were seeing all sorts of things like that here...

Of course, this is an orphanage, the selection of novels was probably made with children in mind... The shelves of comic books and manga make that clear, old series from the pre-magic era, things that don't quite fit your theory of your subconscious just populating this place with stuff from your memories, after all, while you do recognize these brands, their origins were decisively before your time, still...

Wandering hands eventually reveal a more mature selection of books. There's nothing on magical theory, but there's a frankly absurd amount of cookbooks lying around on the shelves, what looked like a few romance novels, the entirety of Isaac Asimov's science fiction novels (with a particularly worn edition of Nine Tomorrows, which had a velvet blue bookmark placed at the story The Last Question) The King in Yellow (which thankfully seems to be a fake, non lovecraftian edition, although that particular book loved to pop up randomly so you had felt compelled to make sure it wasn't the real deal) and...

World history?

Of all the books, it was the one that had seemed most obviously placed for you to look at it in terms of game design... It had been sticking out of the shelf slightly, like someone had forgotten to push it all the way back in, which naturally drew the eye to it, still...

As you pick your way through the digital shelves with casual, practiced grace...

---One of the kids -wearing a hoodie, so you couldn't make out their face, although they seem to be 13 or 14- seems to have perched themselves on one of the nearby tables to watch you... Not out of malice, but rather...

"..."

That innate curiosity (boredom?) children always seem to possess...

Or something like that...

Hard to tell in a game, really.