Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
???
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening
Weather: Snowstorm

"..."

The little princess doesn't answer.

Indeed, standing (or rather brooding) outside the gates of your childhood home, you ignore the scene in front of you to instead focus on the disappearance of the silver-haired Administrator. Certainly she is at fault here, she is the entire reason you exist in this space right now, so running off without answering your questions or making it clear why she had brought you here in the first place was something that would naturally be frowned upon, but...

"..."

No answer.

It's enough to be annoying, but-

"Oi!"

-before your mind can go to those sorts of places again, a snowball hits you right in the face.

"Why are you moping around out there, Lud? Come on! Get over here!"

Naturally, the person who had thrown the snowball was Lara Karlfeldt, someone who could very clearly see you right now, and who...

"Don't make me come over there!"

She was certainly acting peppy right now...

---


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

The smile behind you widens, like how a fisherman might smile when they feel a tug on the line.

"Certainly! It could have been Oswald! That's what society agreed upon as the truth! But is it really the truth?"

She beams, the spirit of a conspiracy theorist slowly becoming more and more clear in her words and actions. Having realized there's no escape from this, your gaze remains as away from the woman as you can possibly go, instead looking over towards Verity to see how the A.I had failed you so quickly, and the answer becomes apparent just as fast, namely...

"Hmm, yes. Lost memory data? Painful. You have my sympathies."

She seems to have taken to Eve, judging by how the taller silver-haired android is nodding sympathetically at the computer screen, her attention removed from what seemed to be the ending credits of the latest episode of her and Aleta's anime binge... There's a few cases lined up next to the television, animated films like "Paprika," and "The Wind Rises," along with what seemed to be the entirety of the original 1992 run of Sailor Moon, so it really looks like they've been all over the place when it comes to their tastes...

Nevertheless...

None of this will save you from the person behind you, who is continuing on without pause-!

"I mean, I still sorta think it was the Umbrella Man! His placement is just so... Bizarre in all the footage! You know governments knew about magic and demons way before us common folk did, right? And the American Government has always been real hush-hush about the JFK assassination, so insistent it was Oswald in spite of all the odd little things around the assassination... If they were willing to lie about demons, they'd totally be willing to lie about assassinations right? Same with the Moon landing, sure we've been there now, but in 1969? Maybe the Americans were just real eager to beat Russia! Gotta win the Space Race! Number 1! Number 1! If you're not first you're last-! Americans can't accept losing-!"

...Overwhelming.

Yamuna might have a brighter aura, but this person... Talks... A lot more...

"Don't even get me started on Area 51! They're definitely lying when they say they haven't encountered aliens! I have proof of that one! Or well... I had proof, but then my Goddess friend blew it up, said something about not wanting to have a "The Thing" situation on our hands! Not sure what she meant by that, need to ask her to clarify that one of these days!"

A lot of that is strange, a lot of that is definitely questionable, but...

"Guess what I'm saying is the truth is a malleable thing! People believing something makes it real, but if the actual truth is different, it's still in there somewhere! Two different truths! Obi-Wan and a certain-point of view! That sort of thing!"

Oh come on, she's seen Star Wars but not the The Thing?!

[Zurvan]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
???
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening
Weather: Snowstorm

---His heart's desire.

"..."



"..."

Lydia
???
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening
Weather: Snowstorm

It's rather crude all things considered.

Whether or not this is a mental mindscape made from Ludwig's own mind, or some alternate reality where certain tragedies never occurred, to the boy it is all the same. He'll treat it as real as it appears to be.

A dangerous mindset perhaps, but certain with it's advantages given the abnormal state of affairs.

Still, using the image of his big sister Lara, who was torn from his side without warning...

Despair had overtook the boy back then, when his sole lifeline, his most precious person, was taken from him. The sensation of the Almighty tore through him, rending apart the telepathic connection he shared with his sister, the girl that gave him the strength and spirit to continue pushing on day by day.

And it left him broken.

As nothing was left from those early days, where everyone was still together...

Before the experiments of the elders would morph those souls into something else. Attuning their fates to curses by drowning in nightmares, strengthening their minds by awakening and facing fears kept deep inside.

If they were lucky enough to even make it that far in the first place.

It's almost infuriating, seeing them happy now, blissfully unaware of a reality that the boy lived through.

And yet, as expected, the boy can't help himself.

They are his family after all.

Seeing their smiles, their infectious joy... it hurts him.

But so too does it heal him.

Lydia, being based on Lara herself, knows well the effect she has on Ludwig. Had she been bold enough to ask her little brother to hear her out, or to even join her side in their assault on the SLEIPNIR, chances are high he would've relented. Even now, with her being back on the ship, it took a great deal of effort on her User's part to not hotfoot it towards her. Were she to open her arms and beckon him forth, his body may just fly into her embrace without thinking.

And so, naturally, the boy throws back a snowball. Followed by another, and another.

However, he does not move forward.

His place remains behind the iron bars, away from the others.

It takes but a few seconds before his mind denies the body and soul their desires.

No matter how real it feels... he has no place with them.

Their happiness is theirs and theirs alone. He dares not intrude. He has a duty to fulfill, a purpose that protects them. That duty is all, and that duty lies elsewhere.

Even if it kills him, he must do what must be done... Never give up, never give in. A teaching of the Karlfeldts that's been embedded into his psyche so tightly it may well be a chain that'll strangle him once more unless things change.

There are but scarce few that can lean him off this path, and while Lara is certainly one of them...

To Lydia, this isn't the right way. Forcing change will almost always lead to a stronger rebellion. You can't help those that don't want to helped. That don't even see the folly in their ways.

Such things take time, patience, wisdom and resilience.

Yet, she too recognizes that something must be done.

No matter how unfair she thinks it is.

The AI looks off into the distance, near some bushes, before lobbing a snowball in an upward angle towards it.

For now, she can see where this goes. A first step must be set at some point, perhaps the little mom Administrator had more planned?

[Bloble]

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

There's only one truth, and it doesn't care whether anyone believes it. Any other 'truth' is just wishful thinking.

The snappy comeback never arrives at its destination. Even if Chris had been capable of getting a word in edgewise into the storm of theories thrown her way, she is certain Aleta would just nod and say "That's what I mean!" without skipping a beat. Then she'd continue on talking until the brightness became too much to bear.

Yes, Chris realizes. She has underestimated her opponent, or overestimated herself. There is no way to withstand this assault. Already her throat has siezed up. If she says a single wrong thing then... then...

A hand is silently raised, to stop the blistering tirade. It is not the mark of a counterattack, but rather...

The trembling flag of surrender.

Chris swivels in her chair, cheeks packed full of pancake like a chipmunk. She unveils her phone and holds it up like a shield, its screen showing a paused video file.

Verity had said there was a traitor, so she hadn't wanted to show it to some suspicious stranger, but... this'll do.

She presses play.

Mokujima Chris does not look at the phone screen. She doesn't need to; she's going to watch it in the mirror. Finally staring into the sun, she looks right at Aleta Gaumond - and the reflection of the video in her eyes.

There will be a moment. If something is off. If there is even a speck of recognition or fear or joy or anything at all suspicious. Chris will see it. Someone had written a book on microexpressions. She'd picked it up as light reading a while back. Now is the time to put it into practice.

The eyes are the window to the soul, after all.

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright
SLEIPNIR - Hangar Bay (Inside Alexia’s Ship)
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

Logan raises his head once it can no longer bear the silence heavy with vented emotions. Instead of the cheery, cold, or even wallowing face of Alexia Wright, it’s the disquieted mien of Rice that greets him. He frowns a bit.

“Sorry. That must’ve been awkward to sit through. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. After all of that effort you went to find me a lead…”

"She can be sorta blunt, huh?"

: “More like blunt force trauma!”

Amelia’s practically stamping her feet. “If she didn’t want to talk about something or couldn’t, she could’ve just said so instead of hurting Logan! I swear, this is why I hate other people sometimes!”

"I probably should have said more... That woman doesn't really believe in tact. She says what she thinks, no matter how it might make the other person feel... A painfully honest person, really..."

“No, it wasn’t your responsibility to be a mediator,” interjects Logan immediately. “I should’ve kept a cooler head, but when it comes to people insulting my family or friends, I just…” He shakes his head. “Honest, huh? I guess… How do I put it?” Logan stands, twirling Amelia as he gathers his thoughts. Infuriating though she’d been, Alexia had also been completely convinced of her erroneous truth, to the point of fighting for it. She was, at the least, someone determined not to make whatever mistakes she’d regretted ever again. “Alexia Wright must have found a way of life, a strength, that leads to her ideal self. Something that makes up for any mistakes she’s made before.” He pauses. “Once you find that, I can’t imagine living any other way. There’s no one who tries to be imperfect, after all.”

"Although she's not the type to just run away either, I figured I'd get the chance to interrupt her next tirade… Maybe she finally felt bad about running her mouth too much...?

Logan frowns. Something about that bothers him. If nothing else, Alexia Wright does not seem like the sort of person who would ever let someone else get the last word. Even as he watches Rice cycle through Alexia’s files, instinctually analyzing the data on the screen and drawing connections, he can’t shake the feeling that something is off in an imperceptible but critical way. And then he sees it.

12:00 A.M.

“I screwed up.” Amelia blinks in surprise as Logan activates her, a grimace plain on his face. “I should’ve confirmed that this place was fully isolated! The time is off! We’ve been drawn into midnight, the depths of the dream!” He looks at Rice, the girl he’d failed to protect. I’m no good at fighting.

“Rice, you should hide.”

“Does she still have concealment capabilities?” asks Amelia. “Odds are it’s safer to have her with us in case the enemy can split their forces.”

Logan clicks his tongue. “That’s a good point. Either way, we need to move. This is no place for a fight.”

: “Where are we heading then? A simulator?”

: “No, the deck.” He starts for the door. “We should be able to settle things there.”

---

Spoiler:

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

[Kuroyuki]

Rossweisse & Hiyori
Tokyo ~ JAXA
11/16/2026
Afternoon

After watching Hiyori yell at the ‘Fake Ross,’ I kept watch on the door. Hiyori seemed to be floating around me and shadowboxing anything seemingly suspicious. While she didn’t seem to have found anything or hit something… She seemed pretty adamant about continuing to do that. I had to rely on my sixth sense on what Miss Charlotte was doing, but she seemed to be keeping an eye on the rest of the room and us.

But despite what ‘I’ said, we couldn’t seem to find anything in the room. At the very least, I couldn’t sense anything. While I wasn’t a sensor type, I was fairly certain I would’ve noticed something by this point in time. No particles. No reiki emissions. Not even an abnormal movement of the furniture of the room. The only thing to indicate that there was something was just the massive temperature drop in the area… And hearing ‘myself’ talk.

One second becomes two. Two becomes three. Five seconds go by. Ten seconds go by. At this point, I had to wonder if maybe just maybe. That I was still too wound up after what happened on the SLEPNIR. Is that why only I could hear ‘me’? But if that’s the case, then why me? I wasn’t anyone special…

"...Sure."

That was when everything rotated sideways and I was pulled back towards ‘the ground’ and into the now open door. A fast and strong spirit tamer could probably avoid falling into the door frame with ease by sheer physical capability. But I wasn’t particularly strong nor fast.

‘Ross!’

Hiyori transforms into her katana weapon form instantly and flies straight into my hand. However, Hiyori and I wasn’t pulled into the hallway. In fact, aside from the initial jerk, I didn’t move at all as I just floated in place until I reoriented myself back to the ground and not in the way of the door frame in case ‘I’ felt like pulling harder.

‘Haha! That proves you’re a fake! Because you would’ve known that wouldn’t have worked!’

Rossweisse Wise-Up

Sky-Dancing

Cost: 2
Restrictions: None
Flight has always possessed an inherent appeal to humans, to the point where spells that enable temporary flight (or similar forms of movement such as platform hopping) are common amongst Spirit Tamers. However for you, the ability to fly does not come from magic, but rather, is an inherent ability of your COMP itself.


Enables the use of perpetual high-speed ‘flight’ by the character. This flight ability is not restricted to Earth or it’s atmosphere, and can even be used to freely move through inhospitable areas such as space for short periods of time. In addition, due to being heavily adapted to this sort of flight, general ability to participate effectively in sky-borne scenarios (recover from being struck while in the air, dodge attacks mid flight, fight skyborne, etc) is increased.

[Satehi]

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

In response to the various warnings Shadow Catherine had given Eva regarding her own fears appearing here, Eva merely nodded.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid. If anything, considering that these fears were much more personal than the creature that was following her, she had much more reason to be worried now. The reason she didn’t have much more of a reaction, was because she’d expected as much when Catherine first brought up the topic. This was just the sort of place where that thing happened.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

…or rather, there was nothing she was willing to do about it.

Splitting up was convenient for Eva. She didn’t want Catherine to know about her fears- and this way, there was little chance of that happening. Facing them alone was a scary prospect, but for Eva, that was preferable to the alternative. She had made her choice when she decided to talk about the subject, and she was willing to go through with it.

"If you get in trouble or find something interesting, blow the whistle. If I find something, I'll blow my whistle. That'll be our signal. Easy, right?"

“Got it.”

Eva put away the whistle in one of her pockets. Even if she didn’t intend to use it for her own fears, it was convenient to have.

“Stay safe, Catherine.”

With that said, Eva was off to the second floor.

[Katie]

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne ~ Ayra's Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

Ugh, for a moment, I thought she was normal.

Honestly, her personality is probably just conniving bitch by default. It’s like being annoyed birds fly.

No, I think it’s more like being annoyed flies exist.

Yeah, that’s way more apt. Still, aren’t you supposed to be the magnanimous knight in this scenario?

Yeah, yeah.

“You already know way too much. If I’m going to be frank, I probably do have the grounds to stab you on sight as well.” That’s the truth. If Ayra wanted to keep her cover intact, it probably was easiest to silence Aislynn right here and now. Or rather, before anything was said.

Not that she’d ever do it. She’s both a member of Joker and a Knight, and while Aislynn isn’t innocent, she has no real evidence of guilt.

“Well, not that I would do it. But if you want me to protect you from her, fine. I’m the one with the winning record,” Ayra jokes. “Any other complications you think could arise?”

[Airen]

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

From the clean halls of Sofia's laboratory and the ever pristine mall, to a restaurant of shining wooden floors and winding paths, paths that wind around the massive figure of a cherry blossom tree, petals fluttering in a gentle night wind, conjured up by some small magic that seemed to exist over the section in it's entirety.

---Yes.

Back here again, Moon Under Water, like another repeating note in the strange swirl of time you seem to have fallen into after your battle with the Sefirot... The restaurant still looks much like a Japanese-style garden; fish swim in crystal clear rivers that travel alongside the foot paths, crossing under bridges and around walls to give off an almost overwhelming sense of being in the outdoors, but unlike the last time there are still people hanging around inside of the restaurant, the overall better state of the city meaning that the mall hadn't been shut down early, and thus...

"This way, please."

...This time around you are actually led to a somewhat isolated table by a waiter, a rather handsome young man who had drawn the three of you down towards the stage where the ghostly apparition of Alisa had once existed to pull you from your spiraling darkness, but one that seems to be empty at the moment, a sign, perhaps, of the stage simply being for night performances, or maybe even something like karaoke nights...

Yeah.

Considering the heavy Japanese lens this place seems to be filtered through, it was possible that was the case, still...

"So... Sefirot... Like the tree of life concept? Ten emanations?"

Having changed from her gym clothes to a surprisingly mundane t-shirt and jeans (perhaps because she doesn't want to be recognized as herself here?) Sofia shoots this question your way as she flicks through a rather thick menu, thick because the chefs don't seem to be particularly limited to any one style of food, there were western things like burgers and fries, a salad section that took up three pages by itself, eastern-style dishes, well...

Everything, really.

There was even some obscene chocolate wave thing listed on the back, a chocolate lava cake lined with chocolate frosting, chocolate chips, a side of chocolate ice cream and completed with what seemed to be chocolate drizzle...

"Never really heard of a monster like that... Was it a literal tree? Seems like it'd fit symbolically."

Still, Sofia, who seems to have been giving some thought to what you had said earlier...

Is the first to actually give voice to her questions, while Daniel...

Seems content to just let the two of you talk for now, his eyes scanning the "coffee" section of his menu with the air of someone who is likely addicted to caffeine...

[palad1n]

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

With everything that's been happening, Cosmos wasn't surprised when Sofia brought her and Daniel to Moon Under Water; but even if her previous episode in the restaurant managed to end relatively well, a part of her still feels uncomfortable being in the Japanese-themed restaurant again, especially the empty stage. Cosmos tries her hardest to not look at it as they were seated down.

"So... Sefirot... Like the tree of life concept? Ten emanations? Never really heard of a monster like that... Was it a literal tree? Seems like it'd fit symbolically."

Cosmos looked up from the menu upon hearing the question - trying to ignore the fact that the blonde princess is wearing clothes similar to what her mother had been wearing in the recording - before looking back down to quell the uneasy pang she felt in her heart. She really doesn't need to have flashbacks by looking at Sofia right now, so she answered while reading the menu at the same time. Hopefully the princess can understand and not think she's being rude...

"It was not a tree." She began as she scanned the Japanese portion of the menu. "Or at least, Chokmah wasn't. It was more like a massive mechanical being bearing some resemblance to a dragon that dwarfed anything in the Holy City by several magnitude, and it was terrifyingly strong. Strong enough to ripped out a chunk of the city and sent it to outer space, and that's without mentioning its barrier and its most powerful attack."

Even just remembering it send chills down her spine. Cosmos took a deep breath before continuing.

"Thankfully, it cannot use its barrier while it is attacking, so in the end we managed to beat it by having mother stalemating its attack before you used a satellite to shoot it... I think." She pursed her lips before apologetically looking at Sofia in the eyes, focusing on her face so she's not reminded of Mary. "So many things were happening at the same time before it all ends, so I cannot be 100% sure."

Looking at the menu again, her eyes caught a simple-looking meal with a ridiculous price tag; rice, meat and vegetables placed on its own section in an admittedly fancy-looking box. Cosmos wasn't too knowledgeable on Japanese cuisine, but she doubts an elegant presentation alone would merit such a price tag, so one of the ingredients must be expensive... like the meat. Cosmos hummed as she made her choice while waiting for the princess' next inquiry.

Kobe Beef Bento and a hot Ocha. That's what she decides to have once Sofia and Daniel have decided what to order.

... Normally she wouldn't order such an expensive food, but Sofia is paying and she'd been having a really bad day (week?), so surely she could indulge just this once, right?

[Airen]

Logan Starbright
SLEIPNIR - Hangar Bay (Inside Alexia’s Ship)
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

"We got... Pulled forward in time...?"

Where such a thing had been a call to action for you, for Rice, for the gradient-haired girl who had been sitting at the computer in question, the realization almost seems to fill her with something closer to abject disbelief.

"Seriously?"

Voice quiet, it sounds like she's muttering things under her breath, self-insults from the tone of voice, and-

"But how didn't I notice? That's not just something you can casually do, it'd be magic of close to the highest class, we'd have felt something, unless, maybe..."

More muttering, a few more clicks at the keyboard, then...

"Tch... No way to tell for sure... I'm being sloppy..."

She sighs.

In contrast to her more nervous behaviors throughout the day, the Rice that has turned her attention back to you seems to remain pretty calm. She hasn't run behind you like she had done earlier when Alexia had spooked her, no, she sits calmly, rises from her chair calmly and floats over to you calmly.

"I don't want to hide anyway." She says with clear conviction. "I'm supposed to be looking out for you right now, so running or hiding... Is pretty much out of the question for me, won't do it."

She huffs.

"Don't look at me like I'm that frail anyway, violence is a little scary true, and I'm probably the weakest of the three... But I'm not entirely defenseless. If all else fails, I'm pretty good with barriers..."

She had coughed here rather cutely, an obvious attempt at sounding a bit tougher than she actually felt, but it didn't seem to be a lie either, a bit of context to her not being good at fighting line from before, so...

Up you go.

Towards the deck, through halls that have gone eerily silent, halls that have been overrun with what seem like giggling, oily shadows in the fluorescent lights of the massive airship. The shadows themselves don't seem to do all that much, they simply exist, writhing shapes on the walls and floor that could have easily been your mind playing tricks on you considering the stress of the situation, shadows that almost seem to snake down to grab at your own as you pass, inoffensive shapes becoming like grasping hands, the vague touch of fingers on the back of the neck, and-

No.

Best not to think about it.

If this was a dream, then thinking too hard about anything might have less than desirable results...

Best to just ignore it and move on, so you do.

Up and up, through elevators and then stairs, and finally...

Finally...

You make it back outside, to a sky overtaken with black clouds... The nearby lake is churning as if something is trying to rise from it's depths, the water that made up it's pitch-black surface swaying in the wake of shockingly powerful winds, enough so that you can hear a dull roar throughout the area, the wind itself calling out in the midnight hour, but...

"..."

Perhaps more importantly than that...

Straight ahead of you, standing there as if it had been waiting for your arrival, the epicenter of a new series of crawling shadows...

Is a...

"Welcome to Hell!"

...Clown of some sort?

"..."

This time around, Rice does seem to feel the urge to slip behind you again, but...

Stands her ground in the face of...

Whatever this person was...?

[Airen]

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

The moment you leave the presence of Catherine's shadow, you feel it.

The sudden suffocating presence of a heavy miasma in the air, tainted spiritual power, the sort given off by vengeful spirits and mindless shadows... In many ways it could simply be considered another form of reiki, manifest emotions, trauma, hate, fear, pain and all sorts of other uncomfortable emotions lingering in the air like a thick cloud of smoke...

It's... Disquieting...

It's the feeling of a place of great tragedy, a spiritual wound in the atmosphere of an area, like how the air might feel after the aftermath of some sort of disaster, an area coated in grudges and regrets, where spirits are likely to roam and the taste of blood can be felt ever so lightly on the tip of your tongue... It's...

Quite unnerving, nothing you haven't experienced before of course, members of the church could even be said to specialize in dealing with areas such as these, but...

The sudden onset of it as you enter the second floor is just... Strange... Was it because you had left Catherine's side? Certainly the presence of a friend could do wonders for dampening the aura of these sorts of places, but at the same time, it also feels like going up the stairs had also had you cross some sort of threshold, an invisible line, the piercing of a bubble that you hadn't known was there...

"..."

Well, ultimately it doesn't matter too much. If something appears, then you'll simply defeat it.

Ghosts weren't particularly powerful most of the time...

At least not in comparison to demons, although they had more of a tendency to play mind games...

"..."

Regardless, you don't see any such things up here. The hallway you find yourself in is pretty much identical to the last, a series of doors leading down to a sharp left turn towards what you can only assume is the center of this gargantuan mansion, the room above the door that wouldn't open downstairs, but...

The doors up here... Were also all open...?

Yes, they were all open, like someone had come along already and searched them... Which was quite bizarre in and of itself, as you were pretty certain that this was a dream, a world formed on a shared mindscape, although exactly how far that shared mindscape reached was... Unclear...

Just you, Catherine and gun girl?

More than that?

Everyone at school...?

The planet? Was this part of the so called collective unconsciousness?

Hard to say, these sorts of concepts were... Not completely understood even by people like your mother, but...

Either way...

Time to explore.

---And things happen fast.

First room in fact, room where you had stuck out your head into the doorway just to peek inside (make sure that nothing was waiting to jump you) only to see...

"..."

What looks like a maid?

Staring out the window?

A number of cleaning supplies have been set against the wall, so it's rather obvious (if a little baffling) what she's doing, but...

---While she doesn't look particularly harmful at a glance... Her shadow (made with the light of what seems like a full moon in spite of the continuous sound of a thunderstorm) is a little weird...

It's... A bit too big? Unnaturally big?

Spreading out from her dress and swallowing up the entire room...?

"..."

Well...

Thankfully...

It seems like she didn't notice you peek in, but then again...

A maid would know where keys are, right...?

[Rafflesiac]

Logan Starbright
SLEIPNIR - Flight Deck
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening

The silence gives way to wind and waves. Logan raises an arm to brace himself at the sudden impact, shifting his feet as the air itself clutches at his body to hurl him off the deck into the churning pitch below. The wind stirs at the once calm lake like a demented witch, stirring the inky waters into a ravenous frenzy as if they crave to draw anything they can catch into their abyssal depths - or perhaps, to stop something within those depths from breaking free with all of its violence. The lights of the deck are extinguished, sinking the ship into the turbid darkness of the raging lake. The stars too offer no light, for heavy clouds have stolen them away to further plunge the world into an unending night. Above, below, at his feet: it makes no difference. A cauldron of darkness traps Logan Starbright.

And before him, standing within writhing shadows…

"Welcome to Hell!"

Is a masked clown with a painted grin.

Logan narrows his eyes. Behind him, Rice twitches. He squeezes Amelia once, and brings her end down onto the deck with a single loud crack.

“Spare me your hospitality, dream eater.”

Logan answers the winds of the nightmare with a gale of his own, aimed directly at the masked clown!

---

Spoiler:

Spells Selected: Garu line, ???, ???, Eye of the Fates, ???, ???
Spells Used: Garudyne
Support Magus: Eye of the Fates
Auto Skill: Revitalize
Heat: 6/10

[Tobias]

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

Did you know about that?

Hell no, and you didn't either.

Guess that's it then.

Course it is. Still, I gotta admit, she has got style.

Of course she does. she is my sister after all!

Even with some height, the surroundings didn't change much. It wasn't like Raz had been expecting to discover a verdant utopia or thriving metropolis over the next hill of course, but even he had to admit the endless plain of disturbing muck was...morbid.

This place could use a makeover.

Luckily, it was around then that this train of thought was derailed, as one of the stage flood lights buzzed into existence and then erupted with a nearly blinding flare. And behind the wall of light...?



The Detective COMP, in response to a blink and you would miss it moment of altruism. Though rarely seen (and oft denied) Ada stone's ability to see the truth of things lent her an easy insight. Perhaps to put that another way, Raz could look at someone and see what they wanted. And Ada could look at someone and see what they needed.

What crossed her mind? Well it was only speculation, but it was most likely she understood an unfortunate aspect of the COMP. being a digital being, one only could communicate by virtual means, or by using the Wielder as a medium. Certain COMPs, through luck or design, had active, human like bodies of course, and were all but indistinguishable for red blooded men and women, but these were the exception.

But the DTG did have a body, or the next best thing to one. His ability to project himself using the holographic abilities of the stage gave him an enviable ability to interact with the wider world. Indeed, there was a certain understated feeling of relief as the white haired man tipped his fedora respectfully at the black haired girl's "axe".

Between his attempt to digitize the data on the Machine God, and the subsequent...misplacement of the Stage itself, the detective COMP had been somewhat isolated within his original form.

He had a look in his eyes reminiscent of that delicious feeling of rousing after having been long abed sick, but waking to realize the fever had finally broken.

"Appreciate the thought dollface, but come on...I let the Gumshoe drive. Cant hardly do worse on the old paddy wagon once you have gone down that road, eh?"

Raz rolled his eyes but elected not to say anything. It was kind of funny how all of his fans always looked at the stage as his own, practically a calling card, but from the king down to Erika, and everyone in between, the folks that actually knew him looked at it as primarily the belonging of the DTG, and for him was more like an...on call taxi service.

Besides there was something more amusing upon which to direct his attention.

"I know I am leaving her in good hands," Raz said, directing his words not to his beloved sister but to the weapon in her arms. "You will take care of her. I can tell. You know, my sister has good taste. I would know, I have always been a bit of an...axe man!"

...Oh Jesus Christ Gumshoe...

[Airen]

Ludwig Karlfeldt
???
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening
Weather: Snowstorm

"...You already know the answer."

To Lydia, and Lydia alone, comes an answer from the missing princess. She does not seem to exist physically anywhere, the snowball that you had launched behind the bushes falls with a thud into the snow without encountering any resistance... And yet speaking with a sigh, as if the mom part of her was growing ever stronger, the girl seems fit to answer you inside of your head.

"I'm not forcing anything, the path he wants to follow isn't possible in the first place."

Here, the sigh becomes a chuckle, and you can almost see the small girl smiling to herself...

"After all... Ludwig and Lara Karlfeldt... What was it that defined them from the start?"

Like a mischievous goddess, poking fun at something that the both of you had forgotten...

But what was meant by that?

---Impossible to say, or rather, at least in this case, she refuses to say.

As if going this is one thing you'll have to realize on your own, regardless-!

"Ah-!"

Pelted in the face by a snowball she somehow didn't seem to see coming, the young woman dodges the ones that follow with all the grace of the eldest of the Karlfeldt children. Movements like a dance, but exaggeratedly so, like a drunken boxer making light of the attacks coming their way, or...

"Too slow, too slow-! Arcs too easy to read~!"

...An elder sister acting rather childishly around the second eldest, like a secret just for the two of you, and indeed-!

That was sort of how it was, wasn't it?

Of course-

"But I see I am gonna have to come over there-!"

-you're not given too much time to process that, as said 'drunkenly' swaying sibling launches herself over the fence with a graceful side flip, and-

"I'll just have to pile-drive you into a snowman on the other side~ Only way to wipe that moody look off your face~"

-reaches out to grab you.

Slowly.

But with a certain menacing air-!

"Can't hide your grumpiness from me~ You never could~"

She taps her head.

"Mind link~"

...Uh oh!

[Zurvan]

Lydia
???
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening
Weather: Snowstorm

"Perhaps so, but all the same, I'm not the one that needs to realize it, now am I?"

Laughing to herself faintly, Lydia takes herself of the stage. Disappearing in a rush of butterflies, the girl only leaves her footprints as traces of her presence here.

After all, as the more emotional of the Tamer-COMP pair that was based upon Lara Karlfeldt, she has a better grasp on what the little Administrator intended.

Though she finds the whole affair a bit unfair, given her own view of what Ludwig truly is still to her, she won't interfere.

Time to see whether the boy will step into the light himself... or be dragged into it.

Either way, it will have some kind of effect.

Ludwig Karlfeldt
???
11/16/2026
Monday ~ Evening
Weather: Snowstorm

"Heh, you're wrong. The only one that's going to be buried in the snow is going to be you. I'm not a kid anymore you know, underestimating your opponent is a costly mistake."

Childish behavior meets the child within.

From as far as he remembers, the two siblings were able to form a telepathic bond with one another. A bond they kept active more than perhaps was considered healthy, though it was not always active.

The experiments they had to endure would only bleed over into the other, should they retain such a bond after all.

Still, it was something the pair had come to rely on much during their youths. Each mind gifting the other with experiences, knowledge and memories, growing stronger together. It brought them comfort, as they knew better than anyone what ailed the other. Compassion, courage, ambition, curiosity, each mind supplemented the other with their own qualities, cultivating and strengthening each other.

Such was the bond the siblings once shared. Once, that is, before it was obliterated by a force beyond compare.

What remains of that bond now...

Perhaps it is no surprise that the two act a bit more childish with each other. After all, they knew each other best in their youths, the majority of the memories Ludwig has of Lara are from when the two were little after all.

And so, seeing this behavior of old, he too shifts into older behavior. A more childish innocence, that doesn't focus on just how long that their mental link had been sustained now that the real Lara was on the SLEIPNIR.

...Such a distance wasn't much of a hassle even back in the old days.

Gliding over the snow with inhuman speed, the boy tries to dodge the approaching girl. Unintentionally resisting, yet playing right into the hands of the Administrator's wishes.

All for the simple reason that the ESPer does not like to lose.

[Satehi]

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

…. This woman was shady.

That was the impression that Eva had right upon meeting her.

Perhaps that wasn’t entirely accurate. Even before she knew that this maid was here, Eva was already fairly certain that anyone she met in a place like this probably wouldn’t be a normal, good person. The atmosphere of the manor was just too unsettling.

Eva wasn’t sure what to make of the existence of other people here- it was still confusing to her how she’d even ended up here, but given the particular attire this girl was wearing and the setting appropriate cleaning utensils lying next to her… Eva felt it was likely the girl was affiliated with Liesl, or her past, in some way.

That was another warning sign. Nobody that girl knew was likely to be good news.

And of course, there was her actual appearance. Something just seemed… off.

In short, this woman was probably bad news. Eva felt fairly certain about that.

But even so, this woman was her only lead so far on getting past that door and to the answers that Eva was looking for. And approaching her with -understandable- but excessive caution, wasn’t going to make her chances of getting what she was looking for any more likely.

With that in mind, Eva decided on a single, simple course of action-

“Excuse me, miss.”

-ignore of all that and pretend this was a perfectly normal encounter.

Walking boldly into the room as if it were natural to be here, she continued talking, addressing the maid.

“I’m Eva Ellet, a Spirit Tamer of the Rose Cross. I came here, following after a girl – looks like a student, brown hair, a little rude- do you happen know her, or where I could find her?”

[Verg Avesta]

Blaise Pendragon
Brighter Days ~ Yuriko's Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

... There were many things he could have commented on, but Blaise figured the most peaceful option was to keep his thoughts to himself, at least for now. The bed was relatively comfortable, even if he was upside down, and getting suplexed into some other part of the room wasn't something he was looking forward to. He might have been very tough against physical damage, but still...

"Well, hm... they're related," he finally said. "I've been having... trouble, recently. And it's getting into my dreams. So, I need to stay awake, at least for a while. That, and I figured..."

Flopping sideways, Blaise hit the bed again. Still, even though he was moving, his eyes were still firmly locked to Yuriko's.

"... I should get my mess of a mind in order. I feel like lately, I've been an... emotional wreck. And it almost cost me something important. So, I want to make sure I'm stronger than that the next time it happens," he continued, despite admitting all of this being somewhat embarrassing. "Because I can't afford to be a coward, or rely on powers that freeze up my emotions. Not when something important's on the line."

As he finally lifted himself to a proper sitting position, Blaise scratched his head a bit, but refused to budge his gaze. After all, this wasn't just about sister. Nor was it just about his family in the first place. This was also about his friends. Both Isamu and Tsukiko and Anima... but also about Yuriko. If she was caught up in this stuff, and Blaise wasn't strong enough, then...

"It's... bah. I dunno. It's hard to explain. You know I'm not good at talking about stuff like this," Blaise finally grumbled and broke the eye-contact. "Suffice to say, I'm headed to some temple, Mount Fuji perhaps, to get my head and heart in order. I learned the hardway that I'm hardly as mature as I want to believe I am. And because if I don't, somebody might get hurt, and it'll be my fault. That's the long and short of it."

Hmm, perhaps the effects of the tea were finally easing up.

Blaise felt like his mind was starting to become surprisingly clear.

"So yeah, that's why I want you to look after Aoyama while I'm gone," Blaise said, standing up again to his full height and looking once more into Yuriko's eyes to convey how serious he was. "That's why I do need you. You're the only person I can trust with that, after all. I'm sorry if I made you misunderstand it somehow."

He wasn't quite sure what sort of "mixed signals" he had been giving, but at the very least he wanted Yuriko to understand he was being serious!

"So... yeah. If you wouldn't mind, keep an eye on things. At least until I can learn not to be a coward."

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
Brighter Days ~ Yuriko's Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"..."

She listens without interrupting you.

While her face has slowly begun to morph back to her famous 'resting bitch' stare, the sharp eyes and half-frown that was her signature look around these parts, such things do not mean particularly much to you... Yuriko is simply like that, someone who constantly looks a hair away from snapping even if in reality, she's nowhere close to anything of the sort, indeed, if you had to give an actual emotion to that aggressively neutral expression it would be...

Mild worry?

Like something you had said had bothered her?

Still...

"Bad dreams huh..."

She sighs, before marching towards her nearby desk.

"Lot of people have been complaining about nightmares lately..."

Her voice drifts to silence here, a single comment about an apparently endemic phenomena fading to nothing, after all...

Dreams are strange things.

And Aoyama is home to strange things, so there's a point where it's hard to tell what's actually worth worrying about and what's just the result of that weird empathic bond the people of this city seem to share with each other... Most of the time, Aoyama residents could tell when something was wrong with their neighbors, so the idea of nightmares spreading from person to person didn't seem particularly impossible, still...

"But fine, fine, guess if you've decided you gotta go. You gotta go." She snorts, pulling a notebook and pencil from her desk. "Can't say I can see you being some sort of monk though... You better not come back bald, you're way too young for that..."

She teases, flipping open the notebook and...

"So..."

She starts.

"Any place in particular you want me to keep an extra careful eye on?" She raises an eyebrow, one eye closing in a lazy manner. "If you came to me, you must have had some specific place in mind, right?"

That's a... Decent question...

Did you have a specific place in mind?

[Verg Avesta]

Blaise Pendragon
Brighter Days ~ Yuriko's Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Morning

"Hmm..."

He thought for a moment.

"... The Brick Lane. And Obake obaa-san's bathhouse," he finally answered. "As far as I know, those were the ones that might be in most trouble if something comes a-knocking. Though..."

Blaise paused to take a look at Yuriko. In many ways, she was similar to him - that's why he thought of her as his kouhai in the first place. They both tended to wear faces that scared normal people away, but they both took their duties and obligations seriously - especially towards this town. And when it came to their friends, especially if they needed help, they would never hesitate to jump in.

Which, of course, meant that Blaise knew about a certain possibility if he asked Yuriko to help him out like this.

"And naturally, the same goes for the kids here... and you," the boy said, pointing his finger and poking at Yuriko's shoulder. "Looking after the place is fine, but I don't wanna come back only to hear you got hurt because I asked you take over my duties. Understand? Senpai's orders."

If she did get into trouble, well...

Blaise would be angry at two people.

Both to Yuriko, and especially to himself.

"Though on another note..."

A bit curiously, Blaise ran his hand through his hair.

"... You don't think a bald head would fit me?" He asked, somewhat genuinely curious.

[Airen]

Ayra Lilygrove
Saint Vivienne ~ Ayra's Room
11/16/2026
Monday - Night

"Yeah. I know you wouldn't actually stab me, that's why I'm willing to joke about it with you."

She says flatly, mouth twitching into a sort of half-suppressed grin, like she was doing her best to keep those feelings of amusement inside herself...

But was failing rather spectacularly.

"You're a good girl. Not twisted like me."

Still, even if the smile is on the edge of being a mocking one, the words themselves feel like genuine praise? There's nothing in her tone that suggests otherwise at least, in fact, if you had to place an emotion on it at all...

It would be something close to admiration?

"Rather than bending to society's rules, you found your own way of slipping out of it's grasp without throwing away your morality... I can respect that."

Hands land on her waist.

"As for any further complications, well..."

A firm knock on the door cuts her short.

"...That's probably that underclassman of yours. She could be a complication I suppose, pretty sure she's been looking for any reason she can find to tear into Tsukiko, and an argument would probably do the trick... Feeling's mutual too, those two can't stand each other, never could... Ah, the precious memories of academy days..."

Shaking her head, the woman doesn't move to answer the door, nor does the person on the other side speak, apparently content to wait the golden time of 30 seconds between knocks, instead...

"By the way, since we've established you won't stab me, I've really got to ask you something."

Aislynn's eyes get deadly serious, or at least whatever approximation of deadly serious can appear in those lazy crimson orbs of hers... And once she's sure she has your complete attention, she raises a hand, points it to the door (or rather at the one standing on the other side of the door) and calmly but quietly...

"...You know that girl likes you right?"

Speaks even more forbidden knowledge out loud?!