It was another cold night, one that I would feel comfortable to sleep into. But then again there was barely a time that I got a full complete eight hours of sleep to begin with. On shift on patrols last time I checked was usually Rebecca and Mr. Williams. The old man on the other hand was the only one on shift in the room but Rebecca wasn't here. I can still walk but I felt lazy to pour a glass of water for myself. I put out my hand and attempt to pour a glass with telekinesis. But before I can, I was interrupted by a fake cough by Mr. Williams. "Pour your glass with your hands. You need to save your strength when you take down the bad guys." He said without looking at me. I sighed with a smirk. "What are you, psychic?" I joked. Out from his folded arms was a folding mirror hidden at his right side. "Always have eyes behind your head. That's what my commanding officer used to say." The man said.
Mr. Williams then gets his portable two way radio the side table and enters a transmission. "This is Grendel to Minerva. What's your status? I repeat. What's your status? Over." Mr. Williams asked on comms. "All Clear. Just some random drunks in the area. How's Akuma's status? Over." Rebecca replied on the radio.
"Status is fine. Nothing to report. Keep in check. We're still snapfu here. Over."
"Copy that. Over and out."
Conversation ended there with Mr. Williams putting the radio back at his side table. He heads back to his post near the window. His eye was on the scope but It looks like he was fully aware of his surroundings. Proof being that he took out a small whiskey bottle from his pocket. "A buddy of mine found an airliner crashed around here and raided the first class area. He gave a couple to me out of thanks from me helping out of his last job." He says, "I know alcoholism isn't one thing to develop over these things but this might help you to sleep with what's gonna go on tomorrow."
Mr. Williams then handed me a bottle, I obliged and decided to go for a swig. "It's odd. Back when you were human you weren't able to take two bottles of beer. Now here you are drinking like a wild man." The man complemented. "Good thing alcohol makes me sleepy rather than tipsy. At least now I'm able to get some sleep." I agreed. I opened up one of the small bottles and took a swig. I barely felt anything but it did make me a bit tired. "So when's my shift?" I asked. "You don't need one. Already did enough already after what you did yesterday. Kinda flashy but did the job right." He declined.
I leaned back at my chair and looked at the night sky. Another swig of alcohol and more time to kill. "I got too much free time on me." I complain, "I wonder what I'm supposed to do while you guys are out?"
"How about taking a day off like a normal person for once." Mr. Williams suggested.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked out of curiosity.
"You know, enjoy the day outside rather than in your guild reading magic books on your downtime." Mr. Williams put out.
"I need to do it anyway. I barely managed to finish magic theories. And that's the only book that I was able to finish from Tsukuyomi's pile." I told him.
"Did you manage to learn any new spells at least?" He asked.
"Yeah but I can't find any use for them. Only thing that I found useful was the tinder spell. The other spells on the other hand are equivalent to party tricks." I answered.
"But did you at least find the difference between the two magics you have been learning?" Mr. Williams asked further.
"I read further on that and the results were interesting all together. I can't believe such a thing even existed between the lines." I said out of disbelief.
"Is that so? Then what's the difference?" Mr. Williams wondered.
"If I were to put it in layman's terms western magic requires the manipulation of the world's mana in order to turn the world in the caster's favor. However on the other hand eastern magic requires the will and internal life force of the caster to shift the tides and make their opportunities as their own." I explained.
"So it's mind over matter versus will and determination? That's interesting." He said rather impressed.
"Yeah but in the end both vary on the skill to use the magic. Both have different mechanics but their purposes still be used the same way." I added.
"So how close are you to be used to magic?" Mr. Williams asked.
"Magna told me that over time I would feel less fatigued the more I use magic. With my demon genes I'm most likely be used to high ranking spells after few months." I answered.
"I can see that with western magic but not so much with the eastern variety. We can't have you use eastern magic if you're gonna wipe yourself out." Mr. Williams said pessimistically.
"That's what I'm still looking into. Turns out most fundamentals of eastern magic require communication between the soul and its chi. The soul can replenish chi from what the body absorbs and consumes but there is a limited amount of the body can take. The more chi you use the weaker you body becomes to use its functions. But just as Magna said, only prevention is to make the soul regenerate chi faster and to increase stamina and endurance." I explained.
"Yet have you found a way to do that?" He asked me.
"That's the problem. It's easy to increase stamina and endurance by training but to figure out a way to strengthen something that by physical means is another story all together. I might need to look into this a bit further if I might recall a stronger spell than the barrier seal charm." I told him my findings.
"The First...how powerful is he?" Mr. Williams asked.
"Onmyoudou magic is based on five factors. These are time, space, exorcism, purification, and summoning. I've seen him stop time and space a couple of times whenever I see my past lives. Thanks to the world war two soldier I manage to take in several of the First's memories. If I recall well, what I have now is a million times lesser than his power. And If I were able to obtain that power now then it wouldn't be ready to use them." I answered.
"So for now you're practically a magical landmine. Are you sure you wanna go through this?" Mr. Williams asked.
"He is smart and capable to help when needed. But then again there is still risk, I really don't trust him." I commented.
"Why? What's wrong with this guy exactly?" He asked.
"He's not the hero type. In fact it's like he stole some of the First's memories without a care in the world." I replied.
"Does he at least have a name?"
"From what I know, Kenshin…"
"So you think this might be a risk?" He asked out of curiosity.
"I don't know. He isn't actually the most trusting type when you think about it." I concluded.
"Makes sense. A guy who wears two different types of military colors of opposite sides is enough to make you suspicious." He agreed.
"Are you saying he might be a spy?" I asked.
"It's a possibility. I would be having a hard time too if I had to figure that out." Mr. Williams said.
"Thanks for reminding me…" I groaned.
Kenshin... that's the name I know him by. As much as I see his memories, I fail to understand who he is. All I know about him was he was in a path of blood. He was swimming in a crimson river, bound to drown in his demise for all eternity to the river styx. It makes me wonder how am I not in hell or why isn't my soul in the void to not exist? It would have been easy to say I didn't know the answer but I knew that wasn't the case. Right there I was having a mental block. Something important that I should remember. But it was there I felt Mr. Williams nudging the side of my head with his fingers. "Relax. You're thinking too hard. You'll get wrinkles like mine faster." He told me. There I had an image of someone. He was Japanese but wearing civilian wear. But at an odd feeling, I didn't feel any dread near him. We were in a cargo ship located at starboard bow. We were looking at the moon as it rises from the sea. He then said in English with an American accent as it synced with Mr. Williams voice, "Try to take it slow for now. You're not superman, you know." The vision stops after Mr. Williams said those same words as the Japanese man.
What the hell was that? Was that another memory? For all I know Mr. Williams might have be someone that I used to know. Usually I knew the name out of every person I recognized but this one was a blur. I didn't know what to make of it. Yet the oddest part was how was I able to know that the guy was Japanese when the image of the man was a blur. I didn't know what to make of it at the time. Eventually Mr. Williams snaps his fingers at his face. "You doing alright?" He asked. I came back to focusing to the conversation. "Sorry, looks like I'm sleepy again." I fibbed.
"Okay then...you better sleep now, alright?"
"I will. For all we know we got a big day tomorrow."
"Would it be okay if I fill the rest of the details about Kenshin then?"
"It's fine. Whatever makes it easier."
I rolled back to my bed and shut my eyes. As I thought, I was still awake. For now it was just best to pretend to fall asleep. It was only after an hour that I managed to fall asleep. By the time I woke it was already daybreak. The sun was barely out with a bright red. I felt relieved for once I was able to sleep without any visions. It was only there that I saw Rebecca resting her head on my sheets. She must have been really worn out. My guess was that she changed places with me at my shift. But as the light slowly shined in the room another vision came. It was a Japanese woman in a yukata. The sun felt warm as the vision, she looked calm and happy. But how is it I don't know her name? But all I'm wondering is why is her face a blur? The vision stopped after that. Mr. Williams was already tuckered out along with Rebecca. The only ones who were awake now were Tyrell and Gram.
Not wanting to disturb anybody I wanted to use my telekinesis to pour some water in a glass. But by the jittering of the pitcher, Tyrell stop the pitcher and pours water for me. "You know, you could just ask." He implied. "I just didn't want disturb you guys." I said.
"Quit making excuses. We are in this mess because of you."
"That's why I wanna make less of a burden and ask for less."
He raised an eyebrow after my answer. Gram then hands me the water and turns her back. "Honestly you're one piece of work. Your eyes are stubborn." he says, "You should enjoy being spoiled for once and lay back. Especially with those world war two memories." Gram then gives me the glass of water and grabbed a seat. Her state is locked at me and I felt rather disturbed on how tense it was. "Can you stop looking at me like that...it's starting to creep me out." I said. "All the more better to keep an eye on you to not use magic." He answered.
"But that wasn't magic."
"Esp counts too."
I felt outgunned as she beat me to the punch. "Face it Rin, he's already two steps ahead." Tyrell told me. I then gave up and decided to deal with it. But as I was going for my magic theory book, Gram still snatches it from my hand. I sighed as I forgot the 'no magic' decree. "Then can I have something to occupy myself with? I didn't bring anything to do with entertainment." I moaned.
Gram then tosses me something. It was a game boy advance micro with a final fantasy cartridge. "Where did you even get this?" I asked. "Some gamer hangout had a box full of them." Gram says, "My group is planning to sell some of to a merchant or something." Tyrell then went towards me and looked in awe at the device. He looked at me with determination. I recognized that look from him and we both gave a unison nod. "How much?" The both of us asked with a serious tone.
Gram raised an eyebrow in doubt. "What the hell is with that look? Are you ten or something?" The lizardman asked with a ominous look. We then heard the cracking of joints. It turned out to be Mr. Williams stretching. "Back when we were at the surface these guys would stride through video games like kids with candy. It's the same thing with Rebecca at game night." Mr. Williams butted in. Rebecca then wakes up. "You rang?" She slowly gets up. "That felt good. Morning." She said as she stretched her arms. They both come to notice the device in my hand. "Is that a game boy!" Rebecca exclaims, "How nostalgic. I haven't played one of those in awhile." Soon Gram's large reptilian jaw open like a crocodile. "You guys sure are rowdy at the morning. Take a play from Rin and don't caw like a bunch of chickens, will ya?" Gram moaned. But he gave a smile and see where this is going. "Don't mind me, just let me know when you're gonna get one." Gram humbly said.
"Ehh..? What's with that answer?" Tyrell asked.
He then takes out something out of his bag. Gram then brings out his game boy advance micro and shouts, "That way you can challenge me!" Hearing that gave Tyrell goosebumps. "Bring it on, lizard breath!" He shouted. "Likewise, you hairless ape!" Gram compiled. Tyrell then turns to Lizard. "Gram! Give me one of those and a couple of multiplier cartridges for twenty silver and I'll toss in a few magic enhancing rings!" He demanded. "Ehh?! What the hell is with this character shift?!"Gram exclaimed.
"Tyrell's always been a massive gamer. I guess he's been at a gaming fast for so long that he's overhyped for video games..." I chuckled.
"No shit! I've been trying to find a gaming console for weeks now! With the stress at work, of course I need it!" He shouted.
But with all that energy let out by his rant, Tyrell's stomach started to growl. It was the same thing with the rest of us. That was actually enough for me to make my face red. Mr. Williams then let out a lite cough. "Maybe we should consider our stomachs first before any other expenses." The man humbly suggested. All of us just nodded to that. With all that extra hype we had we forgot about our stomachs. All of us decided to get some room service and grabbed ourselves a meal. There was a special today. It was mystery eggs, with mystery meat sausage, with bread. The eggs were green and the meat was grey. The mystery meat and eggs thing was something that made it sound rather unappetizing. But in the end it was the cheapest meal there. How many times have I sucked up my pride just to get a decent meal? However it wasn't really that bad despite the meat being a little hard on the tender side. "Are you alright just eating that?" Rebecca asked. "As long as it fills my belly I guess I'm fine." I assured. But my face spoke otherwise. If it only was seasoned a bit, the meat would taste better. "I'm surprised that you're able to take meals so easily. Normally newbies would hesitate if they were eating monster meat." Gram said.
"It's not like I have a choice. I need to save money for skills." I answered.
"Oh right...I forgot your class requires payment and permits. Most classes just need ranks and permission from guildmasters. We do pay as well but yours is double the price."
"Yeah...I'm still not permitted to learn attack spells yet but support spells can be learned along with basic utility magic."
"I get support magic but what's utility magic?" Rebecca asked.
"Utility magic are beginner spells based on the name. They're basics that help with simple needs. These can be from pouring water from thin air, growing seeds into sprouts, making floating orbs to light a path, or casting embers to light a small spark." Gram explained.
"So Rin's tinder spell is considered utility magic? Right?" Rebecca wanted to clarify.
"Yeah. All they're good for is for chores and a gateway to tap into the fundamentals of magic. They're basically useless in a fight but helps with one of my ofuda talismans." I answered.
"Then why bother give useless spells if they can barely be used in a fight?" Tyrell asked.
"Well they're not entirely useless. In fact they are fundamentals for several spells. Rin's tinder and ignite spells are actually a piece of many elemental spells. If he gets used to casting them then he'll be able to cast stronger spells later on." Gram answered.
"I guess that means Rin's ready to learn those spells." Mr. Williams rationalized.
"Not really. Most attack spells with fire elements are actually around D-rank. The best chance for Rin to learn those spells is to rank up." Gram disagreed.
"Then what happens if Rin learns a spell beyond his rank?" Rebecca asked.
"My scribe will seal my ability use magic until I'm able to pay the fine. Same goes for any new form of magics that I might recall from past memories too." I answered.
All turn to me in shock. All I could do was feel lost as I forgot to read the mood. Rebecca then slams her hands at the table. "Why didn't you tell us that?!" She exclaimed. "I didn't think it was important." I replied to figure out an excuse.
"Of course it is! Your magic is part of your memories! We can't just can't get those stripped!"
"Oliver just told me yesterday. How am I supposed to know about that?"
Mr. Williams then scratched his chin. He knows that this is gonna be a problem. "I guess there no other way then." He says, "I'm no expert with magic but since Rin is getting more powerful by the day I guess that means we need to rack up on merits in order to get those spells, right?"
"Yeah. But with that Rin still needs to get stronger. And for us to do that...we need to Rin's memories." Gram says, "His mind is a library of knowledge from those past lives. Richard has a plan... maybe we just need to wait till his reply."
"Richard does have it covered...yet on what terms?" Rebecca asks, "Unless you haven't realized by now, it's kinda hard to trust a guy if they're barely around."
"Well we did just meet him a few weeks ago...but then again I'm just wondering how Rin was able to recognize him so quickly." Mr. Williams wondered as well.
"Well...I was able to recognize him by his mannerisms. I guess it was the same thing when it came with Sakuya and Kondo. I just don't know how." I replied.
I then sense a familiar aura again. I look behind me and reach out my hand. My fingers felt something at that that empty space. Looking down I saw crumbs at the floor. Something that shouldn't be there. I then trigger the magus eye and saw a calm and playful aura. For some reason I already knew who that was. "You know you can always join in the conversation...if you want that is." I said as I pulled a fabric material down. What I felt was an invisibility cloak as I pulled away. Slowly appeared Richard with a snack bar at hand. He then sighs and gives a pouty look. "Dammit it looks like I can't even sneak behind you at this life either." He complained. "The crumbs at the floor gave it away if that's what you're wondering." I told him.
"Same as me. I am lizardfolk so it's pretty easy to tell you were there by sensing your body heat." Gram admitted.
"So why didn't you say anything?" Tyrell asked.
"I just wanted to see what he was gonna do. Besides, he was at the same position since last night. I just wanted to see if he was alright." Gram answered.
"And I could have gotten away with it too. I was going to tickle you or something." He said.
"I guess that stopped once you heard us?" Mr. Williams questioned.
"Yeah. Once I heard the sealing part, I decided to hear you guys out. But there's something I wanna clear out with his magic." Richard said.
"What would that be?" Rebecca asked.
Richard then turned to me. "Rin, summon your scribe and turn to your permits section. You should find a permit with a lotus symbol." He instructed. I did as he said and my book started turning to that part. I found the permit with the lotus symbol. "Anyways we wouldn't need to worry about any high level magics being remembered with this one." He explains, "The recollection status permit is issued for specifically for those have past lives with magic properties. In any case, if Rin is to recall a spell that has a high level and rank the spell would be considered as an exception and would prevent the scribe to seal Rin's magics."
"So that thing Oliver told me was a lie?" I asked.
"Why would he lie about something about that?" Rebecca asked.
"It can't be helped either way. It's really how he keeps Loki's end of the bargain." Richard said.
"What bargain?" I asked
"Well...that's how gods operate. Gods have a bond whoever they incarnate power to. In return the incarnation must provide something of value to strengthen their bond. So in other terms a symbiotic relationship by gods giving power. In return, that power compensation is given as proof of the incarnate loyalty." Gram explained.
"So in other words...an offering?" I guessed.
"Yeah. Many people do that who are under a god. Mika offer Fenrir freshly hunted game meat every week." Richard added.
"My wife offers milk to Hestia and it's pretty much the same thing with the rest of that goddess's followers." Gram also added.
"Actually I'm rather surprised that you don't know about this." Richard directed to me.
"Well...my god haven't told me about this...so what does this have to do with it?" I asked as I was unaware of the topic.
"If I remember well… it's pretty random with whatever offering is given. Oliver's offering is usually telling a lie per day." Richard told me.
"That kinda makes sense...my guildmaster's is groping somebody." Gram mentioned.
We all looked at Gram very bizarrely. Much to the point that he was even embarrassed to say it. "...then...our first meeting with her groping me is part of her contract?" I asked with red cheeks. "Yeah...the whole guild is actually aware of that...I don't like it either, you know." The lizardfolk bashfully responded.
"Imagine if a guy was under that contract..." Tyrell puts out.
"That's the god, Loki for you...mocking life's existence with hypocrisy and nihilism..." Gram rationalized.
Knowing this kind of information was rather an eye opener. But that alone has its reasons. It goes to show on how little knowledge I still lack. But with that, Richard claims attention in the room as he lights his pipe with magic. "Anyway's that's what I want to talk to you about." He says, "I'm considering on heading to the temple today to meet with Ebisu. With that I'm get a blessing from him to tell us to go at a place where we can receive riches."
"What do you mean by riches?" I asked.
"Ebisu is one of the seven gods of fortune. He is associated with wealth so he's gonna help us with missions associated with that." Richard said.
"But wealth as in getting rich? But don't we need merits?" Tyrell asked.
"There are a variety of quest that give a lot of merits with payout. We need a bit of divine intervention for wealth. So to get that we can we need to be blessed with a wealth of information." Richard assured us.
"Last time I checked gods don't want to fulfill selfish desires." Rebecca disagreed.
"Look. I get this is a bit sketchy but this on its own is a bit of a gamble. However the missions with the most riches are the most risky. With that risk we might be able to unlock Rin's past live and also the reason why the gods summoned a Hero here." Richard told us.
"Why? What are you planning exactly?" I asked.
"In this life, what was the closest thing that you've been to that was close to a warzone, Rin?" Richard asked me.
In this life? What was that supposed to mean? I've been in too many wars already at my previous lives. But then it hit me. The only thing that came to mind was Laputa. But one of those things stood out the most. "It was when East L.A. was teleported to Laputa. At the first day, it was closest to war I've ever been." I replied. "That's the plan. Find a fresh city from an HAP and bring Rin to train again in real life experiences." Richard offered his idea.
"Are you insane?! There's no way we would be capable to keep up in that hot mess again!" Tyrell exclaimed.
"Even if we were what's so special about an HAP?" Mr. Williams asked.
"Looks like we're asking the right questions. I think this is your field, Gram?" He directs the conversation to Gram.
"Yeah. But that's the odd part of it." Gram says, "It looks like not only locations of your world that suddenly appear but even those of Aria."
"But how? Wasn't it all just cities from our world?" Rebecca asked.
Gram then brings something out from his belt. It was some kind of blue crystal dagger no bigger than a butter knife. The dagger then started to glow and Gram points it out of the window. Out comes a stream of water, shooting over the building next to us. "This is a Neptune Dagger. It's used by firefighters at my world and is also used for self-defense." He says, "I found this in a truck, fresh and new from the packaging. The writing on the vehicle and packaging was a hundred percent Arian."
"In Aria there exist items that don't require the use of spell casting to perform magic. Instead they use devices called magi-tech to store mystical energy and perform a certain spell. They're a pretty good find but by law they are only produced in Aria." Richard explained.
"But couldn't those just be exports from Aria? You guys after all can travel back and forth from both our worlds." Rebecca asked.
"Not if the license plate came from a country from Aria." Gram played counter argument.
"From what we can tell at least, it looks like Laputa's HAPs gets from Aria as well. So if an HAP occurs in Earth so does Aria." Richard added.
"That can explain the monsters. There's no way there was this many. Not with everybody hunting, that is." Mr. Williams acknowledged.
"I was surprised too when I thought of that conclusion. But then again you don't regularly expect a saurian to be here of all things." Gram commented.
"You could have fooled me. We saw one at the first day and I still can't believe lab-made, magical dinosaurs exist." I said.
"Yet how can we be ready for something that we aren't prepared for? We were just lucky to secure the whole apartment at that time. Charging through that whole crisis is suicide." Tyrell pointed out negatively.
I looked at the eyes of Tyrell. There was fear eloping within them. He wasn't the only one though. almost all of us were afraid. That's where Richard steps in. "I know this is a lot to take in but with the progression things have been going on in the capital things are just gonna get harder here on." Richard apologized.
"What do you mean by that? How are problems in the capital a problem?" Tyrell asked.
"Originally I was gonna give offers to Rin to take jobs with the volunteer army. The guild was even thinking of giving a few reconnaissance missions for him to go solo but we had to cancel on it." Richard said guilt ridden.
"Why the sudden cancelation then? Normally the Volunteer Army would look for every chance they get for extra hands." Gram asked.
"It's UTU again...but this time they're trying to steal magical artifacts and magi-tech. The volunteer Army had been called by the government of Cletus to work as hired muscle. It looks like the Volunteer Army is actually opening their arms for their services." Richard told us.
"That is strange. I saw UTU as annoying but I never took them as thieves." Mr. Williams commented.
"It's been the same thing with our guild too. We had to kick out some guild members for theft. Turns out some of them were with UTU." Tyrell confirmed.
"The Volunteer Army is offering half price for these security jobs related to magi-tech at my guild as well. We don't actually need it but it helps." Gram admitted.
"Anyways it looks as if the Volunteer Army is going to cut their expeditions for now and focus on the defense of the capital...which is why I'm resorting to this kind of method." Richard explained himself.
"I get that but to be in the middle an HAP crisis is a bit too far." Rebecca disagreed.
"It's the only thing we have at the moment. Kenshin is the only thing standing against Rin's other memories." Richard says, "If you don't want to come then that's fine. However I can't ignore how even gods are starting to get in. If the Norns are involved then it's a race against time."
"So what are you trying to say?" Rebecca asked.
"Rin is now a walking relic. From the conversation I heard last night from Benedict and Rin, Onmyoudou magic is rare and just imagining the possibilities with this kind of magic might lead to Rin ending up like Lilith." Richard told us.
Again that name rings a bell. My head starts to ache a little. We looked at each other, startled by the news of what was going on. None of it made sense. We were hearing many things but little is to be known. "How is Rin connected to all of this? How is he in danger?" Mr. Williams asked. "Like what I said before, UTU has been getting really desperate. We might end up loosing Rin with this new sack of info I just got." Richard said. He then throws something from his jacket and on my bed. Gram then stands up from his chair and takes a good look at the book on the bed. "This is Lilith Vain's journal. How did you get this?" Gram asked.
"I forgot that she was your student. Your guildmaster gave me her research journal. She flew too near the sun this time." Richard replied.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's what I said. Lilith was a talented researcher and explorer, but it's what she learned that made her infamous."
Richard then turns the pages and reveals a page that says, 'The existence of Location X should be kept secret.' The only thing was more startling was the rest of the message was torn. "According to many accounts, those who have high magic potential are exposed to information and insights of high magics and knowledge. Those who are able to control this power will be given the right to a realm of higher power." Richard explains, "Eventually the journal points to Lilith trying to organize a quest to the Crystal Tower, pretty much the same thing with all Prometheus followers."
"Accounts? How many Prometheus followers are there?" Gram asked.
"You'd be surprised how many guilds are trying to keep them under wraps. There are even a few that I don't even know about." Richard told me.
"So in the end it all points to Prometheus. But what is this place? Location X?" I asked.
"I think I know. Lilith was always asking me tips on spellcraft and magic. I could only recall one thing that went through the most...that would be Akasha." Gram answered.
It looked like this was a split response. People who didn't have experience with magic were kinda confused. Much as I was since I was new to magic. The ones who have experience on the other hand had a different expression all together. They look surprised, as if it wasn't something not to expect. Tyrell raises his hand. "I don't mean to sound like the stupid one but what is Akasha? Some of us can't use magic, you know." Tyrell admittingly asked. All of our magic aware allies look at each other. Gram then coughs and begins to speak. "It's a blank space where time does not exist. It holds the information of the world and the origin of magic. The existence of Akasha is basically the reason why magi study magic." Gram told Tyrell.
"Some say it is the domain where gods of knowledge and beings of the physical plain can meet and exchange their own sets of knowledge. Rumor has it is that Prometheus often stays there. He even gives entry to those who aren't even allied to him as long as he sees them having potential." Richard added.
"So this is where the titan's rabbit hole ends? A chance for unlimited knowledge and power?" Mr. Williams asked.
"What I find weird is why are people dying if such an opportunity of a lifetime can be found by a person's fingertips." Rebecca points out.
"That is what I cannot find out at the moment. Oddly enough the killers dispatch their victims in a clean manner. It's going to be hard to find them unless they leave some kind of clue." Richard replied.
"Are there at least people that are allied to Prometheus that managed to reach Akasha and are still alive?" I asked.
"Yeah. Just one… The Black Rider, Rosy Rosales. Turns out that's how she was able to get a hold of the Codex for The Animalia Puppet. It only makes sense that she was able to get the spell of it since Akasha is the record of the world's knowledge." Richard told me.
Electricity surged in my brain again. But I didn't know what it was this time. "So I'm guessing getting information off of her is already out of the window?" I asked, trying to hide the pain in my head.
"It's either you join the Four Horsemen or get killed by them. Either way you will end up dead." Gram told me.
"However there was something that didn't sit well with me." Richard said.
He flips the page from Lilith's journal to find something off. It was two pages full of scribbles. It was haunting but these looked like a mixture of hiragana and katakana letters, symbols from two sets of the Japanese alphabet. There was a circled number of hiragana letters reading as 'gacha gacha'.
"I got that out of a fluke." Richard says, "It was the only thing that I got. I figured there might have been a code. You now, that meaning 'secret'."
Visions grew in my head. It was a woman in blonde hair. But oddly her face was censored. I couldn't hear her talk. I was missing something. Almost all of it was blurred but cold. It felt warm but I was kinda a bit pissed.
The room grew silent. All I could do was sigh. We were given the bitter truth and a goal for the endgame. In the end all of it leads to me. I pour some water and stare at my reflection at the mirror hanging at the wall. It was depressing to keep on hiding while being in fear. Those memoires were of a cloudy library. I couldn't understand it myself. I was already in terrible shape so what more can I do? But soon the reflection is directed to the gaze of others. Richard may have a plan but I felt uncomfortable. to be in this situation at all. Things kept on getting worse.
I then stand up to stretch and go to the bathroom. I go in for a quick shower and put on the arsenal I had and stood up straight. There I drew out some paper from my utility belt and threw it open. At the right angle I quickdraw my katana and sliced it into four even parts with a diagonal and vertical slash in the air. I wasn't a hundred percent but it was good enough. Everybody was startled by my actions as I put back my katana into my scabbard. "Alright, I'm in." I nonchalantly answered. All were rather surprised by my answer. "But Rin are you sure? You might not be able to handle it." Mr. Williams asked. "We're better off not here. With UTU around, it's going to get hard to train. I might need to contact Tsukuyomi to find a point where to go." I replied.
"Rin...you don't have to go through this. We can find another way to get you stronger." Rebecca pleaded.
"She's right Rin. You are strong, I give you that. But the way your body is now...you're gonna die." Tyrell added.
I then looked at them with resolve. I put my foot down and looked at them in the eye. "If it's going to end all this conflict then I'm fine with it." I tell them, "This is getting out of hand. If I'm part of something then we might as well get some clues."
The people in the room started to look at each other. Mr. Williams then started to stretch and turned towards Richard. "So where do we need to go to pray for a God? I've been outside too much of the capital to know the place altogether." He asked. "Western part of Trium. It's a long trek but we'll manage." Richard answered.
"Then isn't there some kind of transportation or something? I'm not as young as I used to be."
"We're gonna take the train."
"Train? They have those here?"
"Yeah. A guild called Hand and Hammer managed to make a couple of steam engines. Definitely a bit easier."