You expected horrors, perhaps, or some other terrible surprise. What you got, on the other hand, was almost pleasant. Warm sunshine, the sound of distant birds, and the sensation of grass tickling the back of your head. This is... the fairy kingdom, you realise as you look about at the wild, overgrown trees. You've been here many times before, and you know it to be a place of relative safety. As much as anywhere within the demon world... no, the world of transition, can be considered safe.

Groaning softly, you heave your aching body up and give yourself a quick check. Your phone is still here, with everything as you left it – the blacked out Gateway app, though, is a grim reminder that you no longer have a home to return to. Midnight, your enchanted dagger, is still strapped to your hip, just in case you need to defend yourself against anything else. You are, it must be said, as good as you're going to get.

Through the birdsong, you grow dimly aware of another sound – a low, slightly rough humming that comes drifting through the trees. Like someone in a trance, you stumble through the forest in search of that mysterious sound. Soon, your pace turns stealthy and sly, allowing you to slip through the undergrowth without making a sound. It's this advantage that lets you draw close, hiding behind a tree as you spot the source. It's... human. It's Petra.

The redhead is squatting, the posture perfectly natural to her, at the base of a great and ancient tree. She hums as she stares up at it, her eyes flickering across the scars carved into the trunk. You've seen her like this before – this tree is special to her. You almost rush to meet her, but you hold back. Amelia advised caution, didn't she? But this is Petra, she has to be safe...

>Approach Petra
>Observe a moment longer
>Retreat into the forest
>Other

>>44018151
Alright, a new thread!
>Observe a moment longer

>>44018155
>>Observe a moment longer
New OP image huh?

>>44018155
>Observe a moment longer
Then
>Approach Petra

We gotta regroup as much as possible.

>>44018155
>The redhead is squatting, the posture perfectly natural to her,

Kek

>Approach Petra

>>44018276
>>44018221
>>44018217
>>44018182

Pressing your body against the comforting bulk of a large tree, you hide yourself as best as possible as you watch Petra for a moment longer. What stopped you rushing out was the sight of her hand, occasionally slipping out to touch the sword laid out before her. No matter how serene she might look – and her face is set in a strangely calm expression, given the circumstances – she hasn't let her guard down. As you watch her, you start to have doubts. If she can look happy at a time like this, what does that say about her?

“Are you going to hide there all day?” Petra asks suddenly, not taking her eyes from the scarred tree, “We should talk, yes? No commitments or anything like that, just talking.”

Embarrassed at being caught like this, spying on Petra, you slip out from behind the tree and join her. She stands when you approach, brushing down her trousers and leaving the sword amidst the tall grass it is surrounded by. Despite what Petra said about talking, neither of you says anything for a long while. Finally, Petra turns to face you and you can't quite stop yourself from taking a step back at the sight of her mismatched eyes. One is the cold blue you've grown used to, but the other is a shade of vivid green that no human has ever been born with.

“Here we are,” she says with a forced ease, “Safe for the time being, yes?”

Safe? You're not sure, you add quietly, that you know what “safe” means any more.

Petra laughs at that, shaking her head, “Just you and me, yes? Nobody pointing guns or waving knives about.”

Well, true enough. With Petra's sword lying in the dirt and your knife still at your hip, you have the slight advantage here – although you don't want to consider the idea of using the dagger on another human.

“Did she talk to you?” Petra asks suddenly, “In the white room?”

>Tell Petra what Amelia told you
>Did she talk to you?
>Your eye...
>Other

>>44018155
>>Observe a moment longer

>>44018327
>Tell Petra what Amelia told you
>Did she talk to you?
Then
>Your eye...

>>44018327
>Tell Petra what Amelia told you
>Did she talk to you?
>Your eye...

>>44018347
>>44018369
These, also ask if she knows where anyone else is.
>>44018327

>>44018469
>>44018369
>>44018347

It makes sense, you decide, that Petra would want to know what Amelia told you. You had assumed that her last message had gone out to everyone at the same time, but there's always the chance that she tailored her words for each individual recipient.

Telling you what you wanted to hear, in other words. A cynical suspicion, perhaps, but one you cannot dismiss entirely. Still, you tell Petra what Amelia told you – the sudden loss of the old world and humanity, the identity of her rival and lastly, the hunt for the divine fragments themselves. You even, after a moment of reluctant thought, tell Petra that not everyone might be willing to help. You think they will be, you add a moment later in an attempt to downplay the issue, but there's always the chance.

“True,” Petra admits, “Divinity, I think, is something many would kill for. Demon or human, it doesn't matter.”

Right, you nod gravely, but what did Amelia say to her? The same thing?

“No,” Petra shakes her head, “I knew who she was talking about from the start. Old friends, yes? She told me, though, that we'd meet again. The moon will be full in seven days – we can talk more then. Talk, and...” she trails off here, one corner of her lips twisting down into a slight grimace, “We can talk, that's the important part, yes? In a week, we might all have a lot to say to her!” A forced laugh follows that, as if Petra is brushing off the idea that, in time, you might come to curse Amelia. Maybe you will – the thought had crossed your mind more than once before.

Shaking off that bleak little thought, you steady your voice as ask Petra about her eye – the green, obviously inhuman one. How long has it been like that, you ask, and does it... hurt?

>>44018571

“Woke up like this,” Petra shrugs, “I knew about it right away. My head hurt a little, that's all. Why it happened – a mystery to me, yes? I don't ask questions when I know the answers will be too much for me to understand. The worlds have combined into one – it makes sense, maybe, that I've become one as well.”

Become... one, you ask slowly, what does she mean by that?

“This eye,” Petra says, touching a finger to the skin beneath her inhuman eye, “Was taken from an angel. It's a thing of the demon world, yes? Now, with the human and demon worlds as one, it's returned to me.” She pauses for a moment, before letting out a laugh that is, perhaps, slightly nervous, “Or perhaps an act of God? Or something worse than a god?”

You'd rather not consider that option right now. You ask, instead, if Petra has seen anyone else around. You want to regroup as quickly as possible, before anyone on their own falls victim to this new world.

“Cassandra was here,” Petra tells you, stressing the past tense, “She left. Didn't want anyone following her, she said. She was... quite insistent, yes? I think the fop followed her, but I can't be sure. He might be deep in the library, still. The others, I don't know. I've heard nothing.”

Oh... that's not at all good.

“What now?” Petra asks you, finally bending to take up her sword, “I waited here. I thought this would be the first place you came to search, and here you are. Next, I don't know – I'm no leader.”

>Let's stay a while. See what the fairies know
>I want to see this new world
>Other

>>44018600
>Let's stay a while. See what the fairies know
Get some information.

>>44018600
>Let's stay a while. See what the fairies know
Also ask Lilim to put her ear to the ground/Amala Network and see if she can locate the others.

>>44018600
>>Let's stay a while. See what the fairies know
If we've still got that ruby chunk we could see if Scathach can do anything with it

File: Pixie.jpg (23 KB, 378x676)

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>>44018726
>>44018646
>>44018616

Quite frankly, you're not sure you're ready for whatever lies outside of the fairy kingdom. This place, at least, retains a sense of pleasing familiarity that you want to hold onto for as long as possible. It's not quite the human world but it's a kind of civilisation, and that's enough for you. At the moment, at least. You'd rather stay here a while, you tell Petra, and see what the fairies know. They've always been good at knowing things. Even if they can't help you, the shelter will let you focus on other things – like checking Lilim's knowledge.

“Good idea,” Petra nods, throwing a backwards glance in what you assume to be the direction of the palace, “Things are calm here, yes?”

Exactly, you nod as you start to walk off through the forest. As you walk, your hand drifts down to pat the lump in your pocket. That fragment of ruby – a less divine fragment, unfortunately – is still there, right where you left it. One little bit of good fortune, hopefully the first of many lucky breaks. You approach the palace, passing by that ghastly statue of Titania as you go, and you've almost reached it when you start to suspect that something is not quite right. The air here feels strangely charged, as though there is a lingering excitement that neither of you can quite put into words.

Excitement perhaps, but not necessarily pleasant anticipation. You realise that quickly when you pass a tight group of Pixies, the little fairies lowering their voices in nameless fear as you walk past. They whisper urgently to each other and cast paranoid glances about the corridors, but there does not seem to be any purpose or direction to their anxiety. The aftermath, you wonder, of the barrier collapsing? Or perhaps word of the divine fragments has already started to circulate, filling everyone with eagerness and dread.

The library, you decide, is the place to start.

File: Scathach.png (203 KB, 323x426)

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>>44018841

Petra might have seen Elliot in here earlier, but there is no sign of the foppish young man now. You pace down the aisles, glancing down each row as you pass them, but there is no sign of anyone at all – not even Scathach, who you had taken for a permanent resident here. Why, you ask Petra as you wander, was Elliot here? Was he looking for something in particular?

“If he was, he didn't know about it,” Petra replies sadly, “He was looking for a distraction, yes? Something so he didn't have to think about what had happened. He was... upset.”

Well... you can't really blame him. You just hope that he didn't lose his composure and run off somewhere, getting himself into a dangerous situation. This world is too new, too unknown, to risk a long time spent alone in the wild, untamed frontier. Perhaps, you try to convince yourself, he has simply gone elsewhere in search of food or drink – possibly even something as simple as a warm bed. That must be it.

“So,” Scathach announces from behind you, causing both of you to jump in surprise, “We might be seeing quite a lot of each other in the days ahead, is that right? I don't get out much, you see, but I do hear so many rumours down here.” She chuckles as you both turn to face her, the demon having – apparently – materialised out of thin air. “People really ought to watch what they say, don't you think?”

You exchange a worried look with Petra, ill at ease with Scathach's strange mood. True, there doesn't seem to be anything hostile about it, but still... Petra merely shrugs helplessly, just as confounded as you are.

>Have there been any rumours about divine fragments?
>Do you know what happened to Elliot and Cassandra?
>This ruby, can you do anything with it?
>I'd like to forge a demon
>Other

>>44018937
>Have there been any rumours about divine fragments?
>This ruby, can you do anything with it?
Info and equipment is what we need a the moment.

>>44018937
>Have there been any rumours about divine fragments?
>Do you know what happened to Elliot and Cassandra?
>This ruby, can you do anything with it?

>>44018937
>Do you know what happened to Elliot and Cassandra?

I'm pretty sure Cass is just checking on Cu, but never hurts to be careful. Also,

>This ruby, can you do anything with it?

>>44018937
>>This ruby, can you do anything with it?
Maybe we'll get laser eyes or something. Some kind of ability to bounce magic back at people like Maya had?

>>44019053
Hoping for a Null Mind fuckery item

>>44019053
>>44019018
>>44018979
>>44018967

Biting your lip as you think, you take the chunk of ruby from your pocket and offer it to Scathach. Is there anything, you ask, that she can do with this? Turning it into a piece of equipment, perhaps?

“Hmm,” Scathach takes it lightly from you, turning it over and over in her gloved hands as she examines it, “I see... Talk, if you wish, I can answer any questions you might have while I work.”

Well, you say after a moment's thought, have any of those rumours she mentioned said anything about divine fragments? Maybe not using that exact wording, but anything about a source of power? Something that demons might be fighting over, or chasing after?

“When the full moon was, at last, sinking below the horizon there was a moment of darkness. In this new night, it is said that five shooting stars were seen dropping down from the sky. They must have landed there, scattered across the ruined city outside here. One fell to the North – I don't doubt The Shackle will be searching hard for it – and another to the South. Nobody know who might find that one – I know of nobody out in that area,” Scathach pauses here, clapping her hands together around the ruby and seemingly swallowing it up into her palms. “Or so I hear, at least. Who knows what the true situation is?”

Then, you ask as you try not to let your dismay show, does she know where Cassandra and Elliot might be? They must be close, right? They know better than to run off without any kind of plan or back-up.

“Cassandra DID mention something,” Scathach says as she rubs her hands slowly together, the leather of her gloves whispering in the quiet library, “Let me see, she said “It's not the same here. Nothing is the same any more.” Those were her exact words.” Another pause as Scathach separates her hands – the ruby has vanished – and cracks her knuckles. “She seemed quite upset.”

>>44019214

So, does she know where Cassandra went, you repeat, or Elliot?

“I couldn't really say,” Scathach shrugs, “I've been here, reading up on shooting stars. Or... perhaps they were something else entirely? Feathers, stripped from the wings of an angel cast out of their Heaven? An angel... or a god.”

Beside you, you can practically feel Petra's entire body tensing up as she reacts to Scathach's words. Shaking your head slightly – a minuscule motion – you urge her to remain calm. Scathach might very well be an important source of information in the days ahead.

“Regardless,” Scathach announces in an indifferent voice, “If I see them, I'll tell them you were looking for them. Now hush a moment, I need to concentrate...” In the silence that follows, you can hear a faint sound like gravel being stepped on and then Scathach parts her hands for the last time. Floating above her spread palms is a curious mask. The top half is a solid piece of black stone, set with that ruby in imitation of Maya's own face, but the bottom is a clanking mesh of tiny stone squares that flows like a veil.

It's beautiful, you hear yourself whispering, like some ancient relic or ritual item.

“It should ward off some mental attacks,” Scathach tells you, “Some, not all. There was only so much I could do with a fragment of Maya's power. There is also one little feature that you might find quite useful in the coming days. Step closer a moment, child...”

You do so, approaching to take the mask. When Scathach's voice sounds out, it is as a whisper – something meant for you and you alone. “This mask can assail a human with illusions, visions that will confound them. Even if they know what they are looking at is not real, it will throw off their aim and leave them vulnerable. Demons, though, are made of sterner stuff – they won't be hindered.”

>>44019309

As her voice fades, you stumble backwards a little, the mask a slight but reassuring weight in your hands. What use is something like that, something that demons can laugh off? The answer comes to you a moment later, although you shudder at the implications behind it. Scathach has just given you an assassin's weapon, the perfect device to disable one of the friends that you have so recently made. Is the world really so cruel, you think desperately to yourself, that you would be forced to kill your friends like that?

“Mia?” Petra asks, placing her hand on your shoulder to steady you, “What's wrong?”

Nothing, you blurt out without thinking, you're just tired. Tired and in shock.

“I see,” the redhead doesn't sound convinced, “There will be time to rest. Later, yes?”

Later, right. You let your hands hang loose, the mask dangling from your grip as you struggle to pull yourself together. You need to do something – anything would do – to keep your mind busy. Maybe you could talk things over with Lilim, or you could see the outside world for yourself. There are many options now, you realise, and there's nobody to tell you what to do. From now on, you've got to pick your own path.

>Stay with Scathach for a while, ask any more questions you might have
>Explore the new world
>Summon Lilim and see what she knows
>Ask Petra for any advice
>Other

>>44019422
>Summon Lilim

Undine 2.0 hasn't gotten much use lately.

>>44019422
>Summon Lilim and see what she knows
>Ask Petra for any advice

>>44019422
>>Summon Lilim and see what she knows
>>Ask Petra for any advice
At least that mask thing could help with escaping from a tight spot. We don't need to use it to murder people.

>>44019422
>Summon Lilim and see what she knows
>Ask Petra for any advice

It kind of sucks Mia only remembers dying. She could use some prior knowledge to fallback on right now.

File: Lilim.jpg (41 KB, 520x1054)

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>>44019499
>>44019493
>>44019462
>>44019457

Thanking Scathach for her time – admirable really, how steady your voice is – you lead Petra away to a quieter corner of the archives and claim a table. The desk you sit at has a thick layer of dust laying atop it, like something that has laid unused for countless years. These archives really don't see much use, do they? It's a shame – the sight of an empty library always struck you as curiously sad, almost like a long abandoned family home. Shaking those melancholy thoughts off, you ask Petra if she has any advice for the coming days.

“It's going to be hard,” she tells you bluntly, “But you're not alone. Think about your actions and consider consequences. Never let a chance to gather information pass you by.”

That... doesn't sound like the kind of advice you were expecting from Petra. You were expecting something more along the lines of how best to gut someone. Violent advice, the kind of knowledge that living in a world like this teaches you.

“My advice would be poor, yes?” Petra tells you with a weak laugh, “That's what Amelia would tell you. She was always better at this than I was.”

Well, it's appreciated in either case. In fact, you were about to act on some of that advice and go for a spot of information gathering yourself – or rather, not yourself. Seeing what information someone else has gathered. With that in mind, you summon Lilim, leaning back as the tanned devil appears before you, sitting neatly on the edge of the desk.

“Oh...” she moans, stifling a yawn, “It's been so busy lately! Everyone keeps shouting about everything, you'd think the world was ending!”

That's... kind of a sore subject.

>Ask about any of the others (Who, in particular?)
>Ask about where the divine fragments landed
>Ask for a general overview of the situation
>Other

>>44019641
>Ask about any of the others (Who, in particular?)
Marco, Joseph, Leon. Specially Marco, he doesn't have a Demon Summoning App. We should probably find him first and get him somewhere safe.
>Ask about where the divine fragments landed
>Ask for a general overview of the situation

>>44019641
>Start with a general overview of the situation
>Then about any info on the divine fragments
>Then news on the Shackle, seeing as if Scathach is right, one fragment landed smack dab in their territory

Ameliadammit captcha that is not a cake

>>44019641
>Ask about any of the others (Who, in particular?)

Marco first of all, then Elliot and Joseph.

>>44019641
>>Ask about where the divine fragments landed
>>Ask for a general overview of the situation
Leon's probably having dinner with Lucy right now. I don't think Mia is ready for that news yet

>>44019771
If so Lucy works really fast. Honestly I don't YHVH, Lucy or anyone other than Nyarly saw this coming. Everyone's probably rallying their forces.

>>44019771
>>44019706
>>44019697
>>44019676

Does she know anything, you ask hastily, about Marco? You feel somewhat guilty, in retrospect, that your father wasn't the very first thing you thought about upon entering this world. He should have been at the front of your mind – you spent enough time trying to rescue him, after all – but it is only now that you think to ask after him.

“Let me think...” Lilim hums a perky tune – her cheerfulness only driving you to irritation – as her lithe legs sway back and forth, “I'm hearing rumours of a scholar – well, the exact wording is “some wise guy human” - hanging out with the Hellfire Club. As a hostage, I mean, but that's probably a safe enough place to keep a guy. They're good people, over there. Unlike The Shackle, they don't eat their prisoners.”

The Hellfire Club – that's close! That's really very close! Nodding eagerly – the word “hostage” passes right over your mind without leaving an impact, such is your relief – you ask Lilim about the world in general. What's sort of things are going on out there?

“Other than the fact that it's cold and miserable? I'm hearing a rather worrying rumour about... holes,” Lilim frowns, glancing up towards the ceiling as she consults some invisible ledger, “Um, holes, yes. Bits of the ground collapsing and crumbling away, that kind of thing. There's something beneath the surface causing trouble, that's what some people are saying.”

Vague, you think to yourself, but better than nothing. What about Joseph, you ask, or Elliot? What about Leon?

“Jeez, give me a minute. Keeping track of all you humans would be a lot easier if you stayed in one place,” Lilim rolls her eyes, “Joseph, uh, he seems to be going on a tour of every church in town. Elliot – is that what they're calling themselves now? - I don't know about though.”

And Leon?

Well at least Marco's safe. We need to see what they want but at the very least Black and Red aren't going to hurt him.

Joseph is looking for Gabby, not really surprising.

And Lilim already knows about Elliot's secret it seems.

>>44019895

“Look, I'm not saying I know all the facts, or any of the context here,” Lilim warns you, “Don't ask me to explain that kind of stuff, because I can't.”

So... it's bad news?

“Last time anyone saw him, he was heading North,” Lilim tells you, a note of reluctance in his voice, “And he was in a hurry. I shouldn't need to tell you, but that's where...”

The Shackle, you say with a grave nod, that's their territory. Since you're on the subject, what's going on with The Shackle? You hear that one of the divine fragments might have landed in their lands, and they won't waste any time in trying to track it down. As for what the Intoxicating One might do with a fragment of divine power, it doesn't bear thinking about.

“The situation? In a word, disarray,” Lilim allows herself a smug smile at that, “Ever since someone started killing all of their top men, the Intoxicating One isn't looking nearly so secure. If anything, their armies are drawing into a defensive formation. He's locked himself in his fortress – what's new, right? - and he doesn't want visitors.”

So what, you wonder, does Leon think he's doing heading up there? Regardless, you've got one last question you want answered – does Lilim have any news about the other divine fragments? Or, if she prefers, the shooting stars?

“Rumour has it that one landed very close to here,” Lilim tells you, her eyes twinkling with an air of mystery, “But someone among the fairies snapped it up as soon as possible. Like I said though, rumours!”

Huh. You would have thought Scathach would have known something about that. Maybe she already heard that rumour and dismissed it as a falsehood. Still...

Unless Leon has an ace up his sleeve or he is offering his services he doesn't stand a chance against Mada solo. One goat devil won't be enough I think.

>>44020017
I'm more worried about him signing up. Would Leon really be that stupid though?

>>44020040
Well to be fair Leon did have a good thing going with Forneus back in the last cycle. He was biding his time and gathering power and status. He could emulate that again.

Leon isn't the smartest but we got to remember when he picked a fight with Alice he didn't know she was the Goddess of death.

>>44019971

“Look, I'm going to keep my ear to the ground from now on, see if anyone else is talking about these fragment things,” Lilim tells you, “But there's a lot of secrecy about all of a sudden. Even people who normally gossip like fishwives are keeping their lips sealed. Fear maybe, but there's hunger here. People WANT these things, and they won't hesitate to take the chance to grab them. Watch your back, boss.”

You'll do that, you promise as you return Lilim to your storage. With that task complete, you turn back to Petra, who had been watching the conversation with a mix of curiosity and admiration.

“You ask good questions,” she tells you, nodding with apparent satisfaction, “That's the important thing, yes? Reading the situation and reacting. So – react.”

So you're going to be the leader from now on? You never expected Petra to bend the knee quite so easily. You're not paranoid enough – yet – so assume betrayal, but the possibility IS there...

>We're going to the Hellfire Club, right now.
>I want to ask around about the fragment that landed nearby
>We should head North and see what's going on
>Other

>>44020137
>I want to ask around about the fragment that landed nearby

>>44020137
>I want to ask around about the fragment that landed nearby
Marco is safe for right now. We should still definitely go to Hellfire and see whats up today, but we have some time to get more information here.

>>44020137
>>I want to ask around about the fragment that landed nearby
I assume Titania's probably got her hands on it by now. We're already in a sort of pocket world though, so how would it work? Would it just expand the fairy world's borders?

>>44020137
>I want to ask around about the fragment that landed nearby

>>44020246
I hope not, but you are probably right. I don't want to fight Titania, politics aside the fairies were a good sort.

If we do have to come to blows hopefully we can beat her without killing her and just take the fragment. Don't want to destabilize this place if we can help it.

>>44020137
>We're going to the Hellfire Club, right now.
Dad comes first

>>44020360
>>44020246
If not Titania, who could it be? Cernunnos, CuCu or Scathach would be the obvious options. A new version of Oberon maybe?

>>44020437
Like I said, you are probably right about it being Titania though I had forgotten about Cern. Might be him. That'd be fucking dangerous.

>>44020437
Morrigan could have it too.

>>44020250
>>44020246
>>44020183
>>44020159

If you're going to be a leader – and it's looking like you're already one – that means you'll need to get used to making hard decisions. This one, the decision to leave Marco with his “hosts” for the time being, is a particularly difficult one to make. He's as close to safe as possible in this new world you know that, but the idea of turning your back on him while to pursue other leads leaves you sick to your stomach with guilt. It'll get easier, you tell yourself, it has to. With that thought burning at the front of your mind, you tell Petra about your plans. You want to ask around the fairy kingdom, to try and dig up as much information as possible on that fragment that – allegedly – landed nearby.

“I see,” Petra sounds a little surprised, as though she had been expecting you to pick the obvious path. If she has any comment, however, she keeps that to herself. “Wander around and ask questions, yes? The banquet chamber seems like a good place to start. Many people drink there, and drunk tongues are always looser.”

An excellent place to start, you agree, stepping aside so Petra can lead the way. She walks with the confidence of someone who has walked these corridors many times before, occasionally reaching out to tap on a particular carved pillar or window. There's something strange about those little touches, and it takes you a moment to make a guess. Petra, you suspect, can't quite believe things. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet, but those constant touches have the air of someone seeking reassurance. Or maybe you're wrong, and this is just a little ritual she has. Reading too much into something is always dangerous.

“Here we are,” Petra says brightly, waving towards an arched doorway, a room lined with tables waiting within.

>>44020543

For a place dedicated to drinking and feasting, the atmosphere here is surprisingly... sedate. There is the same nervous energy in the air, but it seems somehow oppressive here – as though everyone wants to talk about something, but they can't bear to voice the words aloud. You scan the room slowly, searching for – what, exactly? Anyone who looks a little more willing to talk, perhaps, or just someone drunk enough to say exactly what's on their mind.

Your gaze sweeps across the whole room once, and then you look back at a hulking figure that you somehow managed to miss on the first pass. Seated at the back of the hall, gnawing on a raw lump of bloody mean, is a bare-chested man, much of his face hidden behind some kind of skull. It's quite impressive, watching him eat around that helmet, but you're not here to study someone eating. You're here for answers, and – if the stack of empty flagons piled around the brute are any indication – he might be the one to give them.

“Mia,” Petra warns you quietly as you approach, “Chin up, yes? Don't look down.”

Oh, that's some kind of posture thing, isn't it? Keeping your chin up and pushing your chest forwards a little makes you look more assertive, more commanding. You thank her and approach the barbarian, greeting him with a hopeful voice.

“What do you want?” he snarls, standing up with a start. In that instant, you realise why Petra had warned you to keep your eyes high. “You're on my territory, worm, so make this quick!”

>Uh...
>Did something land near here? A shooting star?
>Who are you, exactly?
>Other

>>44020584
>Did something land near here? A shooting star?
>Who are you, exactly?

Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down Mia.

>>44020584
>Did something land near here? A shooting star?
>Who are you, exactly?

>>44020584
>>Uh...
>>Did something land near here? A shooting star?
>>Who are you, exactly?
Another first for poor Mia

>>44020584
>Did something land near here? A shooting star?
>Who are you, exactly?

>>44020599
>>44020657
>>44020693
>>44020706

This wouldn't be a problem, you realise, if the naked warrior before you wasn't so ridiculously tall. As if it, there's not really anywhere else you can look.

Stammering, the words caught in your dry throat, you choke out the first question that crosses your mind – who is he, exactly?

“Hah!” the barbarian laughs, “Bold question, little worm, and to ask it so boldly! I am Cernunnos, Master of the Wild Hunt. I lead the kingdom's armies to war, to defend our lands and people. At least, I did once. Now, I'm a glorified guard dog...”

Well, you say after clearing your throat, has he seen anything while guarding the place? A shooting star, perhaps one that happened to land near here? You ask this with a growing sense of foreboding, uncertain of what answers this savage giant might have for you. He seems... brash and violent, but in a way entirely different from anyone you've ever met. It's almost as if violence is perfectly natural to him, but never directed at any one person. Even so, just being close to him seems to stir a similar heat in your breast, setting your heart racing.

“The big secret,” Cernunnos says, with a kind of drunken contempt, “One of my “loyal” riders found it out there, still glowing, and brought it here – to HER. The bastard went right over my head, like I was some whelp! Now nobody will even mention it – not even whispering the thing, for fear of the dungeons! Makes me sick just to think about it. I had an army once, a rebel army that would have challenged Heaven itself, and now look at me, at this place!”

What exactly, you ask, is wrong with it? It seems pretty much fine to you.

“Everyone just falls into line!” Cernunnos snaps, banging his fist down on the wooden table, “Bowing and scraping like that, that's no fun!”

>>44020975

You're about to ask some more questions – like who the elusive “her” is – when Cernunnos collapses back down into his seat, the thick wood creaking ominously beneath his weight. Glaring at you for a moment longer, Cernunnos grabs the nearest flagon and drains the last of the contents. He doesn't look like someone whose tongue is going to get any looser than it already is.

“Leave me, little worm,” he snarls, “I've got no time to be wasting words with an unbloodied child like you. Come back in a few years, when you've got something to prove your worth.”

Unbloodied? Oh, if only he'd seen you yesterday – you don't think there was a single patch on your entire body that wasn't covered in blood. Although, considering the state he's in, he'd probably just accuse you of using ink. You glance around again at Petra – she seemed to recognise him, didn't she? - but the redhead only shrugs again, before taking you lightly by the shoulder and steering you a few paces away.

“He's erratic,” she warns you in a hushed voice, “Amelia told me stories, but he was never a mess like this. He's changed, yes?”

Well, you say carefully, Cassandra said that everything was different now. Still, what did he mean by “prove your worth”?

“Knowing him?” Petra asks, shrugging, “Killing something big.”

Right.

>Put this aside for now. Go to the Hellfire Club
>See if you can find someone else to ask
>Go in search of something to prove yourself
>Other

>>44021124
>Put this aside for now. Go to the Hellfire Club

Titania has one, well fuck.

>>44021124
>Put this aside for now. Go to the Hellfire Club
Well the fragment is already been secured so no easy grab there. I think we can safely assume HER is Titania. Lets go see whats up with dad.

inb4 get us a shard for your dad.

>>44021124
>>Put this aside for now. Go to the Hellfire Club
As much as I'd like to see Mia strolling in and throwing a severed head onto the table, this isn't really the time

>>44021239
>>44021165
>>44021158

You'll put this little investigation on the shelf for now, perhaps to come back to later when you've got a better chance of making some progress. Like, say, when you've just fought something impressive enough to win Cernunnos' respect – if such a thing is even possible, for a “little worm” like yourself. What you'll do, you tell Petra, is take a look into what's going on at the Hellfire Club and the decide what to do from there. If Marco really is safe and sound, there's no need to make any sudden decisions.

If he ISN'T safe, well, you'll have to come up with a plan. You've broken him out of one prison already, a second one won't be much harder. You hope.

Nevertheless, with Petra leading the way, you head out to the border of the fairy kingdom, but then you both pause, staring at the ajar gate with a mounting sense of nervousness. What could be waiting for you on the other side of that mystical border? There is still a world out there – you like to think that Lilim would have mentioned anything to the contrary – but what shape could it be in? With a deep breath, you muster your courage and step forwards, pushing through the gate and out, into a world of bitter wind and darkness.

Although the air is not filled with drifting snows – you've taken care of the Lady and her storms – it still cuts your exposed skin like a razor. It's cold, even compared with the world you once knew, and the sky is a dark and sunless void. Ahead of you, only a rare few buildings carry weak, flickering flames at their summits, and even those look like the slightest breeze would snuff them out. The streets of this frozen world are lifeless, and yet busy with shambling figures, corpses that walk like men.

>>44021462

It's awful, you hear yourself murmuring, it's just too awful.

“Look,” Petra says after a grim moment, pointing towards the tallest building you can see. That's Sati's tower, you realise, although you can barely recognise it from the condition of the flame burning atop it. It's stronger than all the other ones that you've seen, true, but that is testimony to the general weakness, rather than any display of strength. At the base of Sati's tower, more of those shambling dead have gathered, raising their arms in mute worship of the visible flame.

“We...” Petra begins, but lapses into a rare silence. Even her spirit seems crushed by the sight of the world before you, reduced to a near-lifeless wasteland by – what? That brief moment that Sati was unable to tend her flames? “We should... go...”

You want to agree with Petra, but something holds you back. There has to be a way of fixing this, you mutter, there just has to be!

>Try to find your way to Sati – if she's still alive
>Press on to the Hellfire Club. You can't fix everything
>Other

>>44021487
>Try to find your way to Sati – if she's still alive
I'm not one to be sidetracked but this seems important to the overall condition of this world. We should warm it up for us too.

>>44021487
>Try to find your way to Sati – if she's still alive
Yeah... this NEEDS to be fixed if we can. Else everyone is going to need Null Ice for the rest of the quest.

>>44021487
>>Try to find your way to Sati – if she's still alive
Although I have no idea what we could do to fix this. I get the feeling it won't be as easy as casting some healing magic.

>>44021487

>Try to find your way to Sati – if she's still alive

>>44021642
Maybe Hua Po can hold the line until we patch Sati up? Though the scale of what needs to be done might be beyond the little fairy's capabilities.

>>44021653
>>44021642
>>44021598
>>44021575

“Mia,” Petra says softly, her voice carrying over the whistle of the frigid wind, “There's nothing we can do here. This is... bigger than us, yes?”

No, you tell her in a voice that is quiet but determined nonetheless, you're not going to ignore this. Not until you've done everything possible to fix it. Part of the blame lies with you, and you refuse to leave this as someone else's problem. Besides, if things get any worse, it won't be possible to ignore it – you'll freeze to death in the streets, no matter how many layers you pile on. She might not notice the cold, but you certainly do.

Petra, colouring slightly at that, touches the collar of white feathers she wears. “Fine,” she says, a trace of what might be shame in her voice, “We might be powerless, yes? You should prepare for the worst.”

Prepare for the worst, you tell her with an attempt at a smile, and hope for the best – isn't that how the saying goes? With those words still on your lips – your smile dies the minute you look away from Petra – you hurry off down the wide streets, trying not to look at the crooked buildings that loom over you at lunatic angles. Spears of ice dangle from twisted balconies and cracked roofs, while the walls are covered in that same frozen armour. Everything around you, no matter where you look, is caught in the grip of a terrible frost. This, from such a short time without the flames being kept? You shudder to think what would have happened if the Lady had been allowed to live. Storms, you realise, would have been the worst of your problems.

With your face set in a determined grimace, you force yourself to keep moving through those desolate streets, only allowing your pace to slow when your chest is gripped with a tight pain. It seems to take an age before you find yourself beneath Sati's tower, and then realise the scale of the problem.

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>>44021946

Surrounding the building, swaying in place like a hypnotised congregation, row after row of wasted, scrawny corpses form a formidable barricade. They don't SEEM hostile – yet – but some instinct tells you that there isn't much keeping their attention fixed upon that dwindling candle atop the building. If the warmth of your blood happened to draw their attention instead, there would be very little you could do to stop them from falling upon you.

“You run too fast,” Petra says, panting slightly as she catches up with you, “And you've only got small legs, how...” her words die as she realises exactly what that wall of swaying, twitching flesh before you is. Perhaps she didn't want to realise, for the sight of it causes her to pale. “Mia,” she breathes, “There must be dozens of them, yes? No, more than that?”

Letting a long, slow breath out – it forms a swirling cloud of white before you – you try to analyse the situation. A first strike might take out enough of them to clear a path, but if they ALL rouse from their trance...

>Try to slip through without being noticed
>Try to cut a path through
>Abandon this fool's errand
>Other

>>44022029
>>Other
Summon Hua Po. Have her move away from us and off to the side of the ghouls and the building. Have her Agi, drawing them off to her. We rush to the doors, desummon Hua Po before they all get to her.

>>44022101
>>44022029
I'll second this. Its one of the perks of being a Devil Summoner, the ability to summon and desummon allies when they get into danger. Hell the Raidou games required you do that.

Have Hua Po be a distraction then port her back to us before she gets in real trouble.

>>44022101
>>44022170
Good call. I assume they're slow enough that she'll be in no danger. Make sure Petra keeps her sword sheathed though, it might draw them as well

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>>44022208
>>44022170
>>44022101

No, you can't guarantee being able to slip through this mass without drawing their attention – and their ire – and fighting them is an even worse idea. You need to play this smart, and that means having a plan. Fortunately, after a moment of inspiration, you've got just the thing for a situation like this. Slipping your phone out with numb fingers, you call up Hua Po. The little fairy appears, holding herself tightly and shivering. Even her warm body isn't enough to ward off the chill that blankets this area – but you can think of something that will banish the cold.

You explain the plan to your demon and Petra, huddled together in a tight circle as the swarm of ghouls howls in the background. At first, Petra looks sceptical but her expression soon turns into one of first interest and then enthusiasm. Hua Po, on the other hand, starts off confused and ends up looking terrified. Yet, when you finish giving her her orders, the little fairy clenches her fists and gives you a determined nod.

“I'll do my best,” she says softly, repeating it in a louder, more cheerful voice, “Let's all do our best!”

Well, if she's willing to push down her fears and do this, then you just can't back down now, can you? As if you'd let a shy little fairy put you to shame! Still, even as she flutters off to take her place for the coming plan, you can't quite force down a surging tide of nerves. If this doesn't work, if something goes wrong or even if you've just misread the situation, you'll have a lot of problems to deal with – starved looking problems, with yawning mouths and grasping claws. The worst kind of problems, in other words.

Time to move, you murmur as Hua Po vanishes off behind Sati's tower. A moment later, a fireball bursts into view, lighting up the permanent night.

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>>44022471

As the tide of ghouls begins to shuffle forwards, their great plough-like feet cutting through thick drifts of snow, you creep into the midst of them. Whatever warmth you body might carry within it is nothing compared to the inferno that Hua Po called up, for not a single ghoul even glances your way as you slip through their leathery bodies, shuddering whenever you so much as brush against one of them. This close to them, you can see cloudy drops of poison dripping from their gnarled claws – perhaps the only liquid out here that never seems to freeze – to hiss upon the snow beneath. The fact that the cold air dampens whatever smell they might have is a small mercy, but one you're infinitely thankful for.

When you reach the doorway to the tower, you call Hua Po back into storage, relieved to see her icon as strong and steady as when you summoned her – she's unharmed. Traumatised, maybe, but unharmed. Pushing the door shut behind you, Petra lets out a sigh of unconcealed relief. She's a hell of a fighter, but against a horde of that size she wouldn't have lasted a minute. None of you would have.

It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the darkness within the tower – it's dark, even compared with the gloom outside – but you soon notice that what was once a pillar of fire has tapered off to a feeble stream of sparks, drifting upwards on some phantom breeze. Nothing about this place suggests any kind of life or vitality and, in fact, it seems impossible that anything COULD live here. With worry high and painful in your heart, you take the long and winding staircase down to the bottom of the tower, gasping slightly as you see the pile of black rags upon the floor. The piles remains still for a long time, before a withered arm trembles out, beckoning you closer.

>>44022671

“I am fading,” Sati croaks, her voice pulled from a throat that is raw and pained, “The fires fade, and so do I. The Lady will have the last laugh, it seems.”

No, you murmur, shaking your head desperately. She LOST, she shouldn't get to have this victory – it's just not fair! For a moment, you waver on the edge of a full blown tantrum, but you manage to pull yourself back and focus. As much as you'd rather wallow in indignation, it won't help you do anything. All it would do is waste your time, and what little Sati has left.

“If I was to die, I could accept that,” Sati groans, “If only my death did not spell disaster for so many others. My life is nothing, compared to that of the world. Ah, but child, why are you here? Have you come to witness my dying moments?”

>That's right. Nobody should die alone
>Is there some way we can heal you?
>Is there anyone who can replace you?
>Other

>>44022853
>Is there some way we can heal you?
>Is there anyone who can replace you?

>>44022853
>>Other
"Nope."

Sati drains fire.
Summon Hua Po.
"Use all the fire and energy you have on Sati. You've been a champ these past two days and you'll get a nice long rest after this."

If this doesn't work then
>Is there some way we can heal you?
>Is there anyone who can replace you?

>>44022894
>>44022853
Let's give it a shot.

>>44022853
>Is there some way we can heal you?
>Is there anyone who can replace you?

Hua Po, be a dear and help her out will you please?

>>44022981
>>44022941
>>44022894
>>44022885

You didn't come for anything quite so defeatist, you tell her with as much reassurance as you can muster, you're here to DO something! You summon Hua Po again with a flourish and watch as the light she casts off shines upon Sati. It doesn't seem to cure her, but – and this might just be the product of a hopeful imagination – you swear the weakened demon seems to straighten up a little, some of that palsy that grips her limbs easing. If just the presence of that little flame is enough to give her strength...

“Um, I hope this helps,” Hua Po says, in the apologetic voice of someone preparing to deliver a painful medicine. Throwing her arms out, she blasts the fading demon with as much fire as she can muster. Wave after wave of glowing, rolling flames pours over Sati's weakened body, glowing brighter and brighter until you cannot bear to look at it. You turn away, looking at Petra – the older girl's face is fixed in a disbelieving grin. When the flaring light finally dies down, you turn back to Sati.

As you watch, the thick black rags Sati had draped across her body fall away from her in ragged tatters, drifting away like ash on the wind. Her body burns brightly again, and when she laughs blissfully, her voice is strong and vital. Hua Po, by contrast, pants with the effort of pouring all her energy into the weakened demon but even with her fatigue, she giggles between gasps. Your own laughter – you hadn't realised you had started laughing – starts to fade, though, as Sati sends her energy into the stone casket before her. When the pillar of fire once again burns brightly, she has once more returned to her weakened state.

“This world will live,” she rasps, the happy atmosphere vanishing like morning mist, “For a while longer, at least.”

>>44023304

For a while, you ask with frustrated anger, how long?

“I cannot say,” Sati shakes her head wearily, “It depends on how brightly this world burns. For now though, you have my thanks. You bought this world time, perhaps even long enough for new life to blossom.”

Speaking of new life, then, is there a way you can cure her? To return her strength, like you just did, but for good this time?

“Perhaps,” Sati admits, “But I don't know of such a cure. Even now, the darkness that the Lady cursed me with eats away at my strength. There may well be scholars in this land, educated men or women who possess the power to bring new life, but I cannot be the one to search them out.”

Well... if you can't cure her – not immediately, at least – can you replace her? Is there anyone else who would burn in her place?

“Uh...” Hua Po says, between deep gasping breaths, “Boss, I could stay here with her. I'll get my breath back – just give me a moment – and I could stay. It'll keep her going until you can find out what's what. I mean, I'm willing to do it, if you're willing to leave me behind.”

She's willing to do that, to spend the rest of her days pouring her energy into Sati's ever-burning form?

“If that's what you want,” Hua Po announces, with determination, “I'll do my duty. That's my job, right?”

>Leave Hua Po here
>Keep her with you

>>44023400
>Leave Hua Po here
Petra new priorities, you go stone hunting, I find a way to cure her. We can use our phones to keep in touch.

>>44023400
>Leave Hua Po here

>>44023420
Let's not split up if we can help it. This world is still new and fragment hunting could lead to dangerous domains

>>44023400
>Leave Hua Po here
We can talk to Scathach about a cure.

>>44023420
Let's not split up yet. Still got to go to Hellfire too.

I think one of the threads from the previous cycle mentioned that Titania was one of the best healers. I can't remember if that was just in the fairy kingdom or across the whole world though. She might be able to help Sati

>>44023508
>>44023455
>>44023420

You nod sadly, heartened by Hua Po's willingness and yet saddened by the prospect of parting company with her. She might seem timid at first, but Hua Po really is quite the dutiful little thing, isn't she?

“I try,” she tells you with a bashful smile, “Besides, if the world freezes, I'll end up heating someone's lair anyway. At least this way I'm not being kept in a bottle!”

Is that possible, you ask as you try to picture is, and what kind of jerk would stick a fairy in a little bottle like that? Well, it hardly matters now, you decide as you reach out to shake Hua Po's tiny little hand. Her skin is hot, warm enough that you have to force yourself to let go after a long moment. Without the fleeting moment of contact, you feel somehow colder than before. You'll be back though, you tell both Hua Po and Sati – you'll be back once you know how to cure her and restore the fires.

“Sure you will,” the little fairy tells you, “I know you won't forget about me!”

And now, recognising a good note to end on when you hear one, you give the pair of demons one last nod and turn to leave. Petra follows you for a moment, before stopping you to move ahead. As she hurries up the stairs, she slowly draws her sword.

“Those ghouls,” she says in a careful, impassive voice, “They'll be awake now. Hungry, yes?”

...You hadn't thought of that. How many of them were there, again?

“Too many,” Petra tells you, forcing a note of levity into her voice, “Far too many.”

Don't worry, you tell Petra as she grabs the door and prepares to throw it open, you've got a plan.

“A plan?” Petra repeats, “It had better be a good one, yes?”

It's the best kind of plan, you tell her, you're going to run.

>>44023907

Barking out a grim laugh, Petra throws open the door and charges out, her sword ready to lash out at anything that grabs at her. You follow in her footsteps, your own dagger appearing in your hand before you realise you've drawn it. Hordes of ghouls shamble around – quicker now, as if their leathery bodies have been thawed by the newly blazing fires, but still clumsy – and lope towards you as you start to make your escape. They seem to come from all sides, closing in around you like predators running down weakened prey, but then they falter. A tremor runs through the earth, causing you to stumble and drop.

A moment later, a thunderous earthquake grips the world around you as your ears are battered by a grinding roar. The earth explodes around you as a gigantic THING – the dust it churns up hides most of the vile thing's body – bursts from the ground. Ghouls screech as they tumble down into the crater it leaves behind, their limbs flailing in a desperate attempt to arrest their fall. When the worm – if that is what it is – vanishes again, you find yourself trembling in a nearly empty street. Petra is crouched behind you, both of you speechless.

Well, you say as you rise to your feet, that was lucky.

“Lucky?” Petra asks, spluttering out something like a laugh.

Lucky, you agree. You're about to say more when the ground below you begins to heave, collapsing beneath your feet in a moment of sickening vertigo. A scream escapes you as you begin to drop, plummeting down into the tunnels left behind in the worm's wake. You're falling, falling so far and so fast that you can't think of anything. You fall, and then you hit the ground.

>I'll have to leave that there for tonight. Next thread on Tuesday, and I'll stick around for a while in case of any questions!

>>44024208
Thanks for the run Moloch.

How is Petra doing with the world ending again and following Mia around?

Did she fall with us?

>>44024208
Did we get Abaddon'd

>>44024275

Petra fell, yes, although she might have ended up in a different tunnel. It's like a maze down there!
She's doing pretty well, all things considered. She was never the greatest fan of the old world, after all. As for following Mia around, she's not a natural leader - she's more of a bodyguard at this point!
Which is exactly what Amelia told her to do

>>44024321
Fortunately not, that would be a pretty bad thing!

>>44024350
How does she rate Mia as a leader so far? Amelia/10?

>>44024350
So how bad would things be if we'd killed Sati and kept the Lady alive?

>>44024455

I'd say Mia is a little more impulsive, but so was Amelia! I think it's a little too early to judge at the moment. Mia's not been really tested yet - but that time will come!

>>44024511

Things would be pretty bad, that's for sure! Everyone would need some kind of Null Ice item, or a fire demon to survive outside for any great lengths of time. As it is, it's only cold enough to be painful and uncomfortable

>>44024602
So uh. Cass is really pissed huh?

>>44024602
The angels are on the loose, aren't they?

>>44024676

It's a difficult time for everyone! I don't think she ever quite realised how long of a leash Amelia had given Nyarly, and now that things have come back to bite everyone on the ass, she's not very happy.

>>44024749

Scouring the wasteland for any trace of divinity. It'd be pretty bad if they found a fragment - Heaven on earth, even!

>>44024770
>I don't think she ever quite realised how long of a leash Amelia had given Nyarly
Man neither did I. I don't regret our decision to keep our friends in our heart back then, but I would have totally cut ties with the fucking Crawling Chaos after ascending had there been an option, yeesh.

>>44024770
So has Titania done anything with her fragment or is she still weighing her options/figuring out exactly how to use it?

We probably need to confront her about it sooner than later.

We got a lot of shit to do! Reminds me of the old cycle.

>>44024833

I think Amelia might have been a little too trusting. Then again, they did fight together for a long time.

>>44024860

Ah, you're assuming Titania has a fragment!

>>44024938
>Her
Morrigan?

>>44024938
>Ah, you're assuming Titania has a fragment!
That is a good point, I totally am.

5 HERs in the fairy kingdom, that we know of at least, come to mind.
>Titania
>Scathach
>Morrigan
>Amelia's Pixie
Cassandra?

>>44025018
>>44024983

You know, if Cassandra stole the fragment, that would give her a pretty good reason to run away! Then again, Amelia's old Pixie finally getting the chance to go nuclear would also be pretty funny. Morrigan might get a chance to build a kingdom of ruthless tyranny, while Scathach has her whole "mad scientist" vibe going on.

There are a lot of interesting possibilities!

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>>44025091
>Then again, Amelia's old Pixie finally getting the chance to go nuclear would also be pretty funny.

>Uses the fragment to power herself up to break into Hell in order to get the Demifiend Pixie power up making her even stronger.

>In a strange twist of fate instead of most SMT games where Pixie is your first companion the final boss is this really swole, godlike Pixie.

>>44025091
So were we just in time to help Sati? It looked like she wouldn't last another 10 minutes.

>>44025191

She had some time, but maybe not long enough to wait until the return trip. Being a good Samaritan really paid off!

>>44025149

Nah, the final boss is Moh Shuvuu, having finally unleashed her true power.

>>44025235
Anything you can share about how the others are doing or would that be too spoilery?

>>44025235
Hey does the Akashic Record exist in this setting?

>>44025328

Well, I can't imagine it's too much of a surprise to confirm that Joseph is trying to track down Gabriel. She offers sanctuary, after all, and he's all on his own. Leon is living dangerously - but what else is new? Elliot and Cassandra are chasing after each other, but it's not clear who is leading the chase.

>>44025371

Not so much. The universe behaves in a similar way, with all events stored and archived, but it's less possible for future events to be tampered with.

>>44025511
>Elliot and Cassandra are chasing after each other, but it's not clear who is leading the chase.

I'm imagining them running in a big circle following the footprints of each other, going in the same direction.

>'Who's footprints are these!?'

>>44025570
>>44025511
Isn't it possible that "Elliot" could be "HER"? What if they stole the fragment and Cass is trying to chase them down on Titania's orders?

>>44025511
>Not so much. The universe behaves in a similar way, with all events stored and archived, but it's less possible for future events to be tampered with.

Is that how Amelia plans to fix this? Regress the world to previous state, but retaining her full power/no Nyarly in play?

>>44025659
Cern said one of his soldiers gave the fragment to HER. Cern probably doesn't know Elliot exists and I don't see why this soldier would give to Elliot of all people.

>>44025712

Essentially. In theory, once she has her full powers back - including the power she previously sealed away rather than using - she could essentially edit certain events out. To a normal human, it would be like the world of transition never happened. Of course, that all assumes Amelia gets her power back. She might not!

>>44025712
>>44025659
"HER" would definitely be a fairy, assuming that Cernunnos' account of events was accurate.

>>44025778
>Essentially. In theory, once she has her full powers back - including the power she previously sealed away rather than using - she could essentially edit certain events out. To a normal human, it would be like the world of transition never happened.

Will we still have the problem of 'Amelia's Chosen's' existence making her barrier weak?

>>44025826

Potentially yes, but this time around she wouldn't have somebody leeching off her power, so the barrier would be capable of repairing itself in a far more efficient way. Again, in theory.

>>44025961
Fuck it, thats good enough for me. Better than giving the fragments to some demon.

All Amelia needs to do is explain very CLEARLY and not evasively what her plans are to Mia and the others when we talk to her again. Like lay it all out on the table so that characters can pick it apart if they need to.

Double checking her homework if you will.

>>44025961
Does Mia's weak heart lower her life expectancy?

>>44026209

Not to a ridiculously low degree, but it would probably shave a few years off her. Stress and intense activity are the real dangers though. Fortunately, I can't think of many situations like that!

>>44026307
>Fortunately, I can't think of many situations like that!
Uh huh~

Anyway to strengthen it without resorting to demon implantation/magatamas?

>>44026381

Nothing short of a suitable human transplant, I'm afraid, and human hearts are a rare resource these days!

>>44026447
Alright, thought it was worth asking.

Thanks for the thread again Moloch, have a good night.

>>44026477

Good night!

>>44026447
>>44026509
So did Scathach deliberately give us a mask for killing humans or was that the only thing she could have made with that ruby?

>>44026659

Scathach's motives are unknowable! She does her own thing, most of the time. Completely trustworthy, though