Celestial Answers [CA 4-3/Solo]

[Hirosame]

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Eventually, Hiro’s eyes opened. He found himself there, standing in front of the tents where the Messier Sages had been. Was there a reason why he had appeared there, he wondered? He looked around, but could only confirm the fact that he wasn’t alone. People were all around him, but nobody paid him much mind. Maybe something like what happens when someone recalls back to the home town had caused him to reappear back in this spot. Unable to be certain of that fact, Hiro continued to look around himself, panicking slightly. Where was Sayha? She was right there with him when they were speaking to Zaffre and Crom, but she wasn’t there anymore. Did she get sent somewhere else? The panic ensued within his mind, unable to be certain as to whether or not she was safe, as was his primary concern when it came to such things. Upon opening his friend list, he did see that the message said Sayha was here in London as well. Maybe she had just been teleported to another place within the city. Either way, that would be a massive weight off Hiro’s shoulders, as he began to think more solidly on what he would be here for.

Without much of anything else to do, Hiro decided that he would go and see if the Sages knew anything. Walking over to the main tent, he did notice something strange about the place: It was too quiet. The adventurers and Landers surrounding the tent complex were loud and noisy, but the interior seemed... Just a bit too silent for his liking. Upon reaching the main tent, Hiro was about to open the flap and walk inside, when he heard something off to the side. Something suspicious. His attention went right to it, but saw nothing in the end. His eyes squinted over towards the source of the noise, but very soon fell back to the tent’s opening. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was that had caused the noise, but he wouldn’t pass it off entirely quite yet. Still skeptical, Hiro opened the flap, only to reveal...

Nobody was inside. No people, no Sages, nothing. Stepping in, Hiro looked around. It seemed as though the people that had been here were all long gone by this point, whether or not they had been here in the first place being a likely question as well in his mind. The only things that remained were countless numbers of scattered paper, all with scribbling and writing all over them. He had to wonder what was on them, but the thought that the Sages of the Messier Order were still gone, remained in his mind. He wanted to go and take a look around in the other tents, but that would likely serve to no benefit whatsoever. Whether or not there were signs of them elsewhere was not exactly the point. What did catch his attention, though, was one of the papers on a desk over to the side. The title stood out, prominently to him, and caused him to walk over.

It read: Messier #1 - Code Name: Karkinos

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∝: 522
♫: Dust to Dust
✏: ---
@: ---

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[Hirosame]

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Karkinos? Messier #1? What the hell did this mean, exactly? Only one way to find out, Hiro figured. And that was by reading the document. Bringing over one of the knocked-over chairs, Hiro sat down, and started to scan the page.

‘Messier #1 - Code Name: Karkinos.
Upon having looked into the documentation, concerning the possibility of a higher-power existing in this world, the researcher and a former fighter in the Topaz Cup decided that he would away to this location, in order to see if he could find such a source. Of course, as had the others at the time, he never returned. To our surprise, much later on, an Adventurer had come to us, holding the Pebble of Philosophy in their grasp, and spoke of a demon known as Brachyura. Further research into the subject may caused us to believe that this “Brachyura” was, indeed, Karkinos, corrupted by the power of the stone. Research into the Pebble has revealed his Anima resides within the stone. May his spirit be cleansed.’

Hiro’s vision seemed to fade in and out as he read the paper. However, there was even more there. More names that he recognized.

‘Messier #44 - Code Name: Praesepe.
Former Champion of the Topaz Cup and researcher, who stayed behind to ensure the evacuation was running smoothly. Scouts had informed us that, despite his best efforts, he, too, was corrupted. Records began to describe him as a monster, having altered his form so that it may attack citizens on an individual basis. Research into the Pebble, conducted by Bode, has revealed his Anima resides within the stone. May his spirit be cleansed.’

Hiro shuffled through some more papers, trying to see if he could find much of anything else of note. One he found had been ripped and torn at the base, removing much if the text that was there beforehand.

‘Messier #6 - Code Name: Rhopalocera.
Scout and former shopkeep in the Green district. Sent her along with Orion to monitor the Adventurers and to stop whatever plans Zaffre had at the time. Unfortunately, Rhopalocera was destroyed in a conflict with the Adventurers, over a circumstance that could have been avoided.’

They seemed to be getting shorter and shorter, to a point where one had its entire page ripped. Ironically, of course, it was the page that would’ve described Orion, Messier #42. That aside, Hiro had to wonder. Why would Rhopalocera and Orion be sent to monitor the Adventurers, and stop Zaffre? It would make sense about that last part, but to monitor Hiro and Sayha, as they were going through the motions? Once again, it felt as though reality had been fading in and out, his vision faltering every so often. All of this was starting to get fairly deep in some kind of a conflict, one that Hiro had no idea what would become of it. As his thought process carried him along, he managed to find one more slip of paper. This one, in good condition, with the title: ‘Messier #20 - Code Name: Trifid.’

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∝: 512
♫: Will to Fight
✏: ---
@: ---

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[Hirosame]

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‘Second leader of the Messier Order, as well as a former magistrate of the Blue District. Real name: Zaffre. Next of kin: Bode. His intent was to suggest the aid of the Adventurers that had held the Pebbles of Philosophy, in order to cease the freeing of the Red by making use of the time-altering effects of the stones. Orion later concluded, and informed the rest, that Zaffre had betrayed us all, and intended to free the Red to begin with in a much quicker fashion. His rationale for having done so is still up in the air, and nobody has been told why, not even Bode. Bode, due to being next of kin, is under observation, to see if he has any ties with his father in this matter.’

A fist slammed onto the table, causing a fracture in the wood. “Damn that Zaffre...” Hiro muttered, his fist still clenched together. He started to look through all the rest of the pages, but a lot of them were pretty much destroyed, due to whatever being had been there before. What had caused these papers to be so dismantled and disheveled that they would be in such a condition? Did the Sages do this? What if it was something entirely different, and it wasn’t their doing at all? How was Hiro to know whether or not the Sages of this time were in on whatever circumstances before, and had some way of helping them. All these questions started to circulate in the Monk’s mind, only to be cut off suddenly.

“Far too many questions, for one’s own good, wouldn’t you agree?” Spinning around quickly, Hiro recalled the voice itself. It was the Trickster, who had helped Hiro and Sayha along during their first trip to the haunted mansion. “Pity to see your girlfriend isn’t here with you, though.” He said, in a somewhat taunting way. This caused Hiro’s already profound anger to peak, as he went for a full swing at the Trickster. The hand he struck with had phased through the being, though, like he figured it would, and he came to a stop just a few feet from the entity. “I’m not here to cause problems. I am here to give some answers. Some long-overdue answers.” The notion itself was a bit crazy, and Hiro wanted nothing more than to just go all out and attempt to beat this being before him, but something about the way that the Trickster appeared had caused Hiro to relax a bit. As though he was actually going to get some answers, or something of the sort. Loosening his grip in his palm, he tried to relax himself, and listen to the being.

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∝: 451
♫: Eclipse
✏: ---
@: ---

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[Hirosame]

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“I’ll get right down to it, then.” The Trickster spoke, his jovial mannerisms seeming to have left for the time being. It seemed like he was actually going to be serious this time around, which was fairly new to Hiro. “The first thing to point out, I should mention, is that the Red that you so likely encountered, known as Crom Cruach, is a devastation upon which the Republic of Lonsdale was destroyed. Lune, specifically, was to be a chamber by which Cruach had been contained and imprisoned, but the bars could not stand, when he was let out of jail. Nothing could reasonably stop him, in his conquest, and the Republic was ultimately lost to time.” Unbelieving of these words, Hiro was about to interject, but was cut off. “I don’t have much time, so I would like to explain everything as sequentially as possible. Now then...” Having seemingly stemmed the Monk’s attempt at possibly asking a question or two, the Trickster continued.

“You’ve no doubt questions about the Messier Order in its entirety, yes? Then perhaps some background information for you.” The entity seemed to float over to one of the boards, which held a map on it. He pointed to where Lonsdale would have been. “The Messier Order was comprised of 110 individuals, who all took sanctuary in the Pebble of Philosophy and its power to manipulate time. These individuals had attempted to escape the calamity that would befall the city by delving into the time stream, with the aid of the Pebble. Their goal was to find some way in another time, so that they could prevent the disaster from happening. However, most of their power likely disappeared, when Trifid, or Zaffre, had obtained the Pebble himself and controlled its power. I shudder to think what exactly happened to those souls, that were lost inside...”

He trailed off for a moment, before continuing further. “I can tell you’re likely confused about my role in all this, and I shall be glad to impart upon you the wonderful knowledge that is my fate.” His mannerisms returned for just a moment, but then soon turned somber. “I was an Adventurer like you, who had also attempted to undergo the trials by which the Order had requested upon me. However, I wasn’t able to stop Cruach at all, and ended up as a slave to time, awaiting the day when someone who held within them the power to go on and save the city arrived.” His eyes examined the Monk for a moment, and a grin appeared. “Someone... Like you.”

The entity hovered over to Hiro, causing him to take a step back in defense. “Watch it, pal.” He said in response, returning a glare.

“You needn’t worry, for I sense within you some essence of the Pebble’s power. Though it be not in your hands any longer, I can sense that the resonance you shared with the Pebble has endowed you with its power. Think of it as a soul-link, or something similar to that.” A sudden flash of Hope from the past fluttered through Hiro’s mind, as the Trickster said the last sentence. Did she have something to do with it, he wondered? Before he could think further, the being spoke. “Now, the only way that you can defeat Cruach and bring about the retribution that was so desired by the Order, is by culminating the final stage of the Pebble of Philosophy. By that, I mean... Recreating the Philosopher’s Stone.”

That name was familiar. Hiro recalled one of the Sages having spoken about it in the past, but nothing else from there. “I can take you to where you need to go, and I can assist you however I might this time, if you’ll allow me along.” A portal appeared behind the Trickster, as his voice continued to speak. “Whenever you are ready, we can begin the process by which the Philosopher’s Stone is restored.” Whatever was beyond that portal would lie the next step in this whole ordeal. As much as Hiro wanted to wait for Sayha, as much as to make sure she is safe and so that they could face this together, he thought that, perhaps, it was better that she were not here. She was likely safer this way, and that’s what he wanted most in his mind. With nothing more than a nod of his head, Hiro proceeded to follow the Trickster into the portal. To the Miasma Realms, he went.

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∝: 750
♫: Confessions
✏: CA 4-3 End
@: ---

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