Hamuko couldn't help but stare, mouth agape, as she tried to take in the sheer scale of the tower. The dizzying mass of jumbled buildings loomed impossibly high overhead. A marble aqueduct jutted out from the structure some fifty stories up, casting a deep shadow directly onto them. Hamuko swallowed a lump and went to follow after Mitsuru as she unlocked the gate into the courtyard.
"So… our school turned into this? That's strange…" Hamuko said as they began to approach the tower's entrance. "Do you know why?"
"No," Mitsuru said. She said it without any room for argument, in a way that made Hamuko's eyebrows furrow. She pushed open the large set of double doors leading into the tower, and they walked in.
A bridge led from the entrance to a circular plaza overlooking a wide pit. It was too deep to see the bottom, and Hamuko had to fight to keep from looking too far over the bridge's edge. The structures that made up the tower's walls were visible at the far edges of the pit, groaning as they moved. The ceiling rose far above their heads, stretching out far beyond the plaza's edges. A dazzlingly bright light shone from a hole in the ceiling above and onto a stairwell at the plaza's center. The stairs led up to a massive, intricate gold and marble clock. A doorway in the clock's face led further in, though Hamuko could see no point at which it connected to the floors above.
At the base of the stairs was a motorcycle. That caught Hamuko's eye – most technology didn't work in the Dark Hour, so what was it doing here? Did it work? She went to approach it, only to be distracted by a strange, fountain-like device near where the bridge met the plaza. It was made of gold and seemed to have a dial on it, but it did not respond when she touched it. She turned around, intending to join the others, only to catch sight of something she hadn't noticed before.
There was a door on the other side of the plaza. It was blue, and appeared to lead to nowhere – there were no walls, just the frame and the door itself. Curious, Hamuko began to cross the chamber toward it, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Later," Minato murmured. "The others can't see it."
Hamuko looked toward the group gathered at the stairs' base and realized he was right. Every time anyone else looked in their direction, their eyes just skated past the door.
"Hey, hurry up, you two!" Akihiko called. Hamuko skipped over to the stairwell, Minato following close behind.
Yukari milled about around the pillars holding the clock up, squinting up at it. "This is really creepy…" she said as she wandered back over to the group.
"Have you never been inside?" Hamuko asked, frowning.
"For a long time, Akihiko and Mitsuru were the only combat-ready members of SEES," Ikutsuki explained. "Because of that, we did not have enough people to launch a full-scale exploration, and had to suffice with eliminating whatever Shadows wandered out of the tower. Now that our number has jumped to five, we can start to explore in earnest."
"Although tonight's scope will be limited, since there's only three of you going in." Mitsuru turned her head toward Akihiko, who scowled.
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, stepping back.
Hamuko looked over toward the others. Yukari fidgeted with her Evoker, running her finger cautiously along the grip. Her lips were drawn in a thin line. Minato had his hands slipped into his pockets and was tapping his foot impatiently. He glanced over toward Ikutsuki for a moment, and then quickly broke the look. If Ikutsuki noticed that his presence seemed to be making Minato anxious, he didn't show it. He simply sat back and let them talk amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at his watch as he did.
Suddenly, Akihiko stepped up to the three of them. Hamuko immediately snapped to attention.
"Before we go any further, we're going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions in the field," Akihiko said. He turned toward Minato. "So, did you think about what Mitsuru asked you?"
"What?" Hamuko turned toward Minato. His head was bowed, his face hidden behind a curtain of hair.
"Why him?" Yukari asked. "I know he's fought them before, but…"
"He took charge and didn't even hesitate to summon his Persona that night. You two…" Akihiko looked at Yukari and Hamuko. "You think you could do the same?"
Hamuko's hand drifted to the Evoker at her waist. When she touched it, she felt all too aware of its weight. It was hard to forget how it had felt to put it to her head and pull the trigger. Even so… she felt like she could. She looked to Yukari and saw that her face had gone white.
"These are Shadows we're talking about. Without your Persona, you're toast," Akihiko said.
"I know that!" Yukari snapped.
Hamuko looked back toward Minato. He hadn't said a word. She couldn't deny that Akihiko was right – Minato had already proven his skills – but the way he was just standing there, not saying a thing, put a sinking feeling in her gut. He didn't look like he wanted this.
She took a deep breath and turned back toward Akihiko, clenching her fists. "If Minato doesn't want to do it, I'll-"
"Just for tonight."
Minato raised his head and pulled his hair out of his face, a resigned determination in his eyes. Hamuko unclenched her fists, opening her mouth to object – and closed it as Minato stepped up to Akihiko. Akihiko just gave him a nod.
With the leader decided, Akihiko dropped the duffel bag and unzipped it. From within, the three of them retrieved their weapons – a short sword for Minato, a bow for Yukari, and a naginata for Hamuko. It was the same one Hamuko had been given back at the dorm the night of the incident, though she hadn't had a chance to use it back then.
As Yukari strapped her quiver to her back, Hamuko looked over at Minato, trying to think of something to say to him, only to feel the words die in her throat. She felt like he was being browbeaten into taking on this role. But at the same time, anything she could ask him to try and find out for sure would just come off like she was jealous – and she wasn't sure that she wasn't. So instead she looked back toward the three who weren't coming up with them. Ikutsuki was checking his watch again… and for a second, his eyes flicked toward the three of them.
Hamuko felt a chill go down her back. She quickly turned back toward the others as Minato began to walk up the stairs. She scrambled to catch up, Yukari trailing behind her, and the three quickly reached the passage in the clock. Blue curtains billowed past the doorway, hiding whatever lay past them from view.
"Once we go through, we can't come back this way," Minato said as he put his hand on the door frame. "Are you ready?"
The two of them nodded. Without another word, Minato pushed through and into Tartarus. Hamuko followed after. The cloth was heavier than it had looked from the outside, and for some reason, the sensation reminded her of a movie she'd once watched. Something about a wardrobe that was a doorway to another world…
When she pushed past the last curtain, she emerged into a hallway. The walls were lined with clouded green windows, and the floor was tiled in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern. For some reason, Hamuko felt like she was back at school. She wasn't quite sure why – it sure didn't look like the halls at it was because the hallway was the exact width of the ones at school, or because the windows were spaced at the exact same distances as the ones in the classrooms. There were no lights in the hallway, but the sickly green radiance of the moon kept the hall lit well enough.
Suddenly, Yukari bumped into her from behind.
"Oh, sorry… I didn't see you there," Yukari said, stepping around her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, shouldn't've been-" Hamuko stopped mid-sentence as she turned. The entrance they'd passed through was gone, replaced by a wall.
Just as she had that realization, the communicator in her ear crackled to life.
"Can you hear me?" said Mitsuru through the device.
"Loud and clear," Minato said.
"I'll be providing audio backup from here on out. Based on your current position, you should expect to encounter enemies at any second," Mitsuru said. "They shouldn't be too tough, but it seems like there are more around than normal. This may be why the tower was giving off strange readings tonight. Proceed with caution."
"Got it," Yukari said. The feed crackled off, and she let out a grumble. "Why is she always like that…?"
Hamuko didn't really know what to say to that, so she turned to Minato. To her surprise, she found him frowning, staring off into the hallways.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Nothing. Might just be my imagination," he said. "Let's explore the floor, but keep an eye out for anything that will let us return to the entrance."
"Like what?" Yukari asked. Minato shrugged.
Before Hamuko could say anything about how it would help if he could give some more detail, a squelching sound caught her attention. Minato stood up straighter, holding up a hand, and slowly crept toward an intersection further down the hallway. Hamuko gripped her naginata tighter and followed.
A small crowd of blob-like Shadows crawled down the hallway. Their blue masks resembled the one the Shadow from the dorm had held, and they vaguely resembled it in shape too, in so far that their only limbs were arms. Where the Shadow from the dorm had been nothing but a tangle of limbs, however, these Shadows were mostly blobs of sludge, pulling themselves along on two gangly looking limbs. Minato kept his hand up as he peeked around the corner as the blobs continued to crawl down the hall.
The moment the Shadows passed their hiding spot, Minato charged. He swung his sword down toward the back of one Shadow, cleaving its body in twain. It faded into dust as Minato pulled his sword free.
"Hamuko!" Minato yelled.
Hamuko grabbed her Evoker as she ran forward, pressing it to her temple as she ran. For the briefest of seconds, a jolt of fear ran through her. What if what happened on the roof happened again? What if the gun was somehow loaded? Pushing back her fear, she pulled the trigger. A fountain of glass erupted from the side of her head and floated away, forming into Orpheus. The Persona strummed its harp. A fireball flared up from its strings and blasted into another Shadow, obliterating it.
"Yukari!"
"O-Oh, right!" Yukari brought her bow up, nocking an arrow as the third Shadow started to advance upon Hamuko. She released the string, and the arrow smashed through the Shadow's mask, causing it to reel backwards. Before it could recover, Minato delivered a decisive stab to its face, shattering the mask. He yanked his sword back as the Shadow began to fade into dust.
"Good job," he said, flicking the ichor off of his sword. "Let's do that a few more times."
~ X ~
Much of the next few minutes went by in a blur. There had been no shortage of Shadows around, and at Minato's direction, the fights largely went smoothly. They'd come up on an intersection, and he'd tilt his head up like he was listening for something. If he motioned for them to follow, then there was an equal chance that there was either a Shadow with its back to them, or the path was clear.
Hamuko felt like she was fairly comfortable using her Persona. Orpheus hadn't exploded into a completely different monster at any point during their battles, so she was pretty sure it wasn't going to happen at all. Maybe that time on the roof had just been some kind of fluke.
Yukari, on the other hand, still hadn't touched her Evoker at all. Hamuko thought back to when they'd evacuated to the roof – how Yukari had hesitated to fire her Evoker, and the shock when she'd been disarmed. She understood. It was hard to work up that courage to fire it for the first time.
As Hamuko wrenched her naginata free from a dissolving blob-like Shadow, she wondered if she should say something – do something to help her get the courage to take that step. As she went to step toward Yukari, however, something else caught her eye.
Minato was standing apart from the two of them, his head tilted up. His brows were furrowed, like he was unsure what he was hearing. He suddenly turned on his heel, creeping to the end of the hall and staring down one hallway.
"Minato?" Hamuko asked. "What's—"
"Shh." Minato put a hand up. This did not reassure Hamuko, especially as she got close to him and saw how pale his face was and the sweat dripping down his brow. Hamuko began to approach him, reaching up to grab his shoulder – and then jerked back.
"Look out!"she yelled.
Minato fell backwards, narrowly avoiding the swinging horn of a massive, beetle Shadow as it charged in. Hamuko took another couple of steps back as it reared up, her mind racing. Where had it come from?! What could she do?! She had to do something –
"I can do it!"
There was a sound like shattering glass. A gust of wind slammed into the beetle, knocking it off its feet and onto its back. It squealed, its feet scrambling in the air. Hamuko swung toward Yukari.
Floating above Yukari's head was a throne shaped like a bull's head. Seated in the throne, legs bound, arms chained to the bull's horns, was a woman, her long blonde hair billowing in the phantom wind. Yukari had the Evoker pressed to her forehead still, and breathed heavily.
Minato pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his sword. "Hamuko, with me!"
The two of them rushed in, Minato delivering a stab to the beetle's belly, and Hamuko bringing her naginata down in a decisive swipe. She cut straight through its midsection, and the beetle dissolved into dust.
The second the beetle dissolved, Hamuko suddenly felt like she was… elsewhere. She could sense something – a second presence – a woman, maybe? She felt herself reach out to this second presence… and then the fog was gone, and something slid into place next to Orpheus in her mind. With it came a name – Asparas.
What… what just happened? Hamuko looked toward Minato, wanting to ask him, only for a soft sigh from Yukari to catch her attention. She looked to Yukari just as she pulled the Evoker from her forehead, breathing softly.
"Yukari, that was incredible!" Hamuko said. Yukari looked up at her with a wry smile.
"Was it? I just… kind of thought to myself, 'I can't hesitate anymore, I've gotta be brave,' and… it happened," Yukari said. She looked toward Minato. "Are you okay?"
Minato gave a small jolt. He'd been looking down the hall again. "Oh – Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just… caught me by surprise."
Hamuko frowned. She stepped up to him, putting on a serious expression.
"What's going on? You've been… really distracted all of the sudden," Hamuko asked. Minato shook his head.
"Might just be hearing things. Maybe we should go," Minato said.
Hamuko sighed. "Hearing what? I don't hear any-"
She stopped.
The atmosphere had changed in an instant. She'd stopped paying attention at some point, but now she couldn't help but notice that the sounds of the tower creaking and Shadows moving in distant corridors had stopped. Like a noisy heater had suddenly turned off – going from not being aware of the noise at all to being surrounded by deafening silence.
She stared into the darkness of the hall. She couldn't see anything, yet she had the faintest feeling that something was moving back there. Hamuko squinted, trying to make it out in the distance.
From somewhere in that darkness came the sound of clanking chains.
"Run," Minato said.
Yukari turned to look at him. "What?"
The sound grew closer. An absurd sense of longing and excitement rose in Hamuko's chest, mingling with an overpowering sense of fear that paralyzed her. Slowly, a figure passed through the beam of sickly green light coming through a window, and Hamuko's breath caught.
It floated above the ground, its dark leather coat fluttering in the light wind. A bloodstained cloth sack was tied around its head. A single eye stared through a hole in the sack, and it was staring at them. Chains floated in crisscrossing halos around its chest, clanking as they moved. In its hands, it carried two long-barreled revolvers.
As the figure raised one of those revolvers toward her, Hamuko's heart gave a single loud thump.
"GET DOWN!"
A gunshot rocketed through the room, tearing through Minato's shoulder as he threw himself over her. They slammed to the ground, Minato biting back a scream as he pushed himself off of Hamuko, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up with him. Hamuko scrambled to grab her naginata, but her fingers only brushed the handle before she was pulled to her feet.
The sound of chains grew closer. Minato let go of Hamuko's wrist and ran, pressing his hand to his bleeding shoulder. Hamuko ran after, her heart thumping loudly in her ears.
A bolt of lightning ricocheted through the hallway, and Hamuko ducked behind a corner. The bolt struck the end of the hallway in a bright flash that left a ghost on her vision.
"What's going on?! Takeba, report!"
They did not stop to respond. Minato dashed down the halls in a zig-zag pattern, the sound of chains echoing all around them, until they finally reached…
...a dead end.
Hamuko's eyes widened, and she spun around, only to see that the figure was no longer there. She'd thought it had been right behind them, but… it must have been the sound of chains making her think it was closer than it was. They echoed through the halls unnaturally, making her hair stand on end.
Minato fell into a sitting position against the wall. The right side of his shirt was covered in blood, and his skin was so pale that it almost looked like porcelain. Yukari crouched beside him, reaching for her Evoker with shaking hands.
"I-Io," she whispered as she placed the Evoker's barrel against her forehead. "Help me."
The Persona appeared in a burst of shattered glass. A white light appeared around Minato, and his breathing seemed to steady a bit. He lifted his hand away from his shoulder, and it came away too damp, making him hiss and press it back in place.
"This… might be a bit much for you," he said.
"Don't say that!" Yukari snapped. Hamuko's breath caught as Yukari lifted her Evoker again and summoned her Persona once more. She… didn't know if Yukari's Persona was strong enough to help Minato.
Her head swam. She could only think of… twisted metal. Bodies. Herself, unharmed, in a sea of bloodied asphalt.
"Takeba, Arisato, do you respond?"
Hamuko shakily lifted a hand to her communicator… and swallowed.
"We – We were attacked by a Shadow," Hamuko said.
"The Reaper," Minato hissed.
Hamuko looked down at him. "Minato got shot. I-I think we lost it, but we're at a dead end."
"You need to retreat. There should be an access point on that floor. Do you remember seeing it?"
"It's down the left from where we were attacked," Minato said. "But it's… past the Reaper."
Hamuko swam through her memories. She vaguely remembered seeing a glowing yellow device in the floor not too far from where they'd been attacked. That must have been it. She looked back at Minato and Yukari. The bloodstain on Minato's shirt was spreading…
There had to be something she could do. She couldn't just sit there and watch him die…
Asparas pressed itself to the front of Hamuko's mind. She could feel a tether between it and Orpheus where she hadn't before. If she concentrated on that, she felt like she could pull both of them out at once. Why was she noticing this now? Did her Personas want her to summon them at the same time? It was worth trying… after all, she couldn't possibly make things worse.
She put her Evoker to her temple, grabbed that tether, and ripped it free.
The force of summoning rocketed through her head like a grenade. Hamuko staggered and fell against the wall as the two Personas took form in front of her. As Orpheus strummed a song on its harp, Asparas began to dance around the three of them. As the Personas began to fade, a shimmering wave of energy fell over them. Hamuko felt some of her aches beginning to fade, but more than that, she felt… nimble. Alert. It was a weird feeling – like she'd taken a shot of espresso.
Minato let out a huff, a wry smile crossing his face. It was like he was saying, "That's more like it." He threw his arm around Yukari's shoulder, and she helped pull him to his feet.
"What was that…?" Yukari asked.
"I don't know, but… I think we should get going before it wears off," Hamuko said. "I'll distract the Reaper. You guys make a run for the access point."
"That's risky," Mitsuru chimed in. "Is moving as a group not an option?"
"I'm… not sure I can move on my own right now. I've lost a lot of blood. This might be our best bet," Minato admitted. He looked toward Hamuko. "Go, before the Cadenza wears off."
Hamuko nodded. She holstered her Evoker, squeezed her hands into fists, and dashed down the hallway.
She turned a corner, and then another. The sound of chains in the distance rattled all the way down to her bones. The further she ran, the more sure she was that it would suddenly appear from the darkness, or that she'd hear a gunshot and it would all be over before she could even think about it. The only saving grace was there didn't seem to be any other Shadows around – maybe they'd left so that the Reaper could have its hunt. She wasn't going to complain about it.
"Hamuko."
Hamuko dropped behind a corner and put her hand to her ear. "I'm here."
"I've been tracking its movements. It seems like it's been patrolling the area around the stairs. While you distract it, I'll lead Arisato and Takeba to the access point."
"Got it," Hamuko said, and started off down the hall again. After another turn, she heard the sound of chains jingling somewhere nearby, and knew she was close. She swallowed. No time for hesitation. Time to go.
"C-" She breathed in. "Come and get me, you bastard! I know I'm the one you want!"
The chains stopped, then started again. The Reaper emerged from the darkness, its eye looking her over with cold precision.
Hamuko turned and ran. A loud crack erupted behind her. Something whizzed past her ear as she ducked to the side, and she didn't stay long enough to see where it hit the wall. She kept running, dashing, and ducking down hallways and through rooms. As she passed an intersection, she heard frenzied, limping footsteps – she must have passed Minato and Yukari's hiding spot.
The air crackled with tension, setting her air on end. She threw herself forward as a lightning bolt slammed to the ground where she'd been only a second earlier. Too close. Way too close.
At the end of the hall, Hamuko saw an illuminated room, a stairway in its middle leading up to the next floor. She ducked into the room and under the stairs, breathing heavily. The clanking chains slid into the room, and she shifted, ready to bolt. Then, the Reaper poked its head around the side of the stairs.
Hamuko charged. She slammed into it, knocking it backwards. Its gun fired, and the bullet ricocheted against the ceiling and slammed into the floor. Before it could recover, Hamuko ran into the hallway. Mitsuru's voice crackled in her ear again.
"The others are almost to the access point. Go!"
Hamuko turned a corner – and immediately felt the energy start to drain out of her. "Shit! No, no no no no –"
The chains were gaining on her. She pushed her legs as hard as they would go, but the spell's kickback was hitting her hard. She could hear them getting closer and closer and closer…
And then she saw it. A small, rectangular yellow device in the floor. Hamuko pushed herself for one final sprint, stretching her arms out, and ran right into it.
A light rushed up around her. When she stumbled out of it, she was no longer in the hallway, but in Tartarus's lobby. Minato and Yukari were catching their breath in front of her, Minato still clinging to Yukari's shoulder for dear life. The second the light faded, Mitsuru and Akihiko stood up from where they had been sitting on the stairs and ran over to them. Akihiko pulled Minato off of Yukari and half-carried him over to the stairs, where he carefully propped him up on them. Mitsuru trailed after, reaching for her Evoker.
"Akihiko, give me a hand," Mitsuru said.
"Got it."
A masked woman with a rapier and a burly man with long, blonde hair appeared behind the two. A white light – brighter and fuller than that which Io had cast – flowed from the two Personas into Minato's body. He let out a groan, putting a hand to his shoulder.
Hamuko didn't watch the healing process for long. The adrenaline crash hit her hard, making her dizzy. She crouched down and put her head between her knees, taking in slow, even breaths. When she felt more stable, she leaned back and took a seat on the floor, keeping her head dipped low.
After a few moments, something metallic clang to the ground, and Minato gave a sharp hiss of pain. She looked over to see Minato opening and closing his hand a couple of times before giving Mitsuru and Akihiko a nod.
"How do you feel?" Mitsuru asked.
"Sore. And itchy," Minato said.
Mitsuru's Persona disappeared, Akihiko's following suit a half-second later, as Mitsuru said, "That's normal, unfortunately. Do you feel like you have full use of your arm?"
Minato pulled his arm to the side, then up, and suddenly winced, lowering it. He shook his head.
"Looks like you'll need some time to heal," Akihiko said with a sigh.
"I'll arrange for you to see a doctor in the morning. In any case, you're not on death's door anymore," Mitsuru said.
Ikutsuki, who until this moment had been sitting side-saddle on the motorcycle at the stairs' base and watching this scene play out, suddenly stood up. "I must ask… what happened up there? While I believe Mitsuru had a full view due to her Persona's abilities, Akihiko and I could only hear the screaming through the radio. It seems like you have gone through a lot."
"It was my fault," Hamuko said, getting to her feet.
She recounted their time in the tower in as much detail as she could, explaining how everything had been normal until the Reaper appeared, how she'd frozen up, and how Minato had saved her life. As she ran down the list of what all had gone wrong, and how she'd had to distract the Reaper so the others could escape, Ikutsuki just watched her, his expression inscrutable. When Hamuko finished telling her tale, her shoulders just slumped. She suddenly felt very tired.
"...I see," was all Ikutsuki had to say when she was done.
"That thing was way outside of our paygrade… is all of Tartarus like this?" Yukari asked, her voice quivering a little. Something about that sent a little jolt of panic through Hamuko. Had – Had she messed things up enough that they couldn't go back in at all? Yukari was doing a good job of holding it back, but she sounded terrified...
"No," Minato said, scowling. "It shows up if we're on a floor for too long. I must not have been keeping track of time well enough. The best thing to do is run if we see it."
"Or beat it," Akihiko said, smirking. Minato shot him a glare.
"None of us are strong enough to fight it. Trust me," Minato said.
Mitsuru crossed her arms. "I suppose that your confidence in this matter is also part of the information that you can't share with me yet?"
Minato just nodded at her. Akihiko clicked his tongue and turned away.
For a few seconds, there was just silence between all of them. Ikutsuki checked his watch again, then stepped over toward Mitsuru.
"Perhaps we should leave this conversation for tomorrow? The Dark Hour is almost over, and we still have that other matter to take care of in the morning," Ikutsuki said. Mitsuru let out a sigh.
"Yes, you may be right," she said.
Before turning to leave, Ikutsuki turned back toward the others. "Minato-kun, Yukari-chan, Hamuko-chan. I truly apologize for sending you into Tartarus so early, and tonight's failure is wholly my fault. Mitsuru had intended to wait for when we had more support before sending you in, but I thought that now that we have three members, tonight would be a good opportunity for you to obtain some field experience. Had I realized how dangerous the tower would be in its instability, I would not have sent you in. For that, I truly apologize."
Hamuko let out a breath. What… what could she say to that? As much as she wanted to be angry at him, the apology seemed sincere. The note that she'd found before weighed heavy on her thoughts. Could she even trust this sincerity? Or was it the note's writer that she needed to distrust?
Minato looked up at Ikutsuki, grit his teeth, and looked away.
"It's fine," he said, and stood up. Without a word, he slipped his hands into his pockets and began to walk for the exit. Mitsuru let out a sigh.
"Yes, I suppose we should leave too," she said, and made to follow. Without another word, the six of them sidled out of the tower and into the sickly-green night, thoughts of the night's events still heavy on Hamuko's mind.
A/N: I live!
Some of you are probably going "hey, FirebreathFishslap, what happened to that release schedule you promised?" Short answer: When I sat down with my beta reader to work on the next couple of chapters, we ended up coming to the conclusion that the chapter I originally was going to put here was suited for a different point in the narrative, and that the chapter I had slated for after that needed a lot of work before I could publish it. Couple that with me working on some other projects for a bit there, and then Endwalker dropped, and... yeah, you get a nice recipe for me to take a tidy six month break on Reset.
At this point, I can't say for sure when the next chapter will be up. There's been some changes to the short-term narrative as a result of the changes I've ended up making, so I'm not sure how much of what I already have written is still usable. At this point, best I've got is "it'll be up when it's up". Sorry that I don't have something much more concrete right now. u_u
