Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even the soundtracks. Danmachi belongs to Fujino Ōmori, Final Fantasy XV belongs to Square Enix.

Is it wrong to seek answers?

Chapter 37: sharing our story

After Noct and Bell have eaten some food from the banquet, both, Hestia and Lily were called by Emma, who told them that they will be brought to the Dia Familia's meeting room.

When the Hestia Familia reached the room, they couldn't believe how large the private consulting room of the Dia Familia is.

They saw that others were already waiting there.

(OPENING: Sawano Hiroyuki nZK: Mizuki – e of s)

MEETING ROOM – IVY MANSION – EVENING

Among them were, of course, Hedin and Hogni, who came for this meeting here in the first place, representing the Freya Familia; then there was also Riveria and Finn along with Aiz and Lefiya, who represent the Loki Familia, God Ganesha with his female Captain Shakti; Goddess Hephaestus with Tsubaki and Welf; Eina, who represents the Guild and of course Goddess Dia with the Executives Nick, Crowe, Pelna, and Ravus, who still had the love bites all around his neck.

Before they could start with the meeting, Dia ordered Emma, Leo, and some others to serve each guest a small glass of water and three large carafes each full of water before they left the room. Noct also saw that on the chair near Ravus, there was a beautifully designed box/chest on the table.

After everyone took a seat, Ravus started the introduction, talking about what happened at the Wheat Manor from his point of view.

He then asked Hephaestus, Hestia, Welf, Tsubaki, Shakti, Bell, and Noct to explain their point of view of this event, which they did.

Hedin and Finn also explained Allen's and Bete's points of view but decided not to mention their both's verbal arguing in detail, which relived Noct and the others in the room, who were directly witnessing it.

After everyone's explanation, Ravus stood up.

„Everyone, Thank you for all your point of view's explanation, as promised, we will tell you all about the Daemons, but before that, I'd like our secret guest to finally come inside." Ravus announced.

The door suddenly opened, revealing a tall person with black robes, covering its face and two armored arms, carrying a strange brown chest.

„good grief, It's been a long time since I saw that many people inside one room" the tall person commented, while everyone kept wondering if they were a male or female.

Hogni and Hedin seemed surprised for some reason that person present in this Mansion.

While The mysterious Guest's appearance also frightened some guests like Noct himself, who realized that this person looks lie the scary silhouette he saw in this Mansion corridors, there were also some, particularly 5 people, who recognized that voice from somewhere.

It was Bell, who remembered it first„T-That voice … are you 'Ghost' ? " he asked nervously and curiously as well.

The guest looked towards Ais first, „it's been a while, sword princess." 'Ghost' greeted towards her, before looking towards the others Ghost met once as well.

„also a good evening to you too, Bell Cranel, Lefiya Viridis, Eina Tulle, and Liliruca Arde" Ghost greeted them as well, but could see they were still shocked after they realized it as well, „I remember that I had different appearances when we met for the first time in that dream world, but what you see right now is my usual appearance."

„It's really you, so you escaped after all." Bell wondered while still in awe.

„of course, I've promised to see you again, didn't I." Ghost reassured towards the little rookie.

Noct looked now closely towards 'Ghost', only to realize that this was the silhouette he saw on the dark corridors when he and Prima were looking for Ravus. He wanted to ask who this 'Ghost' is but then decided not to ask since they will explain anyway.

„As for everyone else who's been wondering why I'm here," Ghost said while looking towards the other Guests in the room,

„like the present Gods in this room, I will also try to provide evidence for what Mr. Nocks, Ms. Altius, Mr. Sulric, Mr. Khara, and of course Mr. Gar are about to explain because their explanation will most likely sound unbelievable to most of us. I, for myself, am a Mage of many names, maybe some of you might guess who I really am." Ghost explained since Ghost is aware that some in this room, like Hedin and Hogni, the Loki Executives as well as Dia, Ravus, and the other Dia Familia's executives, know that Ghost a.k.a Fels is affiliated with Ouranos, „ but since Mr. Cranel already addressed me as 'Ghost', everyone else shall address me like that as well. "

„Thank you for your appearance here tonight, 'Ghost' " Ravus said, „I think it's time to start, so let's take a seat, everyone." he announced before everyone took a seat. As they sat, Dia Familia's executive's facial expression got more serious, even including the humorous Pelna.

Ravus started explaining that the Monsters they encountered today are called Daemons, and that they were once Humans or animal, who got afflicted by a certain type of parasite called 'Plasmodium malariae ' and that Daemons have many different shapes and sizes as seen today, but compare to monsters from the Dungeon, Daemons only appear on the night, or on foggy days since they can't deal with sunlight.

After Ravus' explanation, Hedin piped up, saying that neither Allen nor he himself never heard of such monsters, even though, according to Allen's report, they were more dangerous than usual Dungeon monsters.

Ravus reacted to Hedin's explanation, saying that they were common back in their world.

At this moment, most guests looked rather confused towards Ravus.

„your world ?" Finn asked, thinking if he didn't hear him right.

„that's right, and that's something I'm revealing tonight: I, Nick, Crowe, Pelna, and even Noct as well, come from another world called Eos." Ravus revelated.

…...

…...

This revelation shocked most people. Not only the Gods like Ganesha or Hephaestus, but also Shakti who looked towards Pelna, or Welf, who looked towards Noct, who looked back before looking towards Hephaestus.

„He's telling the truth, " Hephaestus said with a shocking expression.

„I, the great Ganesha, too confirm that Ravus is not lying! " God Ganesha proclaimed.

Again there was a small silence, but Dia, who noticed that some guests, particularly Hedin and Hogni, still don't believe it, decided to break the silence.

„I know that it's hard to believe, that's also the reason why I was rather upset that Freya couldn't come tonight, since she would also confirm that Ravus is telling the truth." Dia explained.

„How is that even possible, did you arrived with some kind of teleportation magic or something alike ?, because even the Dark Elves, which as you all know, discovered and developed the formula of teleportation magic. Despite the known possibilities that another world could exist and that with teleportation we could reach them one day, it could only, as of today, teleport 6 miles distance at most, not to mention the magic energy usage, which not even the world's richest could really afford without getting into debt, or the already known risks of teleporting itself, which increases the larger the distance." Eina explained, which surprised Riveria since she never saw her THAT nervous, but then saw that Eina visibly sweated. It was clear that her younger relative was very nervous about the upcoming answer.

„We weren't teleported. At least not by this world's definition of teleporting." Nick stated.

Nick explained that he, as well as the others involved, fell from the sky, like gods when they descend from heaven.

Dia continued, saying that from the moment she saw Crowe, the first to appear in this world, Dia knew that Crowe wasn't a Goddess or any other divine entity, but a mortal human, by the standards of this world.

The same goes for Pelna, Nick, Ravus, and Noct, who explained that he has been found by Goddess Astraea near her home outside of orario.

„Now that you mentioned it, there something I have to show you" Ghost suddenly announced.

Ghost suddenly took something out. While for the most it looked like a strange metallic slender cuboid looking device with a large black area, the Humans from Eos, recognized it immediately.

„What is this? " Tsubaki asked as the first person in the room who took it from Ghost to examine it before passing it towards her Goddess, who did the same to Welf and so forth.

After Shakti and Ganesha viewed it curiously, the Loki Familia members watched the alien object it with curiosity as well.

„what you see right now is a so-called 'cellphone', it's a telecommunication device we used in our world. " Crowe explained.

„seems a little too big and impractical to be a telecommunication device, compared to the crystal balls I and Ais once saw." Riveria explained while using the word 'saw' on purpose, so that she could still hide the fact in front of Hedin and Hogni, that she was involved in the Casino event, where Goddess Demeter successfully abducted Goddess Freya.

„I would agree at first, but the critical difference between crystal balls and 'cellphones' is that 'cellphones' work without magic spells." Crowe explained further. She knew that the definition of magic differs between Eos and this world. While in Eos, there is a clear difference between magic and science, In this world, there is no separate definition between magic and science, i.e. It's basically the same thing.

Everyone, even Hedin and Hogni, who were the last two to view the cellphone, was surprised to hear this information.

Hogni looked towards Ravus, „so you had each of those too? "

„yes, but I and Nick are the only ones who, for unknown reasons, still had it with us when we woke up in this world. " Ravus explained while opening the box/chest in front of him, showing his and Nick's cellphone, which looked similar, but different, as Shakti realized.

„and who's 'cellphone' is this? " Hogni asked while giving it back to 'Ghost', not expecting that the answer will come from someone else.

„that's my phone, how did you get it ?" Noct asked rather shockingly and slightly angry while his eyes are still focused on his lost phone.

„After you've landed near Goddess Astraea's home, I abstracted it from you after I found your unconscious on the grassland. I then brought you inside Goddess Astraea's home." Ghost explained while putting the Cell phone on the desk in front of Noct.

ASTRAEA'S HOME – 3 DAYS AGO

After Ghost put the still unconscious Noct on one of the available beds, Ghost examined his body, until a strange-looking device has been found. Ghost then looked towards Goddess Astraea herself,

„are you sure you want to keep him here, Goddess Astraea ?" Ghost asked with a concerned voice as Astraea listened to it.

„don't worry, the look on his face tells me that he has no malicious intentions, and if what you mentioned earlier is true, then I wouldn't mind if you stay here as well for the night." Astraea offered To Ghost.

BACK TO PRESENT

„And what did you told Goddess Astraea before I woke up ?, How did you know that I was there in the first place. "

Ghost explained that, on that night, Ghost could feel a dark presence around Orario. Even though it was hardly noticeable, Ghost followed The dark presence outside of Orario. But after Ghost saw Goddes Astraea's home, the dark presence disappeared, as if realizing that Ghost has been following the dark presence. After that, Ghost saw a bright light in the sky that landed near Astraea's home.

„Since you are the fifth known person coming that way here, I gave Astraea further instructions on what to do while you're around her, like mentioning that you're from Crystallum for instance. I also followed you both to Melen, hoping that the dark presence might appear again." Ghost explained

„I'm really sorry about that, but it was necessary. After I returned to Orario, I immediately went to goddess Dia to inform her about you and showed her this cellphone." Ghost apologized while looking towards Goddess Dia herself.

„As soon as Ghost mentioned your true name, I knew immediatley that you're familiar with the four." Dia said while facing her 4 Executives "What's more, when you introduced yourself with your Pseudonym and mentioned Crystallum, I couldn't believe it, since I never expected to meet you so soon in person" Dia explained. Now Noct understood Dia's surprised expression when he and Bell were shopping in Babel.

„ your true name ?" Ais asked this time before the room was filled with silence.

„yeah, 'Noct Gar' is the Alias I used since I arrived here, though. My real name is Noctis Lucis Caelum. "

Again there was a small silence, „your real name sounds like you're of noble heritage."

„I am, actually, the same goes for Ravus."

Everyone looked towards said person.

„My full name is 'Ravus Nox Fleuret'."

„so you're both nobles ?"

„yes, back in our world of course. And before I forget, Nick should also tell you his real name."

Now everyone gazed towards said Vice-Captain.

„My real Name is Nyx Ulric."

At this statement, Hephaestus, Ganesha, and Hestia and even Dia couldn't stop themselves from laughing. What's more, Noctis remembered the reason why Nyx had to change his name.

While laughing, Hephaestus also wondered why Nick's true name is identical to one of the Goddesses she knew, only to remember which City, in particular, Goddess Nyx is in charge of.

„You changed your name for her sake? " Hephaestus asked while still laughing.

Nyx, who also chuckled, said: „let's just say that she wasn't very excited to hear that a mortal human man bears her name. "

Shaki, with a slight upset and angry expression, looked towards Pelna, who immediately answered:

„my and Crowe's Names are our true names, we didn't need to change them, and everything else I told you about me is also true, well except the part with the 'world' "

„wait, you told her about the Glaives? " Crowe asked Pelna before looking towards Shakti, „what Version did he tell you Shakti ?"

„that you, he and Nick came from the middle east after you left a secret Assassins order of a Kingdom he never named." Shakti recalled what Pelna said before she and Crowe looked towards.

Crowe looked back to Shakti, „well that's not far from the truth."

Shakti then looked towards Pelna again, „then you're lucky for the time being."

„Thank you, honey." Pelna said with a slightly pitched tone, which made Shakti slightly chuckling. Shakti remembered never really asking about Pelna past, because since they both knew each other, Shakti was never confronted by some bad people of Pelna's past, which was strange at first considering that Pelna claimed that he was part of some secret such organizations, as Shakti knows, hardly let any dropouts alive since they would be a too large security risk, especially for other powerful kingdoms.

Ganesha's thoughts also weren't different from Shakti's. Ganesha then Immediately remembered when he met Pelna for the first time. Not only was Pelna the very first one of the Dia Familia he met, but also Pelna never really seemed bothered that Ganesha repeatedly introduces himself. And even though he remembered how restrained Pelna behaved when something about his origins is asked, Ganesha never really saw malicious intents at him, not a bit. That was also the reason why he approved for him to be with Shakti. Ganesha remembered how happy Pelna was when Shakti gave birth to Anila and Menali.

After the Gods slowly stopped laughing hearing the reason for Nyx name changing, Noct realized that something seemed off of Ghost's story about the dark presence, which was most likely Eleazar.

„wait a sec, that makes no sense at all, when we met that bastard Eleazar, he somehow appeared to be surprised to see me, but now you're saying that he knew about me being here from the very beginning? " Noctis asked towards Ghost

Ghost understood Noct's confusion.

„no" Ghost answered, „the man you faced at the wheat manor and the dark presence I pursued aren't the same, that's what I can say for sure." Ghost.

„well, we might have an Idea who that dark presence might be" Ravus suddenly announced, „but to understand everything, we will tell a bit more about our time, no, our life back in Eos."

…...

1 hour and 30 Minutes of Entirety of Ravus', Noctis', Nyx', Crowe's and Pelna's Storytelling of their lives in Eos later …

…...

The meeting room inside was again silent, but this time nearly for 5 minutes, because it's not every day to listen to a story about another world, let alone for the fact that Noctis and Ravus are crown princes.

Even though the Humans of Eos explained about Insomnia, the Kingsglaives, Tenebre, the Nifleheim empire and more, they didn't tell too much personal stuff, because Nyx, for instance, didn't want to explain more about his mother and sister, since it was for him hard enough to tell that they died.

The same goes for Lunafreya. Ravus and Noctis also avoided explaining more about her, which has been noticed by Hestia and Hephaestus, who not only immediately realized that she was THE princess mentioned by Eleazar, but that she seemed very important to Noct, the same way as Welf is important to herself.

But the most shocking information most guests received was that the Humans of Eos actually died in their world, which means that they've been in fact reborn into this world instead of traveling here.

Hephaestus decided to break the silence since she had also a particular question.

„After what you've told me, told us, it isn't far fetched to assume that this man we met near Demeter's mansion, he calls himself Eleazar if I'm not mistaken, is also from your world, right ?" Hephaestus asked while looking towards Noctis, expecting him to answer.

Noct, who noticed Hephaestus' gaze, then looked towards Ravus: „well that's what I wanted to ask you, since you four are obviously longer here than me, even though I strongly assume that Eleazar was also part of the Kingsglaive."

Not only Ravus agreed with Hephaestus' and Noctis' suggestion, but he also then started to explain how he came into this world.

After hearing the part which Noctis also heard from Nyx, Crowe, and Pelna, Ravus explained that the reason they left Crystallum for Orario was because Crystallum was also one day attacked by Daemons like today.

But what Ravus revealed then, shocked Noctis the most.

„The mastermind behind the Daemon's assault back then was nobody else than General Glauca, who is now a member of Evilus" Ravus revealed.

Noctis, who made a shocking expression as similar to the others when the told them about their lives in Eos, suddenly stood up and left the room in a panic.

(ENDING: FM-84 - Running In The Night (feat. Ollie Wride))