CHAPTER 1 – THE TURN OF A FRIENDLY CARD
It was the third of March 2010, and a student of Gekkoukan High School in Iwatodai City had closed her eyes. The wholesome atmosphere of a reunion of a group of close friends and comrades had turned to darkness, as horrified screams, pleading in grief and bewilderment followed the realization that the first among them, had passed away.
What followed disrupted the school festivities of graduation day and was shrouded in infamy, becoming both something that the school leadership prefers would fade from collective memory, and a subject of tasteless jokes among some of the less sensitive students.
"I can't believe this classical literature exam we just wrote. Does Ekoda want us all to drop dead on graduation day too?...", was said by not just one student in the year that followed.
The true fate of Minako Arisato was unknown to all but the inner circle of the SEES club and the mysterious inhabitants of what is called the Velvet Room. Not the supernatural specialists of the Kuzunoha Detective Agency, not self-professed Hard Core Hackers in a technocapitalist project city, nor the various wannabe Akemi Nakajimas seeking, intentionally or not, to ignite another conflict between law and chaos.
Damned to a fate as the "Great Seal", keeping the destructive entities known as Nyx and Erebus from annihilating what we know of life on Earth, the once simple high schooler performed her duty as a modern-day Atlas from the Greek myth. But to leave everything behind was not easy.
Close friends, the simple pleasures of daily life, the experience of new discoveries such as a new tasty food or place to visit and even the one person who was able to truly relate to her and have good chemistry with. The brief romance with Agaraki Shinjiro was doomed like snow falling on an early spring morning, but the way it had ended had nevertheless hurt them both in unexpected ways.
Fulfilling her endless duty in the sea of souls, Minako was surprised to hear faint footsteps approaching her from a distance. It was a man with oddly unclear physical attributes, beyond long black hair tied together in a ponytail and wearing a white suit and black-and-white mask. He looked at the stone appearance of the Seal and began to talk.
"I am Philemon, the guide of the realm between dream, reality, mind and matter and master of the Velvet Room. It has been a long time since I have last assumed this physical form, but your actions have interested me enough to make you an offer. In the past, you were granted the power of the Wild Card and signed a contract with the master of fusions. Since your ascendence from the mortal realm, your role has changed – but I wish to grant you a relief from your burden. You will awaken in a familiar place once more, and then head to assist the current holder of the Wild Card. As for the Seal, it will be held in place by my powers."
Minako, unable to answer, was nonetheless surprised by the monologue of the mystery man, and was ready to summon Thanatos to fight the intruder and his probable trickery to unleash the Fall upon Earth once more. But she never had the chance to do so, as she felt her consciousness fade as a strong, almighty power removed her from the seal. Once again being able to open and close her eyes and mouth, feeling cold air enter her lungs with a sharp and sudden sensation and being able to hear the sounds of city life around her, was simply overwhelming.
As she opened her mouth to yell in surprise, only a meek sound came out, and Minako Arisato fell unconscious once again. This time from exhaustion, having been sustained by no food or water for an unknown, yet large period.
It is then, when a silver haired woman walking by a dark alley noticed an unconscious, half-dead looking woman wearing only the simplest of robes, right in the middle of it.
"Oh my. Thank you, master!" Graceful yet giddy as she was, she approached the body with a hop, grabbed her carefully and carried in plain sight to an unknown place, uncaring about any witnesses or consequences.