Beta Reader: The one who beta read this chapter was… yours truly! Candle! I hope it's okay!
Our Sacrificial Waltz To Everlasting Memory
Chapter 1
"Purge the memory… tear it down…"
"Purge the wall… tear it down…"
"Purge the skin… tear it down…"
"Purge the savior… tear it down…"
Purged Kingdom
"Mister Prince? Have we met before?"
…
…
…
Prince blinked.
Fudo's words...
...what did he just say?
"H-Huh?" Prince finally managed to stifle out a surprised stammer at what he just heard. To think… Fudo was thinking that.
Why? Why would…
…Fudo think they met before?
Prince did a small double take. The way the young magician stared at him, his eyes slightly confused. It was… really familiar now. In fact, Prince… could've sworn such a familiarity crossed his mind before… even when they first met.
So… then if that was the case…
"…well? Do you two know each other?" Luna inquired. Even though her words were hushed, given she was overhearing the conversation, it still made Prince and Fudo jump.
"H-Hey! That isn't really your concern, Miss…" Fudo tugged at his scarf uneasily with a defensive Minnie glaring at Luna. "I was just talking to Mister Prince about stuff… nothing else."
"I apologize for intruding… but…" Luna gave a side glance to Prince, then back to Fudo. "Given the nature of this game… it would be beneficial if anyone knows one another. It could give us a clue on how this game operates…"
"I don't really think that's the case…" Fudo narrowed his eyes, "that wild haired demon girl and Mister Stefano seem close to each other… but it's not telling of anything. And… I don't think I know of Mister Prince like that. So that's probably a dead end…"
Prince blinked. "Is that… so?" His mind scrambled for an answer to this confusing question. "But then… why is it that you're f-familiar to me? I mean… to be honest I've felt kinda the same way towards you… so this is–"
"Wait. You also feel that way mister?" Fudo's interruption came with wide eyes as a relieved sigh escaped him. "So it's not just me…?"
Prince took a second to analyze Fudo to make sure his brain wasn't playing tricks with him. But the longer he stared at the boy… the… stranger this feeling got. He hadn't really properly sat down in a quiet space with the young magician… so to see him up close like this… staring at him with those eyes…
…those… eyes looked…
"Y-Yeah… I kinda get that f-feeling as well…" Prince muttered, both uneasy and yet… a little comforted deep down in his anxious heart. Maybe it was because with how out of the loop he'd been for everything… this… felt like something he could cling to without fear.
And it seemed Fudo felt the same as he smiled, "whew… that's a relief…" Fudo paused. "Or well… I dunno if it's a relief in this environment, I don't recall meeting you… but… I still feel like my head is wonky around you. If that makes sense…?"
Wonky? Well, Prince kinda understood that. He's felt that way ever since he woke up here. "Yeah… I-I get what you mean. It's like… even if we've never met… there's some sort of s-strange feeling surrounding you…"
"Right?!" Fudo's eyes sparkled as he grinned, "you do get it! I'm just…" He paused… and then frowned, "hm… I'm just not sure why I feel that way about you and no one else…"
Prince raised a surprised brow. "N-No one else gives you that feeling…?" So what made him so special?
"Well… n-no, it's not even that…" Fudo looked conflicted for some reason as he clutched his hat. Whatever he was thinking, it was truly a struggle to say. "It's just… isn't it strange? Everyone else here… is a Grand Student, right? We're all supposed to be important… but… with you… you kinda strike me as average."
"Ouch." Prince claimed his average MC award with that line.
"Don't take offense to it, Mister!" Fudo blurted out in shock, though Minnie squeaked in what could be assumed as laughter. "More so… we don't even really know who you are or your talent….
Fudo's words were laced with slight suspicion, something that made Prince's heart ache.
But quickly, Fudo clarified. "But despite you being different from all of us… I feel like… kinda more strongly to you then some of the other people here, like I'm being tugged by something."
"Tugged, huh…?" Prince thought back to when he got that feeling…
…that feeling when he was pulled toward the crown…
As he thought that… it felt like he got his answer in the form of a sudden… tug in his heart. His eyes widened as the tug grew stronger and stronger, his feet almost slipping as he felt himself being pulled into the direction of the art gallery against his will. His mind shook, unsure of what exactly was happening… but he didn't resist as suddenly, the feeling in his heart grew warm and… almost familiar.
…Like a… memory of something was pulling him somewhere.
And all of that led Prince to the crown… something that made him anxious thinking about it.
So if that's how he felt toward the crown…
…and Prince was feeling similarly toward Fudo now…
The silence that overtook the two boys was an uneasy one as Prince similarly frowned. What gave them both this feeling…? And why did no one else seem to trigger such a response?
"May I chime in with some input…?" Luna suddenly spoke again, having given the boys their brief moment, "I believe I understand what's happening here…"
"You do?" Fudo perked up.
"I only have two possible explanations for this…" Luna offered with a mystic wave of her hand. "firstly… perhaps you two have crossed paths once before and don't have any memory of the event…?"
Prince's eyes widened. "That sounds-" He paused. He was going to say… 'it couldn't be true'... but he stopped himself. He… didn't have any recollection of his life before so… could he even write such an idea off?
"That… doesn't sound right," Fudo however… seemed inclined to disagree without any trouble, "unlike Mister Prince here… I remember my life until I got here… and I've never met him before. I know that."
"A-Ah… true…" Prince looked down. So was that theory a bust?
"Not necessarily…" Luna glanced away, "we've already discussed this at breakfast… but our memories from when we got our Grandview Invitations… to when we woke up here… are all likely missing. It's possible in that missing time frame, you both have crossed paths without knowing it."
That idea seemed to get Fudo's gears turning. "I… I guess…" He appeared very conflicted with that. "I don't really wanna think about that idea…"
Luna gazed sympathetically at the boy, "that is understandable. For now, that theory is pointless as there's no way to confirm it without the memory spell…"
"Which so far… no one has seemed to find yet," Fudo muttered.
Prince deflated a little. If they didn't find that spell, they couldn't really confirm that theory. But also… even with it, it didn't answer Prince's own anxieties over that… feeling he got around the crown in his room…
…or the many other conflicted emotions he felt in general.
"W-What about the second thing?" Prince reminded the cult leader as he tilted his head in curiosity.
"Ah, yes, the second possibility," Luna outstretched her hand and held up two fingers, "have you ever met someone whose… actions and personality… reminded you of a past event or person?"
"Past event…?" Well Prince had no experience to draw from so he couldn't…
Fudo, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as he began to pet Minnie's fur… who had wandered out to hear the conversation, "Hm… I mean, I guess sometimes?" Fudo thought about it deeper, "are you talking about deja vu?"
"Somewhat…" Luna nodded as she cupped her chin, "but I believe what you're experiencing is a culmination of past memories molding into a… 'familiar' emotion when it comes to you both meeting up like this. Deja vu… is more about illusionary memories…"
Prince widened his eyes, "w-what so you mean by that…?"
Luna gave a soft hum as she began to explain. "With deja vu… some experience scenarios, whether it be an event or meeting of a person, and believe that they have experienced a 'memory' of it beforehand, when in reality… it is just their mind playing tricks on them…"
"Like a magic trick!" Fudo grinned as he pulled out a card deck and flew through it, "people might believe they are experiencing something they already did… but they never have! And the reason for that is cause their brain is tricking them!"
Prince wondered if… maybe all of this was just his brain tricking him then? Well… he put the idea aside for now and sighed. "Interesting… b-but… what does that mean for what you were saying earlier?"
Luna nodded, "ah yes… back to what this might mean. I am proposing that it's not deja vu you're experiencing… but perhaps some form of actual familiarity… familiarity caused by past memories of others you have met. For example… I will say I do recall most of the group here… personally reminds me of my cult."
"Your cult…?" Fudo looked shocked and a little disturbed. "W-We remind you of your cult…?"
"I-I guess we leave an impression…" Prince tried to make sense of it as he glanced at Luna's peaceful smile. "The cult… it's...T-The Bearers of Infinity… right?" He recalled the last time she briefly mentioned them.
Luna's eyes seemed to widen a little before she smiled. "You remembered…" She gave a light nod, as if she had woken from a pleasant dream. "Yes… The Bearers of Infinity are my cult, and as I've told you before Prince… they are my family. So… having reminders of them sprinkled in the mannerisms of everyone here is… a constant reminder of them. The teamwork… and comradery we all share… it is just like back home with my followers."
Fudo and Minnie glanced at one another… properly relating to that sentiment of teamwork before the boy spoke up. "Do you… miss them?"
Luna gave a sad smile, before shaking her head. "While it does pain me that I've been apart for this long from them… I know they will be fine without me… as I have new lives to help guide and cherish here…"
Prince noted the look of peace in Luna's eyes as she talked about her group. She truly did seem to love the people she talked about…
"But… enough of my personal experiences," Luna got back on topic as she gazed at the two boys, "as I said before, it's possible your situation is just a brief familiarity of past interactions you've had with others… or experiences that you've undergone that remind you of this one."
"That… might be true," Fudo nodded with a bewildered look, "but… I kinda remember most of the people in my life and none of them really acted like Prince…"
"...?" Prince raised a brow at that. "L-Like what…?"
"You know… like… how you act," Fudo shrugged with a slight smile. Minnie squeaked in agreement.
Prince felt his heart spike a little. "H-How do I act…?"
"You're very shy sometimes…" Luna just came out with it.
"More like all the time!" Fudo smiled.
Prince nervously laughed. "Ah… o-okay," he mumbled. They got him there. "But a-anyway… I personally don't have any experiences to pull from so… I wouldn't be able to tell why Fudo is familiar to me…"
"I see…" Luna began to twirl a lock of her cloudy hair through her finger as she murmured. "Maybe in this case it's not past experiences or relationships in reality… but a chance encounter in a dream."
"A c-chance encounter?" Prince stammered in surprise.
"...through a dream?" Fudo deadpanned.
"Precisely," Luna dipped her head in the faintest of bows as her eyes gazed off into some far off world, "it is not uncommon for such things to happen… prophetic dreaming. It has happened many times with me… where I can predict future meetings… or encounters due to the Eternal's One gracious gift of allowing me to glimpse into the world beyond."
"Wow…" Prince blinked in shock, "I knew… you had a deep v-value on dreams but… that kinda thing really exists?" While Prince's eyes sparkled in wonder at what Luna was saying…
Fudo looked… less than impressed. "...I'm more inclined to believe we crossed paths in real life or something," Fudo shrugged, "I mean… prophetic dreams…? Really? That's stuff you'd scam people with…"
Never would Prince think the word "scam" would come out of Fudo's mouth when talking about something so otherworldly. "I thought you'd believe in s-stuff like this, Fudo…?" He had always talked up about magic before, didn't he?
Fudo paused and puffed his cheeks like a mouse. "I'm not writing it off… but it's just… I dunno…" he trailed off, unsure. "I mean… personally, I'm just saying all my dreams are hazy… so I have a hard time buying this answer. How could my brain like… conjure someone up in a dream before I met them? Not to mention I'd just forget what I dreamed anyway so like…"
Luna closed her eyes with a soft sigh, "I understand why you'd be skeptical. It hasn't been scientifically proven that prophetic dreaming is… possible. But given what we've seen so far… are you positive you should write it off…?"
"...well…" Prince thought of everything they had seen so far. All the magic and abnormalities in the mansion. If that was the case. "...it's possible… I-I think."
Fudo gave an uneasy glance to the two before he sighed. "That's fair, I get what you'd believe it. We can't really write it off given all the other magic stuff happening. But… I just dunno."
Fudo looked conflicted… and Prince couldn't really understand why. He always believed in magical things, so why was Prophetic dreaming where he drew the line…?
"Is it that you don't want to believe it…?" Luna mused, her eyes growing foggy.
Fudo seemed to chew on something nervously, possibly his cheek in thought, "no! It's not that. I personally can't believe it… this familiar feeling I have toward Prince. I just don't feel like it's based on a dream… I feel like… it's real for some reason."
"Real…?" Prince said, his eyes wide. "W-What do you mean?"
Fudo tipped his top hat, trying his best to force a smile. "Well that's obvious. As a magician, I'm able to tell what's real and what isn't. Being a magician is all about showing juuust enough of your trick to make the audience THINK it's real, when in reality there's another component to making it work…"
"And how does that relate to… your belief here?" Luna raised a brow.
Fudo paused, then with Minnie squeaking out from his mouth, the boy finally continued, "when something is real… I feel it very strongly. But dreams and other stuff, that's like… usually fake, right? So I… can't base my feelings off… things that aren't real, that's childish!"
…
…
…
"But you believe in magic," Luna pointed out.
"Well it's been proven it's real now!" Fudo frowned.
Prince gave a small chuckle before getting back on topic, "so… you don't believe that idea because…?"
Fudo sighed and regained composure as he frowned deeper, "basically, I base my feelings on what I know is true. That's how I've always done things. So if I feel something familiar toward Prince… it has to be because somehow… in some way… he reminds me of something real. And yet I can't… understand why…"
The entire concept seemed to really stress Fudo out as he tugged at his scarf. Minnie was there to give him enough comfort that the boy compressed his worries, but Prince could sense the distress under the surface.
The fact of his feelings being real… and yet no basis for those feelings…
Prince could relate. His anxieties flared whenever he thought of his lack of knowledge compared to everyone else. They all had so much more life experience than him… families… past memories…
Maybe that's why he felt a familiar connection to Fudo… because they both were suffering from such a conflict in different ways…
"That is a valid concern," Luna folded her arms together, her tired eyes seemingly growing wary, "…but dreams themselves are very real as well."
"…What?" Fudo deadpanned, "why do you mean by that Loonie?"
"Hm?" Luna tilted her head curiously. "…Loonie?"
Prince also looked puzzled, but at the same time… well… Fudo did call her that as well back at the dinner…
"Because you're…" Fudo stopped himself, "well it just fits doesn't it? Luna…? Loonie? I gotta somehow be creative with the names here… it's my magician gig on the line!"
Luna gave a small… amused smile. "Funny… I thought you only give nicknames to people you don't like… like Alexander and the others." She leaned down to stare at the boy. "Have I grown into someone you dislike…?"
"U-Uh…" Fudo froze. Maybe it was because of how unnerving Luna appeared looming over him with her sickly eyes. "Just the s-slip of the tongue. I didn't mean it as an insult Miss Luna!"
"…now you get it right…" Luna pointed out.
Fudo could only gulp. "…! I just uh… I sometimes have a hard time believing what you say…" Fudo mumbled honestly, as did Minnie who scratched her head in agreement.
Luna looked down. Despite Fudo's words… she seemed understanding. "Mhm, very well then. That is fine in itself."
"It is?" The magician blinked.
"Of course." Luna nodded. "I don't expect everyone to believe what I preach. That is what free will is after all… the ability to choose for ourselves what we want… I dare not squander that for anyone…"
Fudo raised a brow. "That sounds like… the opposite of what a Cult Leader would do-" Minnie squeaked in Fudo's ear harshly, making the boy wince. "A-Ah, sorry! S-Sorry, I was just saying how I felt. I didn't mean to disrespect…"
"Again it's fine… I'm used to it…" Luna's gaze looked off into the distance, her posture a little straighter as she tried to present herself in a formal way.
But Prince noted something… deeper in there. He wanted to call it out…
…but Luna had all too quickly presented herself calmly once again. "But anyways… about before… about why I believe that dreams are real… you wish to know my thoughts on that… is that correct?"
When Fudo nodded… Luna went silent, her lips tight. It seemed like she was about to choose her words very carefully. That was until she gave out a gentle… reassuring breath. "Because seeing is believing… and I am positive about what I've seen."
"What you saw…?" Prince repeated in wonder.
"…yes," Luna nodded. "Just as Fudo feels emotion based on what is real… I too… also feel great emotion for everything around me. Feelings of joy… sorrow… even fear."
"You… feel fear?" Prince wouldn't have guessed given how she carried herself.
"Everyone does…" Luna smiled quietly, "but I'm able to suppress that fear into belief… the belief that things will be okay. Because the dreams I've seen also bring out strong emotions from me… because they are real. The Eternal One has shown me so many wonders that I can't possibly deny it's reality…"
Luna turned to the two boys and gave a quiet look of peacefulness. "To put it simply… what the Eternal One shows through my dreams… is real. I know this for a fact from what I've seen… and that is why I believe in dreams… in the Eternal One. Because there is a plan for us all in the end… and our dreams show us the way for what we must do."
Their dreams… were plans? Prince thought of his nightmares and winced.
Fudo meanwhile, seemed to mutter, "well… uh… the difference is… you believe your dreams are caused by some… big monster thing-"
Luna frowned. "The Eternal One's appearance shouldn't be simplified to that of a 'monster'."
"-my bad…" Fudo tensed, before continuing. "But anyway. I think dreams are just… dreams. Just things our brain makes up, like a mini television show that you forget after you watched it! My dreams in the past never made me feel anything like what you said… not like they do now…"
"Like they… are now?" Prince repeated, "have you a-also been having new dreams ever since you came here?"
"Yeah!" Fudo brightened up a little before he… slowly frowned. "Y-Yeah… I have. For some reason… I can remember the dreams easier than normal… and those dreams are a little… more emotional for me."
"Emotional…?" Luna seemed interested as she stepped forward.
"You know… l-like they're sad and stuff," Fudo sighed as he messed with his scarf, "my dreams are usually super weird and hazy. I barely can remember them. But ever since I've been sleeping in this mansion… it's like… every dream I've have is super clear… because it shows things I know are real… like…"
Fudo didn't say anything more, but it seemed extremely obvious whatever he had been dreaming of affected him.
"Interesting…" Luna tapped her chin, "so even though you don't believe dreams are real… you do acknowledge you've had emotions stir because of the dreams you've had since being here…"
"I… I guess…" Fudo rubbed his arm.
Prince glanced at Fudo, his heart aching at the worried look the boy gave. Wanting to at least offer some support, he nodded along. "Yeah… I… I imagine everyone's dreams are similarly emotional. I know I've been… affected by the dreams I've had…"
"Your… nightmares… correct?" Luna recalled from their last conversation as she tilted her head. "Have you still been having them since our last talk…?"
Prince looked down. "Y-Yeah, but…" he glanced at Fudo, "this is about Fudo right now… and I… just know h-how messed up I could get from my own dreams. So I get it Fudo… how… how uneasy a dream can make you feel… when you don't know what's going on…"
Fudo glanced up at Prince, looking surprised. From his bewildered… but relieved expression… Fudo didn't seem to figure anyone would relate to what was happening to him, that's what Prince thought.
"Yeah… I guess it's like that," Fudo murmured as he scratched his cheek in relief, "but… my dreams aren't like nightmares. It's more so… they are good dreams! Don't worry! But… they make me sad after."
"Really…?" Prince blinked. He was silent for a second before he smiled. "…then I guess it shows that… you just really care about what it is you dream about. So… you should cherish it…"
Fudo smiled gently at that and nodded, "yeah… I… I will…"
It was good to see the boy looking a little better then before. Seeing his smile… it made Prince brighten up a little.
"But wait… we need to backtrack…" Fudo suddenly put up his hands, "Loonie… I-I mean, Miss Luna said you're having nightmares? What's that about?
Prince quieted down and glanced at Luna. She seemed to nod gently, trying to encourage him to share. Well… he already told Luna about it… but not exactly the full story.
Even remembering it a little… made him pale.
"Mister Prince…?" Fudo titled his head and furrowed a nervous brow. "You good?"
Prince glanced at the boy. Even after their talk… he was still taken aback with how… strangely familiar his worried expression was. Seeing it… almost compelled him to spill the beans right then and there.
About Alexander. The crown. Everything…
If Amaya was right that he could trust the others then… maybe he could trust these two–
"FOOUUNND IT-"
Seems that confession would have to wait…
Barreling down the stairs was the large form of Tadatake carrying down a withered looking book over his head. "Hell yeah baby that's what I'm talking about-!"
"P-Please not so fast!" Aimi scampered behind Tadatake and sighed. "I almost tripped down the stairs trying to catch up…"
"My bad Shortcake!" Tadatake grinned, "I was just excited to show off this puppy!" He slammed the book onto a table, probably letting the competitive spirit overtake him for a second.
The loud sound forced the conversation to an end as Prince jumped… in regards to both the noise… and especially in regards to what Tadatake found.
The Memory Spell…
"You found it?!" Fudo similarly lit up and ran over to Tadatake as he examined the books. "Let me and Minnie see!"
"Everyone please settle down!" Amaya came down next, looking a little frazzled at hearing such a loud noise. "We're here to investigate, not cause a panic."
Jun followed shortly behind, looking intrigued. "This is cause for celebration though. Our search was turning up no results… so maybe this will help us with our memories…"
Prince and Luna slowly made their way over as well once the group gathered. Prince's hands were shaking slightly at seeing what was found.
Sure enough, Tadatake was telling the truth.
On the table was an old looking book, the cover practically in shambles with some pages sticking out. It barely was being held together anymore. However, despite its wear and tear… the title was… mostly… eligible.
"'The Book of Memories'?" Luna repeated to herself, her eyes a little wide as she traced the words with her fingers. "Interesting title. And the cover… it's probably seen better days." She looked down at the large symbol on its cover.
"This has to be it…" Prince widened his eyes. He couldn't believe the answers to his problems were right before him. "Tadatake, you're incredible."
"No need to thank me Lil' Prince!" Tadatake cracked his knuckles, thoroughly pleased, "just doin' my job carrying the thing over! I wasn't actually the one who found it anyway, that honor goes to Shortcake!"
Aimi blushed and cupped a cheek in her hand, "it wasn't anything! I-I… I only found it because it actually had a title unlike the other books. It would've been impossible o-otherwise…"
That piqued the group's interest, specifically Jun who gave a small hum in thought. "Really now? It was the only book with a title?"
"That's right!" Tadatake nodded as he rubbed his hands together, "to give you a brief run down… the sections Shortcake and I explored had a TON of books. But when we checked the covers for a title or opened them up, NADA, zilch. They didn't have anything written on the pages! Totally strange, right?"
"How bizarre indeed…" Amaya found herself deep in thought, playing around with the strings of her doll as she spoke, "the same was true for Brother Jun and I when we investigated. Any book we investigated was empty."
Prince felt his heart flicker with unease. "Why… are the b-books empty? Isn't this supposed to be a library?"
"Well…" Jun tried to offer some explanation, "maybe they're just for decoration. You know… something fancy folks use to fill up shelves."
Fudo poked his cheek and shrugged. "Weird… but… I mean, whatever the case is, that's even more impressive on Aimi's end. I mean, you got all these books that are just decoration and she STILL managed to find the spell that we're looking for. Aimi might be a magician in training!"
"Ah… that p-praise is too high!" Aimi grew flustered by the attention and looked away, "a-anyway, we s-should probably focus on the spell now… right? I mean… that's w-why we came here…"
"Of course it is Shortcake!" Tadatake gave a thumbs up in excitement as he opened the book, "I took a little gander on the inside and found all this! Check it!"
Sure enough…
The Book of Memories
{ - Lunar Memory Spell: (Gibberish) - }
The Memory Spell (gibberish) serves as (gibberish)(gibberish)(gibberish). To activate, one simply must repeat the wording found in the incantation below while (gibberish).
- Black Spot 1 (new)
- Black Spot 2 (new)
- Black Spot 3
Note - The caster and those affected by repeated use of (gibberish) (gibberish) erode (gibberish). Proceed with caution.
Although the page was still a little worse for wear, this time Prince could make out a lot more words than before.
"Wow…" Aimi stared at the book with a newfound curiosity, "the writing… it's a bit cleaner here than the page Kanna f-found… right?"
"Not to mention," Amaya spoke next with interest, "that phrasing… 'black spot'... it matches what was originally found on that paper!"
"So this must be the m-memory spell…" Prince nervously reread the lines over and over again.
As if in a trance… he almost reached out to rip the paper from the book and test the incantation right away, but he forced himself to resist temptation. That probably would count as destroying property anyway, and it wouldn't be a good look to become a total nut job and start practicing spells…
…even if he really did want to see if this magic… worked. "Will… this help with our… you know… s-situation?"
"I can't see why not!" Amaya smiled happily as she glanced over at Prince "And I would imagine it would definitely help with your memory as well Brother Prince! Perhaps this is the answer we're looking for!"
Prince held his breath. Was he really one step closer to figuring out who he was…?
"This blows though…" Fudo frowned as he looked at the page, "you mean to tell me the other two missing words for the spell were just… black spot one and two? Again? That's like if someone's password on their phone was one two three four!"
"Well, we still don't know the specifics of how to cast it…" Luna murmured as she pointed out the worn down words, "see here? Not only do we say the words… but clearly we have to say them while doing something it seems."
Prince noted that part of the page. It was true. Apparently something else had to be done…
"What if that's… the sacrifice portion?" Jun addressed the elephant in the room.
Uneasy silence took up the room, which gave Jun the stage to continue, even if he also looked uncomfortable bringing it up.
"We know by now we have to sacrifice something for these spells to work…" he continued with a frown, "maybe we have to repeat the words… while sacrificing something. Be it like… a cut of blood or…"
Jun didn't finish the thought… but everyone knew where it was going to head.
With the silence stretching out, Amaya took the initiative to reassure the others, "now… let us not worry right away. Perhaps we should keep reading to see what else is in this book. It may lead to more information that doesn't require such a… horrible thing. May I?"
No one protested as Amaya turned the page and found…
{ - Lunar (Gibberish) Spell: (Gibberish) - }
The (gibberish) as (gibberish). To activate, one simply must (gibberish) below while (gibberish).
- Starlight 2
- (gibberish)
- Starlight 4
- (gibberish)
- Dream 2
- Rolling Waves 1
Note - The caster and those affected by repeated use of (gibberish) will experience intense nausea, headaches, hallucinations, (gibberish), and death in some cases. (gibberish). Proceed with caution.
Prince's eyes widened a little more from this page. "T-This one-"
"-what the heck?!" Fudo spoke out first in shock, "the warning label on this part is crazy! Nausea? Bleeding? What kinda spell is this?"
"The kind… w-we probably shouldn't try out…" Aimi looked horrified at the idea of what the spell's warnings listed. "I mean… it says if we casted them on someone… then…"
"Then all those bad symptoms would affect us," Luna finished for the nervous patisserie as she tapped her staff to the floor "but it's not like we can test it out regardless. This part of the book is also gibberish… the words seem… ancient."
Prince nervously nodded along. The entire page had certain sections of confusing words… almost a different language it seemed. How in the world could they make sense of this?
"D-Does it really matter what the last page says, dudes?" Tadatake blinked at the others' uneasiness as he flipped back to the first page of the book, the one that could be read the best, "we don't gotta worry about that other page, we have the normal spell right here!"
"That… is indeed the case, but…" Amaya didn't appear to be soothed by that knowledge, but she quickly allowed a smile to grace her face, "...no, Brother Tadatake is correct. We came looking for the memory spell and we seemingly have found it before us! Thank you for finding this book, Sister Aimi and Tadatake!"
"It was no biggie Amaya…" Tadatake scratched his neck a little bashfully at the attention he got, so much so that he used Amaya's actual name.
Prince looked on at the interaction with amusement, but he was happy nonetheless with this finding. "…so… are we going to try it now…?" He asked. ""The spell I mean. We have the words… so… we just have to say the words then… w-we can perform the spell, right?"
"That sounds simple…" Fudo murmured as he helped pet Minnie's ears, "but… after seeing the warning label on the other page, it sounds kinda too simple. Like it's kind of suspicious…"
"M-Mhm," Aimi nervously agreed as she looked down, "I'm… kind of worried to try it out as well… especially since… Hania talked about how the spell can e-erase memories during breakfast. She said it could be… why we all don't remember coming here…"
"Ugh…" Fudo grimaced at that, his eyes distant, "that's like… the worst case scenario…"
"W-Well…" Prince didnt have a counter for that, "maybe it's…" He paused, unsure how to form his thoughts before blurting out, "well, she also said it could help recall memories, right? This book much be for what it's for. Not erasing…"
"Even if it is…" Jun started up with a cautious tone, "there's still the problem of what would be 'sacrificed' to activate it. That's always been an issue with the magic here."
Prince deflated a little. From the sounds of it… testing out the memory spell seemed more dangerous than anything.
But…
…if there was even the slightest chance he could get his memories back then…
…
…
"…what should we d-do?" Prince turned to Amaya, his eyes pleading and uncertain.
Amaya hesitated briefly as she glanced at the book. As the leader, all eyes were on her to make a choice.
And make a choice she did… as she breathed in and closed the book.
"Hm… well, if the only way to activate it is by speaking out the words and…" Amaya paused for a bit, "sacrificing something dear to us…" she closed her eyes tightly, "it's not worth the risk. Instead, I believe we should discuss this with the group in its entirety. I wouldn't want to go behind everyone's back with knowledge like this."
"That's reasonable," Jun nodded firmly, content with the idea, "everyone should definitely be on the same page about this."
Aimi nodded as well with a soft smile. Seemed she also liked that idea.
Prince quieted down. Yeah… they should talk to everyone about this. What was he thinking…? Wanting to use the spell so soon…
"So we ain't gonna test it out, eh?" Tadatake tugged at his beanie. While he wasn't exactly disappointed, it did sound like he was a bit restless. "Well, as long as we found the spell, it's all good I guess. But what to do now, right?"
Right… their whole purpose was to find the memory spell, but now that they had it… they didn't exactly have another plan of action.
"Hold on…" Jun stepped up, his eyes narrowed, "what about the other spells we didn't find?"
"The other spells?" Fudo blinked before he widened his eyes. "Oh right, we didn't find the Puppeteering and Morphing Spell. Aren't they in the library somewhere?"
"In this h-huge place…?" Aimi nervously looked up at the towering floors.
"Well we found the memory spell!" Tadatake grinned, "we can find two more books, yeah?"
Silence as the bookcases loomed four stories over eveyrone.
"I uh…" Tadatake blinked. "I dunno where to start though. Kanna's paper at LEAST showed us the sections the lunar spell was in… but the other two could be anywhere."
"Actually…" Luna spoke up with a quiet voice, "Fudo, Prince, and I were just discussing this. We believe we've cracked the code on how the books in the library are organized…"
"Really now?!" Amaya lit up at Luna's words and smiled, "that's marvelous Sister Luna! What would that code be then?"
Luna gave a soft nod of acknowledgement to Amaya, "when we investigated the first floor… we noted–"
"-um? Hello?!" Fudo jumped in, "I came up with this theory, lemme tell it! Minnie, silence her!"
Minnie suddenly jumped up and placed a firm paw on Luna's lips. How the cult leader wasn't screaming from a mouse touching her was beyond Prince, but Luna didn't seem to mind as she blinked slowly.
"Brother Fudo," Amaya shook her head firmly, "we do not interrupt when someone is speaking!"
"It is fine," Luna shrugged, gently giving Minnie back to the magician, "Fudo did come up with the idea."
Given the go ahead, Fudo grinned, "as Miss Luna was saying, the first floor has fictional books! So like, the first floor is probably filled with normal books we can read!"
The boy continued with bright eyes, "then the second floor is where the magic happens, literally! We know from Kanna's paper that the Lunar spell was located on the second floor! Low and behold, the memory spell book! Meaning, all Lunar spells are probably located on the second floor!"
With a sparkly wave of his hand, Fudo finished his explanation. "So by process of elimination… any Solar spells have got to be on the third or fourth floor, and I think it's likely it's on the third!"
Aimi gave a soft smile, albeit one still twinged with nerves. "That makes sense… but why d-do you think it's on the t-third floor specifically?"
Fudo paused, losing his train of thought at that question. "I dunno? Doesn't it make sense that way? Like, my Pa does the same thing with his paperwork, organizing them on shelves for specific stuff. So like… Lunar spells on the second floor, then the solar spells on the third? Right?"
"Only one way to see if that's the case!" Tadatake pumped his fist, "let's go up and check the scene out, maybe we'll find some of the books! That way, when we find them we can discuss it with the others, right?"
"True," Amaya nodded with a focused look, "I believe then we aren't quite done here. We shall leave the memory spell in safe keeping with us then… and focus on finding the other spells. That's the best we can do for now."
It sounded reasonable enough… so Prince nodded nervously. "…then, I guess we need to start looking right now."
With that, the group headed toward the stairs to the third floor. Tadatake led the charge with Fudo following up behind, although the magician did look back to make sure Aimi was following, which she was with timid steps. Jun made his way right behind them… leaving Luna and Amaya to whisper something near the bottom of the stairs waiting for Prince…
Prince prepared to follow the rest of the group, but then found himself stopped with a gentle touch to his hand. He tensed up… noticing it was Amaya that reached out.
"A-Amaya?" Prince gulped nervously. He hadn't spoken to her one on one since… last night…
But the inclusion of Luna standing just nearby made Prince a little nervous. Did Amaya tell her about what they spoke about during dinner?
About Alexander…?
"Brother Prince, I have to ask something of you…" Amaya suddenly spoke with a concerned tone, "it's about… something Sister Luna informed me of."
Prince widened his eyes and glanced at the cult leader. Luna was standing by the side, her eyes studying Prince.
Prince felt his heart tense as he nodded. "Sure… w-what is it?"
Amaya twirled her marionette doll into a sad, almost depressed pose as she spoke. "Brother Prince… have your nightmares continued to plague you since yesterday?"
Prince blinked. Oh… it was the nightmare he had. Luna probably was worried about him and told Amaya about it. Why the hell was he worried? Luna and Amaya only had his best interest at heart.
"Yeah, t-that's right…" Prince nervously nodded as he looked down, "I… I still am having them…"
"The same one?" Amaya asked quietly. Considering she was the only one who knew of the actual contents of Prince's nightmare, she spoke quietly so as to not have the others hear.
Although it seemed she was okay with Luna overhearing that as the cult leader raised a brow in curiosity.
"Yeah… the same…" Prince nodded uneasily as he glanced over at Luna overhearing. "…but it's o-okay!" He lied. "Really I… I can handle-"
"Might I ask what this nightmare is about…?" Luna stood tall at the side of the conversation, her hazy eyes gazing down on Prince with a soft look of concern. "You did tell me yesterday you had a nightmare where you couldn't move… and had trouble breathing… but is there more to it than that?"
Prince widened his eyes at Luna's perceptive inquiry. Would Luna really be okay with hearing about how he basically always dies in his nightmares? If he heard that from anyone else he probably would be freaked out.
Prince glanced at Amaya… who already knew the truth. Her smile was gentle, "Brother Prince… I spoke to Sister Luna about your troubles when sleeping. Given her experience with dreams… I believe it would be an excellent opportunity for her to help you."
Prince softened, realizing what Amaya was attempting to do. "R-Really..? You trust Luna that much to h-help me?"
"Of course!" Amaya beamed, "her wisdom has helped reassure me on occasion. She has a sharp mind blessed by the Natural Deities!"
"Ha…" Luna tiredly let out the slightest chuckle, "I simply am a vessel for the Eternal One's infinite knowledge. I alone am not that important…"
"Sister Luna! Cease such thoughts!" Amaya looked surprised and held onto Luna's hand without trouble. "You have been working very hard since we woke up here! Don't talk down on yourself like that. You harbor qualities that inspire me to be as attentive as you!"
The bright look to Amaya's eyes might've actually gotten to Luna… as the cult leader looked away and gave a soft smile. "I'm… very glad you see me that way…"
Prince nervously stared at the two smiling girls. Now it felt like HE was over hearing stuff he shouldn't have. He bashfully coughed… getting their attention. "Um…"
"Oh yes!" Amaya got back on topic, "so as I was saying… I believe Sister Luna would be very helpful in dealing with your nightmares. She's dealt with many things like this before, yes?"
Luna nodded. "You'd be correct. As the High Priestess for my cult, I'm well versed in that subject."
That was true… anytime dreams came up, Luna was ready to jump the gun and help anyone through it. Maybe… it was okay to talk to her about it. But…
"I… I um…" Prince glanced at Luna… then noted Amaya's soft eyes and get himself relax. No, this is what he wanted, to rely on others and work with them. So… Luna would be a great first step.
Amaya knew that as well, which was probably why she was doing this. To broaden his horizons… to rely on others.
Prince smiled a little at that.
"Yeah… I… I remember more to my nightmare," Prince sighed in worry, "I could tell you about it… if you want to hear…"
"Of course," Luna nodded, "you can always talk to me."
Prince nodded nervously. Yeah… he could. But now came the part of… where to even begin? "Hm… should w-we even be talking about this now?" He asked in concern, "everyone is working on finding the spell books… shouldn't we join them…?"
"Oh, yes about that…" Amaya paused as she twirled her doll, "I was actually wondering if you and Sister Luna could do me a favor!"
Prince blinked. A favor? Amaya usually was the type who would stop what she was doing in the blink of an eye for someone else… so for her to be asking for a favor… it sounded pretty serious.
"What's… the f-favor?" Prince asked.
"Nothing serious!" Amaya smiled.
Okay nevermind it WASN'T serious.
"I just would like to try my best as the leader here…" Amaya revealed as she gave a more thoughtful look, "my brothers and sisters put their trust in me to keep everyone up to date with our investigation… so I would like for everyone to gather in the dining room where we can discuss these matters openly."
"Ah…" Luna understood right away, "so you wish for me and Prince to go out and locate everyone to come to the dining room again." Luna looked over her E-Watch… "it is getting rather late. Perhaps a meeting is appropriate."
"Precisely, Sister Luna!" Amaya smiled at the understanding. "If you both could do that I'd be most grateful! I do not wish for anyone to be out of the loop in terms of our shared knowledge here. And that would also include Sister Anata and Brother Koji if you find them…"
Prince gave a nervous but determined nod. "Right… I-I saw Koji a little earlier today, but no sign of Anata since breakfast."
"Then let's do our best to find them and anyone else we come across…" Luna nodded as she had already begun to turn to leave, "and as we do… perhaps you can discuss that nightmare you've been having with me…"
Prince paused. He wondered if this was some elaborate ploy by Amaya and Luna for him to talk about his feelings…
But seeing that it made sense to gather everyone for dinner…
…and also how earnestly Amaya and Luna were trying to open him up… Prince gave a soft nod. "Yeah… that sounds f-fine. Should we go then?"
"At once…" Luna led the way as she used her staff to keep steady.
Prince prepared to follow, but took a quick glance back toward Amaya. The marionette maker gave a soft smile and nod before she ascended the staircase to the third floor. Prince nervously smiled back at her. Hopefully her advice would help… and this would be the start of him opening up more to the group.
That… was the hope anyway.
"…so that was your nightmare…"
After a lot of coaxing, reassuring, and eventually straight up pleading from the cult leader, Prince rambled about his nightmare to the girl. It started with the darkness, then the limited movement… how he was frozen in place. Then the voice, the knife… that horrid voice.
The horrible stabbing…
Once he started, he couldn't stop. Like being pulled along on strings, Prince shakily tried to keep up with Luna's already slow pace as he focused more on the horrid things dripping out of his lips.
But what he expected to be a pit in his stomach actually seemed to be a great weight off his shoulders as he spoke about it… especially since Luna didn't seem to judge a single part of the story at all.
"Y-Yeah…" Prince eventually sighed. "It's happened twice… the same ending each time." He could still feel the cold words of the figure speaking to him… it wasn't pleasant. "A stab…"
"No doubt terrifying," Luna spoke quietly, her hand slowly resting on Prince's shoulder as they walked.
He tensed a little on worry at the motion. What was she planning to do now that his nightmare was out in the open…? He knew she meant no harm but…
"…it's… it's not too much, right?" Prince murmured anxiously. "To deal with, I mean? You… You don't have to say anything if you don't want—"
"Nonsense." Luna murmured, "…to think you felt as if you had to keep this weight to yourself. I regret I didn't notice anything sooner.
"…" Prince looked away, shame etched into his features. "It's… my fault. I kept it hidden for a good while. It's just…" He felt the need to defend himself, knowing he didn't have to… but— "s-so much was happening and… I was too freaked out to share it… and I was worried it would… make people think I'm… I dunno… strange or something."
Luna gave a small smile. "No. Don't be. It is a natural wish to be… normal… despite the things one may feel or dream about…"
The cult leader's words trailed off softly as glanced off into some unforeseen distance… a place Prince's thoughts couldn't travel.
"…but…" Luna continued, "there is a certain tragedy to burdening yourself with such problems. To share your burdens… I've learned… is a much easier when you find those who understand you."
'Just like Amaya says…' Prince thought to himself, giving a weak but appreciative nod. "You… had to l-learn that?" That part piqued his interest.
"Yes…" Luna, for a split second, seemed a little lost as she leaned against her staff still in hand. "I was like you… a long time ago, a child navigating a difficult world that didn't understand my ideas. I was 'weird'... to many people. It meant for a rather lonely existence… until the Eternal One gave my ideas… and dreams… value."
"Value…?" Prince had heard Luna's many talks about such a god… but the way Luna said that… as if cherishing an important part of herself… almost as if… "like… like you found yourself?"
A nod from the cult leader, one that despite being sleepy was resolute, "indeed, both myself and my voice. I was no longer afraid to share the beliefs I've kept quiet of… all thanks to a glimpse in the beyond. Because of that… I found… my purpose."
Such a powerful word uttered from Luna made Prince widen his eyes. She really did believe in her dreams that strongly, didn't she? And believed in others… just as much…
Which is why when she turned to Prince then, smiling gently, he couldn't help but almost feel seen, "It's why I'm pleased you decided to take Amaya's advice and share your nightmare with me," Luna continued, "although you faced the risk of rejection… you took a chance. And trust me Prince, you won't have to face rejection from me. I will be there for you… as I am to all those who seek guidance."
Prince paused, a little taken in by such praise. It was… really nice to hear. "I'm glad." Prince sighed weakly, having his thoughts spill out without worry. "I-I was worried for nothing wasn't I? I… I knew you'd be supportive. The dream just… it scared me a lot."
Stopping briefly in her tracks, Luna's robe swished around her as she pondered something, "…again… that is a natural fear… especially given your dream could be telling of something greater."
"Greater…?" Prince stopped in time with her steps, uneasy. What the heck did that mean?"
"Do you recall what I spoke of earlier between you and Fudo?" Luna brought back the topic with a thoughtful frown. "I brought up the idea that your familiarity with that boy was due to a past event culminating into a familiar sensation. Perhaps the same is true here. The only difference is…"
Luna paused, her cloudy eyes swirling with a hint of… otherwordly interest… "your memories… you wouldn't know the reason Fudo is familiar to you… because you yourself don't remember anything of your past…"
"A-Ah… yeah…" Prince knew that much, and although he knew Luna wasn't rubbing such a fact in his face maliciously, it did still hurt to know… how out of the loop he was… "...everything is just… so confusing."
"As I'd imagine…" Luna nodded in reassurance, "however, there is a way to make sense of this."
"There is?" Well Prince would love to hear it.
"Of course, that being…" Luna paused and then pointed her staff at Prince, "Your dream being a message of your fate… if you continue as you are now…"
At this, Prince instantly faltered, his blood freezing in his body as the cult leader's words struck him. Something about how Luna said that, the sheer volume of her somberness and dead eyes… struck a chord with him.
A chord that he did not take lightly to. "W-W-What!?"
"Do not be alarmed–" Luna tried to reassure.
"H-How… How could I not?!" Prince tried to calm down, but this information was seriously screwing with him. "Something that horrible… is my fate? W-What… What do you mean by that?"
"I did not mean it as a way to scare you," Luna clarified as she quickly raised a hand out, "only that the dream you had, could've been a twisted message of your future… one that can be changed."
Prince held onto that sliver of hope at the end of Luna's words… the fact that such a thing… coud be changed. "R-Really? You mean that…?"
"Of course," Luna smiled, "I've already said this in the past but… it is of my belief that dreams are messages from the great beyond… a sign and symbol of what we must do to achieve a grander path. But such a nightmare you experienced is a warning… and I wouldn't want you to go through something so painful."
Right, Prince recalled Luna so far had a pretty big interest in dreams given her talent. If anyone could decipher what his nightmare meant… it would be her.
"Then… w-what am I supposed to d-do to avoid that?" Prince asked nervously. "How am I supposed to…?" His words trailed off… uncertain.
This is where Luna quickly picked up the slack. "It's obvious, is it not?" She smiled softly, "the dream is a warning of betrayal… and I believe… this is why you've been rather unsteady these past few days. That fear of betraye and suspicion… all of it has culminated in this nightmare you haven't been able to share."
Prince blinked. She really got it on the mark.
"The solution to such fear?" Luna said softly, "total transparency…"
"Total… w-what?" Prince muttered in worry.
"Honesty…" Luna clarified as she triwled her orange curls, "the honesty of your values… beliefs… everything. You must say it with true heart… that you truly believe in everyone and wish to work with them. As it seems now, you appear to have one foot out the door at all times…"
Prince… hadn't really thought of it like that. He did seem to go back and forth between his resolve to trust the others and… his fear of their reaction to him.
But… he had people by his side who believed in him, right? Luna… Amaya… Machi…
"..." Prince closed his eyes. "If… I'm completely honest with everyone… then… t-this scary feeling might go away?"
"Maybe not entirely," Luna tempered, "but it will get the initial weight off your chest. And if there's ant pushback, you don't have to worry about going through it alone… I will be there, as will Amaya… and others."
Luna gazed down at Prince, and offered a hand. Her cloudy eyes, once so hazy, seemed to part to welcome the sun… "You aren't alone in this. Do not let this nightmare shake your faith in being with others. We are all here for you. And even if not all of us… I will be here for you."
Prince felt a breath escape him that he didn't know he was holding. Was this what he wanted to hear? Someone to completely believe in him… like how he wanted to believe in others…?
"Do you think you have a choice?" Alexander laughed as he gripped Prince's shoulders and leaned close enough to where he could hear the madman breathing under the mask. "Weak people like you, should just accept what comes their way. Because without others' trust in you, you'd be the first one gone in this game. I mean... to not even remember who you are... is a nightmarish situation for a game built on trust, don't you agree?"
But… that wasn't the case…
Even if he didn't remember who he was… even if he was anxious to know of his past.
Right here and right now… there were people who were putting their trust into him… helping him. And he hadn't managed to do anything in return.
He… needed to pay them back.
He… wanted to.
"It's alright Brother Prince…" Amaya continued softly. "It's alright if you still are afraid of things, that's natural. And if you are concerned people may judge you for your visit of Alexander then you may wait as long as you need to tell them. But if you're worried that they will judge you… just know I won't let that happen. That's my promise to you… because I trust you Brother Prince."
…
…
…
"Luna…" Prince shakily spoke up, "…t-there's something else I have to tell–"
"Oh! Heya, there you guys are!"
Prince was cut off when Machi suddenly came into his field of vision, waving happily just outside the door to the Game Room and Movie Screening Room entrance. She had accumulated quite the crowd somehow, and with so many eyes on gim, it cut his words right off in a panic… so much for telling Luna.
Around her were Kanna, Hagoromo, and Stefano… as expected from last time. But also with them were new faces! Mainly Anata and Hania, who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else than with some of the loudest people ever.
Speaking of the loudest people ever…
"Good to see ya again Princey and Lulu~" Hagoromo spoke first, as teasing as ever as she stuck out a tongue. "Are ya two here to sucker everybody into the ol' demon worshipping cult? Cause count me in~!"
THAT was random… "U-Uh… W-Why would you assume we're here on cult business—?" Prince blinked. "—wait-! ALSO, I'm not part of Luna's cult!"
"Coulda fooled me!" Hagoromo teased. "It's just Luna always seems into that spooky shenanigans, and no offense, but you toooootally look like the impressionable type~ I bet you could get easily taken in!"
Prince let out an embarrassed sigh. He… didn't know how to think about that. It was even more embarrassing because he was just talking to Luna about something really personal… and they just had to bump into everyone.
"No we're not here on cult business," Luna also seemed to disappointed that such a convseration was cut short, but she focused on the newcomers, turning their way with an expectant gaze. "However, if you do wish to talk about such matters, I can tell you some stories about them, specfically the time the ceremonial canon backfired on me…"
W-What-?
"Ooh! Sounds like an EXPLOSIVE tale!" Hagromo leaned forward on her tippy toes, "I'd LOVE to hear this."
"Per favore… don't indulge Momo…" Stefano uttered with a tired breath, "she's been a major distraction as of late."
"Tch…" Hagoromo feigned annoyance, deploying the :TchHuTao: meme face as she pouted. "A distraction? Really? If it weren't for my dazzling personality, I wouldn't have been able to get you an exclusive interview with the secret sisters together!"
"Secret… sisters?" Prince was even more stunned.
Kanna let out a sheepish laugh, his eyes trailing to the side. "Ah… She's re-referring to Hania and Anata…" He explained with a timid nod. "And I guess them being quiet means… being… s-secretive?"
Hania shot a rather annoyed look the demonologist's way. "…some people just aren't comfortable with talking all the time… that doesn't mean… secretive…"
"Pft, woah! I was kidding!" Hagoromo quickly smirked and raised her hands, seemingly giving Hania the space she wanted, "just some friendly banter here, no worries! The REAL reason behind the nickname was… ehe… I just wanted to call you two something that rhymed! I'm practicing to be the Grand Poet after all! It's a good start to my career, ain't it?"
"No it's not." Stefano bore his eyes on the girl.
"Ahem, anyways-!" Machi took the reins of the conversation over as she slinked between the group. "It IS true though…! Without Hagoromo we wouldn't have gotten to meet them!"
"It should've stayed that way…" Anata fixed her glasses as she looked away. "Had I known you'd all be investigating the Game Room, I would've gone elsewhere."
"Ah… r-really?" Prince did recall Stefano had stormed off toward the Movie Room and Game Room earlier area to investigate. Hagoromo, Machi, and Kanna followed when they all split up. "…so you guys met t-together there then?"
"Mhm, indeed," Stefano looked away. "I had just finished my investigation in the theater and was going to the Game Room when Momo began hounding me… and then Machi and Kanna followed shortly after—"
"-y-you make it sound like we were ALSO hounding you—!" Kanna's eyes widened before he nervously blurted out. "—ah, s-sorry for interrupting. I didn't mean… to…"
"It's alright," Stefano gave a small smile. "I knew you weren't hounding me… like Momo. You and Machi were just checking in on me."
Prince nervously thought back on his concerns for the exorcist. How incredibly tired and irritated he was throughout the day. He wondered why that was… "By the way, are you doing… okay Stefano? Since then?"
"Hm?" Stefano paused for a moment, his eyes flickering away before he managed a nod. "Yes, yes, everything is just fine. It was as I said back at breakfast, just a bad dream, I really didn't mean to cause concern."
Prince… narrowed her brow. A bad dream, huh? Just like he was talking about earlier. Luna also appeared interested in the matter as well… but didn't push on it since Stefano prepared to get back to his recounting of events of finding Anata and Hania.
"—anyways, back on topic," Stefano continued. "They all had managed to speak with me.. before Momo had found Anata and Hania in the Game Room together. It was quite the sight given their quiet nature in the group."
Hania looked down, uneasy with so many eyes on her. "Guys… bumping into each other isn't this big deal. I dunno why you'd gossip about this in front of us. Me and Anata just did our own thing in there."
Stefano let out a regretful sigh after hearing that. "Oh um… I apologize if you took offense to that previous comment, I didn't mean it in poor taste."
"But to be fair… this is cause for harmless curiosity," Luna murmured thoughtfully. "Anata, your presence is sorely absent in the group… and Hania only attends the group meetings… while not being seen anywhere else."
Hania didn't say a word, her eyes trailing away.
Anata however, simply shrugged, "I keep to myself for good reason." It still seemed she was distrustful of the others. "Also… we just saw each other this morning."
Machi frowned a little. "Well… this morning was hours ago! And even before that, we haven't seen you all that much! I'm telling you, I think it would be best if you stuck with the group more often!"
Now Anata was silent. She only gave a distant look and turned away. Even though she spoke earlier as if bored… her eyes did seem a twinge of uncertainty.
"If you're still unsure about trusting everyone… I have a proposition for you…" Luna suddenly spoke up, her eyes gentle as she gestured a hand to Anata. "In fact, this must be a sign of fate that we've all bumped into each other… since we were originally looking for people."
"A sign of fate…?" Stefano narrowed his brows for a brief moment before he managed a intrigued smile. "And what do you mean by this? Why did you seek us out?"
"O-Oh! That's right…" Prince remembered what they were originally supposed to be doing now. Seeing everyone together did sort of take him off guard. "It's something r-related to all our investigations… Amaya wanted everyone to meet up in the dining room to discuss our findings since… we found some things."
"Really?" Now Anata seemed a little interested.
Even Hania gave a slightly attentive look.
"Correct," Luna looked away, her eyes gazing off into the distance. "It would be best for everyone to share any information they've found today so we're all on the same page… Amaya believes it would be beneficial."
"So you're all planning to exchange info later…? Why not just share it now? Saves us time…" Anata questioned. She looked slightly bothered, but kept a neutral enough expression.
"We'd rather share with everyone so we're all on the same page…" Luna nodded, tilting her head as her finger curled her orange locks. "Why do you inquire…? Are you perhaps, finally, interested in speaking with us?" It was hard to tell with her airy voice but… Luna sounded somewhat lighter in tone, perhaps hopeful.
"…I'm considering." Was all Anata offered, shrugging.
Prince blinked in shock. Wow, this would definitely be a strange reunion with everyone. They managed to get Anata…
…he wonders if this change of heart has anything to do with her missing dinner last night…
"Ho-Ho. So you finally decided to stop running from everybody~?" Hagoromo grinned with a knowing look. "Well welcome aboard! I'll save a seat for you when the time comes, right next to Moi~"
"Yeah no…" Anata shook her head. "I'd only attend for the information you all gathered… and since everybody will be there I suppose it won't be dangerous."
Stefano crossed his arms, both curious about such attendance but seemingly uneasy. "I would assume that would mean you'd also share anything you found with the group?"
"If I had anything to share, maybe…" Anata shrugged as she adjusted her glasses. "But I've been in my room for the most part. Sorry."
"It's fine, your attendance is good enough!" Machi pumped her fist in determination. "It's a step for everyone to work together!"
"Whatever you say…" The storyteller gave a lazy wave. "…anyways, I take it everyone's on board with this?"
"You bet!" Machi chuckled before getting back to the task at hand. "This all sounds like a good idea… but shouldn't we prepare everyone to head to the dining room now then?"
Huh? Prince tilted his head. "Why now…? The meeting wouldn't be for another few h-hours…"
"I mean… we're doing this in the dining room, yeah?" Machi rubbed her sleeve, looking to the side. "…the last time we had a big gathering there, we were kicked out due to the nighttime announcement. Don't want a repeat of that!"
Oh! Right… no time to clean up or discuss anything after due to the rules. Prince looked down in worry. "It would be a hindrance if the meeting was cut short because of t-that…"
"Then…" Kanna mumbled nearby, seeming to have an idea. But he didn't speak up initially, a tad frightened. Prince recognized such a look of uncertainty.
But he wasn't the one to call it out, rather Luna was as she leaned down. "Kanna, do you have something on your mind? Do share if you wish… it could help with our predicament."
Kanna jumped the tiniest bit at being called upon, but quickly he flatted his white hair and mumbled. "U-Um… if everyone's worried about the Nighttime Announcement… maybe we should change our meeting p-place to an area not affected by it."
"A room not affected by the Nighttime rule…" Luna murmured in thought. "That would be beneficial. That way we wouldn't have to worry about timing our meetings…"
"Oh! I have a room in mind…" Kanna waved his hand around to show off his watch. "The app says any room past the g0gym and cafe would be off limits at night, so… the best place to meet would be the Common Room…"
Prince almost forgot about that place… they hadn't really used it. "That's a g-good idea. I think it's big enough for everyone."
"But… that room is occupied right now…" Hania suddenly blurted out.
"O-Occupied?" Prince sputtered. He hasn't expected Hania to speak up on the matter.
Hania, noticing all eyes on her, simply nodded.
"Occupied by who?" Hagoromo grinned. "We can just tell 'em to join us! Or like any good New York cop would say, to 'scram kid, these streets ain't for ya'!"
"I… think I have an idea," Machi narrowed her eyes in thought, a little amused. "You're talking about Xiuying and Amelie, oh-! And Lukas as well… correct?"
"What?" Prince glanced over at Machi, confused. "I thought they were only in the Cafe?" Koji said as much back when they bumped into each other.
"Well the Cafe is close to the Common Room, right?" Machi reasoned. "And Amelie is probably making claims to both areas. I mean, you can drink coffee in one room, and then listen to music in another! A perfect hang out spot."
"…she's got it." Hania nodded, sighing. "I only know that because Amelie kicked me out of the Common Room earlier, so I had to move to the Game Room… where I bumped into Anata..."
Wow, first Koji got kicked out of the Cafe… and then Hania from the Common Room? Prince wouldn't be surprised if they tried to host a meeting there and were all kicked to the curb.
"I mean… who cares what they think?" Hagoromo laughed. "Let's just give 'em a taste of their own medicine and kick' em out into the snow!" She received some looks from the others for that, and a tired glare from Stefano, in which she winked teasingly. "Oop… my bad! I mean, let's talk it out like civilized humans do~"
"Well…" Kanna frownd sheepishly, "...we still need to do the meeting later… a-and I doubt Amélie and Xiuying would leave in time for it so… um…" Kanna's words trailed off, but everyone could tell what he was trying to say.
The Common Room wouldn't work for now… leaving…
"Well… t-the dining room can still the meeting place," Prince sighed. Not that it was too big of a deal… but… "I mean, that place works… even if it's affected by the rules."
Luna agreed as she tapped her staff. "Alright, the meeting place will stay the same for now. But this still works. We can discuss using the Common Room for our meetings another time, and we now know where Amelie, Xiuying, and Lukas are."
"Why is that important…?" Prince slowly asked… though he feared he knew the answer..
"...well we need to invite them to the dining roon?" Luna seemed confused. "They're both part of the group and we planned to discuss our findings with said group…"
Prince gave a meek nod but… that would be a conversation he wasn't excited to have. "I'm n-not saying we shouldn't. Just I think they'd be… d-difficult." Jeez, he felt bad for being so bold.
"Um…" Kanna seemed to notice such a thing, because to Prince's surprise he stepped forward. "If you'd l-like… I could accompany you to talk things out with them. I think they'd feel comfortable t-talking with people they know…"
"Hm? People they know?" Hagoromo giggled. "Or you mean… people they know they can boss around~?" This earned her a glare from Stefano. "Kidding! Kidding!" She raised up her hands.
"It's fine! Hehe…" Kanna smiled brightly. He didn't sound that disheartened by that. "I need to make it up to them… for… not being able to help them t-today. Amelie wanted a 'me' day anyway last I… remember. So, if they order me around, it's fine! I-It's all the same!"
"It's… really not…" Hania gave a brief side eye.
"Well it's fine, I don't see why you can't join," Luna nodded, a smile on her lips as she reached a hand to the assistant. "Your assistance is appreciated Kanna, let us work well together…"
The assistant ducked his head, covering his cheeks with a pleased smile at Luna's words. Prince didn't really have any objections to Kanna joining them. He was nice! Hopefully Amelie and Xiuying wouldn't be to hard on him…
"Well, you guys have fun with that.." Machi gave a slightly pitying look, but it seemed she was happy she wasn't on that task of recruiting the mean girls. "The rest of us will help invite the others to the dining room!"
"The rest of us…?'" Hania silently did a double take. Seemed like she didn't intend to be a part of that set up.
"…okay, SOME of us." Machi corrected.
"Better…" Hania nodded as she turned to leave. "…see you then."
"Likewise," Anata followed suit, her steps quick. "Hopefully someone found something useful."
The two girls retreated away… but even with the group waving bye to them, Prince felt conflicted. They'd be attending the meeting, sure! That was good! But… he worried if they'd be disappointed by the lack of group's results. Hopefully the memory spell book Amaya and the group found would peak their interest.
"If they won't help with the basic setup…" Stefano sighed and joined up with Machi, "I believe I have investigated what I wanted today, so I'll help you with this."
"I'll join as well!" Hagoromo lit up like a Christmas tree as she offered her assistance (because at the time of me writing this part it's Christmas again— what the fu—) "It'll be a piece of cake~!"
Seeing that Stefano was not looking forward to such a journey with her… Prince figured he should maybe speak up…? But, he didn't really know how to combat such an eccentric girl.
Thankfully, Machi, being an eccentric girl herself, knew how to solve such a problem. "Actually… Hagoromo… I think you're better suited to finding everyone alone!" She spoke casually, though she seemed to reach for some glasses…
Prince widened his eyes. Was she going to use… 'Mediator Mode' again?"
"Alone?!" Hagoromo almost looked offended. "Are you trying to isolate me from the group simply because you want Alex all to yourself?" The demonologist said with a teasing huff. "Shame on you! I should call Satan himself to give you a piece of his mind."
"No, I don't mean it like that," Machi clarified as she glanced away, the glasses not fully out, "I only suggest you find others by yourself because… from what I've heard around the halls, you're quite fast, yeah?"
"Oh? Yep! Fastest in the class doll~" Hagoromo winked, seemingly over her earlier pouting. "I got stamina for days!"
"Then I think you'd be better at finding more slippery prey … mainly Uta, Albion, and Koji," Machi suggested with a slightly mischievous smile, "think about it, you tracked Anata and Hania down. That's two tough campers you found under your belt! So surely… someone as spirited as you must be up for the challenge of recruiting three other tough cookies, yes?"
"...oh? Are you challenging lil' ol me? The GREATEST demonologist the underworld has ever allowed to grace the Earth? Oh-ho-ho! You'll come to regret that!" Hagoromo poked her cheek and began to high tail it. "I'll find those three, and get em' off the graveyard shift to the dining room, just ya wait!"
Prince chuckled nervously. It seems they recruited a lively one… and he couldn't help but be amused over the thought of Uta, Albion, and Koji's reactions if Hagoromo did meet with them.
"You sure t-this is a good idea?" He had to ask Machi, "Koji she might find… but Uta and Albion wouldn't leave the weapon room unattended…"
"Maybe that's the case," Machi shrugged as she put away her glasses, "but if everyone's there, then there isn't any worry for someone to go to the weapon's room, right? So they'd have to show up!"
"Ideally, that would be the case, yes," Luna nodded, "smart idea."
It was smart, but for someone like Hagoromo… "ah…" Prince laughed a tiny bit, "let's hope Hagoromo is able to convince them of that…" But at least her departure gave Stefano a break, who looked relieved at the separation despite his exhaustion being apparent.
"Grazie…" Stefano nodded toward Machi's direction. "I do apologize if I had come across as… distant today with others. It has been a very tiring day for me…"
"It's okay! I could see you needed a tiny break," Machi put her glasses away, thankfully not having to use them yet for any conflict, "and if you want to rest before the meeting alone, you can! I'm gonna invite Kanon to join us so if you're worried she'll cause trouble… you don't have to come with…"
"No it's fine," Stefano's small smile returned as he placed a hand to his chest, "Kanon and I can manage. She listens to reason."
Prince watched the two solidify their plan. So Stefano and Machi were going to invite Kanon. Hagoromo was going to invite Koji, Uta, and Albion. And Luna, Kanna, and Prince himself would try to brave it to invite Amelie and Xiuying… plus poor Lukas.
Seemed like a plan to him.
"If we're all set with our groups… let us be off now," Luna nodded as she turned toward the direction of the Common Room, "we shall regroup in the dining room."
"Yep!" Machi nodded, giving a wave to the others, "see ya then guys!" She flashed a smile their way, and small personal wave Prince's way, and then lead Stefano toward the guest bedrooms to find Kanon.
Prince waved back to the mediator, before finding himself alone with Luna and Kanna. He smiled sheepishly toward the assistant. "Well, together again, e-eh Kanna…?"
"Yes!" Kanna smiled as he twiddled his fingers. "So… I suppose w-we should follow Luna now, yes?"
"Right…" Prince nodded, his eyes staring over at Luna. He hadn't been able to tell her… the thing he wanted to talk about… and with Kanna there now, he was a little nervous to speak about it…
…about the crown and Alexander's visit.
So he simply kept shut, deciding that perhaps… he'd gain the courage to tell her in a more private setting later.
Maybe…
…
…
…
…he just wished he didn't keep second guessing himself like this.
"Well then, let us be off." Luna took the lead. She seemed to notice something plaguing Prince, given her focused stare on the boy, but she didn't do anything as she guided the two.
With the plan in mind, Prince and Kanna caught up to Luna. The trio stuck close to one another… or more accurately, Prince and Kanna staggered slightly behind Luna like ducks following their mother toward an impending disaster…
Not that talking to Amelie and Xiuying would be THAT bad… right?
"I find it simply absurde your family hasn't utilized my perfume brand. We must correct this at once!"
"…I doubt we can… 'correct' such a thing anytime soon given our… situation."
Discussing such matters could only be Amelie and Xiuying… who Prince noticed were seated on the white couch situated in the room. French music was playing in the room, likely from the music player Prince had recalled seeing earlier in that small closet room with CD's. The two girls were engrossed in small conversation… or… mainly Amelie was doing all the talking, Xiuying seemed to be passively listening.
And of course nearby was Lukas, who was keeping a close guard for the two. He would've assumed Lukas would stand outside the door as a guard, but no, he was standing nearby with a tray of… drinks it seemed. The styrofoam cups were filled with steaming liquid, and he was passing them over to the two.
With Kanna taking the day off… Lukas had to briefly become an assistant.
No more however… as instantly, Amelie noticed the intruders. "Hm? Who dares enter? This place is off limits and–!" Her shimmering eyes instantly zeroed in on Kanna. "Ah… it's you. Nevermind the intruders, where have you been?! Are you finished parading around with the others? There were multiple instances where your services would've been required."
"H-Huh…?" Kanna seemed really effected by that as he looked down in shame, "Wait… I'm so sorry… I just, I thought you said you wanted alone time yesterday and–"
"Répétez s'il vous plaît… quoi was that?" Amelie narrowed her sharp eyes. "You are… désolé? Tsk, non, that simply won't do at all! Your présence was required and yet… you failed to deliver. Hmph!"
Yikes… Prince glanced at Kanna with sympathy. The poor kid came here to help Amelie… and yet he was gettin chewed out anyway.
"If I may… Madam Amelie…" Lukas spoke up, stepping close to the perfumer gently. "I don't mean to start anything, but you did tell him last night Sir Kanna's presence would only 'aggravate you further'."
"Quoi…? You recall that?" Amelie whirled her gaze to the knight, sipping her steaming drink.
"I was there when you said that…" Lukas sighed.
Amelie said nothing before fixing her pony tail with a fashionable hair toss. "Well, if you remember that… you should also recall I said if I requis his aide… I'd call for him. And yet he never showed up when I did!"
"You never called for him though…" Lukas sighed, "you just used me for all the work because he wasn't here." Not that it sounded like Lukas was complaining… he was just stating a fact.
"Oh no…" Kanna paled, "my a-absence caused you to overwork yourself…?!" Kanna looked mortified, his eyes as wide as a cat's.
Lukas didn't seem to be stressed out though. "No… I'm not overworked–"
"Actually, Lukas…" For the first time, Prince spoke up, worried etched into his brow. "Are you sure you should be w-working at all?" After what Kanon said yesterday… Prince remembered the knight should've been recovering from his fight.
Lukas gave a small bow, his metal armor clanking a little, "I have said this before but… I am fine–"
"And why exactly are you speaking?" Amelie interrupted the poor knight as she leaned forward, crossing her arms and glaring at Prince. "This is no place for paysannes like yourself. You and the sickly girl, escort yourselves out at once before I have my chevalier do it for me!" She gestured to Lukas, who didn't seem all that eager to do such a job, but was standing nearby at attention anyway.
So this was how this conversation was going to start. Prince was already regretting this…
Luna didn't outwardly show such exasperation, but she did speak in a… outwardly neutral tone. Given her high pitched tone, it was sort of noticeable. "Amelie, Xiuying, it is good to see you both are well–"
"Skip the pleasentries would you?" Xiuying on the other hand appeared entirely bored with the new company, not even bother to mask it. Prince wondered if this was in response to their new appearance… or her earlier hang out with Amelie. "If you're here for any reason other then to entertain me, leave and spare me the headache of Amelie kicking you out."
"Précisément!" Amelie sounded as if she agreed with Xiuying, "I've already had to shoo away two other nasty pests… don't make it a third time I've had to do this!"
"The other two times…" Prince mumbled aloud, a little nervous, "it was Koji and Hania, right?"
"You'd be correct Sir Prince…" Lukas spoke, shaking his head as he did so. "But ignoring that… do you have business here? Otherwise, you're interrupting an important meeting with Madam Amelie and Xiuying."
"I-Important as in…?" Prince's words trailed off as he glanced at the styrofoam cups filled with… coffee. "Coffee… tasting?"
'Bien sûr…. it's the day of moi, Amélie~!" The perfumer stood tall, posing with a hand poised elgantly to her chest, "I had planned a perfect day for myself… filled with tasty drinks, élégante conversations, and total peace in the manor."
She stood in pride for a short moment before her eyes grew disgusted. "And yet, my day began with a lousy night terror… bothersome personnes… and worst of all, a manque of anything exciting happening. In fact the closest thing to excitement was me kicking out the two pests from earlier."
"Yes… it was really a highlight," Xiuying said with an exhausted tone, rubbing her forehead.
"I'm s-sorry you both had a rough day…" Kanna bowed timidly, clearly affected by the story. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Prince gave a sheepish glance to Kanna. Did the poor kid forget what they were here to do? "Um… Kanna? W-We were supposed to–"
"Qui~! There is en effet something you can do for moi~!" Amelie smirked as she put a hand under her chin, "I wish for a refill of my drink." She handed the styrofoam cup to Kanna. "I wish to try something with a… bonne crème~ And as the Grand Assistant… you must be good at latte art, qui?"
"Mhm!" Kanna nodded so fast that his eyes seemed to bobble around.
"Ah, bien," Amelie closed her eyes, satisfied, "then get to creating something élégante for moi."
It seemed like vague orders to Prince, but Kanna seemed to understand well enough. "Understood!" Kanna blushed happily at the order and glanced at Xiuying, "do you need a refi–"
"No." Xiuying had barely taken a sip of her cup, "these drinks are only making my headache worse. If there's water, get me that."
"A-A headache?" Kanna widened his eyes, "I'll get water r-right away then! And I would reccomend going to Dr. Kanon with any medical concerns you h-have if its that bad!" Kanna then bowed timidly and stumbled to the Cafe, even tripping on the way.
This left Prince and Luna alone with the two girls… their original goal temporarily lost as they glanced at each other.
"Excusez-moi…?" Amelie blinked with annoyance at the two, "why are you still présente? I thought I told you to leave."
"You did… but…" Prince scratched his cheek. He supposed they should just say it–
"I apologize, we will make this short… but I was curious about something," Luna's eyes slightly lit up as she tilted her head, "I recall Amelie saying she had a rough night's sleep at breakfast… you both also looked rather tired back then… and now Xiuying is complaining about her head hurting…"
Prince did a double take on the rich girls. They actually still looked pretty tired. It seemed there relaxation didn't do too much to help.
"Why are you pointing out such obvious things?" Xiuying muttered, her eyes narrowing.
"..." Luna seemed to be curious about something, "please tell me, you both had nightmares, correct? What were they like?"
Xiuying had never said anything about a nightmare the entire day… and yet looked a little surprised by Luna's words, as if she got it on the mark. Amelie on the other hand, scoffed with a look of annoyance.
"It was a simple nightmare, nothing of valeur," Amelie muttered, "I do not wish to speak of it."
Luna glanced away, her eyes flickering with disappointment. "Well… it is your choice so I understand if you don't–"
"Tch, fine, fine–!" Amelie suddenly interrupted with a irritated look, "if you cease your insistante squawking I shall tell you about it!"
"L-Luna wasn't insisting on anything…?" Prince looked totally bewildered. Unless she just really wanted to talk about herself…
…oh wait, who was Prince kidding, of course that was why…
"Madam Amelie has been wanting to talk about it," Lukas confirmed as he adjusted his gauntlet gloves, "she attempted to tell me and Madam Xiuying about it…"
"Four times, failing at the very end" Xiuying sighed.
"Because the ending was where it got bad!" Amelie shook her head with a irritated look before she smiled and stood tall, "but it began fine enough, with moi, waking not in these subpar rooms of the manor… but back in my beautiful sheets in my home. A truly refreshing place it was~ the fragrance divine… calling me to my family~"
"You got to see your family in the d-dream…?" Prince mumbled in thought.
"Bien sûr~" Amelie's smile seemed to widen in reference to them, "my parents, two stepping stones for my own rise to elegance, appeared, welcoming me into my shop with our family name. The Alarie title is a cherished one for our collective work… though I must admit I am a cut above the rest for my contribution, hehe~ But they gave me the tools needed to take us to greater heights. That being my work with…"
Amelie paused for dramatic effect, glancing around with a smirk for someone to answer.
Prince decided it probably had to be him to say it. "Perfu–?"
"Pefumes~! Qui!" Amelie finished right after with a glimmering smile, her eyes surprinsly adoring to the topic, "the dream unveiled then… my many cherished works around my family and company! Fleur de Lumière… Coeur saignant! And my first… the very foundation of my sucess… the Rosé Crème. Such pleasent scents… all whirling around my fingertips!"
Amelie smiled wider then, clearly enamored by the dream she spoke off until… her smile dropped.
"Tch, but then, disaster," she shook her head.
"D-Disaster…?" Prince blinked.
"Qui. This did turn into a nightmare after all…" Amelie sighed in distaste, "my précieuse perfumes… were snatched up by customers– non, paysannes! Their filth overpowered the sweet scents… and they clamored deeper into my shop for more… where they…" Amelie stopped then, her own eyes flickering with unease. She instantly stopped. "Tch… non… nevermind. It is of no concern to you."
"W-Wait, that's it?" Prince had to admit, he actually wanted to hear the end of Amelie's story.
Amelie let out a small "tch" and glared at Prince, "I do not wish to speak on it anymore. So drop it. I rather remember the good things about it… like my lovely perfumes." She gazed off into the distance at that. "I had worked so hard on them… staked my very being… only to be stuck here, tsk."
Prince blinked at such a reaction. Despite all of her bravado and… well… high and mighty speeches, he could gleam at least from all of this that her passion for her talent was no joke. No wonder her "day off" turned out so bleak, she was stuck here like all of them.
"Well, if you don't wish to share the rest of the dream, that is okay…" Luna reassured the perfumer as she began to think on something.
"Don't sound too let down about it," Xiuying gave a indifferent look, "she didn't tell us the ending either."
"That's because you looked so bored as I told you about it!" Amelie said with an irritated glare, "would it kill you to pay attention? Truthfully, I'm starting to question your status if this is how you treat me."
"Truthfully, I couldn't care less," Xiuying scoffed as she turned away from the perfumer and glared at Luna. "Is there any reason in particulur you asked that?"
"U-Ugh?! Ignoring me? Comment oses-tu-?!" This only sent the perfumer into a brief rage as she hurled french insults to no one in particular. Luckily, Lukas was there trying to calm her down.
Xiuying just rolled her eyes and ignored the duo, focusing instead on Luna. "Well?"
Luna however, was utterly silent. She held onto her staff, her other hand covering her mouth as she stared off in thought. Her eyes had glazed over… and for a second Prince worried she was sleeping while standing up…
But eventually, Luna shifted her focus to Xiuying and Lukas. "And as for you two? Did you have nightmares or dreams lately?"
Lukas simply gave a nod, but didn't divulge anything.
Xiuying winced however, rubbing her forehead with two fingers, "yes… I did have one, but I don't see why you're asking about something so trivial. Did you come here just to waste my time?"
Luna paused at Xiuying's words… as the cult leader then glanced over at Prince. He nervously blinked at her glance. All of this dream talk… Prince had to wonder… just what was it Luna was thinking?
"...hmm…" Luna then suddenly turned back to Xiuying, nodding slowly, "…though I am personally curious, dreams aren't the matter at hand here. We are here to invite you to the dining room for a brief meeting. Everyone had taken the liberty to explore the manor… and we've found some things we wish to discuss with everyone."
"Hm? Vraiment maintenant?" Amelie quirked a brow and huffed, "and why didn't you say this at the start? Did you think to exclude us from such an événement?"
"Um…" Prince felt the need to speak up. "If we were going to exclude you… w-we wouldn't have told you about it. But we're here… telling you about it." He sighed and rubbed his arm, noting her glare at him. "S-Sorry… um… just know we're going to be meeting up with everyone soon."
"Everyone will be attending…?" Lukas repeated, looking for clarification.
"Mhm…" Prince nervously glanced away. Yeah… everyone.
"Very well then," Lukas stood taller, armed with this newfound information, "Madam Amelie, Madam Xiuying… I would suggest we all attend together. If everyone is exchanging information, perhaps someone found something useful."
The two girls were uncertain, until eventually Amelie stood with a huff. "Fine then. To be truthful it's a better use of my time. I spent so much of the day trying to relax… and ended up with the exact opposée effect, tch."
"I didn't know what you were expecting in a place as dull as this," Xiuying wrinkled her nose at the sights around her, "there's barely anything to do here…"
Luna suddenly spoke. "There's a movie room… a game room… a library…"
"I meant the Cafe and Common Room…" Xiuying scoffed, "obviously there are other areas that are better, it's just that Amelie chose this…"
"Parce que… I sought to make claim to it due to that Nighttime Rule," Amelie rolled her eyes, "I can hang out here for as long as I want. Plus, the Café drinks are divine!"
Speaking of drinks, suddenly, Kanna had stumbled back into the Common Room, drings of coffee and water in hand "I'm back! S-Sorry for the wait, here are your drinks!"
"Parfaite," Amelie smirked and took the cup, "I forgot how enjoyable it is for workers to bring me things… just like home." She mused, "maybe next time I do this… I should have that cupcake girl personally deliver me her friandises."
"You have people do t-that for you?" Prince glanced at the perfumer who was preparing to leave.
"Obviously~" Amelie smirked, "when you're as important as moi… servantes will work from dawn to dusk!"
"Hmph, sounds like a toxic work environment," Xiuying pointed out.
"Like you didn't have servantes of your own?" Amelie soured. She turned on her heel, preparing to leave for the dining room. "I might need some new agréable company if this is how you act..."
The fabric maker only scoffed. "You were the one who dragged me along without bothering to ask my opinion…" She muttered before she took the water bottle Kanna had given her and walked out. "I'll take my leave then if this hang out is finally over."
"O-Oh…?" Kanna blinked before glancing at Luna and Prince, "d-did you tell them about the meeting already? I apologize for n-not speaking up about it earlier!"
"It's fine," Luna smiled, "they know now, and they're heading over. Best we do the same since it's getting close to that time."
Prince glanced out the frozen window to notice the sun was close to going down. Soon… it would be Nighttime, and they wouldn't be allowed in the dining room. "Y-Yeah, we should all go–"
"Non! I am the one who dismisses us all," Amelie huffed with a raised chin, "and I say… it is time for us to go now! Assistante… chevalier! Let us be off!" She pointed to Kanna and Lukas and made her elegant depature.
Kanna squeaked and followed right behind… but Lukas lingered the tiniest bit and gave a bow to Luna and Prince. "I suppose I shall see you both there then. We'll meet again."
And that is when he also departed, leaving Prince with Luna. He sighed in relief that the whole interaction hadn't been as bad as he thought.
Although… he was curious about something. "Luna, earlier you said you were c-curious about something. What did you mean?"
Luna gave a brief glance Prince's way, but then she began to hide her eyes with some long strands of her orange curls, contemplating… "...you need not worry about it for now. I need to… confirm something before I can share it. I do promise I will share it however…"
Confirm? Prince swallowed in uncertainty… but… he'd trust Luna. "Okay, I can wait."
"Thank you," Luna nodded with a smile before she tapped her chin, "on the topic of this… you were going to tell me something earlier as well…" she pointed her staff at the boy, eyes curious, "do you wish to tell me now…? Or were you planning on waiting? Whatever the choice… there is no judegment from me."
Prince crossed his arms… his earlier thought coming back to him… about what Luna said…
"Honesty…" Luna clarified as she twirled her orange curls, "the honesty of your values… beliefs… everything. You must say it with true heart… that you truly believe in everyone and wish to work with them. As it seems now, you appear to have one foot out the door at all times…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
"I…" Prince opened his mouth.
He just had to say a few simple words. Just get out that… Alexander visited him and gave him that crown from the art gallery…
He just had to trust Luna and himself to say it. It should've been simple. It really should've… he had trusted Amaya after all.
…
…but dammit if it wasn't scary to realize he had to really commit to it.
To fully put his trust in the group about the things he knew… and tell them all. Not just Luna.
"I… I promise I can talk about it," Prince blurted out, his heart racing at the choice he was committing too. But it was that very commitment that made him blurt out in anxiety. "But… I wanna do it tomorrow, if that's okay?"
He could tell Luna was curious as to why he asked for such a thing, so he frantically clarified. "I just… um… I do trust you! I do! I just… I wanna be able to tell everyone, so it's not a secret. I'm… kinda nervous to do so… but I will talk about it, I p-promise."
Luna seemed curious for a brief moment before she nodded in understanding, smiling. "Of course… then I shall see you in the dining room."
And with that, Luna left the room, leaving Prince alone…
…to grapple with the choice he was going to make.
Prince managed to calm himself down enough to make his way to the dining room.
It had been an eventful day for everyone, and now it was wrapping up closer to Nighttime. They searched around the property for answers… desperate for a crumb of evidence of an escape… or clues…
…or just… anything to hope for.
But when Prince slowly made his way to the Dining Room, he noticed the others already fixing up their plates with conflicted expressions. Given the things they found, it made sense why some of them looked that way… and Prince had mostly been there for all of it.
Were the things they discovered, really helpful?
Regardless, everyone was here to hear it… and for once… that really did include everyone. Even the usual missing links like Koji and Anata. And even Uta was positioned near the entrance, making sure everyone was accounted for.
"U-Uta… you made it," Prince glanced over at the swordsman, giving him a small wave once he entered.
Uta said nothing in return, only glancing away.
"It's rare to see you out of your post," Jun broke up the silence despite that, smiling, "who managed to do the impossible and invite you here?"
"That would be the one and only~!" Hagoromo took a bow, beaming happily, "the promise of some juicy information enticed the sword brothers to join us!" Honestly the fact Hagoromo actually managed to get them here was something worth praise for.
"Incorrect," Uta scoffed briefly, letting his eye train on every soul in the room, "the only reason I'm present is due to everyone being accounted for once. If even one person hadn't shown up, I'd go back to guard the weapons room… and a few of you have proven to be loners within the group…"
His glare was fixed on a few people, but mainly Anata and Koji.
Koji glanced away as well, his sharp eyes flickering with uneasiness, "don't glare at me with such a dark look. I'm only planning on hearing this exchange of information and nothing more… no need to be so cautious."
"Yeah, we're just doing what we can to keep ourselves safe," Anata shrugged, her arms casually crossed. "And as for being loners… that's kind of rich coming from you…"
"It's even richer for 'Ms. Everyone is putting on an Act' to say that," Albion scoffed as he glared at the storyteller, "you and Koji have been missing in action for god knows how long. Talk about suspicious."
Anata only fixed her glasses in response to that.
"U-Um, let's not cast suspicion on anyone guys!" Kanna nervously spoke up, trying his best to appear small so as to not get in the way, "shouldn't we be happy that everyone's finally p-present for once? I mean… this is rare!"
It was indeed rare… Prince felt a slightly flicker of relief seeing everyone together like this. The last time they actually had a full group meeting was when… the game started.
"It is a rather large showing… pour une fois…" Amelie had taken a seat with some leftovers from last night's dinner, "but if this proves to be a géante waste of time… I'll be returning to my chambre, hmph."
Uta narrowed his single eye. "If anyone plans to leave early, I'll go right back on to the weapons room and make sure it's untouched." A glint from both his sizzling purple eye and barely lifted sword confirmed he was serious about it.
"Nobody's gonna risk going into that room dude," Tadatake tugged at his beanie with slight worry at the… implications going on, "not with you on duty anyway."
"As it should be," Uta huffed as he adjusted his gloves.
"You're seriously tense Pirate Man..." Fudo frowned as he bit into his own gloved hand, looking tense himself somehow, "I know we're all freaked out but… nothing crazy has happened yet, right?"
"Trouble can happen when you least expect it," Lukas had himself positioned nearby the doors to the kitchen to keep a careful watch on everyone, "so please… remain vigilant for now."
"Of course," Stefano nodded as he clutched his cross necklace, "the last thing we need is for our guard to be down."
"You're all such worry rats!" Hagoromo giggled as she poked at her sharp fang, "no offense to Minnie of course, hehe!" That comment earned her a squeak from the mouse. "Anyways," Hagoromo shrugged, "there isn't really much to freak out over. So far, nobody has really cared about the whole game announcement."
"No one cares because its simply a massive joke," Xiuying adamantly spoke with a disgusted look, rubbing her forehead due that headache she was having. "Tsk, we shouldn't even pay it any mind… as long as there isn't an idiot buying into anything that delusional staff is saying."
"Well… n-no one really wants to listen to them…" Aimi nervously pointed out, clutching her apron.
"Yeah, because they're stupid…" Hania muttered nearby… hugging herself.
Kanon rolled her eyes at such a display from everyone, her expression seemingly more fatigued than ever before. "Excuse me? Can we just get on with this? The Nighttime Announcement might go off soon… and we'll have to cut this meeting short." She sounded beyond over this meeting already.
"Oh yeah, what's the hold up?" Machi nodded, resting an elbow on the able "let's just focus on what we came to do, yeah team?"
"I couldn't agree more," Amaya, who stood at the very end of the table, took charge. As the leader everyone voted for… this was one of her next big moves that would be carefully followed.
Prince hoped that she felt alright enough to do all this…
"Alright then Brothers and Sisters," Amaya began, clapping to get everyone's attention, "we're all here to exchange information about what we've uncovered thus far. Hopefuly… this means we've discovered some clues…" Amaya smiled and gestured to a few faces. "Who wishes to go first?"
"Me! Me! Me!" Hagoromo grinned. "I wanna reveal what my group found!" The group in question being Stefano, Aimi, Tadatake, Fudo, and of course, Hagoromo. "Ho-Ho… we were in charge of the glorious task of locating that weird crown Omen was guarding!"
"But the Art Gallery was closed, so we didn't get to see it…" Fudo pouted in annoyance, "and then the big jerk started to bully us in the Demon Room! Talking about stupid fish…" Fudo grumbled silently as Minnie took over, squeaking harshly.
"So you wasted your time fawning over some pointless accessory?" Kanon looked beyond exhausted from such a reveal. "Unbelievable…"
"Pointless?" Amelie smirked, "non, not at all. If there really is a crown here, such a thing should belong to moi~! So… où est-il?"
"What?" Fudo deadpanned.
"Tch, I said… where is it?" Amelie translated.
"Um, that's what we're trying to figure out flamingo girl," Fudo muttered as he and Minnie glared at her, "and that crown isn't up for grabs, it's super suspicious. It's probably important for other reasons."
Prince nervously looked down. That very crown they were investigating… he had it in his room… sitting patiently for him to show the others.
Maybe he should just bite the bullet and tell them.
"…um, about the crown," Prince started to speak up, glancing up.
All eyes turned to him.
"Goodnight… Prince…"
…!
Prince's throat dried up a tiny bit at how… shockingly overwhelming it was to speak with so many eyes on his. He gulped and looked away, forcing himself to ignore the stupid tightness in his chest. No one here was like that stupid nightmare… he was okay with everyone…
"..." Covering his mouth, he forced himself to say. "I… I also think it's… important."
"…!" Fudo glanced over, before smiling. "See? Mister Prince gets it." He seemed happy about that.
"That's because you and monsieur Prince are enfants," Amelie mocked, glaring at the two.
"Um, screw you," Fudo stuck out his tongue, like a kid.
"Proving my point, tch," Amelie scoffed, earning an annoyed look from Fudo and Minnie.
"If we're done with the fighting…" Stefano calmed them down as he held onto his cross necklace, "Fudo and Prince are right, the crown itself is clearly important. Omen had been guarding it the day before, he was VERY paranoid about us finding it."
"Can confirm," Albion grumbled nearby, "he got all pissy about it in the Weapons Room yesterday."
Stefano smiled at Albion's confirmation. "So that's two instances of his paranoia over this crown… and now… the very room the crown resided in is barred from entry with an "off limits sign"… so none of us got to take a closer look at it again."
"They're hiding something about that thing! I swear it!" Tadatake frowned, "if Omen was flustered when we confronted him about it… we gotta find out what that thingie is all about! Maybe it could… like… help us!"
The crown had been an poignant topic of discussion to be sure… and clearly it had to mean something if their captors were guarding it, right? That idea stuck in the air with everyone before…
"Maybe so! But like, we can't go to the art gallery to check it out," Hagoromo chuckled, "we're locked out!" She said teasingly.
"True, there isn't much we can do for now about it…" Stefano sighed, "if the gallery opens up again, we can go back to this topic of discussion later." The exorcist then gently rubbed his eyes and spoke again. "Other then that, we have nothing else to report."
"Thank you so much for reporting your findings," Amaya praised the group, smiling gently, "this will be helpful for us to keep note of in the future. Now then, who wants to go next?"
"Oh! I want to!" Machi rose up instantly, her face beaming, "a few of us went all over the manor, mainly to investigate the camera situation. I teamed up with Albion, Kanna, and Prince! Remember that guys?"
Prince jumped nervously at hearing his name, but then nodded. "R-Right…" Should he speak some more on it? He hadn't expected to get called upon so quickly. "Um… I think you all remember this but… when we first woke up here there were modern cameras placed around the house… watching us."
"But recently, the crap started to vanish on us," Albion continued, adjusting his ponytail with a sour look, "and we learned the reason for that was because Omen was taking em' down."
"Omen… took down their own security system?" Kanon appeared slightly bewildered by that, narrowing her eyes. "Why the hell would they do something like that?"
"M-Maybe they think… Omen is enough for security?" Aimi offered her two cents, though she sounded unsure. "He's… pretty scary."
"The problem with that is…" Lukas placed his gauntleted hand on his armored chest plate, "…Omen only enforces the rules… he does not keep round the clock surveillance on us. I… would believe a security camera would achieve that. That… is how they… function, yes?"
"Why do you sound confused?" Tadatake blinked as he chuckled. "That's exactly how it works! A camera would keep track of us!"
"Forgive me," Lukas glanced away, his grip tightening on his armor straps, "I am still adjusting to the technology here."
"That's… kinda crazy dude," Tadatake smirked, slightly amused.
"Crazy…?" Lukas sounded confused, "well I did grow up in a different part of the world with its own development. Isn't that true for many?"
Prince couldn't help but sheepishly smile at the knight, "I think… it's the fact you come from a kingdom like that at all that's crazy…"
"Moving on…" Albion muttered with a shrug, "Lukas has the right idea. It's more efficient for them to use security cameras… and yet they took em' down. Why? We dunno, but they probably have another means to keep track of us given their magic."
"Creepy…" Fudo glanced around. "It's like having an audience watching you at all times! Right Minnie?!" Minnie squeaked in agreement as she put on some glasses and a trench coat, as if trying to avoid the paparazzi— "Hey! Now's not the time for a wardrobe change-!"
Ignoring Fudo and Minnie, Xiuying scoffed and took over. "So that oversized brute took down the cameras. I'm imagining he did so on orders of his boss? No way that empty headed abomination acted on his own."
"That's r-right," Kanna timidly confirmed nearby, tugging at his fingers, "we learned Alexander ordered Omen to take the camera down. So… um… this seems to reinforce the idea that… Omen exclusively takes orders from Alexander… although the purpose of what the cameras were for before… is um… q-questionable?"
"Hm… such madness…" Uta covered his mouth as his eye d sharpened off in suspicion. "There's no sense in having them set up at the start… only to suddenly take them down later."
"Well, there must be meaning behind such madness," Jun tried to consider something, anything at all to explain such a thing, "nobody ever does anything for no reason… unless you're totally crazy."
"Which… Alexander is, mind you," Stefano deadpanned.
"Well—!"l Machi suddenly jumped in, her eyes sparkling, "Kanna here came up with this really cool theory about it, if you guys wanna hear it!"
"A-Ah…!" Kanna looked nervous being called attention to, but he quickly tried to clean himself up before he spoke, "a-ah okay. Um… I had the idea that the cameras… belong to another party…"
Everyone glanced toward the assistant in surprise at such an idea being brought to the table. Even Prince, who had already heard this theory before. It still had a way of making his blood run slightly cold.
Fudo wrinkled a brow, petting Minnie to soothe his nerves. "Someone… beside Mustache Head and the others…? Seriously?"
"Explain. Now." Xiuying instantly demanded. She didn't look happy at that.
"Y-Yes! Of course… um p-please think about it," Kanna mumbled nervously as he tugged on his skirt, "um… Alexander already has the means to track us and go anywhere he wants. Why would h-he need cameras at all?"
"He… wouldn't?" Stefano followed along.
"P-Precisely!" Kanna lit up at such understanding, "not to mention… the cameras d-design were all very modern and futuristic… like our watches—" he rolled up his oversized sleeves to show off the sleek watch "—but the mansion itself is old fashioned and traditional! So… the camera were always very out of place…"
"Right, the modern aspect of the cameras…" Machi grinned as she started it off, pointing at Kanon to finish her train of thought.
"…tch, it… clashed with the traditional aspect of the mansion," Kanon crossed her arms in annoyance.
"Great, just… parfaite!" Amelie frowned at such an idea, "so not only do we have three incompétent staff… but there's possibly someone else enjoying the show!?"
"..." For the first time, Tadatake's relaxed look grew into a bitter frown, his brows creased in irritation, "I can't forgive something like that. Not even being man enough to just… own up to the atrocities you're doing, instead hiding behind cameras—!" He raised a fist in protest. "That's just straight bull crap! Who the hell is behid this? Who would put us through this and just watch it happen while our families wonder where we are? It's just... tch."
It certainly was if that was the case. If someone else was watching them… then…
"But that's just a theory, not a fact," Kanon muttered, not realizing she did the funny internet as she glared at Tadatake, "we're wasting too much time on this pointless speculation rather than what everyone actually found. What else do you wanna waste time on? How the weather is? The bogus magic system here? Do you really want to ramble on this train of thought and get emotional until the Nighttime Annoucement plays?"
True, time was scarce for the group, and Tadatake probably knew they hadn't gone through everything they wanted to yet… so he raised up his hands in mock defeat.
"Right, my bad, I didn't mean to derail the conversation," Tadatake sighed as he gave a sympathetic look to Kanon… before shifting his focus to Kanna, "sorry for getting all emotional. Back to what you were saying?"
"It's okay… everyone's i-input is welcome…!" Kanna reassured as he frantically waved his hand around, "w-what's important is we summarize our findings… that being… the cameras are down now!"
Everyone nodded with this new information at hand, however, some were apprehensive to move on. Mainly Koji, who muttered aloud behind his hand. "It's… still so bizarre that they did that, what would be the purpose?"
"Whatever it was, Omen didn't tell us," Jun sighed, "and since Alexander was the one who asked Omen to do that… I doubt he's gonna tell us either. So… maybe we should move on from that line of questioning for now."
"Wait… you heard that?" Koji blinked.
Jun let out a small chuckle and then grinned. "You're not exactly subtle when you talk out loud to yourself you know."
"Hehe, got em'," Machi clapped her hands, grinning at Jun and Koji's small talk.
"Ah…" Koji muttered something under his breath and turned away, hiding himself in the shadows. "Can we move onto the next topic please?"
"Of course," Amaya smiled reassuringly, "there was one more group that went out for a personal investigation, that being myself, Brother Jun, and Sister Luna. And the three of us went to the Angel Room today to ask Empress questions about the game. Those questions revolved around a possible escape, and our badges."
"And… she didn't offer us an answer to any of those questions," Luna regretfully informed everyone.
"Starting off strong with NO info…" Albion slapped his forehead in disbelief.
"H-Hang on now," Jun raised a hand, "it's not like the trip was a total bust. Empress gave us some intel about how the magic works here, specifically the spells that Hania had talked about earlier. The Memory Spell, the Puppeteering Spell, and the Morphing Spell."
"And not only did she tell us about it…" Luna murmured as she rubbed her eyes, "but we also found out how to cast a spell as well, mainly… there are two types of spells. High level spells, and low level spells…"
"Both versions of magic here have it!" Amaya picked up where Luna left off, the marionette maker humming in wonder, "a low level spell must be spoken with an incantation… done in what seems to be a list like manner. While a high level spell…!"
"...require drawn symbols for use," Jun finished it off, closing his eyes with a satisfied look. "And to find these spells, Empress told us we'd need to look in the library to learn them."
"O-Oh…!" Kanna seemed to instantly recognize something as he turned to the group, "so that p-paper I handed to you earlier…! The one that looked like a shopping list, that was a low level spell?"
"Correct Brother Kanna!" Amaya clapped in encouragement, "and not just any spell… it was actually a part of the the Memory Spell… which we found in the library as part of a book!"
Prince held his breath. The moment of truth… the thing he had been waiting to discuss and even try out since they had found it.
"Ta-da~" Tadatake instantly held said book up, allowing everyone to see, "The Book of Memories!"
"Ta-da is MY line!" Fudo crossed his arms, shaking his head.
"Ha! My bad Pip," Tadatake playfully grinned as he pointed at the book, "but right now I've got the magic prop, so I'm center stage!"
"Not if me and Minnie have anything to say about it!" Fudo puffed his cheeks as Minnie suddenly pulled out… another book of their own?! "TA-DAAAAA~! The Book of Change! We found it in the library, which has specific sections for each type of magic… Lunar books on the second floor… and Solar books on the third!"
"Dude that's totally unfair?" Tadatake gasped in shock, "we were supposed to take turns showing them off!"
"You stole a magician's trademark saying," Fudo giggled, "so I had to snatch back the spotlight."
"I don't think I've ever heard you say that?!" Tadatake protested.
But while those two had their antics, Prince widened his eyes at the new book, "wait… so Solar books, ARE on the third floor? So… does that mean you guys did find s-solar spells there?"
"Yep!" Fudo grinned, proud that his earlier theory had paid off, "we didn't get to find the Pupeteering Spell yet, but we did find this! And it contains info for the Morphing Spell!"
"Brother Fudo had found it right after you and Sister Luna had departed," Amaya explained with a clap of her hand, "we have taken the initiative to already read the book's contents, and it is in most pristine condition! Please take a look!"
The Book of Change
{ - Solar Morphing Spell: Transformation - }
The Morphing Spell: Transformation serves as a spell that can change the physical form of any item that is not a living being. To activate, one simply must repeat the wording found in the incantation below while performing a hand crushing motion, one finger at a time with one second intervals. The object that is morphed cannot exceed the size or weight or property of the original object.
- Deceit 1
- Deceit 2
- Changing 1
Note - Repeated use of the Morphing Spell: Transformation, could cause the caster to expereinced dizziness or loss of feeling in the body. Proceed with caution.
{ - Solar Morphing Spell: Revert - }
The Morphing Spell: Revert serves as a spell that can fully revert the physical form of any item back to its original state. To activate, one simply must repeat the wording found in the incantation below while performing a hand opening gesture, one finger at a time with one second intervals.
- Truth 1
- Form 1
- (Gibberish) 1
Note - Repeated use of the Morphing Spell: Revert, could cause the caster to experienced dizziness or loss of feeling in the body. Proceed with caution.
Prince blinked in surprise. So this was the morphing spell. "It's… a bit stranger then I thoght it would be."
Fudo had opened the book for everyone to see. Some had gathered around to actually read the pages. The book's existence seemed to intrigue some. Albion spared a intrigued glance, as did Hania. However, a few people barely took interest in the book, mainly…
Kanon grumbled in disbelief. "Come on, are we seriously going to waste our time with this?
"...yeah, that doesn't exactly scream helpful for our situation," Anata muttered a far distance away from the group, not even bothering to look at the book.
"But it is!" Fudo grinned, "if we know how to use these spells, maybe we can use em' to like… help us stop Mustache Head!"
"Or in the case of the Memory Spell…" Prince let out a breath of wonder as he stared at the other book containing… his possible memories. "To help us…"
The sooner they figured it out… the sooner they all might get their memories back, right?
"Have we forgotten the core mechanic of this magic?" Koji reminded with a dark look, "we need to sacrifice something to use it. Are you prepared to shed blood over something like this?"
"A-Absolutely not!" Amaya spoke in a shocked manner as she had her doll shake its head, "we simply wanted to discuss the matter of these books with everyone. Besides, we don't exactly… need to sacrifice a person to activate the spell I believe. Empress's wording made it seem like it could also be something small–"
"Heh… I dunno…" Hagoromo chuckled, "I'm all for taking a risk… but this gives the same vives as Bloody Mary. Feels like if we even attempt to perform it, even as a harmless joke, things could get…" She paused, before a smirk spread on her lips. "...deadly…"
"Woah, ain't that dark," Machi managed to smile at that… what… joke? "You know that game is a cornerstone for sleepovers."
"Indeed, I would know at my own sleepovers…" Luna nodded gently.
Machi widened her eyes. "Wait, have you played that game before?"
Luna hummed to herself, changing the topic… rather fast for a totally innocent person, "let's focus on this topic, I… would agree with Hagoromo. I believe it would be too risky for now…"
Prince turned in shock. Luna… turning down the idea of performing a spell?! Was the world mad?!
Even Amaya seemed surprised, "but, Sister Luna. This is a chance to prove we can cast the magic here. And to help…" Amaya gazed briefly at Prince.
"I understand the idea of wanting to perform the spell," Luna reassured, clinging to her staff weakly, "and admittedly… I did wish to potentially test it out. However… actually doing it might not be… smart without all the information. The page is mostly ineligible. Remmeber?"
{ - Lunar Memory Spell: (Gibberish) - }
The Memory Spell (gibberish) serves as (gibberish)(gibberish)(gibberish). To activate, one simply must repeat the wording found in the incantation below while (gibberish).
- Black Spot 1
- Black Spot 2
- Black Spot 3
Note - The caster and those affected by repeated use of (gibberish) (gibberish) erode (gibberish). Proceed with caution.
"A lot of it is… gibberish," Luna rubbed her eyes, "and that includes the warning label, which says something about… 'eroding'. We might have the words to perform this spell, but not knowing exactly what we're casting is a bad call…"
"B-But…" Prince felt his words slip away. Luna was right, with how the spell was written up, it would be dangerous to try and cast it. But… But even then…! "I-I know it's… um… it might be risky. But, we'd be… casting the memory spell, right? That helps all of us… and it doesn't seem harmless."
Luna stared at Prince, tiredly. One look and he knew… that Luna understood why he was trying to push for this. But even knowing that, she seemed… uncertain about something.
But before she could say what was on her mind, a sudden voice entered the conversation, Hania's, "…are we sure you'd be casting the spell that gives us our memories?" She had taken a closer look at the book.
"Huh?" Prince looked over at her, confused, "of course! I-I mean, it's the Book of Memories, right? The Memory Spell is in it, plain as day."
"You… really are forgetful…" Hania suddenly sighed, stinging Prince's heart a bit. "Don't you remember what I said earlier today…?"
Hania spoke softly after the fabric maker, "we don't have all the details... but... Hagoromo might be right. I think I know the spell that was used to get rid of ALL our memories…"
"Spell?" Jun blinked, "wait, so she told you about some sort of spells as well?"
"Only three," Hania sighed. "The Memory Spell to be specific. That makes people… recount memories… and also helps take away other memories…"
"You… believe that's the spell we'd be casting?" Amaya glanced at the book, taken slightly aback as she glanced away.
"It's possible," Hania simply said. "We shoudn't be testing this out…"
"R-Right, obviously," Prince looked at the book, a hint of pain in his voice, "but… it still is the Memory Spell right? It's possible this entire book focuses on recalling memories and not–"
"A-Ah!" Kanna had been scanning both books, before he gulped and looked up timidly, "p-permission to speak about… um… a matter I just discovered?"
Amelie stroked her chin, "tch, while this discussion is boring me, permission granted. I am starved for anything of note you discovered."
"Of c-course…" Kanna spoke up this time, his eyes efficiently scanning through the book, "U-Um… Hania is right, you wouldn't be casting the Memory Spell you're thinking."
"W-What…?" Amaya looked over in surprise. "What are you saying Brother Kanna…?"
"Um, I'm saying…" Kanna tried his best to get his words in order, "it's how the books are l-laid out. Um… see here? This entire book is about the memory spell… but notice The Book of Change…? See how many pages it has?"
{ - Solar Morphing Spell: Transformation - }
{ - Solar Morphing Spell: Revert - }
"It has two p-pages… of the same spell," Kanna pointed out, "but… different variations. Specifically… r-revert… and transformation. Both are different, but they both say "Morphing Spell"..."
"H-Huh?" Prince glanced at the pages again. Sure enough. There were two titles of the same spell. He almost skimmed over that.
"I mean, yeah it does," Tadatake scratched his cheek, "but what about it? That isn't really related to the Memory Spell though…"
"No… it IS related…" Hania seemed to figure it out first, her eyes tired, "...look at how many pages The Book of Memories has…"
{ - Lunar Memory Spell: (Gibberish) - }
{ - Lunar (Gibberish) Spell: (Gibberish) - }
Prince's heart dropped.
"You know I'm right…" Hania breathed in deeply, summoning whatever inkling of courage she had to blurt these words out, "even though we can't read it… what we're seeing… is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…two variations of the memory spell in this book."
"W-What?!" Fudo gasped, clutching onto his top hat as he and Minnie jumped up in shock.
"For real dude?!" Tadatake was similarly surprised, gripping onto the memory book, "lemme see!"
"W-Wait, then this means…" Amaya put a hand to her chest and looked over the contents as well, "every page in a magic book… is a variation of the same spell?"
"That's the theory," Hania figured as she turned away, "and it holds some weight… we have The Book of Change to compare for reference…"
"But then… what the heck are the other spells here?!" Tadatake rubbed his forehead, clearly stressed about this, "they're all gibberish!"
"Hania already told us, didn't she?" Hagoromo smired, glancing around the table, "that being the only other context the memory spell was refeered to!"
"Right…" Hania looked down, debating something as she held her hands together. All eyes were on her then, and seeing that she didn't really have an escape from the topic, she spoke. "It… can only be two things. The two things Empress told me…"
"...and finally… The Memory Spell… the ability to recall memories or the erasure of old memories."
Three spells… Hania paid close attention to their names. "These are spells… you've shown us?" Hania questioned.
"Yes… all but the Puppeteering Spell has been shown for you from before if you recall," Empress nodded, "the Morphing Spell is one you've seen performed by Alexander with the candles… followed by the Memory Spell which had been cast already…"
"N-No way…" Kanna eyes widened.
"…that's…" Fudo winced.
Prince similarly stepped back, his eyes tense. "So the two variations r-really are…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…Recalling and Forgetting?"
And just as the words were spoken, a sudden golden light emitted from the book. Everyone's eyes widened as the pages of The Book of Memories…
…seemingly began to burn…
"Ah! It's b-burning!" Aimi shrieked a little in fear.
"No… it's not that…" Uta suddenly stepped forward, "look…"
Before their very eyes, as people stepped back and a few even yelped in worry, the book began to suddenly write out before them on the very pages. Everything that was gibberish… suddenly began to make itself known.
{ - Lunar Memory Spell: (Erasure) - }
{ - Lunar (Memory) Spell: (Remembrance) - }
"W-What the heck?!" Tadatake blinked in shock, staring down at the books.
"They… They updated…?" Koji breathed out in surprise. "It says the titles now…"
"And those titles…" Hania narrowed her eyes, suddenly looking… sick... "…it's just as I thought… those spells are variations."
"Then that m-means…" Aimi's eyes widened in horror as she pointed at the page, "it means the Memory Spell we f-found… the one that's complete... doesn't give us our memories back, it's… its… an erasing spell like Hania said!"
{ - Lunar Memory Spell: (Erasure) - }
The Memory Spell: (Erasure) serves as (a spell to erase the memories of those who are casted with it). To activate, one simply must repeat the wording found in the incantation below while (gibberish).
- Black Spot 1
- Black Spot 2
- Black Spot 3
Note - The caster and those affected by repeated use of (gibberish) (gibberish) erode (gibberish). Proceed with caution.
The spell they had found, the one Prince was so excited to maybe… finally help them, to help HIM… was in actuality… the very spell that could take someone's memories away.
The very thing that Empress… said…
"W-Wait!" He pulled away from Koji, glancing back at Empress wearily through the doorway. "With this energy... Lunar Energy to be specific… you said it requires a sacrifice of the mind right? I-Is that what happened to me… with my memory? Did someone sacrifice that... did they take it from me?"
Empress didn't say a word, her gaze distant despite staring right at Prince.
His heart raced. Why wasn't she talking now? After all that, was he not going to get a straight answer? "P-Please, if there's a way for me to know about it, I want to-"
"Yes."
A sacrifice… was required to use a spell.
And this spell… must've been it.
No… not just for him… but for…
…
…
…
"So we finally found proof!" Hagoromo raised a hand high into the sky in a twisted sense of excitement, "this spelll is very likely is what happened to us. I mean… it was VERY obvious in hindsight… but this spell was used to erase how we ended up in this place!"
"H-Huh…?" Fudo looked really shaken up by this information being brought back again, "y-you… you were serious about that theory? What do you mean…?"
"Duh, I'm always serious!" Hagoromo poked her cheek before turning back into super serious Momo mode, "look at the language of the spell. 'Black Spot'… I bet at least some of you have been toying with the idea that our memories are fuzzy, right? And someone pretty please remind me… what we discussed before when we first met up together…"
One by one, everyone heeded Anata's advice and recounted exactly how they blacked out. Every account was slightly different in the time and place, but they all had one thing in common. After they read their acceptance letters for Grandview, everyone blacked out, and woke up in this place as if no time passed for them. One second they were living their daily lives, and the next… they were strapped with watches, attacked by a mysterious samurai, and trapped here among other Grand Students.
"We blacked out," Uta crossed his arms, sneering, "which means we weren't attacked and brought here. We simply forgot how we ended up here."
"We all forgot…?" Koji winced, his sharp eyes squeezing shut.
"T-Tch, were we all not aware of this possibility?" Xiuying pointed out with a sharp frown, but even she looked a little shaken up as she scoffed. "We've discussed this same silly idea over and over again. Why would such a thing shake anyone up—?"
"Because it's confirmed now…" Hania blurted out the words everyone was too afraid to realize was the truth. "Empress said the memory spell was used. It's been speculated the entire time but… if it was the erasure spell… then …it's… confirmed."
Once the words were said aloud… a dreadful silence overtook the dining room. It had been speculated long before that something was wrong with their memories, but the fact that Hania's account made mention of… the spell being performed before, meant…
"So I was right all along," Hagoromo spoke, her smile still apparent, but her voice suddenly low, "they used that on us. I had a little bit of a hunch that might've been the case…"
"If the magic here took away Prince's memory..." Hagoromo suddenly started up with a grin, "then the same must be true for all of us, yeah? Whatever magic they used was applied to all of us! After all, nobody has the tiniest inkling how they got here!"
"Okay, you don't have to rub it in," Albion scoffed as he crossed his arms, "nobody wanted to admit it back then. I mean, how could you even fathom magic like that?"
"You can't…" Koji's voice darkened slightly, an uneasy shadow cast over his eyes as a thin sweat drop went down his frustrated face, "such a… satanic thing, to strip people of their memories is… unfathomable. It's a demonic thing to rid people of something they cherish as dear as that…"
"But then… h-how much time has passed…?" Fudo sweat nervously, his face purple and eyes wide. "What the hell happened between us getting the letter and… n-now…?! If it's confirmed then… w-what happened between that time?"
No one initially answered Fudo's frantic questions… causing the boy to suddenly start to breathe in a panic.
"Fudo…?" Aimi glanced at the magician in worry.
"H-How long…?" Fudo started to tremble a little, suddenly holding Minnie tight. "What… W-What happened to the memories we can't remember?"
"They...might still be in there somewhere!" Amaya tried to instill some hope as she stepped forward, lowering her doll, "I know the... erasure spell.. might be a little frightening, but the good news about this is... we can now see the difference in the remembrance spell and erasure spell, and cast them accordingly to help us!"
"Are you serious?" Kanon looked the most irritated by her words, "this is why I didn't vote for you to be the leader, because despite the glaringly obvious problems... you're trying to sugarcoat it."
"A-Ah…?" Amaya looked lightly surprised by such pushback.
"There's two issues with trying to use the remembrance spell to help us," Kanon scoffed, "and I don't even wanna talk about this given this entire stupid magic situation just gives me an even WORSE headache, but I'll walk you through it anyway."
"One," Kanon put up a single finger, "it almost seems redundant to point this out, but you need a sacrifice to perform this magic. It's such a vague concept that I don't wanna risk it, I doubt anyone else with a brain would either."
"I… I never said that we should sacrifice anything," Amaya tried to clarify.
"And yet, when you talk about casting a spell," Kanon interrupted, "you forget that in order to do so, that's what you HAVE to do. No other way around it. We're all going around talking about casting spells, forgetting that someone has to die for it to work. And even if someone doesn't have to die, the concept is so vague that it seems Alexander is baiting us to take the risk… which brings me to the second problem."
Kanon stares at the book and scoffs, "look at the damn warning label on the remembrance spell. Nausea? Dizziness? Death? Yeah, this is definitely going to help us in the long run. Never mind the fact we can't even do the spell with it being mostly gibberish."
"That..." Amaya had no defense. She glanced at the book, her eyes uneasy. "I didn't mean to insinuate we test this in such a way. Only that... we discuss it. Which is what we're doing now."
"Well, now that we discussed it, no one's thinking of trying this insane spell out, right?" Kanon glanced around the room for any takers.
Machi looked away, biting her lip.
Prince glanced down, his heart sinking.
Luna seemed to look guilty, seeing Amaya try so hard to stck up for the group... only to be shot down like this. But as Luna took a closer look a the spell, she seemed to worry over something greater.
Finally, it was Koji who muttered out his worries. "Kanon, is right. We... can't try this spell. It... could prove to be a danger for any who try it, a fools errand that could lead to destruction."
"I... understand," Amaya nodded gently, holding the two books up, "then... we must put these away for safe keeping. Somewhere it can be stored without worry." Amaya glanced at Albion . "May I ask for the books to be stored in the Weapons Room for guarding?"
Albion nodded and took the books, handing one to Uta to prepare to take away as if they were prison innmates.
"But..." Fudo winced, shrinking just the tinest bit, "that doesn't change the fact that... we know now for sure... we're missing memories of our lives. What... do we do?"
Prince's heart did go out to the kid, as well as everyone else. While he had been missing his entire life... he knew the others were propebably struggling with the truth that... they didn't know what happened before they got here.
But before anyone could answer the question or reassure the boy…
…a familiar announcement sounded out…
{ Nighttime Announcement }
"My dear and beloved guests~" Alexander, as always, sat at his desk with a finger over his mouth, "the sun has tucked its sleepy head and the stars have come out to play! Therefore, it is now officially night time! Please do remember that some of the areas will temporarily be off-limits during this time, so proceed with caution if you intend to explore the manor…"
"YA BETTER BE ASLEEP WHEN I CHECK UP ON YER ROOMS!" Omen warned.
"You peep in their rooms? Oh, how shameful of you Omen~!" Alexander joked. "Such an invasion of privacy…"
"Huh? D-Don't be puttin' thoughts like that in their head!" Omen's loud voice shrank, now pleading with the masked man, "I just go on patrol!"
"Patrol…?" Alexander tilted his head, "you didn't patrol last night though did you?"
"E-Eh?!" Omen flustered, "well… y-yeah, but that's because I was cleanin'-!"
"Slacking on the job?" Alexander shook his head with a sinister laugh. "How disappointing…"
"B-But you said-?!" Omen covered his face. "B-Boss stop it!"
Empress spoke up to distract from the two's banter. "Furthermore… the Angel Room… is closed today. For those who visited… I hope you gathered… some knowledge on… the magic here."
"Let's hope they did…" Alexander's eyes glowed red as he held out a hand at the camera. "Because tomorrow… haha… tomorrow early in the morning is a VERY special day… and I better see each and every one of you up and early for it… specifically… in the ballroom!"
Alexander did some jazz hand gestures as sparkles surrounded him. "Yes! The elusive ballroom that has evaded you all this time… will finally be open come tomorrow! Ah… what a beautiful place for dancing and celebration…"
Alexander's voice trailed off as he suddenly… cackled with a dark glee. "…and of course… it's also a place where dreams come true for some…"
Whatever Alexander meant by that… he found it to be the funniest thing in the world as he doubled back in his seat, cackling on the screen. Omen joined in, his boisterous voice booming alongside his boss.
This left Empress to explain further… her soft words somehow cutting above the two men. "To summarize… an announcement will… be happening… early in the morning… at 8:00 AM and no later. Everyone shall… gather in front of the ballroom… when the doors open Any tardiness–"
"WILL BE MET WITH PUNISHMENT-!" Omen growled wickedly. "Go on! Test me, I dare ya!"
Empress continued after that, "…the announcement will… not take long… only an… hour at most. With that being said… don't test your fate and not show up…"
"Precisely…" Alexander's look morphed into one of mad glee as he leaned forward with a hushed whisper, "but for now… sweet dreams my beloved guests… cherish them… they may be your last!"
…
Then the video went dark.
The air had noticeably soured after the video had played.
No one was in the mood to obey Alexander's demands, but they had no choice. They had to hear whatever mad ramblings he had prepared for them, and all of that… after such a unsettling reveal on their memories during a discussion that was supposed to help them… it really seemed like the mood died down.
"Tch, what a misérable day," Amelie soured and looked away, "we have to sleep on this matière? And still wake up early for those monstres?"
"Seems like it…" Jun shook his head and glanced at his watch, "given the rule for nighttime… we can't stay here for too long."
"Then…" Prince looked down. There was no way anyone would want to test the memory spell now. Not that he would want them to… it wasn't even the right spell. An erasing spelll… for everyone's memories…
…such a thing was… impossible to fathom being actually true.
"Brothers… Sisters," Amaya tried to take charge, as was the role given by her, "please do no fret. I know this isn't exactly the outcome we all wanted, but… we can still work past this together. Perhaps tomorrow after the announcement, we can… do another round to investigate the manor! Perhaps something more positive will turn up!" She glanced around for any supportive faces toward her words.
But no one seemed really in the mood. Even Luna looked a little more serious then ever before, gazing at Amaya. "...Amaya, I think… everyone should rest for now before making any big plans again." While the dinner helped with group morale… this meeting was… well…
"Ah… I see," Amaya looked down, being comforted by Luna who touched her shoulder.
As for the others…? Seeing the atmosphere turned gloomy, Uta, Albion, and Lukas left right away, no doubt heading toward the Weapons Room to guard it. Hania followed after, followed by Koji who seemed tense. Kanon bitterly closed her eyes and made her way out, rubbing her head as Jun tried to follow. Kanna was tugged behind a grumbling Amelie, while nearby Xiuying slipped off by herself.
Seeing most of the faces leave, Prince realized it was likely his que to go as well. He hadn't contributed much in the discussion and…
…the thing he did want to contribute… he was having second thoughts if it would really boost morale…
"Guys, hold on… um…" Machi suddenly called out, not really catching anyone's attention but Prince, "I know the discussion was a let down, but… let's try and stay positive, okay? We'll… figure out what this means for all of us."
Machi's smile was almost enough to lift Prince's heart, but… he couldn't help but still feel a little disappointed…
Especially with the memory spell. But so much more as well. So many things swirled in his head over the last two days…
"You're right, let's… stay strong," Prince decided to try and believe her words anyway. He wasn't going to back down from his initial promise to Luna and himself to confess to his earlier… findings of the crown.
That… was the right choice to make, right?
God he hoped so.
…
…
…
But for now… things were still fine. Even if the search turned up empty…
…things would still be okay, right?
They just had to sleep on it…
…right, sleep.
…
…
…
Sleep and pray there wouldn't be any nightmares tonight.
…
…
…
As the stars came out to play, and the guest were slowly making their way to bed, Alexander, watched them through the glowing blue orbs in a dark room.
All of their faces, each one a mixture of disappointment or frustration…
How marvelous…
Now they knew how he felt…
"Hmm," he twirled his hand away, glancing down at the security cameras that had been dismantled by Omen. Such a… pathetic attempt at control… when magic was simply a more effective method.
Pathetic.
Pathetic…
Pathetic…
His hand moved on a whim, his eyes flashing red as he focused on that specific guest.
…
…
Pathetic…
"It's a shame… how hard you tried," he giggled toward the orb, watching as the person went to their room like everyone else. "Really such a shame! I almost admire such… a pathetic… display of rebellion."
A shudder escaped Alexander's lips… as he took off his mask in the darkness. "Hehe, but… it was no use… wasn't it? After all… given what's coming…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…you can't save them."
Author's Note
Another chapter posted and… oh boy.. it's definitely been a while ANOTHER FREAKING YEAR WENT BY... and I will forever profusely apologize for the slow progress of updates…
…HOWEVER…
…
…
…
It's finally confirmed, two chapters to a body. Wish me luck… hehe.
Anyways, first of all, happy new year! I hope everyone had a good year, and will hopefully have an even better year in the coming months. Not gonna lie, my year is gonna look… pretty busy and serious, so I won't be as active I think. But I will still try and write, especally given how close I am to the body I want to drop.
Secondly for shoutouts! We get the mandatory special exclusive shout out.
Danganronpa: Happily Never After by WolfieRed23. A beautifully gripping story that's up to chapter three! It has a lovely cast and focuses around fairy tales! Go and check it out! It's a blast and Wolfie is an amazingly talented writer! It got to another motive by the time of me making this so… yeah! Check it out!
Now with my special exclusive shout out done... heh, time for the others!
Danganronpa: Purgatorio by WolfieRed23
Danganronpa: Cold Blooded Revenge & Guilty as Charged by Sempi
Danganronpa: Your False Words by PrincePoke Persona
Danganronpa: Obscurity's Disgrace by ExtraMeme
Danganronpa: Algorithmic Alteration by Otterplay
Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy by SilverMark16
All these stories are written by such amazing authors! Please check out their stories! I hope you enjoy them!
As for me, I'll see you all next time! And thank you for sticking with me!
Take Care
CandleFire45