Case you can't tell, these SIDE STORIES are what if's.
O wizened one, thou tread is sparse.
Innumerable secrets, nascent divinity
Purple sparks of Will incarnate
flutter and flake off a feeble body
yet peerless Mind.
Deluge of yellow and purple hues, absolute demonstration
of everything you are, long since treaded the Path.
You watch as they thrive, work to ensure it, though you will never be among them.
O distant one….
Yuuka feels it long before she even gets to his floor.
Yes, his floor, calling it the 11th floor undersells exactly what makes people associate it with him.
Her mind feels…rather empty. Like some form of brain fog, which is unusual considering her work life, there's always something to stress about. It's a very strange feeling to not have those thoughts race through her mind, not a necessarily bad one, but she knows it's not natural.
It's probably a power of…Sensei…him..-
A room exists at the end of all thought. It nears the boundary and makes a shrill noise that which verbal adages cannot describe, one that all people are aware of, yet are only capable of faintly feeling its exterior.
In the Mind Warren lie-
The elevator chime activates, signaling it's arrival at the 11th floor.
She lets loose a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"O-okay…you're here to help Sensei with his finances, yes…" She only now notices how dry her mouth is.
She exits the elevator and looks around the hallway she's found herself in. It's a T shaped hallway with a sign at the intersection saying:
'My abode is on the left, do not enter the quarters on the right.'
She walks down the hallway and idly notices a drinking fountain. She stops to take a drink before continuing her trek.
On the walls lie two staves. The left wall has a large stick with branches still on it, the leaves are a vibrant nearly glowing green. The right wall has a long purple…
Purple…purple…the waves…the pain, oh wh-
Yuuka shakes her head, blinking multiple times to get back to normal, she tries to look at the stave again.
It's a long purpl..purple rod with multiple white hooks embedded into it, the hooks themselves are carved with a multitude of symbols Yuuka can't make sense of.
"...huh…" She mutters to herself as she walks to the end of the hallway, taking in the bizarre trinkets hung on the walls.
There's a door on the left and a door on the right. Considering that her headache grows slightly by even looking at the door on the left…that's probably the one she has to go into.
She takes tentative steps towards that door, breathing out of rhythm, she notices both.
Thus, she steels herself before putting her hand on the doorknob-
The boundary is fickle. We take from others and add to our own, we let others intrude the sanctity of ourselves, and in that act do we find me-
And opening the door.
An invisible wave hits her. The floodgates are open, she feels…doesn't..
'Where's my head?' A fledgling thought is all that is present in her mind. It's empty.
…
From what perspective do you see? Biases and experiences guide your thoughts, lead them along a path, it is in the le-
…
She's rising, everything seems faint, like she's looking through the eyes of another.
Sensations leave the body, a static numbness encroaches upon all senses, mental fog is all can be conceived.
The earth and it's encumbrance…isn't an-
Yuuka hears a shrill chime. It heralds the reprieve that suddenly washes over her. Her mind feels full for the first time since she got to this place, a pressure is on her left shoulder, it's a hand.
"Yuuka Hayase, my apologies, you walked in at an unfortunate time." Iam says in a monotone voice.
Yuuka shudders before replying.
"I-s..Iam-Sensei…" She mutters.
A shudder runs through her body, she takes a brief second to take a deep breathe and compose herself, only then does she continue.
She doesn't question how he's behind her.
The sensation of losing her head? One that she's had nightmares over ever since, an explanation that he evaded by playing up the severity of the situation at the time, now though? She wants an answer.
"Wha- no, every time I'm around you my head feels faint…like it's not there, mind explaining that before we get started?"
"Boundaries are naturally fragile around my lord Fawdaa, as a Psychonaut and devout disciple of my lord, the mind's boundaries are fickle in my presence. It is partially in my control, you've most likely been receiving some of my thoughts mixed into yours, that is not a willing choice on my part."
Most of that…goes in one ear and out the other. It seems elaboration is a foreign concept to a Pilgrim, Yuuka doesn't have the slightest clue what 3 of those terms he just said means. But she does understand that last part.
"Could-It's not a willing choice? How could it not? Do you know a way to prevent it then?"
"Nothing that I can inform you of, or that you'd be capable of, a mantra or memory would help to relieve some symptoms."
Yuuka's foot is tapping rapidly against the ground.
"...huh…uh…I'll remember that." She clears her throat. "We should get to business the-"
The pressure on her shoulder disappears and the shrill chime that follows causes her to wince slightly from it being so close to her ear. Yuuka looks around for Iam and notices him at his desk, pointing at the seat on the other side of it, she walks towards it and sits down. It's only now that she notices her surroundings.
The office itself is as spartan as they come. Some plastic plants, a white board, some cabinets, the two chairs that she and Iam are sitting in and the desk between them that has some papers spread out on it along with…no computer?
'Why doesn't he have a computer? How cou- is this the financial problem he was talking about?' She thinks.
"So…when you say financial problem, that could mean any number of things, so I'd like some elaboration. I can't help otherwise."
"I've been receiving a 'salary'" The word comes out slowly. "From the General Student Council and I've done nothing with it beyond the absolute bare necessity. So I'd appreciate it if you could figure out exactly how much what I'm eating will cost me on a bi-weekly basis so I can donate the rest of my salary to the needy."
Iam then brings his palms up in front of him and chants:
"Wizara." A simple prayer, to teleport anything that isn't him.
A shrill chime rings out, then an ear of emmer and glass cup of water appears in his right and left hand respectively, a small bit of Astral flame flickers off both before dissipating into the air.
He puts both down onto the desk and then returns his hands to his lap.
"This is all I'll ever need. One ear of emmer and cup of water. I've found a spot where the emmer grows, thus I only need to know how much the singular cup of water would cost me. I drink only one per day and I will continue to do so throughout the two weeks."
Yuuka takes a moment to process this.
There's…a lot.
Her eyes are drawn to the literal plant he put on the desk, it's not domesticated or anything, it looks like it was plucked straight from the grass. It doesn't look edible, even then, it's not something anybody could live on. Atleast he's drinking water bu-
Yuuka stops her thought process in her tracks and looks up, reminding herself who she's dealing with.
Were Iam human, she'd certainly freak out at him for the very idea of surviving on such little sustenance, but…
The purple skin is the dead giveaway, the incredibly disturbing to stare at patches of shifting scales on his abdomen and arms are another, the tail not so much.
That last part is something Yuuka has obviously seen before, anthropomorphic animals are common in Kivotos, of course that's not all that get's her attention.
He wears long, bright yellow robes that bear a circular sigil around the chest area. His face is close to human aside from the slightly sunken cheeks and obvious purple skin, having no hair isn't inherently not human but it sure it an odd sig-
Bright blue eyes stare back at her.
"I'll give you a moment to think though I don't see what my appearance has to do with the situation at hand."
"...can you…are you reading my mind?"
"I may not be human and my domain naturally incorporates the shedding of earthly encumbrances, I am still capable of reading facial expressions, I do believe you have more important things to do rather than taking in my visage."
The archaic language makes her take a second to decipher that but…he's right…she ought to do that.
It doesn't help Yuuka's mood much at all, even if he's right, it's all getting rather frustrating…
Yuuka's eyebrows furrow, Iam leans back in his chair.
A faint bell ringing out robs Yuuka of her introspection, she stares up at the source, the yellow psychic outline of an eye that always floats above Iam's head stares back.
"...is…that's not…actually alive is it?"
"Depends on what level of sentience you would consider 'alive'. I, personally, don't consider it to be."
"Hm." Yuuka's gaze averts from the yellow eye, it continues to bore it's gaze into Yuuka, she tries to ignore it.
"...I'd…" The simple calculations required to know how much a cup of water a day would cost over 2 weeks fail to bring comfort to her. "From a vending machine it'd be around 100 Yen but…did you get that water from the tap?"
Iam's taps his finger against the table for a second, the claw at the end of it clinking against the metal of the table, he eventually nods.
"Okay…in that case the cost would be rather negligible, like…" Yuuka frowns. "5 Yen? The internet probably also doesn't know how much a cup of water would cost from the utility bill. So you'd only need around 300 Yen to pay that monthly bill…no, are you sure that that's all you need? A varied die-"
"Rest assured that those two things are all I'd ever need." The monotone tone of voice is gone, replaced with an assertive tone. "This isn't polite and I'm aware but do not challenge me on that, I will not buy anything more."
We don't exist in it of ourselves, it is only in the eyes of other do-
Yuuka blinks. Iam offers a contemplative hum in response.
"Cou-"
"I've already said it."
A certain feeling is welling up in her, her foot is tapping rapidly against the ground once again.
"Alright." She pauses to take a deep breath. "Then that…" She takes an incredulous tone. "300 Yen to live for a month? That's…just…no." Iam clears his throat.. "Al…okay. Then how much is your salary?"
Iam brings an open hand up.
"Wizara."
A laminated piece of paper appears in it. He hands it to Yuuka and she promptly skims it.
"350,000 Yen?" That's…if you're really so sure about donating all of it but what you need to charity then you could just leave yourself with 1000 Yen per check."
She…hates the sound of this. It literally couldn't be more unreasonable to expect someone to live on this little but…ah, wait a moment. She's been missing something obvious.
"Are your bills automatically paid? Have you…ever received a bill in the mail?"
"Automatically? I don't think I've ever received such a thing, a bill?"
Yuuka clenches her fist in response, a shaky breath is taken, she stares at Iam with a piercing gaze.
Earthly desire cloud the mind, does reaching th-
"STOP!" She shouts. "I"m…" Iam steeples his fingers underneath the table and leans forth. "Sorry but I…can't" She exhales sharply. "Can't…just, it's really hard to concentrate when your thoug-….do you know what the internet is?" Both of her hands go onto the table, palms facing upwards, her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. Her words are hurried and rapidly lose their professional tone she was desperately attempting to maintain throughout this farce.
"I do not."
She sighs deeply.
"Then, why did- do you know what a computer is? Technology?..." The blank stare she receives only fuels her current mood. "Oh…" Her head hangs low.
'Has nobody…nobody?! At all?! Told him abou-where does he even come from?' These thoughts race through her mind.
"Just…you need a guide, someone, i…I'm…you can't go around like this." She slowly brings her head up to really look at him.
She sees someon-
That pain in the heart? When your throat swells up, thoughts focused solely on the present, worldview crumbling? That is the pain I seeked t-
She doesn't see anything she recognises. Something so alien, especially with the way his own thoughts keep mixing with her own?
"I…" She has things to do, this is not her job, her job was to help Sensei's finances.
She's done it, or, maybe just helped him realize he's already solved it without trying? Definitely that.
"Hire someone, anyone, you might not even need to spend anything. Everybody talks about you, it wouldn't be hard, jus- it's not my job. I thought you had a real problem, not something you could solve by just searching it up. I'm done here…" She shakes her head.
Iam hums in affirmation.
"I see…then-"
The muffled sound of ringing emanates from a nearby drawer. Iam deigns to open it physically and extract the device. Yuuka recognises it as the device that makes holograms.
Surely enough, Iam places it on the desk and a hologram of…Momoka? Yuuka does a double take upon seeing her of all people.
"Hello!" She's smiling brightly, tone about as chipper as they come, it doesn't sound natural. "Wizard-Sensei, Oh so mysterious Sensei, or do you still want me to call yo-"
"Iam. That is my name, should you wish to address me by a title, you have plenty to work with."
"Eh…" She's either ignoring Yuuka or just doesn't see her, either way Yuuka's pretty obviously out of the loop. "I dunno, 'Nascinth Divinitah?...' is a mouthful. That's why I don't call you that or by any of those other titles. They're doing too much if you ask me."
"I don't recall asking your opinion on the matter. It's 'Nascent Divinity' although such a term clearly means little to you. Momoka, where and how many?"
"Right to business, yeah, that makes sense. So diligent~" She's smirking as she says that. "It's the same railway from last time. Those deluded 'Heroes of Justice' people. There's 5 of them, shouldn't be too hard, just bring them where you usually do. That's it, got it?"
"I understand, expect it done within 10 minutes."
He promptly turns the hologram off and turns to face Yuuka.
"It's clear our meeting must be cut short, though we have resolved the matter at hand, thus a rescheduling is unnecessary. You may leave."
Yuuka glares at the device that made the hologram, she could've just used that instead of actually coming here…
She sighs before shifting to get up from the chair.
"Like I said, you need an assistant, whoever it may be." She snaps her fingers a couple of times. "Uh…just go…nevermind." She shakes her head.
Yuuka gets off the chair before walking to the door.
"I'll take that into consideration, have a good day Yuuka Hayase."
Yuuka hears a shrill chime and the invisible weight on her mind lifts. She promptly sighs in relief before turning back to glance at the spot he once occupied.
Whatever this is….whatever he is…
It isn't her…the onus isn't on her.
Yuuka grimaces before opening the door and walking out into the hallway. It doesn't seem mysterious anymore…
She glances at one of the staves stuck on the wall.
She feels her stomach churning, eyebrows furrowing, a well of mixed emotions is her mind.
Mind. It's supposed to be your sanctuary, your thoughts are your own, an absolute domain. One of the few things you can claim ownership over without being contested.
The purple stave on the wall reminds her. Purple skin, purple specks of flame flickering, purple waves of power that exist on a spectrum unfathomable to her.
Unfathomable. That stave…Him…
She forces herself to close her eyes. A shake of her head clears the previous thoughts.
'Just…go. There's nothing here for you.' She thinks.
She takes a deep breath and exhales…slowly…before opening her eyes and stiffly walking back to the elevator that led her here. She doesn't dare to risk a glance at anything, single mindedly focused on pressing the button that calls the elevator.
…
Her foot is tapping rapidly against the ground as the elevator takes it's sweet time to get here…
…
"Come on…" She whisper-shouts.
…
A chime rings out. She reflexively spins around to face…
"Wha…?"
She hurriedly scans the hallway for any signs. She expects the color purple, anywhere, she checks to the side and finds nothing.
Back to his office? Nothing.
Her train of thought comes to a sharp halt, she turns around to the elevator which is patiently waiting for her.
…
"Heh." A joyless chuckle escapes.
She quickly enters the elevator and presses the ground floor button.
…
She leans against one of the walls of the elevator.
'Whatever is going on with him, isn't anything to do with me.' She declares to herself, in her own mind.
It's been made clear to her. At every step, before she even made her way on the eleventh floor, before the day he claimed to require assistance.
All the way when they stormed Sanctum Tower together. The deluge of purple and yellow hues, the horrid headache the day after, the absolute power displayed that day.
It's the same for all who follow in his wake, all who witness those displays, all who stand against him.
They couldn't understand, beyond them.