AN: Welcome back guys, been awhile. Express season at my job has died down so I have more time to write and edit.

Parts of this chapter are anachronistic with the rest of the arc. You'll know which parts. Ren does not visit the Velvet Room again until after the arc is over.

There won't be post-ANs for this arc so please let me say in advance: If you enjoy this fic, please leave a review or comment. I love reading the feedback and interacting with you guys.

Speaking of: Here on FF, we're so so close to getting to 100 faves and 150 followers. Let me thank you for reading this story and I hope you continue to enjoy.

As always, thanks goes to my beta Indigonao and AsdF0789

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Without opening his eyes, Ren mumbled and reached his hand in search of the alarm clock. His hand felt a nightstand and crept over to where he felt a button. Seeing no reason to not push it, he slammed his fist down haphazardly.

He realized his mistake when he heard the sound of a marble rolling, followed by dominoes falling in succession.

Ropes went taut and gears noisily turned as a myriad of mechanisms turned on one after the other.

*SPLASH*

Ren didn't even flinch when the bucket of water came down on top of him. Out of spite, he refused to open his eyes.

"My, you certainly remain committed to the bit, I must say."

Ren turned on his side, uncaring that the pillow squished underneath his head. "Let's just say I've had a rough go lately," he said, dragging the soggy blanket up higher on his body.

"I would imagine," the masculine voice replied in kind. "Fishing you out of the river was no easy task if I do say so myself. It caused me to break my latest invention!"

"Send me the invoice later…"

"Fine then," the voice said petulantly. "Return to your slumber. I'll just occupy myself with this strange metal rectangle and this other metal L-shaped-looking thing I procured from your person."

That got Ren's attention. He opened his eyes, flung the blanket down to his waist, and sat up, absently noting his lack of shirt.

The man at his bedside was in the same Victorian-era suit and top hat he remembered before he passed out, though now he noticed the rather large, well-worn tool belt on his waist. His face, platinum-blonde, yet graying hair, and especially his purple eyes looked somewhat familiar, though Ren couldn't exactly place it.

"Those things are for my use only," Ren said defensively. "No one else is allowed to touch them."

"Too late, I already did," the man said as he produced Ren's phone and pistols from his tool belt one after the other and placed them on the nightstand. "I couldn't make heads or tails of the rectangle thing, aside from turning it on, but I did figure out the L-shaped objects are a kind of high-powered bow. Very close to an automatic crossbow in nature. Intriguingly, the ammunition runs off a compressed form of gunpowder. Sorry, but I did take apart some of the shell casings to inspect the inside."

Ren ran a hand down his face then picked up his phone to inspect it. He turned it on to see it was still perfectly functional, the lock screen showing a picture of him, Makoto, and Haru at the girl's recent bachelor's graduation. He clicked off the phone and placed it between his legs. "I guess that's fair for saving my life, I suppose."

The man stroked the salt and pepper stubble on his chin. "Hm, that reminds me, before I ask anything else…how did you end up in that river?"

Ren's hand shifted upward from his face to his hair. The voices of his persona were only barely audible. Raoul was still slumbering himself. Tyrant's Roar was still affecting him it seemed. He wouldn't be able to look to them for advice. His best judgment would have to suffice.

"I was ambushed by a hunter and a possessed animal," Ren said, deciding to be honest.

The man's hands slipped into his tool belt, and he pulled out some metal bits and bobs. His hands started to fiddle with them, absently putting them together and taking them apart without even looking at them. "Interesting. Me and Axle had to treat you for poison before we were able to heal you effectively. Poison is not really a hunter's style; it makes the meat go bad. They prefer a clean kill."

"I have reason to believe they were taking orders from someone else," Ren said, grabbing his phone and swinging his legs off the bed. "I appreciate you taking care of me, but I must be going."

"If I were you, I would stay awhile," the man said as he took apart a mechanical bird and put it back together. "You said a hunter attacked you, yes?"

Ren sensed a headache coming on.

"A hunter followed by a Lājackal in a mask barreled by here heading north about a day after I fished you out of the water."

"How long have I been out? Also, where am I?"

The man reached into the breast pocket of his vest and pulled out an elaborate golden pocket watch. Ren could hear each individual tick of the gears as the man snapped the cover shut and placed it back in his pocket. "By my count, three days, two hours, two minutes, and twenty-four seconds. To answer your other question, we are located about a day or two northeast of New Delsta City."

"At least it wasn't a week…" Ren muttered. He weighed his options. If Petrichor had already passed by, there was a not-so-slim chance she might be waiting for him in ambush at either the New Delsta Port or the border with the Winterlands. He wasn't exactly ready for another roll of the dice right now. "In that case, would you mind if I take refuge here while I finish recovering?"

The man's eyes lit up. "I thought you'd never ask!" He stood up and wrapped his arm around Ren's shoulder. "My name is Arkar. I already know yours is Ren because I pilfered your wallet, but that is beside the point! I have so many questions to ask; I think this will be the start of a beautiful friendship!"

"Wait, what did you just say about my wallet?"

Arkar waved him off and hurriedly helped him to his feet. "Allow me to show you around the premises."

"Can I at least put on a shirt?"

"Necessity demands sacrifice!"

"I don't think that applies here…"

Ren sighed again as he tucked one of the pistols into the waistband of his pants right as Arkar pulled him along. When he passed by a mirror, he noticed his hair was getting a bit too long for his liking. He hoped he didn't look like some sort of emo gun Jesus.

—X—

The next few minutes went by in a blur for Ren as Arkar went by and showed him various sublevels to his basement that housed workbenches for numerous projects.

The projects ranged from the mundane like a soulstone-powered self-shaver to the amazingly grand such as blueprints for an airship he saw on the lowest level.

Apparently, most of Arkar's focus lay on harnessing the near-limitless power of the stones. What caught Ren's immediate attention was the combat bench.

"Ah, something seems to have caught your eye?"

"What are those objects over there?" Ren pointed at the desk.

Arkar went over and picked up the first item his hands could reach. He held up a pair of boots with tightly coiled springs on both the heel and the toe. "This table houses my battle item series. They're still in the prototype stage but the plan is to eventually market these tools to the general public as handy-dandy monster-slaying tools anyone with half a brain could use!" Arkar then thrust the boots closer for Ren to see them better. "These are the Springy Boots! I know what you're thinking: the name is a bit on the nose…"

"A little."

"Anyways." Arkar cleared his throat, a light blush on his face. "A fine layer of magical engravings lay between the midsole and outsole. The purpose is that it channels magic from the user, and using the springs, lets it out in controlled bursts, allowing the wearer to greatly exceed previous speed thresholds! In addition, the innate nature of the springs should allow for jumps that go at least five standard deviations over the mean from what I've studied in adult humans."

Ren blinked. This man had just casually created rocket boots. Of course, he could jet magic from his feet naturally at this point; he had picked up the tactic from Raoul, but this seemed like the next level.

"Would you mind if I try on the boots?" Ren asked curiously.

"Be my guest!" Arkar said jubilantly. "You have my blessing!"

Ren hummed as he took the boots from Arkar and sat down on a nearby bench. He felt something stir in his soul when he slid his feet inside the boots and laced up the sides. Instinctively his metaverse costume flared, and instead of his usual outfit, he now sported a pressed double-breasted Victorian-era suit complete with a top hat. A monocle appeared around his eye in place of a mask. An evenly weighted axe fitted snugly in his hand. He ran his free hand over the new clothes in reverence.

"Seems like you found a shirt to wear."

Ren turned his head up to look at the now mischievously grinning Arkar, and Ren finally had an idea of who he was dealing with. He narrowed his eyes, uncaring of how silly he probably looked with the monocle on. "You're a god, aren't you?"

"Allow me to re-introduce myself," Arkar said with an all too stageman-like bow. "I am Arkar, Son of Aeber and Draefendi, god of invention, crafts, carpenters, and sculpture. Not to be confused with my Aunt Winnehild, the goddess of the forge, blacksmithing, and metallurgy."

That explains my wallet.

Ren made a time-out gesture with his arms, his head still spinning from the transformation. "Let's go back a second; I thought the gods died?"

"Is that what you heard from my father?" Ren nodded and Arkar continued slamming his fist into an open palm. "Yes, I was certain I could sense his blessing on you. To answer your question: yes, they are dead—most of the first-generation gods, I mean."

"Mind elaborating on that?"

Arkar reached into his tool belt and pulled eight objects from the pouch. A knife, a lantern, a pair of scales, a hatchet, an Asclepius rod, a seashell, a tome, and a small, rounded shield.

"When the war against the darkness first began, eight of the thirteen gods borne from the union of creation and light itself came to this region to combat it. Four remained behind to protect both the homeland—and the children."

Nodding along, Ren remembered Aeber mentioning the first part in his memories, but not that he still had living children.

In his hands, Arkar had picked up the knife and hatchet, and somehow, he had melted them down and turned them into a bronze gear. Nearby the shield and the seashell had been turned into a Noh mask. "After the battle concluded, we, the second generation, moved here to look after the land our parents gave their lives to defend."

"From what exactly?" Ren asked. "Aeber's memories had some gaps in them, to say the least."

Much to Ren's disappointment, Arkar shrugged helplessly. "My aunts and uncles refused to elaborate. They claimed it was better not to invoke the name, lest some remnants of it still exist. Counterintuitive, I know, given our current moon fluctuations," Arkar added with equal frustration laced in his tone. "All I know is that it has to do with that cursed land of &%$ &&*&!"

Ren strained his ears. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that last bit again?"

"I said, my parents' demise has to do with that cursed land of &%$ &&*&!"

The last word was lost to the ticking gears and the flat steam whistles. Arkar caught Ren's expression and shook his head sadly. "I'm guessing the word itself is taboo. You'll have to find Aelfric himself to remove it. Be happy that the place sank into the sea."

Ren absently picked up the Noh mask. If Yusuke were with him, he would have undoubtedly put it on. "Do you at least know who is behind the Blood Moon events?"

Sighing, Arkar pulled out some parchment from a roll attached to the workbench and quickly sketched the image of a crescent moon in a blueprint-like fashion. "They call themselves the Moonshade Order. A defiant mockery of The Order of The Sacred Flame. They've been around since I came to this land."

"Stop me if I'm overstepping my bounds here—but why hasn't anyone done something about them until this point?"

Arkar shook his head. "No, no… You're well within your rights to question us. Not even gods are above criticism. At least that's what most of us believe."

Ren blinked owlishly. He wasn't expecting that. Usually, it was their way or the highway, pushing the troublesome stuff onto mortals.

His hand was almost a blur as it moved across the page, and in mere seconds the moon was partially obscured by a cloud. Arkar then took the initiative to draw the stars above the moon. "Following that mentality, we've left this world to the mortals. We keep a watchful eye, but we are all but forbidden from interfering directly in mortal affairs. I believe my father called them the…ah yes, the Ancient Laws." Arkar tapped his charcoal pencil against the paper impatiently. "Even if we were to interfere, the group is remarkably crafty. None of us have seen hide nor hair of one of the higher-ups."

Ren hummed and crossed his arms. He felt it was pointless to probe Arkar for more information. At least he had a name and assurance that a deity wouldn't be actively meddling in his quest. It was better than nothing. He then remembered the idea he had during his talk with Makoto. His eyes flitted around the area. A couple of soulstones, a switch, and a camera could be seen scattered around the area.

"Since I'm stuck here for the time being, do you mind if I borrow your workbench?" Ren asked what felt like his millionth question. "There is a device I want to make that'll help me on my journey."

"Hmm, you seem like a proficient fellow," Arkar said, stroking his beard. "Help yourself. All I asked is that in turn, you help me with my project. I think we can make that costume of yours even more effective."

"You mean satisfy your curiosity?"

"That too," Arkar held out his hand to shake. "Do we have a deal?"

Ren firmly grabbed it and shook it. "It's a deal."

"What's with the long face, Castti?"

Castti snapped out of her thoughts as Malaya slowed down to match her pace. Ahead, Andy and Randy were walking while bickering loudly about who their mom loved more. In other words, their usual sibling shenanigans.

"I'm…sorry Malaya," Castti started, still not looking directly at her vice-captain. "I know I haven't been much of a leader lately, but I find my mind stuck on what happens when we return to Healeaks."

Malaya shrugged, taking care still to keep ahold of the reins of her horse. "I don't see what the big issue is about. We go back, and we make sure everyone is in good health first. Trousseau is an issue we can handle later…as a team."

Castti's eyes flicked forward. The snow was starting to thin out and give way to the flora underneath. Above, the end of the constant grays of the stratus clouds was in sight. They were approaching the border that separated the Winterlands from the Brightlands.

"It should not have to fall to the team as a whole to deal with him. If an attitude adjustment is required, it should fall to me to address the truant behavior first."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Malaya countered, her hand unconsciously drifting to her sword. "I'm not going to mince my words here, boss. You have a blind spot for that man. Out of everyone in our group, you're undoubtedly the closest with him, and frankly, I don't trust you to hold him completely accountable for both his past actions and the responsibility to fix his current behavior."

Castti stared at Malaya. "Are you questioning my ability as a leader?"

Her vice-captain turned to her fully.

"I am." Malaya was unafraid to match Castti's glare as she spoke boldly, "A leader leads, but it's also the job of the subordinates to question and support the leader in areas they're lacking. Confrontation is not your strong suit. That's what me and Andy are here for."

Castti looked away and down at the ground. "I appreciate your honesty. There's a fine line between leadership and dictatorship. Still, I don't agree with the shared sentiment. My gut tells me that getting to the bottom of Trousseau's issues won't be as simple as a group intervention."

"Is it ever?"

"No, but—"

Malaya cut her off and reasoned again, "Think of it like an amputation, Castti. It's a drastic solution by any means…but it's a lifesaving one. To stop the infection, you have to remove the source."

"Are you suggesting I oust Trousseau from the group?" Castti raised her voice a little, mildly offended.

"No," Malaya replied coolly. "I believe in second chances as much as the next woman, but he's an accessory to something extreme. He should've been on thin ice. Honestly, I'm worried that he's not in my sight now."

"You've made your point," Castti relented. It wasn't hard for her to tell that Malaya had dug in her position. She doubted Andy or Randy would have differing opinions. "At least allow me to bring it up to him first, then the rest of you chime in? I'm owed that much at the minimum."

"…Fine. I'll inform Elma when we get back."

Castti shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Above them, snow started to fall. The unease she had felt back in Winterbloom was beginning to mix with dread.

"Interesting. So, the force of the firing pin ignites the gunpowder and propels the bull-let through the barrel. Simple in concept; deadly in practice." Akar hummed as he inspected the leftover components of the Glock-24 Ren had taken apart. He'd never let him touch his IMI Sand Hawk. It was his favorite, after all.

He owed the man that much after he lent him some ammonium nitrate, a soulstone, and magnesium.

He used his soldering iron to attach the igniter and the switch he had taken from the gun to the circuit board. If he was correct, he could substitute a current with a lightning elemental soulstone. From there it was as simple as finding a safe but remote way to ignite the ammonium nitrate and the magnesium. Surprisingly, his Inventor outfit made it easier for him to focus on finer details and finesse work like copper wiring. Ren absently wondered if the Thief costume had similar passive non-combat functions.

"You know, if you want an instantaneous result, the circuit board is unnecessary," Arkar pointed out.

Ren set down his soldering iron and craned his head to look at Arkar, slightly peeved. "You wait until now to tell me that?"

Arkar crammed his face full of Delsta Devil that he had looted off of Ren once Urd had gone back to the campsite to retrieve his stuff. Unfortunately, no Roi was found.

The inventor licked his fingers and pulled out a blueprint seemingly out of nowhere. "You were having fun, and it was an excellent time-delayed release, so I saw no reason to stop you," he said as he unfurled the blueprint and set it against the wall. "The way I see it, you would just need to combine the ingredients and provide a large enough spark to detonate it."

"So, wrap it up in aluminum, attach a second Thunder Soulstone, and shoot it?" Ren mused, his thumb to his chin.

"Now you're talking!" Arkar exclaimed excitedly. "The detonation mechanic is wholly unique to you as well, despite its crude nature. Most normal beings can't notch an arrow and fire as fast as you can fire a bull-let." Arkar then mellowed out as he turned his attention to the Elemental Bomb Bottle, one of the inventions Ren had helped complete in the last two days. "In my field of work, sometimes simple is best."

"With you? I highly doubt that."

Arkar lightly chuckled as Ren pointed up to the complicated system of pulleys and levers above them. "Disregard that. Heed what I say, not what I do."

Ren gave a lazy exaggerated salute. "Roger, captain."

"Anyways, how far are you on the designs for the other gadgets for your costumes?"

The thief leaned back in his chair and hummed, managing to expertly balance on two legs instead of four. "Well, we've finished the Catapult, the Scope, the bomb bottle, and the Tin Horn," he listed on his fingers while leaning back even further in his chair. "Give me another day and I'll be done with the Hammer. To be honest, it's a bunch of crap cobbled together. The lightning coil is proving to be the hardest, though. Balancing the current of the Thunder Soulstones so it doesn't overload the copper wire and gears is proving to be a pain."

"I expect it to be. It's an auto-resuscitation machine. Never seen before; it'll revolutionize healthcare everywhere! It's able to restore both health and mana in an instant!"

"You mean a Defibrillator?"

"…I was going to call it Arkar's Coil, but I guess it's already been invented in your world."

Ren flinched back at how oddly dejected Arkar had gotten. Vaguely, he remembered Aeber having similar mood swings.

"I guess Arkar's Coil has a 'divine' ring to it?" he said in an attempt to assuage the god's feelings.

"That makes it worse!" he bemoaned.

It did not.

Thump

Ren lost his composure, and his chair tilted too far backwards, depositing him on the floor.

"Can we change it?" Ren said, rubbing his aching head.

"No point, we're too far in development. You'll just have to be my walking billboard."

"Great…that's what I always wanted. Being an apostle."

"You agreed to that the moment you accepted the deal with Aeber," Arkar pointed out. "Now let's get to my favorite part—field testing!"

The bell to café Leblanc rang loudly as Futaba burst through the door.

"He-y! Makoto! Haru! Check this out!" Futaba called, holding her phone in the air. "Oh…and you're here too I guess, Sis-Koto."

Sae felt a vein bulge in her forehead. Next to her, Makoto sighed exasperatedly while Haru chuckled behind the counter. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" she fumed. "Where on earth did you even come up with that ridiculous name?"

"Before we knew you, I figured you'd just take a title and slap a -Koto onto it. Presto, you have a Niijima family name. Dad-Koto, Mom-Koto… etcetera. If Ren has kids with either one of you, they could be Boy-Koto and Girl-Koto!"

"That's not-Wha-I-Huh?"

"Just let it go, Sis-Koto," Haru advised the dumbfounded Sae with a smile.

Makoto ignored the daily banter and antics as she adjusted her stool to face Futaba fully. "What do you want us to see?"

"It's Ren!" Futaba smirked when all three women's attention sharply focused on her hook, line, and sinker. "He posted a series of videos in both our group chat and the Shadow Operative one. I can practically feel Mitsuru's hair turning gray over this one, heh-heh."

"I'd pay a fortune to see her have hair like mine," Sae said, hiding her laughter with her hand.

Makoto didn't like the sound of that. Whatever that video contained would either run up her blood pressure or turn her hair gray. It was either or with Ren.

Haru touched her shoulder and gave her a warm but tense smile. "How bad can it be? I'm sure Ren has things perfectly in hand—I hope…"

"Wait until you see this~" The younger woman thrust her phone in between the three and set it on the counter for them to see. Before she even hit play Makoto groaned. She knew they were off to a bad start when she saw Ren holding a clapperboard that read 'Elemental Bomb Bottle Take #1.'

The moment Futaba hit play, the screen was filled by a lean older man with salt and pepper stubble, wearing a Victorian-era suit. He touched the phone, and it wobbled a little bit, sending the shot out of focus for a brief moment.

"Excuse me… Is this thing on?" he said, still trying to fiddle with the phone. "Fill me in, my apprentice."

"Yes, it's working fine, that red light on the end there means it's recording us now."

"I will defer to your judgment, then. The basics of this device elude me, and you will not permit me to take it apart."

Ren leaned his head out from behind the clapperboard unimpressed. "Some god you are. Can't you just touch it and know how it works, Arkar?"

"I could, but that ruins the fun!" Arkar complained petulantly. He then cleared his throat and turned back to the camera, straightening his suit. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a set of notecards, flipping through them as he talked. "Greetings, interdimensional viewers who might be beyond my comprehension. My name is Arkar, and this is my assistant Ren, who some of you may know as Joker. This vee-dee-oh series is meant to serve the purpose of demonstrating the abilities of the gadgets and devices that can be found in the brand-new 'Inventor' class, soon to be available in a Velvet Room near you."

Arkar then threw the note cards over his head and pointed aggressively at Ren. "Alright, start the experiment!"

"I thought it was a demonstration?" Sae asked the other three, now somewhat worried herself.

Ren then slammed the clapperboard, and the scene cut.

When it cut back in, Ren had a bulbous glass bottle grasped firmly in his right hand. Inside, magical energy thrummed from the power of the elements raging inside it. Behind him, a living, screaming tree with a face, multiple snarling mouths, and slimy, wriggly tentacles slowly approached him.

"Take one!" A finger from behind the camera pointed at the monster expectantly.

Ren cocked his arm like a pitcher and tried to throw the bottle!

*BOOOM*

*CRAACK*

*ZAAAP*

*SWOOSH*

*TZZZZ*

*FWOOM*

Each element contained in the bottle burst forward in a stunning display, dyeing the image in their respective colors. The camera shook from the force of the blast, which impacted against a magical barrier around it.

The monster disintegrated and at the same time a blackened, crispy Ren fell over on his side; the whole field around them had been charred. Makoto felt a familiar headache start to come on.

"Holy cow, check out the power behind that thing! It hit the whole field!"

"Futaba!"

"Need to have less fire in the mixture…" Arkar muttered to himself. "Axel, get the jam!"

"Behold our next item: the Spring Shoes!"

Arkar swung both hands out and gestured to Ren who bounced on his heels with the rhythm of a professional boxer.

"His footwork could be tighter," Akihiko commented critically.

Yukari pinned her former senpai with a deadpan stare. "Is that what you're really worried about right now?"

"Hey, be quiet!" Junpei elbowed both of them to grab their attention. "He's still talking."

"Are you slow on your feet? Can't reach the top shelf in the kitchen? See a cat in a tree you want to rescue but can't? Those days are a thing of the past! These shoes have a built-in spring that allows the user to jump higher."

Ren crouched down and then jumped up as high as he could, easily surpassing anything he'd shown during training. He had jumped high enough to probably clear a small building. However, the real surprise came when twin jets of dark flames came from the bottom of his boots, enabling him to hover in mid-air. Just for flair he even spun in a circle, a cocky smile on his lips.

"To Yukari and all the other short people—eat your heart out!"

"Dickhead!"

Junpei and Akihiko edged away from the temperamental brunette, too afraid to say anything. They all knew Yukari was the shortest of all those who did frontline fighting, and she happened to be very sensitive about it. They knew Ren was playing a dangerous game. Yukari for certain would remember that if and when Ren came back.

"That's right, folks! The shoes also come equipped with magic absorbers and stabilizers in the springs, allowing one to channel their magic more smoothly than if they tried it on their own. This allows for hovering and fast movement."

The jets on Ren's boots flickered, then suddenly went out. He launched his grappling hook to a nearby tree branch, but it turned out to be another Treant that yanked him into its mouth. A female persona with gorgeous white hair, a pretty face, and flowing purple robes immediately appeared and tried to pry open the monster's mouth.

"The drawback, as you can see, is that the ancillary features do require a constant mana stream, which can be a drain on the user," Arkar explained, ignoring the commotion in the background. Ren's persona fought to pull him out of the Treant's mouth; nearby, a dog had started to gnaw on one of the monster's roots in protest.

"Karma," Yukari said in smug satisfaction. "That's what he gets for making fun of my height!"

Junpei and Akihiko looked at each other in uncertainty and slight fear.

Uncertainty.

Uncertainty and nervousness swelled in her heart like a balloon when they approached the village. The tension was thick enough to be cut by a knife.

Their arrival in the town was unceremonious—as it should be. The adults were tilling the fields while the kids played tag. Once they crossed over the threshold, Randy and Andy splintered off, Randy to check on the livestock and Andy to go help in the fields. It always amazed Castti how in sync they were in helping others.

Malaya glanced at her and tilted her head toward one of the village elders who was tending to the well. Reluctantly, Castti nodded and made her way to the man.

"Excuse me," Castti said as she made her approach. The elderly man finished pulling up the bucket and turned to her. "Have you seen Trousseau by any chance?"

The man scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm… Now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen him in a day or two! Maybe three! Could be even four! You know how the brain gets fuzzy in my old age. I wondered why my back problems were coming back."

"Thanks for the information, and I would recommend having your wife help you rub some Rosemary Oil on your back. That will help you relieve some of the tension."

"You're the best, Castti! I'm glad you and your band of healers set up shop here. Real lifesavers, I tell you!"

Castti traded smiles with the man as she watched him shuffle off back to his home. Her smile quickly melted when Malaya bumped into her. "M.I.A, huh?"

"He's out gathering herbs? You know how he hates even getting close to running out." Castti tried to smile again—she really, really did—but it felt fake and forced, even to her. Malaya saw right through her, shaking her head in refusal. Her hand drifted to the pommel of her sword, complementing the sour look on her face.

"He's been gone anywhere between one to four days. That's not a good look."

"I want to believe in him, Malaya."

Malaya didn't say anything in rebuttal and passed by her, her sword's scabbard in hand. "I'm going to fill Randy and Elma in. After, I'll see about getting some snowdrops."

Where did she go wrong with this group?

"This is going horribly wrong!" Ren shouted.

Yusuke, Ryuji, and Morgana watched in dark fascination as their leader faced down a giant golem, the biggest and nastiest in a whole horde of monsters that had shown up, that had been accidentally summoned and empowered by the Tin Horn tool he and Arkar were showcasing.

"Sorry! Must've used Magic Reed dust instead of Empowering Lychee powder. Honest Mistake!"

Ren grunted and threw an axe that clanged off the monster's arm.

"How do you mix that up?" Morgana said from atop Ryuji's head as they watched the spectacle from his laptop. "I would assume one is a fruit and the other is a, well…a reed."

Yusuke put his thumb and finger to his chin and hummed. "It's easier than you think. I have on more than one occasion mistaken Mellow Yellow with Royal Yellow when trying to capture the perfect shade for Ann's hair."

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, opting to ignore Yusuke's ever-present Ann obsession. "Dude, they're both yellow…"

"As is the dye you use on your hair!" Yusuke replied angrily, a vein bulging from his head. "But I wouldn't say it's the same as Ann's platinum blonde. Only a fool would make that mistake."

"Apparently you did, so what does that say about you?"

Yusuke dropped his pencil in comical, mute shock. Morgana guffawed at his dismay. "The rare comeback from bonehead."

Ryuji ignored both of them and focused his attention back on the screen. His best friend had pulled a telescope-like object from inside his jacket. He pointed it at the monster and a blazing red reticle appeared on its chest.

Using the spring boots, he jet boosted back and out of the way of the golem, smashing the ground where he stood, the whole area quaking from the force of the blow. It wasn't lost on Ryuji that Ren moved exactly like his persona Raoul did now.

Puffs of smoke appeared from Ren furiously moving his hands. When he finally stopped, he held a gigantic steampunk-themed mallet easily longer than Ren was tall.

With an insane grin and a proper baseball stance, Ren swung the weapon using all his might. "Now let's get hammered!"

Mid-swing a burst of steam and fire came from the back face and as if it was drawn to it, the hammer impacted against the reticle, absolutely shattering the center rock that made up the golem's body, causing the rest of it to collapse without its core.

"That was MY move!" Ryuji shouted in glee.

Ryuji tensed up and wheezed as he felt a sharp pair of claws dig into his scalp. Excessive movements while the cat was on his head wasn't a good idea. "Pipe down! How do you know that wasn't Junpei Iori's move or Ren's own move? All three of you are baseball nuts."

"I'm a track nut, first off," he corrected. "And second, of the three of us, I'm the only one who swings that low!"

"I dunno… Don't you think it has something to do with the giant hammer in his hand!?"

"Quit trying to take this away from me, cat!"

Seeing the other two were busy arguing, Yusuke picked up his writing utensil and dragged the laptop closer to himself. He didn't truly care for Arkar's explanation of the wind and fire magic rocks in the hammer that gave it oomph, nor of the magnetic properties the Critical Scope forced on an enemy.

He had a sketch to do, and he knew exactly what the scene would be. He pressed the back arrow a couple of times, then paused on the perfect frame.

An image of Ren in a swanky walk approaching the enemy, hammer in both hands.

The perfect start for a collage of moments he wanted to make of Ren's journey.

This sketch would scream the "drop dead" energy their often-violent fights against the supernatural had.

A scream is what heralded the start of the end. Castti would never forget it for the rest of her days.

The next morning after they had returned started peacefully.

At least for the others.

Randy and Elma were tending to Jeyah. Andy had taken up the task of repairing the roofs. Malaya went to harvest the herbs they would need for experimentation later in the day.

Castti half-sighed and half-yawned as she opened the shutters to her combined office and lab. The somber late-morning light filtered in, allowing her to fully see her desk. It seemed as if clouds were going to settle in later on.

"I suppose someone has to do the patient notes for the expedition…" Castti grumbled to herself as she sat down. She had been at it since well before the sun rose. A cup of coffee sounded so good right about now. Ironically, the note she was currently working on belonged to Ren Amamiya.

"Soul ties…"

She wasn't kidding when she tried to explain the bond she forged with him. After that night she focused on it and found her medical terminology came way easier than it did naturally. Also, her agility increased, and her propensity for dark magic got stronger.

Malaya's taunting aside, it was worth researching further. Obviously, that would require the man in question.

Right when she was about to put his file away, it happened.

*BOOOOM*

Castti hit her head against the cabinet when the force of the thunder shook the house down to the foundation. She quickly recovered and turned her head to the window.

The skies had darkened in an instant.

She could barely see anything; the clouds were so thick. Castti went over to the window, opened it, and stuck her head out.

"Andy come down from there it's about to start—"

Then the clouds released their payload, the first drops hitting her head.

"—raining…" she finished lamely.

"I can't stop now boss!" Andy yelled over the rain. "These people are gonna get soaked. If lightning hits me, I can take it!"

"HELP! HELP! PLEASE ANYONE COME QUICK!"

Castti dropped everything and rushed outside, almost knocking over Malaya in the process. Not too far away, Andy had jumped off the roof in his haste, splashing water and already pulling Santanejo out of his satchel after the last incident. Randy and Elma were converging on the same location from the opposite direction.

"What's going on!" Castti yelled, struggling to make her voice carry. On the edge of the village, a couple of adults were gathered over two collapsed kids on cots. Their faces instantly registered in Castti's mind.

"Sally! Temm!"

She pumped her legs even harder, Andy and Malaya keeping pace alongside her. Sally already had a history of passing out; this could be bad.

The moment she got there she slid to her knees and grabbed both their wrists.

"No pulse…" Castti murmured gravely. She immediately started compressions on Sally while Malaya started with Temm. Black blood spurted from Sally's mouth and Castti noted grimly that her face was covered in black gooey splotches. A brisk glance showed Temm had those splotches as well.

Castti stopped at the same time Malaya did, having come to the same grim conclusion. She had to force the words out of her mouth. "I'm sorry."

Cries of anguish from the parents echoed to the sky. Castti helplessly turned away from the sobbing.

"This never gets any easier…" she whispered.

"The hell's going on here?!" Andy raged behind her. "How did both of them end up like this?!"

"They were out playing…on the mountainside," one woman sobbed. "We went out to search for them because we noticed the rain had already started there. By the time we got to them…they were like this…"

"Their blood is black; they were poisoned," Castti said softly but firmly. She didn't say that despite her knowledge she couldn't recognize the exact substance.

"Hey, apothecaries…?" a man called, "I'm not feeling so great either. A lot of us don't after coming back from the mountain."

"My body won't stop shaking…" another said, falling to their knees.

"Signs of paralysis setting in!"

Suddenly the villagers started collapsing one by one, their bodies thudding in the mud. Those that remained on their feet started coughing black blood and clawing at their throats.

The three apothecaries swiftly got to work trying to help the villagers breathe, but their efforts were in vain.

Boils filled with black oozing pus rose over their skin like hellish mushrooms. Wet squelching came from the inside of their chest cavities from ribs being broken and organs crushed. Muted screams passed through split blood-stained lips perched upon helpless faces and etched in agony.

Eir's Apothecaries tried everything they could, from compressions to controlled throat punctures, but one-by-one the villagers slipped off the mortal coil.

Castti sadly slid her hand over the eyelids of Temm's mother after she had finally succumbed, the splotches covering most of her body now. The children were completely unrecognizable. "I couldn't save a single one…"

"Chief!"

The three turned to see Randy and Elma running up to them. The latter was clearly hysterical, tear streams visible in spite of the rain.

"Chief everyone—everyone!" Elma tried to say, her voice choking in equal parts fear and grief.

Her lover gingerly put his hand on her shoulder and moved her aside.

"There are bodies everywhere… The whole town died in a matter of minutes."

Andy and Malaya recoiled at the news Randy just delivered. Meanwhile, Castti felt herself go numb.

"What the fuck! Dammit, what the hell is going on here!" Andy reiterated punching a tree and toppling it in his rage. "Black blood, gooey splotches…Purple Rain! I don't fucking get it!"

"…Purple rain?" Castti spoke slowly, grabbing everyone's attention and making them realize the odd color of the precipitation.

Malaya's face lit up in realization. "The rain itself is poison!"

"Get inside! Go! Grab your coats!" Castti barked.

Together they all dashed into the house they were using, puddles of purple dripping off them. Out the window, Castti watched as even the flora became warped and distorted. The trees turned black wilted, and ominous while a sickly purple haze from the mist built up around the village. The corpses of the unfortunate who lay in plain view had their bodies mutilated into nothing more than a group of black blobs.

Malaya opened the shutters on the opposite side of the room, giving a view of the mountainside. "Look." She pointed to an area near the top where dense violet smoke billowed upwards to the heavens.

"Is that a fire?" Elma asked curiously as they all got closer to the window.

"Could lightning have struck?" Randy offered an explanation. "It's been a pretty dry summer in these parts."

"Shit. Trees don't burn like that. It's way too big and spreading too fast to be natural!" Andy roared.

Malaya nodded in agreement. "I've seen plenty of fires in the Leaflands. This is certainly manmade; the question is who?"

The name of the culprit who could have possibly caused it hung heavy in the air over them like a sword. Castti ignored the icy daggers her vice-captain stared at her back.

"Randy, your arm!" someone screeched.

Randy warbled in fear and held out his arm for the group to see. The apothecaries saw that while slower than the townsfolk, he too had growing tumors on his body leaking black and purple.

"It's not just him, Andy. It's on you too!" Andy gasped at Elma's words and checked his arm, finding out he had them too.

The women checked their skin as well and sure enough, they weren't immune to the hellish poison either.

Castti buttoned her cloak and headed to the door. "We have to stop that fire. Whatever evil is burning, the smoke is causing it to rain."

"Wouldn't it be more prudent to wait out the rain?" Elma asked, worry etched on her face.

"No," Castti firmly said. "With the way the clouds are going, if we do nothing the rain will spread to the harbor, and if we're snakebitten, New Delsta itself…"

"Thousands, if not millions will die," Randy emphasized gravely.

The image of the sprawling metropolis piled high with innocent bodies of men, women, and children sprang to the forefront of all their minds. Elma grabbed a nearby trashcan to vomit, the gravity of the situation getting to her. No one said anything when they noticed the black blood laced in her sickness.

Castti reaffirmed her resolve as she stared at the raging fire. "We can't let this pestilence continue."

Ever defiant, Andy smashed his knuckles together and stepped forward first. "Then let's get started! I'll be damned if I let all those people die!"

"Alright then, it's up to us," Malaya said, putting a hand on Castti's shoulder in support. "Andy, Randy, you're with us."

"Got it!"

"Will be my pleasure."

The dark-haired woman then turned to the last member of the group. "Elma, you stay here, help anyone you can!"

Elma nodded and clutched her rosary in a quick prayer. Castti knew they'd need a lot more than prayer to get through today.

"Let's move."

*CRACK!*

*CRACK!*

Akechi watched as Ren recoiled from the sharp sound of lightning in the background, his arm flying in front of his face as the ground shook. For some reason, the video he watched had been uploaded later than the others.

His former leader frowned as he stared up at the sky, discharges of purple lighting flowing intermittently between clouds. "A storm—perfect for this next test." Sarcasm dripped from Ren's voice.

"That's not a storm," Arkar replied solemnly. The inventor god came in view of the camera, his unflinching attention on the gray sky starting to bleed violet and red.

"Clouds, lightning, feels like a storm to me. All we're missing is rain."

*CRACK!*

*BOOM!*

Suddenly Arkar fell to his knees, clutching his head. The video feed glitched for a second, then focused again. The area around them had changed for the worse. Trees were wilting and distant wheezing could be heard in the air.

"Are you okay?!" Ren yelled, rushing to his side. The rain started to pour over them, and Ren's costume changed to its default in a flash of weather-defying fire.

Arkar slowly raised his head. "This is bad. This isn't rain."

Joker held out his hand and the liquid pooled on his glove. Instead of a normal clear color, this was a disturbing purple. Akechi gripped the side of the table and stood up. He hadn't participated in the battle but witnessed the whole thing—including the prelude.

That 'rain' was almost the exact same as the blood that rained from the sky during the fated day.

As he expected, Joker's frown indicated he put two and two together and came up with four as well. "Don't tell me…"

"So… many… negative emotions…" Arkar winced in pain, struggling to get to his feet. "This is pure concentrated essence of shadows," the god confirmed. "Lethal to ordinary humans. The people of Healeaks…are dropping like flies!"

Joker immediately pivoted on his heel and was about to run off when Arkar grabbed his arm. "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into! This storm is human-made. If you go, you will undoubtedly cross paths with The Darkling again!"

"You did know about it."

Akechi took notice of the hard edge in his voice, a tone Joker seldom used.

Arkar let go of Joker and stared him in the eye unflinchingly, an act few could do to his leader in a situation of this gravity.

"Of course, I know!" Arkar confirmed. "Vile hell beasts capable of matching my mother's Sacred Guardians. It was chaos for the gods to even approach the island of &%$ &&*&!"

The video feed distorted and static played over Arkar's last word almost as if it were an old-school VCR. The man himself briefly flitted from his usual dapper appearance to one where he wore nothing but an ancient woolen tunic and a leather apron.

Joker put his palms up and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry. Still don't know what word you're trying to say there."

"Those things devour other shadows to make themselves stronger. I don't know how the enemy made them, and I do not wish to have that knowledge. However, I do know that the one you encountered is now at stage 2 out of 3. I witnessed that myself when it and the hunter ran by. I wanted to keep you here in an effort to prevent such an event from happening!" the god shouted.

"So, it wants to devour shadows, huh?"

"Yes, and Healeaks is undoubtedly its current feeding ground. If it were to consume your persona again it would do so completely this time, and The Darkling will become nigh unstoppable," he confirmed. "It already possesses a fraction of your power. No need to risk giving it any more."

Consume a persona? Akechi leaned closer to the screen with morbid interest.

Turning his back on Arkar, Joker pulled out two guns and started heading in the direction of the settlement. "I have friends in Healeaks. I can't abandon them, and I won't let that animal suffer either!"

Using the spring boots, Joker jumped high in the air. He then angled his weapons behind him and fired two high-power magical shots, propelling him above the tree line. Another blast launched him out of sight.

A clawed hand reached out and grabbed the phone off the tripod. The screen flipped to show the smiling visage of Raoul holding Joker's bag in his other hand. The rain simmered off the persona's face, doing absolutely nothing to douse the hellfire that composed it.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Councilor," the camera shook as Raoul bent his waist in a bow, "But we've faced far worse odds."

"If you are eaten, you will be absorbed within The Darkling's very being. You. Will. Cease. To. Exist!"

"That may be so, but if I perish, there are plenty of others who will take up my cause; such is the Sea of Souls."

Arkar paused and chewed his lip. "Wait here!"

In a flash, he ran in and out of his house; in his arms were a pair of blueprints. He hastily shoved the maps into Ren's open bag along with a handful of plums and grapes. "Those are the schematics for my two greatest masterpieces. I'm sure they will be of great service to Ren's quest. However, it'll be up to him to gather the parts now."

"Thank you. Now if you do not mind, I must be catching up to the Trickster."

Raoul's rocket boots flared to life with the force of a jet engine. A single flap of his wings was all he needed to send him soaring into the poisoned sky and after his summoner.

"I wish to see my apprentice again in one piece!" the rapidly shrinking Arkar yelled from the ground, his dog barking next to him.

Akechi pulled out his earbuds, closed the laptop, and crossed his legs. He had no interest in watching the rest of the horror show to come. He flagged the server down to put in his order for a refill of his coffee.

What a fool.

Putting his awakened Persona at risk. Fighting a beast even gods were wary of.

The dumbass hadn't learned. No matter how noble he was, his actions had consequences.