Vol. F Ch. 1 Ep. 2: Catastrophe

...

...

Aren't you...? What is this place?

More importantly, your body...

You've encountered the Chroma, have you not?

How peculiar... Your consciousness appears to be more or less alert despite contact.

The Chroma...?

The Chroma is best described as an incomprehensible...force lurking outside of Kivotos.

Is it sentient? Does it have personality? Free will? I still know little of its true nature.

But what I do know is that it's a deadly poison to Kivotos' inhabitants.

Become exposed to the Chroma, and you will never be yourself again. Your spirit will be shattered into pieces and your body distorted into a new form.

You may not die, but any Kivotos resident who comes into contact with it will no longer know themselves. They become distorted into a new being entirely.

Fear not, the Chroma will not find Kivotos.

For the Chroma to infiltrate our city, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. It would be both a miracle and a disaster.

I don't believe you came into full contact with the Chroma, seeing as you still retain your consciousness. Pray tell, what happened to you?

Well...

Please, allow me to see myself. Don't move.

Now then. Excuse me, Prophet of Trinity.

...

You're trapped in my web with no way out. Are you scared, Seia? Afraid of the power outside of Kivotos you can't tear your eyes away from?

Your very existence attracted it like a moth to a flame.

...That thing.

You ventured a step too far into powers you didn't understand. And now they've dominated you.

...I see. Someone attempted to manipulate the power of the Chroma for their own benefits.

They performed a ritual to summon the Chroma to Kivotos. It's fortunate for us all that the ritual was incomplete.

Which explains your current state. You did not directly encounter the Chroma.

What you saw was a distant image through a window, a landscape barely discernible through the haze of your dreams.

If you had reached through that window, you would not have been able to walk away as you did.

...

Although, you did not walk away without injury. Your mind may be safe here in this space with you and me, but your body is likely disintegrating as we speak.

That can't be! I can't! There are things out there only I can do, and I must fulfill my duty. And my friend...my friend is...

There must be a way to stop it.

There is not.

Would ordinarily be the answer.

However, you are fortunate to have encountered me, Kuzunoha, the Great Prophet of Hyakkiyako.

...Kuzunoha.

I will send you back to your body, safely. Of course, you cannot gain without equal loss.

Equal loss?

Yes, a payment of sorts. For your safe return, you must sacrifice one of the essences of your soul. You must leave behind your ability to see the future.

The Chroma distorts these essences I speak of. Or perhaps it simply draws forth what bubbles beneath the surface. Regardless, allow these infected essences to fester, and you will lose who you are to the Chroma.

But let it go, extract the poison before its creeping fingers can grasp your soul, and you will be free of the Chroma's erosion.

What say you? Will you sacrifice the skill you are so proud of so that you may fulfill your proclaimed "duty," Prophet of Trinity?

Yes. I will!

Said with much conviction and no hesitation. Is this for the sake of your friends? How admirable. Wonderful, wonderful.

Farewell then, Seia. Know that you cannot find me back in your world. I do not exist there.

...?!

Ah. Prophetic dreams may still flit about your periphery, like a kaleidoscope outside your window. Good luck.

Ahhhh!

My apologies for my tardiness. I had a matter to take care of.

...

...

...

We're all here.

Let's begin.

We recently discovered the legacy of the nameless priests.

...

Silly me for even asking, but who exactly are these nameless priests, Black Suit?

Even I understand the basics. Beatrice's ability to protect royal blood, the cruise missile strong enough to destroy the cathedral, they are all gifts from these nameless priests, no?

So putting my heads together, I have gleaned their technology makes that of Kivotos' look like a little child playing in mud.

You're correct. The nameless priests were once masters of a world predating Kivotos.

Oho?

Exactly. Before the world as we know it today, we had the Nameless Gods, the sublimes of their time. Only the faintest wisps of their existence can be identified in the largely mysterious annals of Kivotos.

What we do know of these gods is how they manifested themselves: typhoons, cliffsides and trees, lightning, the list goes on. They appeared as crude forms of nature, but in reality embodied the mystery and terror of genesis itself.

There's very little I can say of the nameless priests who worshiped them, except that they harbor no kind feelings towards Kivotos and its residents.

And while we've seen neither hide nor tail of the priests themselves, their technology remains littered throughout these lands. Therein is where my interests lie.

Because, as we've already seen, their technology fetches a high, high price on the black market. Heh.

...

But Golconde has informed me the situation has changed, and we have much greater concerns than price tags at the moment.

Ah, yes! It may have passed with the blink of an eye, but we observed the Ark, that we did.

What do you mean by observed? This implies the Ark is not an object to be seen, but a phenomenon that was observed.

Well...

Haha! Fascinating! All this time I was looking for a physical Ark, but you suggest it to be intangible.

Which also suggests that using the Kaiser Group to dig up the Abydos Desert was in vain. It seems I've made a...mistake, so to speak.

Yes, yes. Fascinating. If that is the case, the Ark could reasonably be seen as a manifested concept, a menagerie of swirling mysteries.

Hm. Well, speculation serves no one. Let's resume.

The nameless priests and their troops, believed to be extinct, have made themselves known once again. The situation has taken an unexpected turn.

Schale's appearance, a failure to secure Kivotos' greatest mystery, losing our only territory in Arius, Decagrammaton's death...

And now we have the nameless priests' legacy, the appearance of the Ark...

Things have gone awry. Well, this outcome wasn't impossible, I suppose.

But the facts of our current reality is that unpredicted and uncontrollable variables have rudely introduced themselves into our plans. We've lost control of the situation.

To make matters worse...

You mean to say, Beatrice has made matters worse. The Chroma would have never discovered the existence of Kivotos if not for her ritual.

...

Your garish ritual allowed the Chroma to come into contact with Kivotos. Did you know the risks when you pursued your desires?

No, no. Contacting the Chroma was never her goal, but rather to possess its power! Madame's motives were not to expose us to it.

Even worse! She sought personal gain with the Chroma's power! The audacity, the barbarianism it requires to attempt to take advantage of something so iridescently incomprehensible for a purpose so laughable!

Tread much more carefully, little puppet.

...

You "artists" suggest the sublime in your own work, and then turn and scoff at that of others. Is that arrogance simply a requirement for tortured, inconsequential artists?

Deep breaths, Madame!

I don't want to hear anything from you. Decalcomania.

...

You and your silly little ventriloquism with some framed photo isn't the philosophical metaphor of the push and pull of fantasy and reality you believe it to be. All I see is two clowns performing at a circus.

But of course!!

I understand, Decalcomania, but calm your fury. We must be understanding of Beatrice's injuries she is still nursing.

Now, now. Let's all behave like the mature adults we are. We were all curious of how Beatrice's ambitions would play out, and she had no intention of bringing the Chroma to Kivotos.

Regardless, we haven't confirmed the Chroma has actually discovered us. It peeked in through a window in a dream. It may remain just that, a distant dream.

You're correct. And that window was only opened because of Schale's Sensei. I have said time and time again, Sensei's existence is the cause for all these distortions.

...

...

...Madame.

I stand by my words. We should have eliminated Sensei the moment they reared their ugly head.

As long as we exist under the concept of Academy City, Sensei's existence will surpass ours before we draw our next breath.

That's how the dice rolls in this story! Stay right here like the sitting ducks we are, and we're subject to the rules and laws of this world.

Take your rules straight to hell!

...

I understand. The situation is desperate. Allow me to offer this motley crew its salvation. My solution will handle the nameless priests, Schale, and the Ark in one fell swoop.

...What?!

In fact, the Chroma is fully aware of Kivotos' existence.

...!

?!

!

To be frank, I intentionally informed the Chroma of our location. It is coming.

...

Sensei can be protected no longer.

Sensei Sensei.

With this...

With this...everything will be over.

"Sh...Shiroko?"

...Sensei!

Sensei! Are you okay?

What happened? Did you have that dream again?

Check Arona.

Make sure Arona isn't hurt.

S-Sensei...?!

Why are you examining me? Huh?!

What? Did I get shot?

Wh-Whoa! I'm okay, Sensei! I don't have bullet holes anywhere, right? Look!

There's nothing wrong with me, so calm down!

"Thank goodness you're not hurt."

...

You don't have to worry. I'm fine, Sensei.

It was just a bad dream. Everything's okay.

That dream... A world devoid of color...

The girl pointing a gun at you... Her halo...it was distorted.

The details are blurry, but I saw you die there.

...

I can't explain how you and I experienced the same prophetic dream.

Perhaps our past encounters within our dreams had some sort of influence...

I wish I could give you a better answer. But I can only see fragmented visions since I gave up my abilities.

All I can say with certainty is that all of this must be related to the vision of Kivotos' destruction I saw before.

Six enormous towers descend from the sky, turning the world red.

They scatter throughout the six regions of Kivotos... Until the Kivotos we know today is nothing but a vague memory.

"..."

Don't worry, Sensei. No matter what happens, I'll protect you!

Heeheehee. That's right! I deserve some recognition around here.

All right! What's the agenda today, Sensei?

...Rin of the General Student Council?

B-But...will Rin believe that?

...Well, if you say so, Sensei.

I think Rin's a little scary, but... I support you, Sensei!

*sigh*

...

Heh...

...

Did you say...destruction?

...You saw this in a dream?

You had a dream about Kivotos' destruction.

But you don't know how or when, and you have no proof in...reality?

Interesting... Destruction...

...I'm going to ask you politely to not call me that again.

...

Very well, Sensei.

I'll look over some old data and the General Student Council's records to see if I can find any precedent.

It would be beneficial to check the Hyakkiyako Allied Academy records as well... It's a rather mysterious organization, so the student database is by no means comprehensive. I may be able to unveil a clue or two though.

My beliefs hold no weight here. Even you seem uncertain about whether or not it was real.

But still...it must have discomforted you enough to come all this way to report it to me. Your intentions are entirely serious.

The General Student Council president chose you to fill her space in her absence, so it's my job to help you.

To honor the president's wishes.

I'll do what I can on my own, but you'll need more than a vague hunch to get the other General Student Council members on board. If you can get their approval, we'll have more avenues to investigate, Sensei.

As it stands, I can't allocate too many resources to this, but I'll gather the necessary evidence.

I'll contact you when I know something.

Until next time, then.