Sandra
*`"...Hm..."`*
His humming ceased, and the peculiar flow of shadow and mana around him calmed. Yet the slivers of darkness, like lightless shards of glass, remained in a hover around him, suspended on air.

The masked man lowered to a knee in a smooth and slow descent, his arm outstretching toward the unconscious face of one of the several individuals knocked unconscious within the tunnel. First, his arm lifted; then, his hand — earlier limp — rose too; and finally, his fingers stretched out, hovering just beyond the eyes of the bruised-and-battered participant. His finger hovered just beyond their wounded face, trailing mere millimeters over an open laceration that travelled the length of their cheek, yet never touching their skin directly. His lips curled slightly as he seemed to focus — entirely unresponsive to all that Starbi spoke and questioned.

He paused. All his motion stopped, from the roaming trail of his fingertip to the subtle deviations in his expression. He was, for a moment, still.
_ _

A man clad in a strange robe; of a strange aura; of a strange mask; of a strange mana. Shadows crept uneasily along his garb, inchoate and weightless, as empty and fading as his presence was itself. The cold of his skin, the quiet of his voice, the silence of his step, and the unusual delay between each of his actions: all were traits of the very same emptiness and distance that constituted the character of the man himself. He was... Strange. Even to be around, he was strange, for it felt like one was not near him at all, and he was, himself, somewhere else, in some world of his own, perhaps in some memory of the day before him, of in some great thought or rumination of some great concept that captured his body and mind whole, or maybe of some long train of thought following ideas of a time and place elsewhere, or of such a deep focus on things within that all without was a blur. He was aloof, and cold, and very much quiet, all hollow and empty and distant, and similarly like he was not there at all.

And that much thought to describe a man that one had never met before could all be mulled over and finalized, all within the moment of his long pause.

*`"...You could say that."`*

An answer and not.

*`"...Hm..."`*

He repeated himself.

*`"...Interesting."`*

He repeated himself.

*`"...Ah."`* His finger withdrew from the face of the unconscious individual.

He repeated himself.

The shards of dark that he had coalesced through his humming and invocation of a spell now, at the whims of the magician, floated to his fingertips, as he held, somewhat idly, his hand out. His mana, like obsidian shards of night, acuminated to the point of a tack's tip. They were like needles, each, hovering close to the unconscious participant's face, drawing closer—



***—as he plunged them into their flesh.***



*Sp...*
*...Sp...*
*...Sp.
_ _

Strings as thin as hair were tucked into the back-end of each of the dark shards as they passed harmlessly through the individual's cheek, sewing up the open wound cleanly and quickly.

How peculiar a man.

His actions to the others were likewise and one-and-the-same. He would kneel to one, carefully observe their most pressing of wounds, pause for some great period of time — twenty, thirty, forty seconds each, the process long and sevenfold as tedious as that which left behind the injuries. Yet his technique was infinitely precise, what small care he performed impeccable in quality. Stitches as seamless as to seem as though the flesh brought itself together of its own volition.
Laura
The humming then swiftly ceased, the atmosphere filling the room calmed but remained in the form of lightless shards of glass. Starbi watched as the man lowered on one knee with grace, Starbi stepped a few feet closer to inspect what the strange figure was doing, watching as the man stretched his hand out to loom over the eyes of the unconscious Jovan, Starbi felt a bit unsure on what was going to happen to him, he didn't get a complete grasp of the situation at hand. 

Starbi decided to step closer, three or so more steps echoing within the vague atmosphere brought by the man. Starbi then heard the man's gentle and soft voice interrupting Starbi's slow approach towards him. With an answer like that, then that meant he was here to help. That's good! But.. How would he help exactly? Starbi wasn't sure, he walked up a bit closer, now only 4 or 5 feet away at a side for Starbi to see what he was going to do, maybe he was going to use some sort of dark magic to help? It was a bit confusing, yet.. Reminiscent of.. Something to say the least.

Starbi saw as the shards of dark that kept close to the man were now at his fingertips, quickly forming into something similar to needles, was he going to stitch him up instead?
Starbi then watched as the supposedly floating needles quickly plunged into Jovan's wound, Starbi jerked a bit as saw the needles go in swiftly into his flesh, the faint sounds of thread piercing flesh and the sounds of thread echoing throughout the area, watching as the flesh of Jovan's face going close together on its own, maybe he was using a very thin thread to suture the wounds?

** **
Starbi remained quiet, a calm expression now brushed on his face. Watching the man now tend to the other unconscious participants. Starbi walked closer up to Jovan's body, looking at his face now accompanied by a clean and tidy stitched-up wound, looking. Starbi then looked up to look at the strange man, as he spoke.

"I was going to go get some more help. But, on the bright side, I have you here to help out already! I can't do anything really, I'm no medic." Starbi spoke, following along with a calm laugh, a faint feeling of solace looming over the area.

"But I can at least be here for emotional support..!" Starbi spoke to the man, a smile painted on his face, that faint feeling of solace growing into a light breeze of joy.

"I already said my name, but I'll say it again in case you didn't hear me!" Starbi announced with joy.

"I'm Starbi! It's nice to meet you." Starbi greeted again, his uncertainty easing away quickly.
Sandra
The man was all but entirely silent for moments even after Starbi re-introduced himself. The cold, black veneer of his eyeless mask let as little emotion display as the ashen facade that was the skin of his face, both equally cold and distant as one another. One might have believed him not to have heard Starbi at all.

*`"..."`*

The strings slip into place. The flesh binds together. The shards of darkness fade away. The man's expression does not change.

*`"...Mm..."`*

Another moment passes. Another long pause as the man stares down closely at his own work, before slowly and smoothy rising to his feet — identically as slowly and smoothly as he descended. All that he did followed similar patterns, each delayed by some interval — be it the two seconds between him extending his arm and his fingers outstretching; or the ten seconds, perhaps, between him crouching and surveying the wounds of the injured; or maybe the thirty of him rarely taking note of something interesting and making a fleeting remark upon it. In this case, it was the seconds that stretched to minutes between hearing one speak to himself and shifting his head to acknowledge that they were there at all. 

*`"...Meet, hm?"`*
*`"But we have not met."`*

How strange a man. For all things seemed distant to him, and all things seemed distant of him.

*`"...You are Starbi,"`*
*`"Yet still in saying that,"`*
*`"...We have not met."`*

For though standing here and for though knowing what had occurred in the metro before making his appearance,

*`"...That is because"`*

In reality, he was

*`"I am not here."`*

Not here at all.

*`"I am the bird that imitates its master's voice;"`*
*`"That lives to copy and copies only."`*

Now he stood, and his fingers rest against his mask, his hand partially obscuring his mouth.

*`"I am the empty mage"`*
*`"A hollow eye sent to watch and follow;"`*
*`"The Tailbird heeding its master's call."`*
_ _

A vague introduction. But it was better than being ignored.

*`"...Hm."`*

Now his face turned deeper toward the metro tunnel halls, inward, toward where Starbi had seen Endeven, Athena, and Vaughan delved.

*`"...Your comrades should soon approach..."`*
Laura
Starbi's friendly expression weakened a bit when he was given silence in response, perhaps he didn't hear him? He probably was too focused on tending the unconscious participants' wounds.
Starbi then continued to watch the man suture a participant's wound before rising up and suturing somebody else's wounds.

Starbi then heard the man spoke, his head perked as his eyes focused on him. A feeling of tense distance flowing through the room as the man spoke. 

Starbi then got a bit confused on the next words the man said, what did he mean? Was he just some sort of projection of something? The next words then gave more context to what he meant, he was a sort of servant, an imitator meant to copy others and observe. The man then addressed himself albeit formally, *"The empty mage.*". So he's observing Starbi and the others for someone, but who could that be?

Starbi then noticed the mage turning his head to the path that the others delved into, as Starbi tilted to the side to look too, before hearing the Mage's words once again as Starbi's eyes focused on the mage once more.
The others are coming back, that's good at least! Perhaps they got the koi fish.
Theresa
Endeven was coming closer to both Starbi and the empty mage. He wasn't running or walking though - in fact he hadn't made a single step from the spot where he had been standing on since Athena and him encountered Vaughan. Despite this he would arrive in about a tenth of the time it would take Athena. A wall near both the colorful and warm Starborn aswell as the colorless and cold puppet had become entirely black. All light had disappeared from it - The Elechroma that was about to- ***Boom***
 
```ini
["Incredible. That was faster than I th-"]
 ```

-A circular tear was made on the dark wall. This wormhole was like a gate leading directly to the dark depths of the metro. Endeven made slow steps out of this hole. As he stepped out he started speaking proudly, but was quick to stop his sentence as he realized that Starbi and another man had been standing there. *This mana, is it an enemy? No, Starbi wouldn't be here if that was the case..*

His gaze locked on the masked individual and the treated people around him... So this was most likely a staff member. A majority of those responsible for healing would be members of the Vicariato della Santa Croce, but this person... Would someone from the Vicariate dress like this? Nonetheless, this was perfect - Vicariate or not - This person would most likely be able to lead Endeven to whoever gave out orders.

```ini
["Good job, Starbi. I take it, you were successful in locating staff."]
```

Endeven now referred to the person concealed in dark robes. The unusual feeling of mana was the reason why Endeven was still holding up his guard. He then stepped closer, attempting to conceal his injury, to begin a conversation with the empty mage. With a polite tone Endeven started speaking:

```ini
["Buona Sera to you, Signore. Based on these patched up fellows I'm assuming you are responsible for aiding the injured. Though, have you been informed of any temporal effects that the Koi-Fish bears? When i was down there, me and another participant perceived words in our minds. Those words.. Sounded like they came from the future. As if they were PREMONITIONS."]
```

Endeven tried remembering exactly what happened down there. Those words were never confirmed to be actual foresights into the future, but Endeven had this feeling he couldnt shake off that something bad was going to happen. He stood there in thought for a few seconds before continuing .

```ini
["It wouldn't be an unforeseeable action of the O.S.A to release a being with temporal abilities for a game like this.. Unless this is a defense mechanism by the fish to plant lies into the mind of whoever approaches it, the festival is in serious danger, because one of the PREMINITIONS went something along the lines of 'The king will protect his people outside of his kingdom'... The king is currently within Sanctum Mesa if I'm correct."]
```
Dan
Running as fast as she can, Athena approaches the entrance and sees Starbi, Dioscuri and someone else with a strange robe. "Must be event staff" She thinks to herself. She of course would not hear anything said by them as she ran all the way there, she would continue running past the three saying "Hey Starbi, Random guy and ...Dioscuri?" She pays no mind to it as there must be a reasonable explanation for it, still running she exits the metro and towards the main area of sanctum mesa.
Laura
Starbi's eyes then turned to the exit that Discouri, Athena, and Emily went to go deeper within the south before Starbi noticed a wall beside Starbi and the empty mage turned pitch black, as if it was devoid of all light. 

Starbi was confused before an explosion could be heard, what was going on down there? Starbi used his forearm to shield his eyes from whatever came at him and the mage, the explosion causing a faint breeze to billow Starbi's hair and clothes. Starbi lowered his forearm to see a tear of pure darkness, like it was black paint splotched on the wall with faint bits of light, like a look into a faintly lit area. 

Someone was walking out of the dark wall, it was.. Endeven! Starbi's expression turned to one with a friendly smile, a faint breeze of joy flowing in the wind, happy to see a familiar face.
"Oh, hey Discouri!!! How was it down there?" Starbi spoke with a friendly tone in his voice, seemingly unbothered by the explosion that just happened.
"Oh, thanks!!!" Starbi's smile grew with a beaming wind of cheer flowing through around the three as Endeven gave him a form of approval.
"He came to me instead when I was making it back up the stairs instead actually!!!" Starbi added.

Starbi then listened to what Endeven had to say, temporal effects from the koi-fish? What was he talking about? He got a look into the future, huh.. Sounds.. Fun! A curious expression brushed on his face as Endeven spoke, interested to hear more.
Starbi's expression then turned to one of uncertainty, the festival's in danger? Starbi's expression then turned into one of unease.

** **
"Uh oh, that's not good!" Starbi commented.
"Maybe we should go check to see if there's anything wrong. I hope nobody's hurt!" Starbi added. He was uneasy hearing that, thinking that everyone in the festival may be in danger.

Starbi then saw.. Only Athena running out of the entrance she took with Endeven, Starbi waved to her to get her attention.
"Oh, Athena! Did you hear about.. The.. Premonitions." Starbi's words trailed off as Athena didn't seem like she had to talk, watching as she ran straight out of the exit. 
But maybe he, Endeven, and the mage guy could catch up with her and talk later.
That's what he hoped.

Starbi then turned back to Endeven.
"Did you see that orange-haired girl with us? I saw her go in before you and Athena. But she hadn't come out yet, what's up with her? Is she okay?" Starbi asked, he was unsure about her. He wanted to make sure she was at least okay.
Sandra
The man was not surprised by the sudden arrival of several individuals, despite with what urgency and speed they appeared. For the first time, it seemed as though he was in the moment, present-in-mind, though still upon the same, strange, delayed tempo as always. Endeven and Athena caused him, for the first time, to tilt his head, his hand supporting his chin as his lip curled slightly, his brow raising beneath the wooden veneer of his birdlike mask.

*`"...Hm..."`*

He held his silence as Endeven made his greetings, spoke to Starbi, and asked his question. The man's expression did not shift as Endeven brought up some rather perturbing and peculiar news, as he was, still, in that same moment of delay; that peculiar distance. Yet his expression, following that off-tempo, seemed to shift, slightly, unlike the coldness of his facade as earlier shown to Starbi.

This time, something truly interested him.

*`"I take it you are the Dioscuri I was told of."`*

He motioned toward Endeven, briefly surveying Athena and Starbi once more. It seemed he knew of Endeven. His reputation — or, perhaps, the reputation of his last name — proceeded him.

Eight seconds passed after he responded, as he looked forward, blank in expression. That odd tempo again.

*`"...Event staff... Partially."`*
*`"I act on a favor of a friend of mine."`*

Temporal abilities. A defense mechanism of the fish. Premonitions. An orange-haired girl...

*`"...The Koi is not with you."`*

He grinned, slightly, his pale-pink lips tugging into a smile, though confused and slightly disturbed as he was. Endeven's words still rang fresh in his mind, though the revelation of one specific fact amused him quite greatly.

*`"...That would be a bet I have won. Ah, joy."`*
_ _

Sobering himself, the man's expression returned to his ever-defining neutral: a cold and expressionless mannerism, filled with some subtleties that demonstrated his curiosity The Spirit-Koi was the more pressing matter at hand.

*`"...Mm. Once, I was given the creature to study, some moons ago."`*
*`"...It is a... Very furtive thing"`*
*`"Resisting us at every step..."`*
*`"Every hint at its true nature I retrieved with some great struggle."`* 
*`"And yet..."`*
*`"...Nothing of what you describe."`*

The masked mage pressed his hands together ahead of himself.
_ _

*`"You speak of many odd things."`*
*`"The Koi did not come down this path."`*

*`"...Hm."`*
He paused, as though second-guessing himself. He was certain that the Koi... 
...Ah, but perhaps it is because of...

*`"...In any case, I do not have the answers you search for."`*
*`"It would perhaps be better for us to meet in person,"`* He suggested, motioning toward himself. *In person,* He said? Was he not stood before them?

How odd a man. For he spoke with many odd delays, all things coming to him some short while after they occurred, and his manner of speaking and of merely existing was as though he were not there at all. As he had said to Starbi and would say again—

*`"...I am not here, now."`*
*`"I am a one that only copies, an empty thing made to speak in another's place."`*
*`"...Soon I will arrive in person..."`*
*`"...Though my arrival will be delayed."`*
*`"Then we may speak... Dioscuri."`*

He had a particular interest toward that singular mage. Dioscuri. A particular interest toward that name. *Dioscuri.* 

*`"Keep this matter discreet."`*
*`"Tell it only to those you trust."`*
*`"The Spirit Koi is a matter more peculiar and delicate than you might think."`*
*`"The O.S.A was incapable of holding on to it."`*
*`"...And myself incapable of reading into it."`*

The man gave a subtle warning, pausing, before placing a hand to the bridge of the beaked nose of his mask, clasping its wooden surface tightly, as though preparing to remove it. Yet he paused, lifting his visage toward the group again, as though waiting for a confirmation for something.
Dan
Athena heard none of what was said for she ran past the group a while ago towards the main area of sanctum mesa. She was a bit confused on who that robed guy was, possibly event staff and was just as confused as how Dioscuri was there before her, for she did not see him run past. But if she remembers correctly he said something about getting us outta there quickly, that must be how, whatever that way is and Starbi. "I wish i could have stayed and talked but no time for that now, I must find White September i think Dioscuri said or my other friends" She thought to herself as she ran. Her injuries were not as bad and def not noticeable and as for her birds, she desummoned them a while ago in the tunnels as they were of no use then.
Laura
Starbi turned his head to Endeven speaking after the empty mage had introduced himself. Talking about many things. 
First it was whether or not the strange mage seemed trustworthy, and the mention of the existence of an intelligent threat, but Starbi didn't take much thought into that, as Endeven then went back to the topic of the stranger being trustworthy or not. Starbi watching as the glass shards floating around in Endeven's hand like stardust in space fall into his palm.
From Starbi's perspective, he seemed to trust the mage heedlessly. He helped stitch up the people here, so that was something good! But maybe Endeven saw it differently.

"Well, I'd say he seems trustworthy! He helped the people here who needed help, we couldn't have done it without him here!" Starbi chimed with a friendly smile on his face.
"I'm sure that he can help us more if we let him!!" Starbi added, the breeze of cheer's influence strengthening a little bit, putting sightless faith into the mysterious mage.
Theresa
```
The south should be blessed with some good food.
```
Sandra
*`"...Hmph."`*

The man's visage remained fixed, any response quiet and long-delayed, together as though he was processing the statements made — or, instead, maybe appraising Endeven's certainty in his own statement, leaving a long pause to let whatever second-guesses, corrections, or lack of wholehearted grit, to rise to the surface in the tension of the absence of a response and subtract from what true spine he had just demonstrated. It was a test, of types, and in his unreadability, what truth behind the man's emotions and actual response to Endeven's reply remained concealed beneath the wooden veneer of the mask that concealed his eyes and his nose, and the cover of his left hand — with arm rested at its elbow over his right forearm — concealing his mouth and lower face. His head tilted slightly, once more, the grip he had on his mask released.

Considering the subtle nod he gave in response to the second of Endeven's two statements toward him, it seemed true that this "Iteration on himself" — a "One who copies", as a mage, empty, and good only to speak in another's place — would simply fade away, were he to take that mask from his visage. He spoke through a puppet, as shrouded and mysterious as he was described.

*`"..."`*

Slowly, his hand lowered, and the expression of his mouth beneath it revealed. He was still smiling, slightly, his teeth poking from his thin and pale-pink lips in a confident and amused smile that expressed all his insouciance and entertainedness at the doubts the Cantum sorcerer cast his way.

*`"...Years distant from the Academy leaves one an outsider once more,"`* He folded his arms, now stood fully upright with his head tilted slightly back, as though he were recalling some fond memory.
*`"...As unrecognized as the day one first enters."`*
_ _

*`That was, in some part, part of my intent.`*
*`But it has only been five years.`*

*`"...The Academy never changes..."`*

*`"...Well,"`* He said now, both statements and all the statements following said in a much more clear and direct manner than he had ever spoken before. 
*`"It is not much of a matter of trust, for nothing I can say will build trust between me and you, we being distant strangers who have not yet and can not yet meet."`*
*`"I only echo information; it is valuable but unverifiable information; and it is a burden and your burden alone to prove it right or wrong."`*

*`"...How sad. Trust is...`*
*`...Scarcely found in the blood of the Academy."`*

*`"...The Academy... Never changes."`*

The man outstretched both arms, as though in a shrug.

*`"...I only give you a warning"`*
*`"To beware what you say of what you see"`*
*`"In the presence of those whose intents you do not and can not know."`*
*`"...Hm."`*

*`"Spoken like this, my concern is perhaps made more clear:`*
*`"...These words of mine are as whole and trustworthy coming from a mysterious man as I,"`*
*`"...As would be warnings and ill omens of hidden premonitions coming from strangers like you."`* 
*`"In the end, they are both only words."`*
_ _

Now the man, without waiting for any response further from Endeven, quickly placed his hands upon his mask and tugged firmly, an ephemeral and umbral mana cascading all across his body as he did so. His visage was, for a moment, visible; yet in the sudden deluge of unusual mana outpouring, it was quickly hidden within a veil of dark and smoky magic, his body beginning to fade away into shards of darkness that themselves quickly dissipated into the light of the surrounding environment.

*`"Your companion is much more personable than you, Dioscuri,"`* He spoke in reference to Starbi and their immediate and perhaps unwarranted trust.
*`"Personable and trustworthy."`*
*`"But to be untrustworthy is not entirely a bad thing—"`*
*`—for, in that sense, you are much like...—"`*

—his words trailed away, as he disappeared entirely, his wooden mask clattering against the floor, before it, too, shattered into fragments of darkness.

*How strange a man, as empty as a shadow.*
Theresa
Confidence
The attitude that Endeven had throughout all of the puppet's speech. Confidently standing there with crossed arms, listening to what he had to say. Confidently peering down to the mage, with a slightly displeased aspect in his look as the mage failed to alter Endevens judgement. 

Although Endeven acknowledged that he was once part of the Academy, just like he himself is now, Endeven saw the empty mage just as distant as before. 

*`"...These words of mine are as whole and trustworthy coming from a mysterious man as I,"`* 
*`"...As would be warnings and ill omens of hidden premonitions coming from strangers like you."`* 
*`"In the end, they are both only words."`* 

*Yes, That's true.* Nobody would believe them, but Endeven knew that preceding the empty mages appearance too. That's why he was going to look for White September. Despite her entanglement with the O.S.A, she would surely be able to identify the threat of this situation.. If she believed them. 

As the sorcerer's mask fell to the ground and shattered, Endeven would only stare, lost in thought, pondering whether or not he should trust this individual. If Starbi started speaking, he would be interrupted by a sharp *Psst!* From Endeven. Until this point nothing the mage said had gotten to his head, but those last words. Endeven, despite knowing it was the truth, hated being considered as lower than Starbi in the element of being personable. 

*Much more personable than me? Of course. He is a naïve child. What does he know? A pacifist that is incapable of realizing when to retreat. Incapable of recognizing a possible threat standing right infront of him.*

*I'm different. I'm intelligent. I'm a genius. Why would i listen to the words of a puppeteer, unable to give me reason to believe him? My own judgement is what will determine my path.*

Still in thought, Endeven questioned the benefit of having Starbi follow along. Afterall, he wasn't a capable combatant, nor did he seem like he could understand the complexity of things. Endeven appreciated Starbi's obedience and loyalty though, leaving the choice up to the kid himself:

```ini
["Come along, if you still wanna go with me. I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of going separate ways though. No matter what others impose on me, I have my own plans and will exercise them based on my own Judgement. Just like you have the decision to split or follow now."]
```
*`...`*

*`...So why does it feel like...`*

*`...My Judgement is wrong here?`*
Laura
Starbi watched as the empty mage quickly vanished. The mask dropping on the floor with a solid clanking sound as it disappeared so quickly.

Starbi didn't understand most of the situation. Starbi had just listened to the conversation both of them for the most part without his sudden chime in.
Starbi turned to Endeven, as he then felt something, a very faint.. Bitter feeling from Endeven, was something bothering him? Starbi wasn't exactly sure.
Starbi then heard Endeven speaking, offering him to tag along with him, a friendly smile quickly forming on his face.
"Oh! I'd love to tag along!! I don't mind going with you! Starbi responded with cheer in his voice. He was happy to still stick around with someone at least! His joyful aura strengthing slightly, if not even clashing a bit against the doubt Endeven had.
"This'll be fun! Just say the word, and I'll do whatever you need me to do!!" Starbi added, his joyful smile still remaining on his face.
Theresa
```ini
["Fun? I will try. Let's focus on preventing the threat though. If the Preminition truly is a Preminition, then what has been shown to me is nothing that should be taken lightly or with 'Fun'."]
```

Up the stairs they ascended. Endeven had already made his decision on them not meeting the empty mage's true iteration before. Despite this, his gut feeling made him rethink everything the puppet said. In the end, considering mostly logic but also partly emotion, he changed his mind.

The comment that he made a bet against Endeven was the deciding factor in this reevaluation - Something of incredibly small significance - Yet, someone who intended to get on Endeven's good side would have stated to have made a bet in his favor - Meanwhile, the empty mage's statement sounded somewhat mocking. 

With a quick change of mood, partially caused by his satisfaction with that decision, partially caused by Starbi's joyful aura, Endeven started speaking to Starbi in a more lighthearted tone:

```ini
["Finally, some fresh air.. Let's wait here then. He did say, his arrival would be delayed, didn't he? Five Minutes. That's all he gets. If he hasn't shown up until then, we will move on."]
``` 

The sorcerer leaned against a wall near the metro's entrance with his back, taking out his phone. *Tap tap tap* He quickly went through his contacts, looking for someone's name. 

```ini
["In the meantime, I'll make a quick phonecall so we don't waste any time. I think I know someone who might be able to help us out with this whole situation."]
```
Laura
"You never know, Dioscuri! This is a turn of events here, for all we know it could just be a misunderstanding! And a surprise from this king, I can't wait to meet the guy who helped form the event too!" Starbi spoke as he followed Endeven up the stairs with glee.

"This festival brought so many smiles on so many faces, where we can all talk, hang out, eat some good food, you know! It made a lot of people smile, and I couldn't be happier about that! So if I ever meet this king guy, I have to thank him for helping make people smile!" Starbi rambled with glee, the joyful aura increasing. 

This is how Starbi saw the situation at least, he's the kind of person who would focus on the bright side of things in every situation, trying to smile in the darkest of days, such is the life he's made for himself, to try and bring cheer and bright sides to everyone out there.

Starbi then followed Endeven outside of the metro's entrance, as Endeven spoke, holding a phone in his hand.
"Oh, yeah no worries!!! Take your time!!" Starbi spoke, as he then wandered around a little bit, following along with cheerful twirls with his arms spread out a bit. It was then that he took out his phone too, holding it in a landscape portrait with his thumbs placed against the screen to play a sort of game on his phone, the volume set to low.

``" Bandori! Girls band party! "``

That's what the game sounded out faintly, Starbi's eyes locked on the screen as faint but cheerful music could be heard from his phone. A harmless rhythm game for Starbi to play while Endeven's on the phone.
William
*Meanwhile, the recipient of the phone call was in a situation they really did not like. They were dragged along here by their relatives, currently close to the heart of the festivities much to Blossom's dismay. The stalls did look interesting sure, but they were too crowded for them to even dare approaching them.*

*It was all for ''good public appearances'' they were told. They simply had to go to the festival and make sure that people saw them, that way people would see them more highly than otherwise. Blossom found this reason well... You can probably guess. They were pretty upset about it.*

*After a good while of being dragged around by their relatives, their phone started buzzing. Finally they had the chance to step away from the massive amount of people present and so they quickly excused themselves and slipped away to a much quieter area, with fewer people around. It's probably a good idea to be able to hear what you're saying when answering a phone call.*

*They answered the phone call, right after seeing the contact read 'Endeven Dioscuri'. They were a bit curious to why he would call them, but that'd probably be explained soon. So, they put the phone to their ear, hearing the familiar mans voice.*

```
"It's been a while, Hasn't it?"
```
*The crowds could be heard from the distance, Blossom wondered if Endeven could hear the crowd in the distance. It was quite loud, louder than Blossom would prefer anyway.*

```
"Unfortunately... It's so busy that I can't even look at the stalls."
```
*It was quite obvious from their tone of voice that they did not have a fun time. Then again is was very likely he already knew they wouldn't have a great time. They'd much rather be at home playing video games.*
Theresa
The sound of people was most of what Endeven heard as the recipient answered. It's a wonder they were even able to make out what Endeven said while among the packed crowd. However, this came to benefit Endeven greatly, since he could try to convince Blossom to move over to Endeven's and Starbi's location while they waited for the empty mage to show up - As a backup.

```ini
["I can imagine. Shall i save you from Monsieur Father? I can provide a good reason for you to disappear. At the moment this alibi is rather secretive though, don't tell anyone, got it?"]
```

Endeven guessed that Blossom's relatives would most likely be accepting about their family member leaving them, if Blossom was able to act against an event of such severity. Though, this whole Premonition story was mostly speculation, Endeven had strong feelings about this danger, as he was generally a very paranoid person. 

The way he described the story to Blossom made it sound like the Premonitions were definitely going to happen, which was exactly what Endeven's anxious side assumed about them.

```ini
["To put it into few words, I participated in the fish hunt, hosted by the O.S.A and encountered the Spirit-Koi. Me and two girls that were present aswell were affected by this Koi's ability and heard strange words. It felt like they came from the future... Like they're PREMONITIONS... And they imply the king being forced to protect his people while he is outside of his kingdom, Finire, which could be this very evening."]
```

As he described the situation he intuitively started walking, then turning back and then forth again, as if he was patrolling the entrance of the metro station. He gave Starbi another gaze, staring at the starborns phone display, as he still explained the situation to Blossom. It would seem like Endeven was watching the gameplay, but in reality he was too focused on the call to recognize what Starbi was doing. Afterwards Endeven walked away from Starbi once again.

```ini
["I have a grim feeling about this, you know?"]
```
William
*They carefully heard the man out, a reason to escape from the horror that is their family would always be nice. They thought so at least, their family probably disagreed.*

```
"A reason to leave, well I'd certainly appreciate that."
```

*They generally believed Endeven. So if he told them something well, they would probably buy it even if it was just speculation. Of course wording it like fact rather than guesswork does help in convincing them.*

```
"Well that sounds like a big problem... Almost sounds like many people would get..."
```

*They thought about it again, if innocent people would be hurt that'd be well... About the worst possible outcome one could think of. So if they could help in any way naturally they would agree to that. Besides its not like they are that fragile... Okay maybe they are but thats besides the point, they con protect themselves against a decent amount of threats.*

```
"I can understand why you would feel grim about it. I also think I'm getting why you called me now... So then, what do you need from me?"
```

*It wasn't that weird of an assumption to make. Obviously Endeven wouldn't call Blossom to tell them all this only to just not ask them to help. Obviously Endeven wanted to make use of Blossom's skills and very unique magic. So they held the phone close to their ear still, waiting for Endeven to explain what he really needed from them.*
Theresa
***Don't forget about the looming danger.***
Left then right. Left again and then right again, Endeven kept strolling around the metro's entrance as he listened to Blossom ask his question. He was nervously checking the buildings and streets around them. There was no way of telling where the anticipated danger would come from - A distressing worry of Endeven. At some point the enemy might just show up. Maybe even before they would be able to make preparations. Lost in thought, Endeven gave a slightly delayed but confident answer to Blossom: 

```ini
["As you know, only few people should know about this whole story. "]

["The fact that you willingly believe me right off the bat is clear proof that you're someone I can put my trust into."]

["Im currently alone here with some kid, so some assistance from a skilled sorcerer like you would be great. Could you come over?"]
```

As Endeven spoke he had already removed his phone from the ear and started tapping on it. He quickly listened to his surroundings and came to realize that there was a more intense sound of crowd, than when he had first arrived here. For a second Endeven paused again, his green eyes quickly examining the area around them, while he wondered when the empty mage was going to show up and if he was going to show up at all. The way that Endeven described his prior distrust towards the magician might've made him assume that Endeven was reluctant to convene. 

It's a very justified assumption to make. Even the sorcerer himself knew that. *Tap*

*`Blossom received a message.`* 

```ini
["Check your phone, I passed our location over to you. It should be fairly close to the heart of the event. Judging by sound clues, the King is close to this place, so you're probably not too far off either. "]
```
William
*While they continued to listen to Endeven explain the situation. They were thinking of how to slip away mostly unnoticed. When they realised they already, did that. So instead they were simply letting the sorcerer explain the situation more.*

```
"A kid? I'm assuming they accidentally got roped into the mess? I'll be over as soon as I can. Helping prevent... Problems would be ideal obviously."
```

*They were quite shocked to learn a child had been roped into the mess as well. It made Blossom want to help Endeven even more if anything. Children are usually still innocent, unaware of what life will hold for them. Having them be hurt at a young age could change their life for the worse forever. So, Blossom would do anything they can to make sure children don't have to go trough a mess like that. Blossom was getting slightly annoyed from the amount of people, seriously who thought festivals were fun anyway?*

```
"Ah, Yeah I see it. I'm not too far away luckily, I'll hang up for now then, expect me in around five to ten minute accounting for the crowd."
```

*They pressed the end call button, navigating to the location Endeven had sent them. It wouldn't normally take longer than a minute or three to get there, but unfortunately there are a lot of people which made getting anywhere quite difficult. They don't have any faster way to get there either so they have no other choice other than to simply: Walk. *
Laura
Starbi was just focusing on his rhythm game. His eyes, ears, and complete focus are aimed at the phone's game and music. Notes of different variants come close together to the judgment line, flicks, hold notes, and slide flicks. Most of them were pressed by Starbi with great accuracy, having a great full combo going for the song "KING". 

Had Endeven listened, he would've heard the intense musical instruments coming from the starborn's phone, following along with lyrics sung by a girl in Japanese.

```
レフトサイド,　ライトサイド
歯をむき出して　パッパッパッ　照れくさいね
レフトサイド,　ライトサイド
歯を突き出して　パッパッパッ
HAHA
YOU ARE KING.
```


That's what the voice sang out, the heavy intense music continuing as Starbi's thumbs pressed against his screen at an alarming pace.
Before Starbi spoke, his eyes stuck on his screen.

"Hey, are you done talking with your friend? I think I heard you saying goodbye." Starbi asked, it was then the song seemed to be finished, it wasn't a full combo, but it was a good play, S-Rank, not bad.
Starbi then turned his head up to Endeven, now that he didn't need to look at his phone currently.

"I can't wait to meet them though!!" Starbi spoke with his signature smile.
"I'm glad to know you have other friends!! I'm sure they're a nice person!!!"
Starbi added.

An expression of confusion was brushed on Starbi's face when he heard Endeven. 
Hm? A loner? What did he mean by that, did he say something wrong? Starbi thought that Endeven was a cool wizard, so he figured that he had cool wizard friends as well, or something like that. 

He was going to respond instantly, but Endeven interrupted him, saying he was going to call another acquaintance, and for him to think of an answer. 
Starbi already had an answer prepared the moment Endeven asked the initial question, he didn't think he was a loner, quite the contrary, he thought he had other cool wizard friends too!
Starbi waited, his eyes looking at Endeven on the phone, a measly 10 seconds passing by.
Endeven spoke, looking at Starbi;

"My reason is that I think that a cool wizard like you has lots of other wizard friends!" Starbi responded with glee.

"Cause if you have other friends, then that means I can make more friends too!" He added, 

"Having friends is something cool because friends can help each other be happy! And in turn, everyone is happy! For the fact they made someone happy, and they know that there are people out there who make *Them* Happy too!" He explained,

"And I'm glad to know that there are people out there who make you happy as well!! And I can't wait to meet them so we can all be happy together!" He added once more, 

"That's something worth being happy for, isn't it?" 

Starbi ended his small speech with a rhetorical question, a smile of bright joy brushed on his face, a sense of cheer looming over the area he and the sorcerer were in.

Starbi kept his bright smile on his face as he heard Endeven agreeing with him. It made him happy that End understood what he meant. Friends being there for eachother, and making eachohter smile, smiling altogether is what makes Starbi show his brightest smile, his Joyful Aura increasing its strength over the area.

But it was then that Endeven's friendly approach turned into something.. Sharp, something sudden. Asking him a weird question, huh- he didn't expect that question to come towards him ever.
Endeven then began speaking, talking about potential danger, the next conversation was something familiar.
Endeven brought up Starbi's practical lack of combat experience, and then an interesting point.

``` ["You need to understand, there are bad people out there that won't easily be swayed with words. If Bucket hat from earlier was not just a participant of the event and wanted to seriously harm you, then what? Your words did not stop him from clashing against me Athena and the sulky one."]```

When Starbi heard these words, he felt.. A bit of a soggy feeling, like a damp piece paper weak to being torn to pieces with the slightest tug. Well, he didn't really think of that since he's got here, 

"Well, I'm going to stick by your side in this! Right now, it's just me, you, your friend and the mage!"
Starbi responded.

"I know that things are gonna be okay though, so I'm gonna stick around with you!" Starbi added.

"And even if something happens, that's the beauty of the sudden change of fate!"
Starbi assured,

"Whatever happens, you always got a friend like me to be there for you!"
Starbi had his arms open wh wide with his phone in one of his hands.
Jeffrey
Starbi's smile remained before Endeven started to speak again. Did he say something wrong? What was it this time?
Starbi wanted to listen and understand what Endeven meant, but he couldn't understand what was wrong.

Starbi's damp and soggy-like-papery feeling remained, it felt as if the paper kept getting soggier and soggier. Starbi's now confused expression faltered, but he kept his composure.

```["You and I, we are not friends. You may consider me a friend, but same cannot be said the other way."]```

Those words, those words stuck to Starbi, they were.. Sharp, like that soggy piece of paper was torn without a doubt. A.. Nervous feeling resonated within Starbi. The confused expression on his face cracked as he clenched his teeth lightly. Endeven then brought questions, questions like if Endeven was ever in danger, would Starbi be there to defend him.

"..Of course, I would! I would never think twice about helping you. What are friends for if we can't help each other? I'm gonna try my best to help! That's a promise from yours truly!" Starbi spoke, his mouth shook for a small moment, as he smiled in response to Endeven's questions. What was Endeven saying, what was he trying to do..? Those words..;

```["We are not friends."]```

Those words stuck in Starbi's head, he tried his smile, his smile hiding behind clenched teeth. His teeth clenched to deal with a feeling Endeven had given Starbi, it felt.. Sore, Starbi didn't like that feeling.

"..Just say the word, whatever you want me to do and I'll help you and everyone else! I've been doing a good job at that so far!" Starbi added.. If Endeven noticed,
Starbi's voice strained slightly, 
As if it was a subtle plea.
Laura
Starbi felt a bit.. At ease after his speech and Endeven's words. He was willing to put this past them and forget with no problem! Silence hit the room, but a weak sense of joy accompanied the silence.. But it was weak, significantly weak.
Starbi's clenched teeth eased, he knew Endeven probably had his reasons for this, he was smart, and calculated, and it was probably something good, but Starbi didn't know exactly what he wanted to do.

He then began hearing something, he was a bit taken aback by it, it didn't seem like Endeven heard it himself. 
It was.. Weird to describe, it wasn't a joyful feeling, it was.. A warm feeling, a voice.. Was it Endeven? Starbi kept his eyes on Endeven, but he didn't seem to be speaking.
Starbi remained with his composure, he didn't want to seem surprised. But he focused on the strange voice, he couldn't understand it.. But, it felt.. Comforting as it washed all your worries in an instant.

Endeven then began speaking to Starbi, as if he decided something;

```["Please respect my boundaries in return and defend yourself from dangers while you're not with me."]```

That's what Endeven offered in exchange for him protecting Starbi. He didn't know what he meant by that, where did that come from? Starbi didn't know.
"Alright! That's a certified Starbi-promise from yours truly! I'll do my best to protect myself while you're not with me, you can count on that Endeven!"
Starbi agreed in a matter of seconds, his expression turning into his signature smile once more. It was as if all the discomfort he was feeling went away, in its own way.

"I'm sticking with you, so you can count on me not to get in anyone's way!"
He promised without a doubt.
Theresa
```ini
[✦ "Good to hear." ✦]
```

*`Blow-dried glass shards in my left pocket.`*
*`I let them ferment in a concrete ceiling.`*
*`They don't reek of booze anymore.`*
*`Wow, that's incredible.`* 

```ini
[✦ "Let's hope that puppeteer shows up soon." ✦]
```

*And Blossom too..*
Allen
The circumstances were far from ideal. Yes, there was no identifiable risk of fatality or serious injury, which was ultimately the only thing that *Mattered*, but that was hardly the problem between this foe of unforeseen capability— to a level that Salhaeja was simply not well-equipped to dissect on Ha's behalf— and the general contradiction of engaging in this unimportant fish chase in the first place, as aforementioned. All that doesn't even mention that they have an express purpose for being here, and wasting her energy on this meaningless affair would not be conducive to eventually addressing that issue. Keeping this 'vow' meant something to the blade, representing some sort of abstract belief that transcended the clarity of their goals, for reasons purely unknown, and yet somehow pertinent enough to seemingly take priority over the mission at hand. Still, the swordswoman does what she is told absent of much contemplation, even in her enhanced state, and much as it put strain on his logic, this was nevertheless no exception. In part, this was a blunder caused by sentimentality that was not totally uncharacteristic of Salhaeja, although the sudden abandonment of their agenda certainly was.

Now was the time for action, though, not reflection. The two main benefits of heading south was ideally creating fuel for enough chaos to act as a diversion in order to come up with a more effective strategy against this particular opponent, as well as the tunnel system that he'd made note of at some point while traveling throughout festival. As **DISTORT** And **DOUBLE** Faded— Salhaeja noted that Sable was able to essentially use a forced transport technique to get rid his clone— her speed were dwindle to a still fairly significant, steady 25 miles per hour, give or take. Her image became clear, and one could see the shifting movements of *Both* Of her legs, which was certainly bizarre for anyone that had seen her prior to this exchange. Yet, her expression remai

Ned the same, if not even less responsive than it was already, and it was almost like she'd gone from impersonal to inhuman, acting only in reflex and absent of coherent thought. There were some cracks in her sunglasses as a result of a slight, but costly misstep considering the speed she was traveling at, and part of her Nyan Cat tee was ripped towards her right shoulder. She firmly gripped her companion in her right hand, and Sal did his best to continue making mental notes of Sable, as well as Gold; he still was under the impression that they did not share the same enemy, and that could be useful, perhaps even critical. 

There it was. A simple descending staircase with a overarching roof, somewhat crowded with dim lighting, though that aided by the two presiding characters within it. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for Sal to provide instruction other than the appearance of their destination, but Ha had enough wit in this condition to improvise. She felt the wind above, identifying the flow of rows of banners and streamers that had enough width to act as a. . . Liaison, to her destination. With virtually no hesitation, she turned her heel and kicked her foot against the construction of a Mesa building , using it combined with her maintained speed to bounce off at a sufficient velocity and grab onto the streamers with her sword, holding it's center with both hands. Like a makeshift zipline, she accelerated quickly off growing momentum, vaulting herself through the tight window of entry, just managing to not clip her head. 

However, it was still not an entirely successful maneuver— as are most things she did excluding Sal's input— and as a result, Ha still ended up bumping shoulders with Endeven, before tumbling down several steps. She was unscathed by this but it'd hurt like a *Bitch* Once she returned to normal. Starbi and End had a clear view of her, and she quickly planted her sword against the ground, using it to stand herself up.
Theresa
A tingling sensation of minimal pain in Endeven's upper nape, where Oculus Accortex resided, was indicating the speed of a dangerous approaching entity. Endeven ruled out the possibility of this being Blossom since they would be easily identifiable by their pink color. It had also only been around four to five minutes since their call ended. *Is this the puppeteer?* 

That assumption quickly vanished as Endeven's keen sense of the arcane recognized a certain trace. *Is this the Spirit-Koi's Mana?* An enemy in Endeven's eyes. Elechrome Energy manifested throughout Endeven's body, due to the unknown location of this threat. Ha swung through the air towards Endeven while the latter moved his hands closely together in an attempt to form a handsign while warning Starbi:

```ini
[✦ "Incoming P-!" ✦]
```

**`THUD`**

Ha bumped into Endeven: He lost his balance, fell over like a bowling pin and ended up a few stairs closer to the entrance than Ha. Although he managed to land on his four limbs after crashing on his back, the fall was still painful, especially to his spine, which had been injured not too long ago. During the short moment they made contact, a minimal black charge was inflicted on the swordswoman, which would be left unnoticed by Ha herself, since energy of such low concentration would possess no idle sound. 

```ini
[✦ "You... Again..?" ✦]
``` 

His head snapped at the woman near him as Endeven got up on his knees, but - It wasn't Vaughan? 

Previously she got hold of the koi-fish - which wasn't too long ago, but Endeven didn't recognize this person as the girl he had met earlier, thus concluding that Vaughan left the metro and was defeated by this individual, which would explain why she is in possession of the Spirit-Koi now.

So this was not Vaughan, it was another participant. Slightly Embarrassing for the sorcerer.

```ini
[✦ "Ah- Apologies-" ✦]
``` 

Despite the polite attitude and calm voice, his hands smoothly folded into a hand sign in an instant. The palms faced the ground as one left finger after the other slid to the side of its right counterpart, each tip pointing downward. 

**`Quasar Locus: Bend`**
**`Plus 100 KG`**
 
Before Ha managed to get up completely, a sudden weight would begin pulling her down, as if she was tied to a weight of almost double her own. While the bare weight was incapable of damaging Ha it would pull her down to the dirty stairs. Clinging onto the sword she used to get up would be her only way of not being pressed against the ground.

Up on his feet again, Endeven descended the stairs towards Ha, as a wave of rather dark and indigo mana surged around his body: Mana Reinforcement. Like water it streamed down into his right leg, hinting towards his next action: An attempt to disarm the swordswoman, before a battle could even start. While contact with a soul-wielding individual affected by **Quasar Locus: Bend** Was not possible, the same could not be said for The Slayer, which was not affected by the ability to bend mass.

```ini
[✦ "Let's chat." ✦]
``` 

The voice speaking did seem peaceful and noble, but considering the spell that Endeven had immediately cast against Ha would leave doubt in the sincerity of his tone. 

~~[✦ "It's very convenient for me that we've met. I don't intend on fighting, don't worry. But I disfavor the presence of that weapon.." ✦]~~ 

~~Whether or not Ha was still upright or not, Endeven would place his right foot with concentrated mana reinforcement on the sword's side. He would then make his two hands split again, ending the technique and removing the simulated mass, while simultaneously charging his leg with Protochrome energy.~~

~~What Endeven was trying to achieve here, was a minimal white charge on the sword. This would push the sword out of her hand with a harmless Monochromate Reaction between it and the black-charged Ha, whilst he lead the swords trajectory downward the staircase with a kick of reinforced strength.~~
Thomas
Entering *Immediately* After the figure following Ha, Gold bears witness to BEND.

"Nah-" It's well-within Gold's best interest to keep Ha *Moving*, not because he cares about the fish, but because he cares about *Sable*.

As such, the second he realizes that mana is *Holding* Ha from moving, Gold immediately and hastily activates A Mental Lever Long Enough, keeping the 10 provided kilograms of *Bend* Off of Ha's person. "Keep fuckin' movin'!!!-" He calls out, instructing Ha to keep pushing forward as he floats forward himself, reading the *Palm Gun* To continue trying to lift the shard off of Sable's shoulder.

This isn't *Really* A truce, moreso just a... Momentary synchronization of goals between the two; Gold cares *Not* For the fish.


To Endeven, perhaps, the *Palm Gun* Itself offers an interesting aura to observe — one that, despite its technological advancements being on-time for *This* World, seems *Yet* To have been pulled through the fabric of multiple timelines, emitting a much more reserved, yet similar aura to that of an *Anomaly*.
Delores
*`That is——`*

Sable's traced Ha as she descended into the metro tunnel, her golden irises watching from a moderate distance as she continued to push through the crowd closeby the **Margo Aeternitatis.** Pale-gold flames enveloped her right palm as she produced another two flames of candlelight that hovered directly at her sides, the initial four encompassing her now having spread far away from her, two in direct pursuit of Ha and two behind and flanking her on either side. 

*`——a mistake.`*

The transparent aura of a pale-gold flame engulfed Sable's right foot — elementally-infused mana seethed off its surface as external reinforcement was brought forth. In light of Ha, travelling at inhuman speeds and taking the straightaway into the subterranean metro system, Sable picked up her pace considerably, shoving inbetween the members of the crowd and approaching at a speed somewhat, though not vastly, slower than the Koi-holder's own.

***`CLAP.`***

—A flame ahead of her is snuffed. The flames around her waver. Sable and the shard with her disappears in a cloud of smoke, remanifesting just outside the entry to the metro staircase (consequently avoiding Gold's attempt to leverage the shard away from her. The magician bursts forwards with speed following her spontaneous manifestation, down the stairs, down after Ha, golden irises and the subtle light of the candleflames affixed upon those who would come between her and her target: Endeven and Starbi. She briefly surveyed them from the top of the staircase as she descended, yet her focus and attention would still ultimately be fixed on the one who held the Koi._ _

*`It's a straight shot.`*
*`I won't let them slow me down.`*

Whether Ha was incapacitated or not, Sable had found a great advantage merely in the fact that they were now in an underground, linear tunnel-system. Her pale-gold mana flares with a fiery aspect off of both her hands. One of the several flames that had now converged to hover concentrically about her is manipulated with a subtle motion of her finger — brought to float just above her right palm — as a discernable magical presence cascaded forward from her fingertips, suffusing the freefloating external manifestation of her technique — a single ***`LONT`*** Among many — her index now outstretched, **Pointing toward the end of the tunnel.**

***```asciidoc
☾• "Ga voort." :: •☽```***

**Like firing an arrow, the flame is projectiled at incredible speeds down the hall, flying well past Ha toward the opposite end of the tunnel.**

***`CLAP.`***

Her hands come together, her eyes closing, as that very same flame is snuffed; **She had teleported directly ahead of Ha.** The flames waver, hovering in formation where she once stood, the spectral image of her previous location still manifest and dissipating like a cloud of smoke. In doing this, she would bypass the possibility of the individuals already within the tunnel slowing her down while simultaneously cutting Ha's escape route off.

```asciidoc
☾• "Enough running." :: •☽
☾• "You will never escape from me again." :: •☽
☾• "I will make better use of the Koi than you, in any case," :: she confidently asserted. •☽```

Sable slowly pulled her palms away from eachother, her eyes reopening as they now locked with those positioned directly opposite herself: Endeven and Starbi again, and, of course, Ha and Gold behind him. She squints, elemental mana still fluorescing from both of her hands as the vestiges of her technique fade away, much unlike the golden gleam of her irises, which remained as steadfast as the moment she initially met Ha.
Laura
Everything happened in an instant; 
From Starbi's sense of relief to the acrobatic that crashed into Endeven which left them tumbling down the metro stairs. To Endeven casting a spell and in turn, disarmed the acrobat, which was followed by a man with purple colored hair lifting Endeven's spell off of the acrobat, and next; with a strange individual with the use of fire magic.
In the end with the sorcerer Endeven creating a sort of portal beneath himself and the acrobatic.

All in all, Starbi was struck with oblivion, so to speak. 
Everything happened in an instant, with him just idling by as he let Endeven handle everything. It was better than him getting in the way, Endeven knew what he was doing.
He figured perhaps he should go look for some sort of help, maybe looking for the puppeteer or Endeven's friend, if Starbi could even do that as he didn't know what either of them actually looked like. 
But in the end, what would that mean for Starbi? Starbi would do good to look for help and not get in the way, but what if this was an exception? He was sure that Endeven could handle himself while Starbi was gone, Starbi was practically useless in combat.

But to Starbi, it was possibly 3 against 1, albeit a split brawl as the 3 people to what Starbi could figure were participants, 2 of them running away from the 4th person to make it here, not to mention the acrobat being disarmed by Endeven himself a few minutes ago.
Was Endeven able to handle himself regardless? Starbi felt a bit unsure, one might say a bit stressed. Perhaps he may have to intervene, but in the end, what could he even manage to do? 
Starbi promised to not get in the way, bu-
John
```ini
["REMAIN PATIENT. AWAIT OPPORTUNITY."]
```
Allen
These were the words that echoed through Ha's mind during each passing second of the expanding encounter. It was not to be confused with a call for composure— despite the circumstances being seemingly unfavorable and only becoming worse, she hadn't once reacted viscerally aside from groans, nor did she have anything to say that would insinuate she was apprehensive. As such, her blade was not asking her to stay poised, but to simply be more cautious and strategic in course of action, citing her failed attempt at improvising that landed them in this situation thereafter. She lightly nodded in acknowledgement, which was lost in the chaos of the standoff between these new foes of unknown capabilities. For what it was worth, this was exactly what the sword was hoping for. An unsound environment is a breeding ground for leverage previously unattainable, and his belief did not wane upon separation from Ha, having been kicked further downstairs by Endeven, the stranger they bumped into. He could return to her sheath as a SOUL-bound weapon, something he must've presumably not known, but there was still reason beyond that simple fact for his confidence.

Endeven was successful in pinning Ha against the ground using Bend, and when Gold attempted to help her by interrupting the ability, she made what looked like a failed effort to escape, of which was in reality not an actual attempt to begin with, as instructed. Theoretically, she *Could've*, with full exertion of physical capacity in an enhanced state, been able to physically remove herself— or simply used an ability for that matter to combat it— but doing so in the midst of what was taking place was contrary to what Salhaeja had made a point of, albeit doing nothing would also arouse suspicion. So, she put on *Another* Act that ideally would go better than the previous one, and then waited, per Sal's suggestion. 

She essentially ignored Sable, because her threats and boasts weren't useful information by any stretch. In

Fairness, though, her last statement was probably true assuming they cared even in the slightest. The swordswoman still believed that the fish was trivial, a by-product of meaningless desire inconducive to task completion. Unlike her physical capacity, her 'feelings' had not changed in the slightest, and yet everyone else coveted the item. That had to be for a reason, except it was one that she couldn't care about unless it was relevant to her exclusively.

Initially, Sal did not have a clear line of sight of the Dutch mage, nor Gold or Starbi due to being kicked aside, which inclined Ha to take it upon herself to substitute on his behalf instead of continuing a forced escape. She attempted to listen to the smattering of voices and clashing abilities (effectively so), and then could feel the added 20 or so KGs added by Endeven in reaction to Golds intervention. Waiting would surely be better, but suddenly– Salhaeja was, by unknown means, able to return to her side. Yes, he could have returned anytime, but this was *Not* His doing. It was as if what just happened was. . . Undone. Furthermore, the effects of Bend were now gone, and Ha was fully capable of moving if she so pleased. Sal did not instruct her to do so, so she didn't.

__
Now back in the picture, he made mental notes of all of his potential opponents and/or allies. He was focused on Endeven in particular, largely because he began to create what were effectively portals– another significant transport-ability from their enemies. Aside from that, the blade was uncertain of his motivations or what his goal really was, but he was aware of two things: he *Knew* What Sal was based on his words, which few did, and he wanted to speak to his wielder about something excluding him. He was actually saving her here, but why? His questionableness was enough to make an enemy of Salhaeja, even if he supposedly asked Ha to 'trust him' and was helping her escape. Endeven may very well still try and subdue her upon their locational change, and he had no way of knowing of his intentions were malicious unless they *Spoke*. Also. . . If he knew what Salhaeja was. . . *Before*?

He'd have to revisit that. For now, he quickly acknowledged the situation— they had gained some separation from the group thanks to Endevens initial wormhole, situated within darkness, and there was another portal of dark variation, one that he presumably left there either intentionally or unintentionally. Endeven would feel a slightly sharp push in the back, as he and Ha would both enter, transporting themselves to where Sal assumed it was safer, perhaps deeper into the metro station. 

The moment they were in a tangible space, Ha would oblige Salhaejas instructions to quickly diverge and distance herself from Endeven, quickly springing herself backwards and holding up Salhaeja in a fighting stance. To ensure there was an insurance policy, **DOUBLE** Had reactivated; a purple hue emitted from the original blade, and its copy tapped the shoulder of Endeven, remaining ever so close to his neck after appearing suddenly from darkness. It was what pushed him into the portal. Sal wouldn't strike, however, and he would do something else that would draw a confused look from Ha.
John
```ini
["THE GIRL IS BROKEN AND NOT EQUIPPED TO SPEAK WELL. THIS 'KOI' IS OF NO INTEREST TO ME OR HER. WE ARE HERE FOR AN OBJECTIVE. WE DO NOT SEEK QUARREL."]
```
. . .What's this? Salhaeja was breaking his rules. He rarely spoke to anyone but Ha herself, and yet, Endeven could hear a distinctly uneven voice echoing in his mind. The clone of Sal backed up slightly, as to signify that he had no intention of slicing his neck open. He meant what he said.

```ini
["WHAT IS IT YOU ARE AFTER? PUT YOUR DISDAIN ASIDE AND WE MAY COME TO AGREEABLE TERMS. WHATEVER DREAD YOU HOLD FOR ME, I HOLD THE SAME FOR MYSELF."]
```
Rather transparent of him to add, but for what it was worth, he understands the man's disgust at him in knowing what he was, and perhaps what he'd done in the past. Salhaeja truly felt the same.
Theresa
A breeze of air went through Endeven's purple hair and made it flow upwards as he fell through the wormhole that had formed underneath his feet. If Gold and Starbi paid a bit of attention to Endeven, they would get a short glimpse of Oculus Accortex, the passive incarnation of Endeven, which would normally be hidden underneath the strands on his hind neck: An eye centered on his nape with an iris resembling a nebula of countless stars, fixed onto Gold.

*`For a moment only they could bear witness the ability that Endeven tried to keep as a secret, since it was a clear weakness to him.`*

*`For a moment.`*

**`Quasar Locus: Rend`** 

His arm swiped upwards as his head sank through the portal, as if it was going underwater. Within a second, the portal got sealed and sight through it became completely obscured by a barrier of what seemed like a pure abyss - Space torn asunder - To call it a barrier was plain incorrect, as it was a spot in the universe lacking the weave of space in its entirety and as such, nothing was capable of piercing it. 

Bend, Bind and now Rend. All within few seconds. Excessive use of Quasar Locus took its toll on Endeven, quickly realized by the fact that lightheadedness struck him as he cast this spell. *Too much.. This is getting nauseating.* Since Quasar interacts with the space that Unity itself is made of, plausibility will interact with Endeven in return too, the more Endeven distorts the concept that authorizes his own existence. Continuing overuse of spatial manipulation would cause a more severe punishment. 

Nausea reached Endeven as his feet pounded onto the ground from the fall. The two of them landed a decent amount of meters behind Sable at the bottom of the staircase. *We have to get into the wormhole quickl-* Balance snapped back into Endeven's body as the unpleasant feeling of sickness quickly faded, though it was immediately lost again when he was pushed into his old Bind by something unknown to him, causing him to almost tumble to the ground once again. Ha followed. Despite the unexpected push, Endeven thought Ha was simply going along with his plan, causing him to close the portal. 

**`Boom!!`** 

A suspended monochromatic reaction was essentially what held the two locations together. The explosion was merely the release of this suspension. The tear would quickly shrink in size and close indefinitely, leaving the two in darkness, which would only bother Endeven, since Ha was, well, blind, though the sorcerer hadn't yet realized this. Ha jumped away from him, probably out of fear he was going to attack her now. 
```ini
[✦ "We shook those off for now. Don't worry, I'm not looking for a fight." ✦]
``` 

Despite the seeming safety, something was strange to Endeven.

```ini
[✦ "Though, it's a little dark in here, isn't it?" ✦]
```

**`Shrill Silence`**

```ini
[✦ "..." ✦]
```

He wanted to use bright Protochroma to glow up the area, but something told him that using magic and moving would both be horrible ideas.

There was a ringing sound in Endeven's ears. He felt the presence of this chill steel near his neck causing goosebumps to form all over Endeven's skin. It wasn't cold, but it sent shivers down his spine. The cutting edge capable of smoothly slitting through his throat like butter at any moment. *Didn't she just jump away from me? So it's that sword's ability.* Endeven had previously sensed the unusual mana of that sword, but he hadn't expected it to have full consciousness. A terrifying realization without the knowledge that Salhaeja isn't anything like a temporal beast. But there must be a reason why Endeven is still capable of worrying about all this, afterall, if this thing really wanted Endeven out of the picture, they could remove him here, withdrawn from all public eyes.
Thomas
Struggling under the newly added 20 kilograms, but still managing, Gold ends up utilizing a lot more `focus` than originally intended, letting out a sharp groan under pressure from Endeven's **Bend**, if this keeps up, then- but it doesn't, thankfully.

Regardless of... Whatever existential crisis behind himself was perhaps currently going on, Gold too, advances- trying to once again take the shard off of Sable by force, but not before bearing witness to Endeven's *Incarnation*, not that it matters right about now to Gold anyway. There is something far more important- that damn shard.

The *Palm Gun* Flickers to life again as Gold attempts to once more, shoot Sable. How unpredictable. But, assuming a teleport, Gold has another idea in mind - from his pant pocket, he *Senses* The bag of change and quickly draws it out, *Hoping* That Sable draws too close as he readies his special ability - even if it were unnecessary. It would have to be a non-fatal blow, but... One could manage. Maybe another approach would be useful for as fast an opponent as her, but one would just have to wait and see..

"Th' f-" And, again, teleportation, but this time from Ha and Endeven - "-uck??"

"Why's everybody in this god-forsaken world seem t' teleport???" 

`Focus. Eyes on the prize.` He shakes his head, refocusing and shooting his shot at the shard-bearer.
Delores
*`Disappearance. Teleportation.`*
*`Emergence. A new technique.`*
*`Revelation. Incarnation.`*
*`Dormancy. Apprehension.`*
*`Repetition. Aggression.`*

Sable's irises flickered between the individuals that each made a part of the spectacle before her, the individual licks of candle-flame that encompassed her each shimmering, with a subtle waver-in-light, as all the sorcerer's senses honed; mana surged forward from her spirit with the extension of her scrutiny.

*`What chaos.`*

The world seemed to slow in the moments following the sorcerer's—Endeven's—resolution, and the subsequent use of the technique that led to the Koi-holder's—Ha's—disappearance. It was a feeling manifest of the combination between the unconscious consternation brought to Sable by the escape of her quarry in such a startling fashion that allowed no requital, and the conscious effort she made to regain her bearings following her abscondment, rapidly processing the entire situation and calculating her own response before her before anything grew further out of her own control. The golden mana that burned behind her irises — as well as the very same sort of energy flowing throughout both her mind and body — was not for show, and neither were the forms of the flickering flames burning in perpetuity about herself.

They all, indeed, were individual parts of the same technique. And they all, indeed, gave her the distinct awareness she needed to grasp this situation completely.
_ _

*`I will find you. But first...`*
﻿
```asciidoc
☾• "Ik heb je genoeg beleefdheid getoond." :: •☽```
﻿
***`CLAP.`***
﻿
Simultaneously with the firing of Gold's weapon as Sable presses both her hands together, ducking downward to dodge the oncoming blast from the **Palm Gun**, subsequently taking a powerful step forward. Golden lights flicker off her hands as her signature spell is made manifest, the flames around her flickering—*Teleportation.* A flame that had remained unseen until this point in time is now snuffed, its position directly behind Gold. *One of the lingering flames she had left behind before she entered the tunnel.*
﻿
***`TTP`***
﻿
—From behind Gold, the sound of her foot touching against the ground. Again, the silhouette of Sable's ahead of Gold lingers, for a moment so long that one might think she had not teleported at all: just as smoke lingers where a candle is extinguished. As she manifested, she was already so low to the ground that he would not immediately see her immediately if he were to turn, her form—
﻿
*```asciidoc
☾• "Vooruit." :: •☽```*
﻿
**—never ending up behind Gold in the first place.**
﻿
Her voice was hushed as she spoke a simple instruction, two of of the several flames around her volleying towards Gold with the speed of the arrow, one guided straight toward him and the other guided straight for the roof above him, before, this time, she teleported, truly — manifesting point-blank with Gold.
﻿
A pebble had landed harmlessly on the ground behind Gold a tempo before Sable began her fronta assault: a feint, and one that intended to exploit Gold's knowledge of Sable's technique and his preparedness for her teleport to begin with. Misdirection paired itself incredibly well with the sorcerer's technique, opening simple opportunities where they might otherwise never appear.
﻿_ _

*`If it were the two of them,`* She thought, translucid, pale-gold flames enshrouding her left fist as she manifested from the teleport, holding the full momentum of her earlier dash forward *`perhaps I would have some great deal of trouble, or, perhaps, lose my opportunity outright.`*
*`But now that you are alone, and my target remains entrapped within these tunnels,`* Her fist now launched in a hook toward Gold's abdomen, reinforced strongly with Sable's attuned elemental affinity, *`I need no longer to run.`*
﻿
Her right hand, still shrouded partially by the smoke that came with the initial manifestation from her technique's teleportation, remained subtly forming a simple handsign as her golden irises locked with Gold's own, watching intently his response to the oncoming blow.
Thomas
In reaction to the sudden turn of events- Sable's sudden manifestation- Gold tenses suddenly, watching as her form momentarily shifts and twists into nothing more than a silhouette as the sound of her footsteps grace the ground behind him - but, as Gold turns his head to actually look, he catches wind of the silhouette still remaining.

The idea changes. What once was a rash readying of an all-or-nothing attack – namely, Pocket Volley – turns into a more mixed maneuver emboldened by the immediate threat of a punch, the wielder instead opting to use the coins themselves with their special coating. Gold quickly opens the ziploc bag, and with his ability, suddenly flicks a coin out of it towards Sable's stomach at a blistering 1,200 ft/s **(818 mph/1317 kmh)** And prepares to take another shot with the weapon on his hand- *Krcckeeeeww*.

`'f she's gonna do th' thing she's been doin', I can't 'fford t' be makin' stupid choices.` He knew better. He was trained better. Conditioned better. Come on, Gold-

The *Palm Gun* Lights up once more, bolts of purple electricity crawling and crackling from every inch as Gold powers the weapon himself, *A Mental Lever Long Enough* Suspends the coin in the air – the coin itself having taken an *Upward* Arc in attempt to both hit Sable and achieve the desired positioning – above the two combatants as Gold prepares to shoot Sable again directly, the core illuminating fully with a brilliant, searing blue, brighter than it had shone before.

`Ya' wanna play a game, let's play a game.`

_ _
This was *Also* A feint, but one that hopefully scares Sable with inherent danger- the blast does *Not* Materialize quite yet as Gold prepares for an actual teleport in regards to what Sable had just done; the coin itself acting as a ricochet angle of which could be tilted to reflect the energy shot any which way as long as the angling was correct, and additionally staging itself as a versatile projectile in and of itself should the situation call for it. It is only one coin, but maybe that's all he needs...
John
```ini
["—NO. I WOULD NOT "PUPPET" HER. SHE IS. . . VERY UNDESERVING OF THAT."]
```
A transition from anger to softness was discernable within the distorted vocals of Salhaeja when speaking about his wielder, specifically towards the latter end of his rebuttal. He was insulted at the notion that he actively controlled or manipulated her, even though that was largely true in terms of their dynamic— a rare moment of abandoned emotional composure, as if it were a touchy subject. Perhaps referring to her as 'broken' was excessive, but it was more-so that he, initially, was not comfortable with Ha negotiating with Endeven excluding knowledge of his actual intentions. However, having gained an understanding that he was not innately malicious, and that only he required to use the Koi for a temporary period of time, his skepticism was slightly eased. It turns out he was wrong about the man resenting him in any capacity, as he was instead merely baffled at his overall existence. Furthermore, he was willing to correct his immediate presumptions based on information he was provided. A reasonable individual, crucial to any set agreement.

The Slayer obliged Endeven's request to remove the blade from his shoulder, deeming that holding **DOUBLE** To his throat was no longer uneccesary. What was interesting was the mentioning of this 'chaotic' individual. Sal was in fact here for the suppression of a looming threat to the festival, but nothing as concise as a particular entity or foe. Obviously, this gave even stronger reason for an alliance to be formed between Ha and Endeven, being that they were here for likely the same reason, and could very well help each other on that front. The *Major* Obstacle regarding his proposal was the vow, a problem that was primarily Sal's fault. He did not wish to break it, for personal reasons, but continuing to hold onto that principle would definitively be detrimental to achieving their objective. Still, sentimentality aside, simply giving h

Im the Koi was not an option, unless. . .
```ini
["I SEE. SPEAK NOW, WARRIOR."]
```
Sal decided to allow Ha to continue the terms of their negotiation, somewhat because of the remark Endeven made earlier about her being a pawn, someone absent of free will, a notion that disturbed him. He called her warrior, which was what he always referred to as in a. . . More or less endearing way. Calling her by her real name triggered bad memories for them both.
Allen
Ha blinked, looking up at Endeven and retracting the primary iteration of her sword slightly at Sal's command, standing firmly. She had a full understanding of the situation, its collective qualms and grievances, a virtue that she wouldn't have possessed without being in her enhanced state. As such, she did not waste any time, abruptly entering a conversational mood.

``"We made a vow with this Medei I met— Kuouo Aiche Dee. It states we are not to relinquish the fish, and if we do, it'll mean bad things for us."`` This was the first time she could truly speak coherently in this form, and the difference was incredulous. Her voice was firm, clear and concise, utterly sure of itself, although still prone to the deterioration of her vocabulary— "Relinquish", to "Bad things". That old Korean inflection was more noticeable when removing the weakness of her intonation, and yet, there was still a warmness to her approach that maintained itself. It was like an entirely different person.

``"But. . . There is something we can do, I know."`` Sal had a suggestion, although he did not enjoy the idea. The 'vow' had one exploitable exception: if it was to be 'stolen' from her, with utmost certainty, that would exclude the aforementioned consequences. That being the case, all that would need to be done was for Endeven to, within an accurate definition, rob her, barbarically so. It felt like the sort of vileness he'd have done when he was. . . What he used to be, but it was their best move tactically speaking. He had considerable experience with SOUL agreements, after all.

_ _
``"You need to hit me, and then take the fish. Not too hard, and you can return it when you're done."`` Ha co-signed his theory, naturally. ``"Please be quick. It'll preserve the vow. I must pretend to fight back."`` She returned to her fighting stance, the blade exposed as if ready to strike, giving End little time to think things through and not elaborating upon her explanation. As he said, they were people hunting them, and they could discuss what was next after they left this tunnel system.
Laura
It was a fight between the man with purple hair, and the pyro-like magician. In an instant, Starbi went in with a paced run, asense of enlightenment washed over him, as if a weight of.. Something was lifted off of his shoulders the moment he began running down the metro stairs to approach the two. 

The starborn placed his left foot against the edge of one of the steps, pushing himself upwards which lead him to glide closer to the two, he had no idea what was even going for the most part, as his mind was somewhere else after all, all he knew was that Endeven and the acrobatic were gone at this point. It was just these two left from the whole situation, but no matter.
Starbi then landed closer to the two.

"Hey, hey!!!" The Starborn called out for the two, hoping that the two would at least stop to listen to what he had to say. "While I don't really have," The starborn averted his eyes for a few moments, to the remaining bodies in the metro. "Half of an idea on what's happening, or what's gonna." Starbi added, before he looked back to the two. "But I think that things don't really need to get.. Anymore crazy than they are right now." Starbi spoke in a diplomatic tone.
"Why don't we all just, try to relax! And maybe go on our separate ways! That's a good idea, right?" Starbi requested, a breeze of faint cheer flowing through the environment from Starbi's ability *"*Joyful Aura*"*. 
A seed of doubt was placed within the back of his mind, Starbi believed that this course of action was going to help,

When it really won't.
Eugene
***TSSSKCH***

Blood trails from Endeven's nose as he is snapped back to reality in a single moment. The connection between him and the Koi is sharply severed, streams of pale-blue mana coiling about the ethereal creature as he is forced from one surroundings to another. In what little time he spent connected with its Spirit and present in a realm beyond, all the sensations of the material world around him became, for a moment, foreign; gravity was oppressive on his body of flesh and bone and blood, and heavy was the sensation of a mundane world where all things possess mass and volume.

That noise, electric, was all an outsider would hear following Endeven's connection with the Koi. He was, for a single second, bonded to it, and in the next, not.

The creature hovers weightlessly through the air...

||(read this second
Theresa
***TSSSKCH***

Their link took a premature end. He did not realize this yet, but a certain sensation would instantly signal it to him.

**`thump thump`**

Endeven blinked once. *What?* This was his heartbeat, not the `SOUL`. But that shouldn't be - Afterall he entered the spiritual realm. 

**`thump thump`**

Endeven blinked twice. His mind, thrown back into the physical realm, completely confused. *Was I just evicted from the spiritual realm?* 

**`thump thump`**

Endeven blinked thrice. *... I will try again-* *`splat splat splat`* Blood was dripping down his nose and three droplets landed between his two black boots - The sound was barely witnessable, but there was such silence, that it would be heard by both Ha with her enhanced senses and Endeven himself. He brushed his thumb across the top of his upper lip, smearing blood over it and peered down at the crimson liquid on his finger. *-No.* The words he heard, they were strange and felt very much irrelevant to the situation at hand. 

That voice, it was not the Spirit-Koi. It was something else, or rather someone else, who was implied to possess a physical body, yet derived from a transmundane origin. To Endeven's dismay, there were no clues on what to do next, so his next steps would be to investigate this trace of chaos, whilst making preparations to disrupt any 'funny business' that this individual might be planning. 

After reaching into the long robe, a tissue emerged from within the sorcerers hand and he observed the levitating fish whilst attempting to stop his nosebleed. *Did it force me out? Or was it something else?* Endeven did not neglect these two possibilities, but his main-theory suspected that it was due to the fact, that he was forcing the spirit-koi's temporal ability upon him. For now, it didn't matter. These words, this land, this memory, he will recall them once the gained information may be put to good use. 

*Afterall-*

*-Knowledge is Power.*
Allen
Ha played along as best she could with Endeven's feigned robbery, allowing him to disarm her and subsequently 'steal' the Koi from her., lightly nodding at his question. The memory of losing replays in her head often, therefore giving her a uniquely comprehensive way of conveying its occurrence. For what it's worth, if there ever was a situation where she was to be without Salhaeja, she'd be very well royally screwed, and not just from a combat standpoint, which made End's course of action all the wiser. The blade obviously possessed a much greater understanding of how SOUL vows functioned than she did, perhaps millennia worth of knowledge and experience on this exact subject in particular, and as such, even in her enhanced state, she didn't give it too much thought. As long as she was aware of *What* Was going on, something that wasn't consistent in her regular form, understanding how or why things worked was a situational virtue, one that she didn't care for unless, again, needed. In some ways, despite numerous improvements to her human functionality, she was still the same young woman entranced by this pervasive apathy, largely compacted by amorality. Personally, Sal wished it was not this way.

Naturally, Ha waited for him to have gained full access to the Koi to respond to his inquires, as answering them casually whilst supposedly being mugged seemed detrimental. ``"I am a hunter. It would be strange to get along with them."`` She responded, with a small laugh accompanying his tone that was much less satirical as opposed to being lighthearted, the blade slowing sliding back from the down the hall into her sheath. She didn't really know what being a black SOUL really meant in totality, other than they are the typical core of what she hunts: Temporal Beasts. ``"Helping out is my job."`` There were certainly deeper introspective as to why she and Salhaeja did this, but Endeven was indeed right to not bother with inquiries; that was a well far too deep to lo

Ok into for Sal specifically. Though, her words weren't a deflection of this fact, and more-so what she would've said regardless. She personally didn't mind if people knew— actually, the bigger issue was that most wouldn't believe her. Sal had no comment. 

Ha sneezed, and realized that a considerable amount of dust had accumulated onto her wardrobe. She patted her Nyan cat tee and pajama pants, and adjusted her glasses as well, having noticed they felt positionally crooked against her face, leaning against the nose more than usual. It was miraculous that they hadn't fallen off after that scuffle, frankly. Meanwhile, Salhaeja began to describe the process that Endeven was going through in his attempt to seemingly 'talk' to the fish, having begun to levitate. That *Finally* Answered the question of why it mattered , and as such, she now had reason to be interested. She could hear droplets, and Sal explained that it was blood dripping from his nose. She figured she'd be no use to him trying to help with something she had minimal understanding of, nor did her blade bother to explain fully, and so, she waited, occupying her mind by listening intently to her surroundings in the event someone was close. Better safe than sorry. **DOUBLE** Had also faced once more.

``"I am also here to find something that is threatening like that, but you may know more. We should work side and side."`` Ignoring the botched phrasing of 'side by side', Ha had, per instruction, now stated their own intentions for being here in a slightly vague, yet still telling manner. The Slayer saw it fit to be more transparent in light of their confirmed interests aligning. Whether or not he was successful in his attempt, it felt prudent for them to at least consider a genuine alliance. Not that it was the only factor, but Endeven seemed a respectable character.
Delores
Pale-gold flames and pale-gold eyes whose light and perception pierced flesh and bone saw beyond what mundane existence was lain before them, peering into the realm of spirits and unveiling the essence of the **SOUL** Flickering ahead of the sorcerer. Hers was a simple specialization in a simple, yet potent **Awakened** Ability, supplemented by the mastery of fundamental techniques intrinsic to magic-adepts. Sable's technique — teleportation —, though potent as it was, was of an incomplex and pretenseless nature, yet her excellence in the elementary magicks was what made her such a tremendously effective magician.

Hers was a simple specialization in an **Awakened** Ability, and the fluent usage of both *`Soulsight`* And extrasensory projection.

__*`Perceiving with your eyes only,`*__ she had already surmised, __*`you are incapable of...`*__

*`TFP`*
The coin pierces through Sable's cloak as she remained stanced with two fingers in a handsign, mana actively coursing throughout her body in the moment preceding the arrival of the volley. It tears through the cloth and collides with her chest, where it pierces a hole cleanly through — so clean that one can see the the other side of the tunnel through her body — as smoke cascaded from the broken form of her silhouette. Her fist continues in its arc toward Gold, but as it impacts, it disperses harmlessly, naught but a light breeze of the smoke carrying the momentum of the punch breezing against his body.
_ _

She had, in a momentary response to the sensation of Gold's hostility, disappeared. The attack she had staged was layered — not only did she rely on her excellent perception of the material world around her as garnered by the projection of her technique, but so too the nature of the spirit realm and the **SOUL** Before her. 

__*`...Seeing through this misdirection.`*__

Two flames were lauched toward Gold. One directly ahead of him, and one above him. 
Sable's technique, in exchange for its exceptional power, had a clear tell. That much she knew and had mastered to work around — she had apprehended Gold's own adaptation of her technique's simple tell, and in turn, had begun to take measures to adapt herself.

Her purpose in making him turn was to provoke an intense necessity to refocus on her true position — directly i front of him — and to again steal attention from his blindspot: directly behind him. Her purpose in sending the second flame above him was to provide a believable continuation off of her second back-to-back feint — to assault him directly from above — and, again, to steal attention away from his most vulnerable angle: his back.

He preempted her teleport, but she preempted his preemption; she would not reappear above him.
Rather, she manifested behind him and low to the ground, in an exceptionally low crouch, as though rising from a prone stance, **Having teleported herself to a fiery rune engraved into the pebble she had teleported behind Gold.**

*`It's over.`*
_ _

A potent, pale-gold flame engulfed her left hand as it exploded toward Gold's back, elemental, external mana-reinforcement forming an almost sharpened veil around her fingers, which she would use to attack with a tremendously-empowered two-fingered poke. She struck towards his spine, and with the potent mana engulfing her hand, the attack would be comparable to being stabbed in the vertebrae with a dagger driven by almost supernatural force. In a word: *Critical.*

***"Hey, hey!!!"***
*`...?!`*

...But critical, it would not be.
Starbi's call had brought Sable some shock, and **His call had served directly to interrupt her critical strike. **The potent mana-reinforcement dispersed before it would potentially make contact with Gold's back, and if it did indeed hit, it would hurt little more than a mundane punch, the flames dying quickly on contact with his clothes.

*`"Ffft..."`*
_ _

She blew air between her teeth, a scowl on her face as she had unconsciously hesitated to attack Gold fully due to Starbi's call. In a momentary decision to attempt to redeem the situation, she calls what is left of the mana reinforcing her fingers to cast a spell, a subtle burning sensation singing against the spot where she struck, before she would quickly maneuver to retreat some distance back up the stairs.

```asciidoc
☾• "Ongelofelijk..." :: •☽
☾• "Relaxed?" :: •☽ — she questioned, a brow raised.
☾• "This hunt is not just for entertainment," :: •☽ she commented, stanced as-would-be if she successfully retreated her distance.
☾• "My objective is clear. But I do not believe diplomacy is beyond us yet." :: •☽```

A simple extension — an offer, extended to both Gold and Starbi. She halted hostilities for the time being, her eyes still glittering with the golden hue that defined her mana's presence, as though questioning: *"What is it you want, and what can you offer me?"*
Theresa
```ini
[✦ "Vain." ✦]
```

He quietly whispered to himself in a deep and unenthusiastic manner, describing how he currently felt about his attempt to gain another premonition. After finishing to remove the blood from his face, he tucked the tissue away and listened to what Ha had to say before he leaned against a nearby wall and touched his chin, bringing everything that had happened so far to his mind. Staring down the pathway revealed that they were most likely not receiving any company soon. Endeven concluded that if the two participants from earlier were running or propelling themselves with magic to get down here, Ha and Endeven would hear or see them in time and be able to escape. His voice went back to a calm and neutral tone. As if he was about to announce a bad message, he said:

```ini
[✦ "..Hm... Keep what I'm about to tell you from others for now. I will tell you all that I know right away." ✦]
```

Without much hesitation from his side, Endeven shared his findings with Ha, since she had also helped him out, by allowing him temporary possession of the Spirit-Koi, despite having made a vow to keep it. If not for that, they still had aligned goals, so there was little reason to distrust them. Also, while they had their **Double** Ready to slice through Endeven's flesh just one or two minutes ago, the fact that they didn't when they could have was proof that they were not enemies.

```ini
[✦ "Earlier, I managed to get close to the Spirit-Koi before you obtained it and as I approached, words reached my mind, like a bad prediction of the future. I presume, something will interrupt the festival and bring chaos to the point where even the king of medei himself will fight to protect his people. His voice was one of the few that I recall from the fish." ✦]
```

There was still no guarantee that the premonitions, heard during the first Spirit-Koi encounter were real. Everytime Endeven said the words 'Spirit-Koi', 'Koi' or 'Fish', his eyes would flicker over to the Koi, floating around him. *What a fun creature.*

```ini
[ ✦ "What exactly will happen is shrouded in mystery to me. That is why I sought for the Koi's prediction again, but to little success. I entered the spiritual realm and was forcibly removed from it soon after." ✦]
```

 Not just due to the situation at hand was Endeven willing to work together with Ha and Salhaeja. He had gotten curious about them, especially about the latter entity. The sorcerer had felt their unusual `SOUL` ever since using his Bend-Technique, which revealed to him that Ha's body contained two presences that he was sealed from touching whilst the techniques usage, directly leading to the discovery of Salhaeja. The details of their connection were unclear to him, so consequently, he wanted to know more, especially due to this aspect in her soul that seemed familiar to Endeven. During his time in Pacifica, Endeven was able to feel a sensation similar to this from a distant entity with a black soul, a **`Temporal Beast`**. While Endeven's soulsight is close to a beginner's level and thus not noteworthy, his relatively dark `SOUL` allows him to have a keen sense of other chaotic `SOULS` and mana, which assisted him in detecting the black soul within sanctum mesa. 

```ini
[✦ "Ever since the premonition, I've started making preparations to counteract the possible catastrophy. Other than this powerful presence of a black soul, I have no clue what to look for. We could work side by side though, if you still desire that." ✦]
```

Many words, all of them spoken without any change in his expression. Even before, when Ha commented about being a hunter and laughed, Endeven remained silent almost as if her voice didn't reach him - which was impossible in the silent metro area they were in. The sorcerer wasn't one to use many words or show emotion when they are unnecessary. Despite this, he subtly attempted to signal the previous wording mistake to Ha, `"Side and side"`, without directly pointing it out, moreso pretending, that he hadn't even noticed it in the first place. Normally he would point out such a mistake to a stranger like Ha on the spot, however, Endeven was trying his best to act with respect, since he also wanted to form an alliance and feared that correcting her in the request to do so would irritate Ha and Salhaeja.
Thomas
Then she should have taken a second look. 

Reacting to the flames though, he steps to the side suddenly and rotates his body, keeping the **Palm Gun** Trained on its *Intended* Target. That being undeniably __*Not*__ Sable's center-mass, as per the feint.

It was never the plan for her to appear above him. It was *Always* The plan for her to teleport *Behind* – Gold admittedly had not even considered the idea of an above teleport. The coin, high in the air, served as a *Ricochet* Angle - the attack from before aimed at center-mass had also completed its arc and was now serving double duty as an attack vector for which Gold's charged shot- the one which had been a feint itself- also served itself to this purpose. It was all about *Coverage* In a battle against one who can teleport.

`Dumbass.` He thinks to himself, the bolt of blue, white-hot energy unleashing from the weapon upon his arm as Sable falters, Gold himself dropping to a knee and preparing, not knowing *Where* The enemy was, only that she was somewhere behind and making an (incorrect) *Assumption* That he could—

_**"Hey, hey!!!"**_ The words finally reach Gold just mere milliseconds too late, as the shot leaves the center of his palm and barrels towards the coin- but, at the very least, the words had swiftly swayed Gold, causing him *Too* To hesitate as *A Mental Lever Long Enough* Manages to tilt the coin just barely to the point where the ball of pulsing energy would fail to find any mark that wasn't a wall or otherwise inanimate object.

The fallout of this though, results in Gold *Taking* The punch - letting out a yelp of pain as he stumbles forward, the coin falling out of the sky and clattering to the ground with a *Ting– ting-tingtinginininnininggggg*...

_ _
His hand instinctively goes to his back, feeling up the burning area and, as a result. Placing cloth on it- sucking in air through his teeth, he turns around to face both his opponent and the newcomer, quickly settling on the form of Starbi before his eyes dart back to Sable's own. "*Damn*, that was a decent hit-.." 

Picking the coin back up with telekinesis, it floats itself over to standby at Gold's side- near the hand wielding the *Palm Gun*, remaining ready should another attack suddenly be launched from Sable's end of things, willing to *Try* Diplomacy.

"All a' want is th' shard- don' care 'bout the fish. Not yet, anyways.." Honesty. But, if the event ended without the fish in his hands, that would prove to be rather bad for him.. "Dunno what it does, but seems t' do *Somethin'*. 's'all I want..."
Laura
Internally, the Starborn let out a sigh of relief, a smile growing on his face. His joyful aura remained with its cheerful breeze. Things seemed to have been going okay so far with Starbi's approach of dialogue, the magician didn't seem to mind going for a more diplomatic direction, as well as the man with purple hair,
For the time being.

"Well, that's great!" His smile glowed bright with joy, as he held his hands on his hips in confident joy, his eyes closed as he lightly hopped in the spot he was in, opening his eyes again.
"I'm sure we can all get along and have things settled peacefully! We'll have just some nice words between eachother." He spoke, the starborn placed his right hand against his chest. 
"I will get to my friend Dioscuri." He then extended his right hand out to Gold, a sense of joy flowing through Gold's direction. 
"You will get the shard you want!" 
He then turned and extended his left hand to Pyromancer Sable, another sense of joy flowing to her, seemingly from Starbi's extended hand. 
"And you will get to complete your goal without anybody in the way!" Starbi concluded with a friendly smile on his face. 
"It's a win-win-win situation for all of us! So as long as we just keep things calm, we do what's right. You two seem like smart people, so I'm sure things are gonna end okay!" The starborn naively assured.

** **
All of this was kept behind the bright smile of Starbi, haphazardly thinking things through to think of how to get Sable, or even Gold, away from Endeven and probably Ha. Gold seemed like a friend of Ha, so maybe Starbi needs to just get Sable out of here, but how? It felt like it was practically impossible to help his friend Endeven.
..! 
Starbi quickly had an idea, albeit the first one he got, it may just work, hopefully, here goes nothing.

Starbi turned to the Pyromancer with a bright smile, his right hand gesturing to the side with his left close to his heart.
"I think it'd be a good idea if you give our friend here the shard wants. I'll help you with what you want!" The starborn offered.
"You're looking for the koi fish, right? Well, lucky for you, I know how exactly to help!" Starbi added.
"My friend who left, we had a plan to investigate the metro. Before he left, me and him prepared a plan, in case everything went south." Starbi explained.
"We decided to have a checkpoint for us to meet up, in case me and him get separated.

"Knowing him, I don't think he'd abandon the plan so quickly, especially if it's to get out of the metro. If we're fast enough, we might be able to get to the two! Dioscuri doesn't want the koi fish either, so if I talk to him, I'm sure you can get the koi fish easily!" Starbi offered, holding out his hand to Sable, a smile painted on Starbi's face.

A smile that painted over his pitiful lie.
John
```ini
["HE WILL SUFFICE. RETAIN THE KOI AND MOVE FORWARD."]
```
Allen
Ha would simply nod in response to his explanation, awaiting Sal's command before replying directly to Endeven. She considered that he may've found him to be useless in light of not knowing of anything more than a 'powerful presence', but Sal felt his company prudent anyhow, and would obviously not relay it to anyone else unless they were considered an ally. Suggesting that the king himself would have to put his life on the line certainly caught the blade's undivided attention, including the fact that he recalled his voice within the Koi somehow. She still has no idea what a spiritual realm is, and the term premonition in particular escaped her vocabulary, though he explained that clearly enough. ``"Yes! I think it would be smart. We should leave soon."`` Him correcting her misuse of the phrasing was something she didn't really think about it, and Sal merely saw it as curtesy. 

``"Do you need to keep the fish, or can you return it? The vow is good, so it will not matter."`` She added, awaiting Endeven's word on their next course of action. Sal mentioned that they could use his portals to exit the tunnel system without complication, which would be immensely help. In general, their ability was similar to Sables innately, and therefore a sort of counter to it that was all too convenient. The fact of the matter is that while Sal's plan certainly worked out for the best, he did not anticipate this as a possible advantage. Sure, he'd made note of other contestants, but not the full extent of what they were capable of. They were in pretty good shape after that blown sneak attack, all things considered, something that eased the pride that Sal had lost from that interaction. Ha didn't care either way, obviously.

``"You can use the uhm, magic circles right? You are better now?"`` Ha recalled that Endeven mentioned was in a vulnerable state earlier, and wanted to make sure that was no longer the case. How they would end up tackling these next few moments was not up to h

Er, whereas Sal wanted to hear what the stranger-turned ally had to say first prior to giving input. He seemed like someone who could come up with a half-decent plan, or at the very least someone prepared to do so. Thinking about their common enemy, Sable, would constitute coordinating something akin to a trap in light of how their powers function. Fighting one on one was too much of a risk, and frankly illogical unless in circumstances that permit otherwise— it wasn't about whether she was stronger then Ha or not, though. As for Gold and Starbi, that was still up in the air. Last he checked, Gold had good reason to help them, but who knows what's really happening up there? Sal hadn't seen a lick of Starbi could do, either. Variables, which is what he was asking for throwing himself into the fire. Having them is better than having none, because at least one can work with something as opposed to nothing.

In the meantime, Ha readied her blade whilst standing in place. She knew that the previous circumstances were unideal, and that that was partially her fault, even if Sal didn't pile on her too much for it. Some of their enemies were viably stronger than she was, and that would be a problem going down the line if she was struggling against people who weren't even the priority threat. She had to be better, even if their current objective was not exactly related to what they had come here for.
William
After running for what seemed like an eternity for Blossom, they finally arrived at the scene. Well, they looked like they're about to pass out. As it turns out, Blossom isn't very sportsy, so running for ten minutes straight wasn't very ideal for them. They were huffing and puffing, trying to take in enough oxygen to fuel their extremely overworked muscles. Well their muscles are probably made out of playdough, but still. Running trough the massive crowds had been anything but fun, to be honest. Seriously why do people have to scream so much during events like this. You could also just, talk normally. If everyone did that then nobody would have to scream! Then again, Blossom knew that some people just only think about themselves, which is one of the things they despise most. As they look around the area, they notice a distinct lack of Endeven. They wondered where he could have gone, but the best course of action would probably be to ask around. However they'd probably observe first, since something might have happened. After all, Endeven was talking about something which could cause harm to many people.
Theresa
Leaning against a wall, Endeven was lost in thought. Despite hearing everything Ha said, it took him a little to respond:

```ini
[✦ "Ah- Sorry- Yes, I've recovered. I don't need the Spirit-Koi any further... But let me keep the fish a little longer. I have a plan." ✦]
```
Endeven hadn't experienced too much of their foes capabilities but made note of a few things: Sables ability to use flames and teleport, aswell as Golds telekinesis, which let him lift the mass Bend had placed. He also acknowledged the weird aura of his Palm Gun, a weapon he wanted to avoid experiencing in action. When it was charging up, Endeven and Ha disappeared through the wormhole, which lead to it's power being unseen.

```ini
[✦ "To explain the situation: the kid that stood next to me is called Starbi. He's a pacifist, unwilling to get into fights. That teleporting mage was after the Koi and said she wouldn't let you escape. We should eliminate her before anything else if she will continuously get in our way. As for the guy with that weird glove-weapon. He was trying to help you, which confuses me." ✦]
```

Summarizing the other participants lead to Endeven determining that their only enemy was Sable. Gold was chasing after Ha and Sable too, however wasn't trying to stop Ha, which meant he was not after the Koi. Logically the only thing left that he could be after was Sable.

```ini
[✦ "My plan... If we take the glove guy out of the equation for now.. I could simulate your defeat, since I possess the koi. When i move up to the metro entrance on my own, the mage has to get close to me in order to take the Spirit-Koi, so that's where I open another..." ✦]
```

For a moment he paused, thinking about the word Ha had used to describe his Quasar Locus-Technique. To him it was unpleasant to hear her way of describing it.

```ini
'Magic Circle' - No. [✦ "..Wormhole." ✦] It's not... A 'Magic Circle'.
```

Endeven's left eye twitched . His Wormholes, Portals or even Rifts were so much more than just *Magic circles*. It's not just simple teleportation, it's the overall ability to move objects that he transcended into the ability of moving the world itself and fusing two locations into one. A technique fundamentally different from your average teleportation magic. *Magic circles..* Endeven managed to hold himself back from calling out the describing the difference between 'magic circles' and Quasar Locus: Bind, since it would take an amount of time they did not have at avail.

```ini
[✦ "..For you to directly strike her in the back. Of course I can add a few more factors to give us better chances of succeeding. I'm sure we have the advantage here. You wouldn't mind slaying someone in such a sly fashion though, would you? I've encountered a few swordsmen who would refuse to do such due to their pride, honor or whatever. " ✦]
```

Such a sense of honor in battle - Endeven didn't have it in him, unless he knew the opponent did. In that case he would reciprocate the given respect, though it wouldn't stop him from running away, if necessary. Incase Ha or Salhaeja refused to follow a strategy like this, he was ready to suggest another. The thought of forcing Sable outside the festival to disqualify her entered his mind, but Endeven did not know where the borders of the festival were located and opening a wormhole to a known location outside wasn't an option, since that would take several minutes due to the sheer distance. He doesn't know the streets of Pacifica outside of Caeli Noctis much, mostly because he avoids streets because of his main enemy - Vehicles.

```ini
[✦ "I understand that you may not fully trust me to keep the koi, but if it helps, I can borrow you-" ✦]
```

The sorcerer reached to his waist, his left, taking out a purple wand with unusual and spiky ends - Bo Kanpakua. His hand extended towards Ha, as if he was offering it to her. Though Endeven referred to it as a weapon, one unknowing of its ability would wonder how it was considered one.

```ini
[✦ "-a family heirloom of sorts to hold onto. It is my weapon, but it isn't a requirement for me to succeed in battle. We can exchange it and the koi back after deterring the threat of that mage." ✦]
```
Allen
Endeven explained a large part of what Salhaeja and subsequently Ha already knew when referencing the context of the situation, but not everything. Sal already suspected that Gold specifically wanted an *Item* From Sable, one that he needed for his own affairs. Granted, he now knew who this 'Starbi' person was and their full intentions, including their pacifism that would be difficult to quantify into actual leverage. End's thoroughness was nonetheless appreciated, and his plan, albeit much easier said then done, made sense. Their first attempt at deception didn't go well, but now that they knew who they were dealing with, that increased the odds of success by a good margin, especially when adding this particular ally to the equation. Using himself as bait took some stones and represented the faith he was willing to put into Ha in regards to his well-being, even if he could theoretically escape. Also, the swordswoman did not notice how her referring to his wormholes as 'magic portals' bothered him. She wasn't too great at picking up social cues.

. . .Honor? No. That isn't something she has or needs, not anymore. When Endeven made this inquiry, Ha paused for a moment. Not out of analysis of the suggestion, but simply loss for a reply. She hadn't thought about 'honor' in. . . What felt like forever. Before she could dwell on it extensively and threaten to burrow deeper into those memories reserved for her nightmares, Salhaeja interjected, and said that stealth was the efficient option, nothing more or less than that. He kept away her from getting into that mindset, as per usual. People live and die all the same, and their honor is buried alongside them to be *Forgotten*. That's the extent of that conversation. ``". . .No. It is not."`` Her tone was unemphatic and almost dismissive of the topic itself, detached from the qualms of the subject. Sal approved this approach, although feeling a little silly that this was the amount of trouble required to safeguard the Koi.

At least he knew it had objective value now, making this entanglement slightly justifiable, but for all he knew, whatever larger threat loomed, they'd eventually need all the help they could get. He had to remind himself and Ha that this was a game, not life or death.

A family 'heirloom'? Endeven wanted to exchange trusts via material assurance, but Ha didn't feel strongly about it, nor did Sal. They gave him a fish, of which had no real benefit or currency to them other then sentimentality— though one could say the same for End's item. Still, Sal said it would be a little rude not to take it, and so she extended her hand out to take up his offer. ``"Are you sure you can go without it?`` She would add this, thinking purely about his potential effectiveness in battle as opposed to its emotional value. ``"—And the plan, I believe it is good. When we find the place, I can add more."`` Again, the fundamental idea was sound, and those extra 'factors' could come from both sides.
Theresa
Despite Bo Kanpakua being a tool inherited by his father, in value it was nothing more than a tool. He trusted Ha to keep it well, since he possessed the Koi that they were planning to return to Kuouo Aiche Dee. The staff was attuned to Endeven's mana, meaning that its ability was locked from others, giving the staff itself little value on the market and while it had personal value to some extent, the sorcerer felt that it was safe in her hands. What was merely a temporary shift of possession would assure Ha and Salhaeja that he wasn't going to simply take the Spirit-Koi and run at the first chance, since he could simply lock them in the depths of the metro if they went along with his plan. The staff was placed in her hand. Endeven momentarily passed Bo Kanpakua to Ha. Upon hearing Ha's question a slight smile appeared on Endeven's face as he revealed another reason and explanation on why he felt comfortable, waiving Bo Kanpakua during the upcoming battle:

```ini
[✦ "I will not risk having my staff reduced to ashes, so it would not find any use in this encounter, even if it was on my person. Besides, this does not make a dent in my overall power at all. I hold great value in it nonetheless, so just consider it a pledge for the Spirit-Koi." ✦]
```

The staff served as a ranged option against enemies that required higher concentrations of monochromate to beat, which would damage Endeven himself if used in close range. Since Endeven was not going to use such power against participants of the hunt, Bo Kanpakua was not of much use here anyways. Without a doubt in his mind, he considered the trade of Bo Kanpakua for certain collaboration between Endeven, Ha and the blade spirit as a decent trade. They had already spent an adequate amount of time on assembling their course of action and building trust, but Endeven wanted to finish this process off with one more short act before putting their plan into action: Introductions. Afterall they would most likely be working together for a majority of the festival's left duration.

```ini
[✦ "While we're at it, For good cooperation, names would be great to familiarize. I am Endeven Dioscuri, scholar and sorcerer of the Evening Star's academy, Astra Cantum-" ✦]
```

If Starbi knew that Dioscuri had revealed his full name to Ha, he would most certainly feel atleast a little displeased, since he only received allowance to refer to Dioscuri by surname. Endeven did not see him as a friend and had little interest in a child unable or unwilling to use magic at the face of battle. Even though he didn't see Ha or Salhaeja as friends, Endeven allowed them to use his first name as this would furthermore build trust. As of this moment they were allies. Endeven gazed and gestured towards Ha, indicating that it was now her turn to introduce herself. His hand, that he used to point at the swordswoman would soon shift to her blade, giving Salhaeja too a sign for introduction. Even though his name was less necessary than Ha's, Endeven did this mostly as an attempt to gather more knowledge about Salhaeja.

```ini
[✦ "-And the two of you?" ✦]
```
Delores
The robed sorcerer folded her arms as she now stood, fully upright, some distance up the stairs and staring at a distance down toward the two. Her eyes glow a light-gold, backlit by that subtle, elemental, characteristic pale-aureate flame that defined Sable's very ***SOUL*** And mana-hue. She listened carefully and patiently, and with both traits in likeness watched — scrutinized — both of the characters before her made visible in both flesh and spirit, pulling what information could be probed from a basic examination of the Spirit beyond one's Vessel and the fluctuations therewithin. 

The requests proffered by the deal; the latent desires possessed underneath. The willingness to achieve a mutual understanding; the eagerness to reduce oneself to a conciliatory state. The told wish to avoid conflict; the untold ulterior underlying it. The knowledge of what desires lied behind their requests and a whole understanding of the intents behind those same desires — that was what Sable was searching for, beyond merely dissecting the structure and plausibility of the deal itself. For to hold the knowledge of what another desires and for what reason they possess that desire is to hold the keys to diplomacy itself.

Constituted of the same flame that burned within her Spirit — that which granted aspect to her mana, her reinforcement, and her technique — Sable brought forth two more candle-lights that manifest from thin air at either of her sides, her arms unfolding as she began to step forward. Her head tilts as her eyes hone, herself seeming to have come to a conclusion that yet remained untold and unconveyed, but was decisively reached and definitively displayed by her shift in demeanor. Yet still, that shift in demeanor did not seem to be innately hostile, the black-clad gold-shrouded sorcerer remaining, for the moment, docile.

```asciidoc
☾• "I believe you are attempting to deceive me," :: she immediately cut at the heart of Starbi's offer. •☽
☾• "The magician is your friend, but the swordswoman is not. She has not given up on her desire to hold the Koi; she would not give up on it so easily now." :: •☽
☾• "Unless you intend to say that the magician is eager to betray her after so readily giving her a means of escape?" :: Her eyes burned subtly brighter with the light-gold as she peered at Starbi. •☽
Soulsight was truly something immensely powerful in diplomacy — a wars fought by words — especially in the hands of one so intimately familiar with reading the intents of others to begin with.
☾• "I do not blame you entirely. But I would like to know for what purpose you are attempting to do so." :: •☽```

```asciidoc
☾• "As for you," :: she adjusted her gaze toward Gold, holding out her left index finger. Her brow raised. •☽
☾• "...Many things could be said of you. But I will only say that I believe the one most suited to hold this shard is 𝘮𝘦, until its purpose is revealed." :: •☽
☾• "...𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘫𝘥𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥..." :: —she muttered. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, she thought. •☽
☾• "You wish for this fragment of light, but you do not want the Koi. The searches for each are one-and-the-same, I believe." :: •☽
☾• "If you merely dig up what lies in the periphery of a greater mystery, you will be left with nothing but disjointed facts and a broken theory." :: •☽
☾• "For that lack of distinction, you are unfitting of the shard." :: •☽

☾• "I will give you another offer. We will cease hostilities. I did not join with the intent of fighting others." :: •☽
☾• "This Hunt is not something hosted for simple achievement and reward. It has a purpose." :: •☽
☾• "I wish to dig to the heart of that purpose. I do not want the reward; I merely want to decipher the secrets the Koi — and the shards accompanying it —are laden with." :: •☽
☾• "If you assist me well and are worthy of it, I would give you the reward. Once I have found the purpose of the Koi after the Festival, it too may be yours — as well as whatever becomes of the shards." :: •☽
```

_ _
She stated all these thing, rather confident in the conclusion she had achieved. However, immediately following her series of statements, she immediately flinched, turning round over her shoulder: another individual had just stepped into the metro: *Blossom.*

```asciidoc
☾• "Nog een indringer...?!" :: she sneered lightly. •☽
☾• "Identify yourself." :: she stared over her shoulder at Blossom, who would likely be positioned at the top of the stairwell. •☽```
Thomas
"I know what it does, an' you *Don't*." He replies - as Sable's flames dance near her shoulder, Gold's coin, too, floats near his left, prepared for if she should make a move, but unwilling to strike first himself.

"Ya' didn' join with th' idea of fightin', in an event 'bout fightin', an' yet ya' first introduction t' me is fightin'." Gold retells. "I don't buy it." He asserts, gold eyes meeting that of Sable's own, holding firm in his belief "Don't want th' fish- not *Yet*. Y' ain't givin' me any *Insurance* That ya' not gonna betray, 'r backstab me *Or* Our..." 

He pauses for a moment, thinking of an accurate descriptor for Starbi, ".... Third party, 'ere." Notably, Gold also does not call Starbi "Friend".

"Y' can *Have* Th' fish. Y' gimme th' *Shard* An' the swordswoman's all yours, 'm not gonna interfere. I'll gladly go my own way, do ma' own thing. If our paths happen ta' meet up-"

`Hopefully not.` He thinks, seeing how... Unpleasant this whole three way conversation feels to him.

"- then I'll see if I've learned anythin'."

"'til then, though..." The coin at Gold's shoulder gleams, attempting to catch some of the light upon its reflective surface – again, not an attack, but a reminder that there was indeed a standoff amidst the verbal dissent Gold was in the process of spewing. "All I *Want*, is th' *Shard*."

Another coin rises from Gold's bag, it taking a bit of exertion to juggle the two, but nothing he couldn't handle. The other coin rests open Gold's *Other* Shoulder, mimicking Sable's own fire in a way, as if he had taken notes upon how to conduct himself. When she steps forward, Gold does not step back, nor does he move at all.

But, he does tilt his head at the sounds of another person making their approach - tilting head to look back at the staircase leading down towards the metro he found himself in

`Oh great, another one.` As if this metro wasn't crawling with Koi hunters already..
Allen
Ha gave her signature nod at his in-depth explanation, content with the confirmation that he would in fact not suffer without the item as she accepted the Bo Kanpkua. She was not too interested in its nature or purpose beyond that, although Salhaeja provided her a brief description of it no less. A 'pledge' for the Spirit-Koi, he says— making *Another* Vow would likely complicate matters, so this would have to do. It was then that Endeven had asked for their names, of which she realized she hadn't properly introduced herself. The swordswoman frowned to herself, because as she was able to recall, she did the exact same when she first met Daniel, despite being in a lesser state at the time. It was small, but it was something that wasn't supposed to happen when she transformed, and that disappointed her slightly. Sal would not comment on that, for he was more concerned with the fact that End now knew about his presence, and that he had no excuse not to give him a name. It was innately harmless, yes, but it was uncomfortable territory for the blade, especially when accounting for the universal translation of his title. Trust in these circumstances, however, would be valuable in light of dealing with a pestering, perceivably strong enemy that threatened to delay their affairs of utmost importance. Curiosity *Does* Kill, though. . .

``"Oh, I am sorry. My name is Ha. Ha Sunyoung, a hunter for the Hunting Group here, from the Japan."`` Ha decided to include her last name, of which few people knew. It didn't matter because she was essentially only registered in the O.S.A. Database, and she wanted to dispel the notions that she was anything like herself in that lesser state, hence the inclination to be more precise on her address, occupation and place of origin. Notably, she decided to use 'the Japan' instead of 'Korea', because that is where she was when returned to life. She figured that Endeven would understand that 'Hunting Group' was in reference to the Order, if not

Already aware of the fact. Sal would then provide instruction to her, having decided on a response, and she would oblige verbally. He actually didn't seem to mind her reply that had bordered on oversharing, almost as if understanding that she wanted to do better than before, or rather the fact that it was not nearly as invasive as it could've been. Claiming she was from Japan did silently disturb him even if it was ethnically true, granted, for reasons better left unstated.

``". . .My friend calls heself Sal. He is from here, actually."`` Ha held up the blade as to allow him to inspect him further, albeit there was nothing much to the composition of the sword. It was slightly thinner than a normal Katana, with a few unreadable Korean letters on its handle. In any case, that was about as good as Endeven was gonna get from her in terms of information about the two of them. There were no lies told in this statement, though; Sal is short for Salhaeja, and, he is from 'here', although from a very, very distant time and different rendition of these lands. Still, nothing about why he is a sword that *Talks* Under telepathic means for some reason, or the fact that he could clone himself, amongst many other questions about his nature. All of that would have to be earned at a later date, and either way, there wasn't enough time to open that can of worms. Also, he-self is not correct.

With that, Ha and Sal were ready to execute a plan in tandem with their newly found ally. She lowered the blade and navigated across her face until she could feel her sunglasses, adjusting them properly onto her nose. It was likely she'd need new ones after this entanglement.
Theresa
```ini
[✦ "I see, Ha and Sal. I will start with the said factors from earlier: Please hold out your blade." ✦]
```

He had started approaching Ha, whilst holding his hand out towards the said blade. The glow around Endeven's body, Protochrome energy, gathered in his left hand. Then Elechrome energy appeared in his right, making a noisy zap sound like electricity. 

*Evergloom.* *`Zzzttt.`*

The tunnel they were in was now even darker than pitchblack. Endeven's glowing left hand was the only thing that allowed for him to recognize Ha, yet most of the light was being swallowed by the Elechrome Energy that had formed in his other hand. It crackled in his palm, attempting to pull it to his left hand, which he was keeping far away from the Elechrome in his right. It was pure, purer than any of the ones he had cast before on the festival's day. As he moved towards Ha, his right hand formed a trail of space momentarily incapable of inhabiting light. A large amount of mana had been used on this technique, all springing from his mana pool. The use of such a technique made one thing clear: He did not want to waste much time on Sable, afterall there was a task far more urgent on his agenda. 

```ini
[✦ "I bestow you with the product of my awakened ability, Elechrome Energy. As long as you're in a dark environment it will remain on the blade, but be careful as it does migrate to other mediums that come into contact with. If you let it shift onto Sable.." ✦]
```

The awakened would place his right hand on the blade binding the Elechrome Energy to it. As he did so the sword would gain that trail of darkness aswell as a slight pull towards the sorcerer's left hand, which he was purposefully distancing from the slayer. The amount of energy used here put a severe injury on that same hand before during his training long ago. It has left a scar, as Endeven refused to have it healed, however that scar was now covered by bandages. Despite the effectiveness, a reaction ultimately wasn't what Endeven was going for in this situation. His Bend-Technique using a black charge of this intensity would be capable of keeping Sable in spot with enough force and time to let Ha assault her with a barrage of attacks, capable of seamlessly ending it right there and then. With this plan in mind, a grin arose on Endeven's face. 

```ini
[✦ "-We have a win-condition." ✦]
```

He stood there now, forming the handsign used for his wormhole technique. Though he was also curious to see if Ha had any similar factors to add onto their plan before manifesting his technique.
Laura
Starbi had hoped that Sable would consider his words of his painted lie. He thought that it was the best way to try and buy Endeven some time to escape, Sable didn't seem like one to be decieved easily, so it was as if he needed a miracle to...

```☾• "I believe you are attempting to deceive me,"``` 

And that miracle didn't happen, it was rather obvious that Sable wouldn't be fooled by some sort of lame lie, it was kind of pathetic really, hm. She wasn't fooled by his smile hiding that well-intent lie of his. Despite being called out for his lie, Starbi kept his smile in all of it, albeit a little bit nervous for what consequences may hold for Starbi in this situation, he wondered that it may not be so bad, seeing as she somehow understood what his intentions were.

It was then that Gold began speaking, Starbi didn't seem to manage to pick up on Gold referring to him as a "Third-party". And now Sable and Gold were talking about some sort of shard, Starbi had no idea what the shard was or what it could do, but it wasn't what a goal of his, he really just wanted to enjoy the fun of the festival and the hunt without anyone getting hurt, and if he were to find the koi fish, he would gladly give it to someone he might not even know whatsoever, just for the chance to make someone smile.

He then just listened to the two converse, before someone made an appearance. Someone absolutely new entering the situation from their footsteps, could thus be Endeven's friend mentioned before the three new hunters. Even so, whoever it was, its not like Starbi could protect himself, the other two seemed to be able to with ease, he was practically useless, it was laughable really.
Allen
``"I see, yes."`` Ha promptly agreed to his instruction, absent-mindedly waiting as Endeven performed what she was told were enhancements onto the makings of her blade, per the words of The Slayer. She, again, did not fully understand what he'd done, and was unconcerned with the apparent details nor the sensation of mana she felt as opposed to the larger agenda, notwithstanding the fact that Salhaeja would inform of her anything she truly needed to be aware of. As such, she had no adverse reaction to the strange sounds of casted magic, nor feeling the man's contact with her sword— she did keep her guard up so to speak, but that was more-so out of instinct then innate mistrust. There was no reason to suggest that he had ill intentions, and if he did, they certainly wouldn't reveal themselves at this time lest he compromise his own objectives. That'd be a bridge crossed at a later date.

Salhaeja was more keen on the mentioning awakened ability' and 'Elechrome Energy', the former being a term he'd heard before eluding to a specific context. As a spirit entrapped within a metallic sword, he was not capable of 'feeling' tangible forces in the traditional sense, but the pressure of binded darkness was something else entirely. End did not fully explain in-depth what he actually meant, but The Slayer knew had a basic idea of what he was suggesting. He also made note of the bandages on Endeven's hand, as if to suggest perhaps this or another casting of his had injured it prior. To possess such magical strength to an extent that could harm the corporal body, it must've been something formidable. More evidence of competence, if nothing else. The sudden grin of the stranger at his own plan inspired further analysis. 

Sal would make a suggestion to Ha, and she would verbalize it. ``". . .I know what I can do when the time come, but— what of Two Sword? It can help."`` Generally speaking, it would be wiser to unveil her abilities and ask how they would apply

To his instead of making outright assumptions of what was and wasn't feasible. This was in fairly obvious reference to **DOUBLE**, of which the stranger had been witness to already. One of the crucial aspects of this temporary partnership was, as far as Sal could tell, complimenting skillsets. The swordswoman was adept at direct, unrelenting onslaughts that relied on suddenness and the element of the surprise, whereas Endeven possessed means of methodical casting and strategically utilized mana, not to mention more counters to other magic then Ha could dream of. Combining the best of both worlds seemed ideal.
William
Blossom was rather shocked by the current situation, including the extremely obvious lack of their purple haired friend. They were slightly concerned but as of now were more or less just on edge. After all its rather rude to judge people before getting to know what they are like, isn't it? After Blossom was asked to identify themselves by one of the strangers, they tought for a breef moment. Blossom is technically a public figure, though not very well known, so an introduction should do no harm.

```
"My name is Blossom D'Ecritoire."
```

Short and to the point, probably preffered in a situation like the current one. After all, the people involved seemed rather hostile with one another, that was just the general vibe that seemed to stem from the area. Maybe Blossom could well, ask the people present if they had seen Endeven? After all, it'd be easier to find him with directions. So after collecting their thoughts for a moment.

```
"Say... Have any of you seen a purple haired man? I'm searching for him at the moment."
```

It was very convient that purple hair is such an easy descriptor for Endeven. Its easily recognisable since well, most people dont have purple hair. Its not impossible though, in the magical yet technological age they live in. Blossom decides to simply... Wait for a response for now. Finding Endeven is their current goal, which they hoped to accomplish as soon as possible.
Laura
Starbi watched as there was someone who appeared. Starbi looked at their appearance, Starbi felt a sensation of friendship and trust from them as if they were someone people could rely on. Noticing that they were painted with warm and friendly pink, pink clothes, and pink hair,
`they probably have pronouns too.`
Starbi's faint guard was let down, he felt that he could trust this new person, but could that be said for Gold and Sable?

The person, by the name of Blossom D'Ecritoire, began to speak, seemingly looking for someone, then;

```"Say... Have any of you seen a purple haired man? I'm searching for him at the moment."```

It was then that Starbi was struck with realisation, that this was Endeven's friend! Starbi's eyes lit up with glee, as he jumped with his hand raised as if he were a student in class, eager to answer a question.

"I do!! I do!!" Starbi spoke with excitement in his tone, Joyful Aura looming over the area, those around it feeling a sudden and intense feeling of joy. Not only was he excited to help, but also to get to know Blossom, he wanted to get to meet other friends of his friends, like he said to Endeven before Ha had crashed into him.

"I'm Starbi!! Dioscuri's a friend of mine!! I was with him for a bit but we got split up and he left with someone a few minutes ago! He might still be around!!" Starbi exclaimed with eagerness, it was as if everything that happened was instantly forgotten when Blossom brought up Endeven, Joyful Aura still present to give those around Starbi an intense feeling of joy.
Delores
Sable held her peace following her statement as the pieces of a greater picture began to assemble upon the canvas of the metro. Starbi's silence was self-revealing, Gold's interests had been made clear, and the stranger had revealed both their identity as Blossom d'Ecritoire and their association with the purple-haired mage; each element came to her with their own degree of importance, divided clearly and digested slowly in the wake of the her silence. The black-robed magician's eyes lowered into a squint, the subtle fire of the golden mana behind her irises rousing, kindling incandescent as, like two lit torches, they swept intently over those standing upon the precipice of the metro-proper. Likewise did the twin aurous flames at her sides intensify, as if sharing in the scrutiny of her careful examination of those that surrounded her. The hollow-gold flames peered deep — as deep as did Sable's eyes — for the two pairs of two could very well be thought of as one set of four.

There was an increasing number of unpredictable factors entering play, and an emerging sense of discord that rang unpleasant in Sable's mind. Her brow furrowed.

```asciidoc
☾• "I understand." :: •☽```

Her eyes briefly close, and she outstretches both hands to either of her sides, as though in a shrug. She took a deep breath.

```asciidoc
☾• "I... Do not believe we can find a common agreement." :: •☽```

The magician's eyes open again, her brow now lightly raised, as her hands come again together—



***`CLAP.`***



_ _

Six flames.
Six flames now hovered in a concentric ring about the magician herself, that hollow-golden mana flaring lightly off and around the surface of her opposing palms. But the life of the flames engulfing her hands quickly fades, as does the mana within her irises, smoke beginning to cascade subtly off the coattails of her robes. Her shape grew immediately ambiguous in the moment her hands came together. And yet the six flames themselves do not die out, yet rather waver, before flaring sharply in intensity. Spontaneously, each of the individual flames are granted momentum: two are launched toward the entry of the metro, flanking Blossom on either side, and the rest of the four are launched oppositely: two past Gold and one that travelled until it hovered directly infront of him, the last and sixth of the total group launched up and over their heads, travelling some distance down the tunnel.


*`First, the newcomer. Their presence is an uncertainty and the ambiguity of their participance leaves them also a liability.`*

__*`Flutter.`*__

The flame curves about Blossom, and travelling almost as fast as an arrow, immediately stops behind them, before its flame wavers, snuffed into nothingness as Sable then emerges, outstretching her hand toward Blossom's back.

*`I will begin by displacing you first. Then I will——`*
Eugene
***VWOOM***
A moment before Sable's hand could make contact with Blossom's body, a sharp magical presence creates a divide between her and them, before, in the wake of that presence, forms a magical circle: a hovering, branching, geometric, yet completely two-dimensional construct of mana in the form of a circle, serving as an impenetrable barrier. It glowed alight with a subtle, silverish-white radiance.

It appeared almost autonomously, its caster unseen and their purpose unknown.
And yet, almost intrinsic within its existence would perhaps come an inference:
Blossom, at this point in time, had not joined the Koi Hunt. And Sable had performed an action that would breach upon "Entering combat" With an outsider of the Hunt.
The rules of the Hunt, though understated as they were, were made nearly impossible to break by the overarching presence of the O.S.A throughout Sanctum Mesa.
Delores
*`—?!`*

Her palm is met with the stark resistance of a cold barrier of a mana whose originator she had not sensed even in the wake of her active use of *`Soulsight.`* Her palm rebounds instinctively off its surface, the magic circle in turn vanishing as quickly as it manifested.

```asciidoc
☾• "Verdomme..." :: •☽ —she muttered under her breath.```
Eugene
I dunno who specifically to ping
Theresa
The smile caused by his confidence quickly faded again, his expression reverting to a neutral one. His hands, previously stiffened to cast a spell, were now unrestrained as Ha suggested the use of an ability that was her own. Endeven crossed his arms, and remained silent as Ha spoke. The gradual deterioration of her vocabulary and grammatical prowess had brought a slight breeze of dissatisfaction to Endeven's view of the swordswoman. At first, the sorcerer took note of Sal's well versed tongue, but same could not be said about Ha's. Since he himself had migrated to Pacifica from Japan years ago, he was aware of the difficulties in transitioning to the english language, but his empathy did little to change the feeling of dissatisfaction. Nonetheless he wouldn't allow his thoughts to come to light, as it may seem ignorant of her circumstances. The term 'Two Sword' upset Endeven the most, despite it being an ability of Ha herself.

```ini
[✦ "Two Sword?" ✦]She is really bad at naming things.[✦ "Ah, Yes, I understand." ✦]
```
Indeed a weapon like that would deem useful despite Endeven's lack of mastery in wielding blades. Such weapons were originally developed with clear intent to end other lives and evolved to end them even more efficiently, which is the cause of his refusal to carry lethal weapons on him. Bo Combat and his Bare Fists are easy to control, while for his magic, he went as far as to create a limiter on the destructive capabilities that his awakened ability holds, which can only be bypassed through the use of incantations. Yet festival staff were on site to treat injuries, so Endeven's worries about that aspect could be overlooked. Perchance her Two Sword, a replica of The Slayer, could even add credibility to Ha's fake defeat, which was necessary for their planned feint attack. Since the Two Sword would most likely be recognized as its original, Endeven could imply that he took it from Ha.
 
 ```ini
[✦ "While I am no swordsman, I believe it could be of help to me. I will take it if you allow me to." ✦] 
```

Firmness returned to his fingers as he started to cast his bind spell now, since he would be incapable of doing so while holding the sword given by Ha. He took a more steady stance after turning around to face the wall, where the first chosen end of his ability was aimed at. Sparks of Elechrome Energy appeared in that spot.

```ini
[✦ "Ready..?" ✦]
```
He was awaiting confirmation from Ha, even though his technique had already begun reconstructing space, like displayed earlier when they escaped from Sable's pursuit. This time the rifts destination was set three meters above grounds of the street outside the metro projects entrance, where few sparks would start appearing at this point in time. It should be finished very soon...
Thomas
`Bunch'a colorful characters round here...` 

He thinks to himself, shaking his head but- remaining alert nonetheless. The coins upon his sides dance and spin, as if he were judging what maneuver might be best should the encounter once again dip into unpleasant waters. `They definitely have pronouns.`

That... Odd feeling in his stomach- whenever the person wearing yellow spoke- it made him uneasy, as though he was ever-so-slightly aware of the effect he was being placed under with each flourish and rise of the magic on display. `Hate it...`

For one on such a tight leash, more people directly trying to handle the emotions or mental state of him was not a welcome addition.

"Doesn't seem like it, no." 

*Clap*

Gold pivots and exposes his center body directly to the space *Between* The two flames, as a coin upon his side darts sideways – to the *Right* From his perspective – and towards the flame that was directly in front of him just moments before; an attempt to scout what would happen if the flames were directly hit with something, the other one clattering to the ground as Gold frees some of his exertion in exchange for the raw speed at which he could manipulate a single coin.

The piece of change, upon its attempt to brave the fire and flame, is left floating upon the other side of it, as Gold's *Left* Hand – the one wielding the *Palm Gun* – raises, 

*Tcchhhhhhheeew-*

It primes, ready for to shoot should his opponent suddenly use it as a teleport anchor, but-

**VWOOM**

`Well, -`

*PffEEW-*

`- ain't that somethin'-`

The *Palm Gun* Activates, shooting towards the flame in attempt to check what exactly could disperse the mana the opponent was using to apply pressure. It might be best, if Gold could somehow position himself properly, to use the pink pronoun user as a sort of meat-shield...
Catherine
Im your strongest soldier
Allen
Endeven was not the only one displeased by Ha's lack of mastery of the English language— Salhaeja had gone to *Considerable* Efforts to bring her up to par over the course of several years, and yet she still was, at *Best*, only half-decent with glaring issues nonetheless prevalent. How many books did he need to read her? Her inability to properly cite a fundamental spell that she named was outright shameful, but that'd have to be dealt with later. The drawback of being able to speak more clearly within an enhanced state was that all the mistakes normally hidden underneath slurred words and misplaced vowels were easily noticeable, and being crippled was no longer a valid excuse. She had to be better, but at least she knew it.

As for his suggestion pertaining to **DOUBLE**, it would actually better serve to be done on the fly as opposed to a planned assault, for two reasons. In light of this, Ha spoke on his behalf in order to clarify the intention, sort of shaking her unoccupied hand back and forth as to 'wave off' his preparing spell, a modern mannerism she managed to pick up on. ``"You can talk to him— Sal, yes? When it is time, you can ask him what to do with. . . Double, and he will do what you need for you. You can use it with hand, too."`` She was able to correct at least one of her mistakes, but more importantly, the swordswoman insinuated that Endeven could use SOUL communication as to instruct Sal on whatever he envisioned using the secondary blade if need be, or to use the blade himself. Leveraging chaos was more befitting of Ha's particular skillset, and it had proven to be successful prior, henceforth the thought process of the blade, albeit this was not infallible, nor was he unwelcome to a different perspective. From what he understood, though, it was likely that Sable wasn't alone, and accounting for such factors would be futile. Speaking directly with the man was not an issue for Salhaeja under the rationale that it was beneficial.

_ _
Sal was putting a substantial amount of faith into Endeven's individual strategic ability, showing a complete willingness to follow his lead and compliment the man's own spells, which didn't sound like him, lest there be a conditio. Again, it did contribute to the most basic practicality of the fact that his magic was directly comparable and therefore counter-active towards Sable, the titular antagonist— but there was an ulterior agenda here, though not a particularly sinister one. Salhaeja was interested in deducing the sheer competence that End possessed, and was using this instance as a sort. . . Measuring stick, although that wasn't to suggest they wouldn't help him if needed during battle. Considering their aligned goals and set agreement, they were likely going to be allies for the remaining duration of the festival, thus giving incentive for The Slayer to identify exactly how *Useful* He would be to them. The way he saw it, there wasn't a substantial amount of risk in going about things in this fashion— if this oh-so confident plan of his went poorly, that'd tell him that the man wasn't a conducive asset, whereas the alternative outcome would indicate he was, using the most accessible method they had at the moment. Sable being a committed, formidable pest was another topic, and yet he wasn't too concerned, not anymore. He had his own ideas.

Endeven had asked Ha if she was ready. She paused for a moment, namely waiting to see if her companion had any more outstanding thought. With nothing more to add to the conversation, she, yet again, responded with a mindless nod, uniformly readying her enhanced blade. Despite an approaching battle, there was no increased vigor or identifiable gust to her tone, nor did her expression, lifeless as could be excluding the occasionally small reaction, change. ``"I am prepared. We may go."``
Delores
With the revealed existence of the metaphysical barrier, the black-robed magician took a step away from Blossom, her eyes shifting over their shoulder as she began to speak:

```asciidoc
☾• "Moge je me geen problemen bezorgen, buitenstaander.":: •☽```

It was not so much a statement toward Blossom that she was making rather than it was a statement of hope spoken to herself. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, the control she held over her flames honing. She began to form a fuller image of the metro tunnel beyond her.

The flame that the high-speed coin pierces through wavers, immediately, upon being disrupted by the sharp change in atmosphere. Much akin to a candleflame, the light flickers and wavers, dying quickly as it is interfered with through a physical medium. The magician — her eyes still closed — raises a brow as the flame is snuffed, stepping around and beyond the right side of Blossom as a single of her golden eyes open, peering toward Gold from the opposite side of the tunnel. She stepped beyond the pink-haired magician infront of her, extending her right hand out to her side as she quickly manifested a replacement to the lost flame, her left hand forming a handsign. That flame hovered in-air, for a moment, before hovering at a halved velocity toward Gold.

Similarly, the Palm Gun, aimed up and firing at the flame still hovering directly above him, disperses the flame likewise. Yet Sable does not create a replacement for the lost flame, for she is, for a moment, still, smoke softly wisping off the edges of her garments and—

**`tfp`**

_ _

Now standing behind Gold.
She manifested with her left hand outstretched towards Gold, the surface of her left palm releasing from the center of his lower back as her body instantaneously swapped positions. It was uncertain what she had just teleported to: two flames had travelled beyond Gold, one on either side of his body, and yet the position or absence of either could not be confirmed once they travelled past his blindspot. And indeed, it seemed they persisted in the absence of his sight for a continued moment, for even in turning he would not be able to find either of the flames: the black-robed sorcerer was likely maintaining the motion of at least one of them outside his sightlines with that particular purpose in mind.

*`I need to end this swiftly.`*
*`As long as it is just one...`*

A new flame was created in her right hand in the moment she appeared, its form flickering and hovering away from the surface of her palm, suspended in-place where she manifest it. In the moment that her opponent might notice the absence of her presence ahead of him — her silhouette still dissipating from where she once stood — she began to launch her attack.

The pale-gold flame of her mana-reinforcement shrouded her then-freed right hand as she launched a physically-weak, though tremendously-magically-empowered hook toward the back of Gold's head — or his chin, if he, in that moment, turned. Though physically weak as Sable was, her usage of mana-reinforcement brought the impact of her attacks to a level on-par with peak human output, if not outright transcending it by a significant margin: it was a heavy hit, and one meant to immediately debilitate. Yet her left hand remains in a handsign, close to her chest, mana still shrouding it — it is for that reason that her blow is so weak from a physical standpoint.
Theresa
This would make it far easier to actually perform their plan, since he didn't have to search for Sable. 

```ini
[✦ "Hmmm..." ✦]
```

Gold and Starbi were also present, as Endeven quickly realized, luckily the latter was unharmed. Due to Endeven witnessing Gold's fight with Sable, his thesis of Gold's goal being Sable seemed even more believable. Instead of hunting down Endeven and Ha, they had remained here, fighting Sable, making it implausible to believe that Gold was after the Spirit-Koi. Nonetheless, Endeven remained careful about the purple-haired fellow, since his intentions were still unclear. Ultimately his eyes locked in on Sable as she was the only one amongst the combatants that was likely to attack him.

```ini
[ "You don't mind if I leave, right?" ]
```

Endeven had already placed his hands together while he fell, aligning finger by finger, each of them pointing upward to the night sky. Maybe this is how he managed to stand so effortlessly after that descent from the airborne portal. The sight of that handsign in addition to the comment that he had just made was a bluff to make the group believe he was going to leave, however his true intention differed. The cantum sorcerer was aiming to make Sable perform a rash and instant decision in worry of Endeven leaving, while he could prepare to counterattack her, as the handsign he had formed, was in fact not intended for the use of Quasar Locus: Bind.
Laura
Since his answer, the starborn had just stood idly after he answered Blossom's question if any of them had seen what Starbi interpreted as Endeven.
It was then that the Pyromancer, Sable, was then going to provide a hook to the back of Gold's head if he wasn't fast enough to react. Everything felt... Dead for some reason, if was as if Starbi was going to go lost in thought as before. Before it could happen, Starbi shook his head for a moment,
He had to do something.
No sort of thought crossed Starbi's mind, other than doing something in the situation, despite the sudden feeling not to. Regardless, the Starborn rushed as fast as he could with no hesitation to Gold and Sable, before he stopped in his tracks from the sound of an explosion. Starbi used his right arm as a shield for his eyes. It felt a little familiar, before he took his arm away from his eyes, seeing that.. It was Endeven! A smile was painted on Starbi's face.
"Hi Dioscuri!!" Starbi exclaimed with his smile, Joyful Aura, which faded away due to the situation, made an effect as Starbi was happy to see a friend of his, instantly forgetting Gold and Sable.

```" You don't mind if I leave, right? "```

Starbi titled his head slightly with a puzzled expression on his face, yet it was more friendly than dreadful, was Endeven going to leave?
``apparently.``

Endeven probably has a plan, and that plan seemingly was to escape? But that didn't make sense, Endeven could've just left another way, so why did he just.. Come here to then say he was leaving? For dramatic effect? Starbi didn't strike Endeven for the theatre type. Although he did have ~~``purple hair and pronouns``~~ a sort of Affinity for showing off his magic, or fighting, during the fight with the speedster Jovan, 
``who was still on the fucking floor,``
Maybe Endeven was just going to do something fun before leaving? Starbi could've sensed some sort of joy from Endeven during the fight, so he figured he found some joy in combat or sparring.
Thomas
The flames can be snuffed. Valuable information to avoid an attack from the magic should push come to shove. As one head is removed, another comes to takes it place - it too being removed just as suddenly as it had been summoned.

**Tfp**

While unclear as to *How* Exactly Sable had appeared, Gold *Does* Have a __potential__ clue – even if perhaps incorrect – with one small interaction from earlier that, at the time, had seemed strange. `Maybe...`

Sable had previously touched Gold's calf, which could mean–

`Behind!!`

*Ting-tnggngngngngngg*

His head rotates swiftly, the average human being able to maneuver at about 200 milliseconds if abrupt enough, close *Enough* To Gold's own reaction time, as the coin that had been dispersing coins closer towards Sable's original position falls to the ground and rolls a short distance further away; having landed on its edge. While he *Could* Have potentially used this piece of change to do the trick, it made much more sense to use a *Closer* Coin, being the one that he had previously discarded solely to deal with piercing the flames.

Gold's body doesn't need to tilt the full way in order to picture his assailant clearly – a small graze could potentially do the trick if she was still enough. As he turns to face her- exposing his *Chin* - the coin that had previously been on the ground just in front of him careens towards her, following the motion of Gold's head at an unbearably fast speed as it threatens her to either pick another target or to trade a blow to Gold's head with a much more extreme blow from the coin towards her out-stretched arm should she not fall back immediately.
William
Blossom was well, very overwhelmed with the events transpiring. 
At first Blossom was well happy, to hear this stranger who identified themselves as Starbi, tell them that Endeven was nearby. It was interesting to hear he was a friend of Endeven's though. Not to be mean or anything, but Endeven doesn't exactly have many friends. Blossom would know that, since they are Endeven's friend.

They weren't able to give a reaction to that though, as the sudden attempted attack left them well, shocked to say the least.
It made them close their eyes, bracing for impact, not expecting... Whatever blocked to attack to pop up. By the time Blossom opened their eyes again whatever had blocked the attack was already gone. The sudden Dutch profanity did peak their interest though. Alas, too bad the situation moves too quickly.

They then watched the stranger who attacked them and the other stranger clash for a bit. Normally, they are quite good at taking in a lot of information in a short time. Well, they still are, except they were not prepared for a Fight. Especially since Endeven had mentioned preparing not fighting. Speaking of Endeven where did he go anyway? The Starbi person had mentioned him yet Endeven didn't seem close by. Maybe in a nearby building?

The repeat of more Dutch made them even more curious. Then again, good luck asking the person who just tried to kill you about if they speak a language. So Instead they decided to look at Starbi again and were about to ask a question when-
An explosion, a pretty loud one at that. They made sure to shield their eyes, those organs are more sensitive then most people would like them to be. Shortly afterwards they were met with Endeven, or well a silhouette which looked like Endeven.
The ''You don't mind if I leave, right?'' Spoken by the silhouette mealy confirmed this. Leave? Surely the purple haired mage had a plan.

They didn't think too long before deciding to rush closer to Endeven, clearly something was protecting them from harm right now anyway, so a normally quite reckless move wouldn't hurt too much right?

```
"Seems like he's finally here."
```

It was more of a general statement rather than said towards anyone, it might even catch the space bending magician's attention if they were lucky.
Elfriede
Running and jumping from roof to roof felt like an eternity, all the while he thought to himself about his past, *What am I doing? I don't have to work as an agent anymore, but it's also not like I don't have any other choice. What is there for me to do? I don't know anything else. This is like the revolution all over again. "William go cause chaos, William go rob the army train, William use the long gun to kill the enemy commander."* The prior orders of his commanders ringing through his head. He soon lands on a roof overviewing the Metro entrance, seeing the commotion of the people down below, the only person he knew being Starbi. He observes the people below and what looked like a portal in the sky? *What the fuck is that? And who are those people? Is Starbi safe here, I have to provide overwatch for him.* As he thinks to himself he begins adjusting his rear sight on his rifle. *Estimated range 230 meters equals to 251 yards, but given the angle more likely 270 meters which equals...295 yards so adjust sight to 300 yards.* He thinks to himself as he repositions his body using the dark sky behind him to hide his position, he places his pointer finger and thumb on his bolt getting into a Mad Minute firing position. He will only fire if someone attacks Starbi or if the fight is going too out of hand, and when he does fire he will drop and crawl to a new position to continue hiding his position.
Delores
*`Aggression. Repetition.`*
*`Apprehension. Dormancy.`*
*`Revelation. Misdirection.`*
*`A false technique. Emergence.`*
*`Teleportation. Reappearance.`*

Sable's aureate flames flared as a familiar participant's presence took shape, scouted within the periphery of a flame she had earlier launched from Blossom's position — the one still slowly travelling toward Gold. The illumination of the flame gave sight to the manifest wormhole, the passing light of the flickering proxy of mana acting as a conduit for an extension of the ashen mage's perception. In the moment the wormhole formed and the second robed magician appeared, the black-robed sorcerer Sable narrowed her burning eyes, her mind immediately laden with a necessity to reform a complete grasp on the situation at-hand, perplexity filling her gaze and a subtle ire tugging on her brow. 

***`The Spirit Koi...`***
*`...What intent do you have bringing it back here?`*

Her flames wavered following their flaring, as a number of lines of logic and questions simultaneously progressed within that split-second period her hand still remained in its sign, mana fluctuating sharply through her body as it sprouted from her ***`SOUL.`*** 

*`One, and not two...`*
*`...And yet the treasure is with the one sent to confront me.`*
_ _

Yet the moment of distraction would not defeat her judgment over the matter at hand; she maintained her sound sense through the unrest of it all.

*When Gold would turn to face Sable, his vision, in a blur, would pass briefly under the form of a flame one that lingered just above and barely in the peripheral of his sight, travelling up and out of it just barely after he turned, crossing fully behind him after again eluding his line-of-sight. This was where the second of her two flames had gone.*

The coin pierces her arm with an impossible cleanliness, and her fist dissipates into smoke upon its collision with Gold's chin, the gaseous residuals of her mana still harmlessly carrying the momentum of her attack. She had teleported out of her own action before it would even realistically make contact: the punch was a feint to begin with. Even in the midst of thought, she cast her premeditated spells almost instinctually, misdirecting her opponent as the silhouette of her former position began to fade at its edges into pale smoke. 

Yet her plan following the feint had changed with the re-emergence of Dioscuri.

*`...I'll make this quick.`*
_ _

The flame now woven above and behind the man shuddered, and, immediately following Sable's initial disappearance, she remanifested to take its position, her form coalescing in-air. Her leg curled in almost immediate succession to her arrival, pale-gold flames powerfully engulfing her shin and boot, as she launched a momentous left-to-right midair kick to the back of Gold's head, her foot swinging and hooking in toward his ear. Transpiring in the fragmentary period of time it would take Gold to fully face Sable's initial position — where still lingered her fading silhouette — she sought to land a critical, debilitating blow in his newly-formed blindspot. It carried with it an output that approached peak-human strength despite Sable's otherwise unremarkable physiology: such was the merit achieved by trading-off sheer efficiency for sheer force in the use of an explosive output of *`external mana reinforcement.`*

Immediately following either the attack's success or failure, Sable would not let herself hit the groud following the mid-air attack. 

***`CLAP.`***

Her hands came together immediately following her leg's motion, as she changes positions with that of another flame: the earlier flame she had made just after she teleported behind Blossom, which had remained in the stairwell still due to both the speed of her assault and the slowness of its travelling itself. Her clothes still carrying some of the downward momentum as gravity earlier began to act on her due to her mid-air teleportation, her robe flutters as she immediately turned, re-orienting herself toward Endeven and beginning to climb the entry of the metro with headlong speed.
_ _

*`"Ffft..."`*

She blows air between her teeth, releasing the surface of her palms one-from-another, as pale-gold flames engulf them in vibrant light. Then, coalescing, two candlelicks' of flame form hovering above either palms: two more ***`LONT`**S* Among many.
﻿
***```asciidoc
☾• "...Vooruit!" :: •☽```***
﻿
As she took one more expeditious step toward Endeven, her hand immediately shifted into a symbol, pointing directly toward the sorcerer ahead of her, as both licks of flames are spontaneously granted tremendous speed — like that of an arrow — straight toward him. They cross from left-to-right, from right-to-left, converging just before they hit him—

***`—fft!`***

—but never do, each travelling straight past him and past the opposite sides of Endeven and as they had initially manifested at Sable's own, curving swiftly into his blindspot and forming an X-shaped trail that converged directly ahead of him. It was a hastened attempt to approach as provoked by the conical-hatted sorcerer's sudden appearance and the mere potential of him absconding with the Koi, and yet one not too hasty as to dump her efforts into an all-or-nothing attack.

She still held her skepticism about her: why hadn't they simply fled through the metro tunnels to find some other way to resurface?

*`...Hmph.`*

A light scowl on her face and a turbulent, fiery mana enshrouding both of her arms, the sorcerer grew closer and closer to Endeven, approaching melee range, as aureate light engulfs the darkened cement beneath a vast, overlit city skyline. She had changed surroundings to an open area yet again — something she disfavored for the in the case of pursuing someone actively running from her — and now began to take in the environment in the perception of her mind's eye once more. Her body pivots as she finally enters melee range, her left fist curving in with a punch that carried the forward momentum of her sprint, and her right hand in a simple symbol, prepared to use a spell.
Elfriede
Seeing the growing flame and clash of the magic users from his position atop the roof, William focuses his attention on the main attacker, Sable, feeling the battle was getting out of hand he aimed his rifle at Sable and took a deep breathe... Aligning the front sight with the rear sight, relaxing his hand and placing his thumb on the bolt of his rifle in a mad minute technique, he took a breathe out and squeezed his trigger...
**BANG** **RACK**
**BANG** **RACK**
**BANG** **RACK**
He fired 3 shots and quickly racked his bolt, chambering a new round with precision and expertise, the recoil hitting his shoulder being a memory of a past long forgotten for others but not for him. As the cracks and burn of the powder filled the air, he knew that he only had 3 seconds to find a new position before the report of the rifle could be heard by the others. Dropping onto his back he rolled over to lay flat on his stomach and proceeded to crawl to a new area to remain hidden and still have clear shots on the others, he thought to himself, *Watch the battle, protect Starbi, remember the mission. No time for emotions.* He repeated the phrase in his head as he crawled to a new spot and readied his rifle once again to take more shots.

If the bullets hit than Sable would be hit in the lower back by three shots of a tight group of 30-06
Laura
It was a clash of light and flames. The flames obviously from Sable's pyromancy, as well as the "Light" Coming from Endeven with his light-like magic from what Starbi has witness, as if Endeven was able to bend light itself with pure ease.

For a slight moment, he wondered if Starbi was able to fight Endeven if Starbi regained more of his abilities, but that wasnt really something important to think as of now, Starbi was useless.

Despite in all of this, Starbi decided to move back a few feet and keep distance and let Endeven handle it like he thought of before, that's what the two came to as an agreement before all of this happened. 

**`BANG RACK 
BANG RACK
BANG RACK`**

Starbi then jolted, as he froze when he ducked from whatever those noises were with his hands over his head, they sounded like **Gunshots**. 

He wasn't really sure where the bullets hit, but Starbi remained still for a moment, no sensations of pain or discomfort, so Starbi wasn't hit.

But what that would mean for the others there? Blossom, Gold, Sable, Endeven? What if any of them got hurt? Starbi hoped that nobody got hurt, and that the bullets just missed.
He didn't think that anymore violence was going to help the situation.
Thomas
As Sable once again attempts to teleport behind him, Gold's eye catches a small glimpse of the embers provided by the *Flame*, which, in any other circumstance, would have prompted him to try and snuff it.

This is not that circumstance, though-

Sable disappears once more, Gold making a hard prediction utilizing the faint glow of the *Shard* Sable wielded atop her *Right shoulder*, that his opponent would once again try to land a blow as his eyes dart to the right side. It is because of this shard then, that the very *Faintest* Of shadows is cast for Gold to see, and, not feeling a sudden, instantaneous chill, it is most definitely *Not* His own.


His eyes bring the coin with them as he attempts to *Flick* The projectile mentally towards his assailant's center mass - once again threatening her to back off due to the projectile's overwhelmingly fast speed - and ducking his head entirely forward as both a direct attack path is formed, and Sable's kick is dodged. Due to the nature of the attack vector, Gold does not need to move nearly as much as one might expect. It seems it is not as much a *True* Blind-spot as previously thought...

If she did not teleport out of her kick, the coin would be aimed directly towards her stomach, aiming to pierce right through as clean as it could and head towards the wall behind the magic-wielder. A trade. The speed provided from **A Mental Lever Long Enough** Would not immediately dissipate once Gold lets go, as evident by the secondary coin from earlier which had finally fallen to the ground just beyond where Sable had launched her fireballs from. In other words then, it would not slow down substantially enough in time to lessen the blow towards Sable, and especially not when it was so close-quarters.
Catherine
Did i make a mistake
Delores
***THUMP***
Direct impact.

The Sable infront of Gold — the silhouette of her position as she touched him — still lingered. His reactions are yet slower than what would allow him to turn once more after turning initially, this impossibility in reversing one's own momentum out of a panicked reaction being the exact circumstance the black-robed sorcerer was looking for. As he had dedicated to a breakneck attack toward Sable's positioning earlier behind him, all what focus imposed on his mind and inertia acting on his body would not wholly prevent a swift re-reaction, but would still delay it long enough that the fullness of his turn or his dodge would not transpire until after her foot had already come in contact his ear; after her kick had directly impacted the side of his skull.

**He was a moment too late. **The stimuli which he reacted to were far too nebulous to grant clear enough tells enough to substantiate an immediate reaction and a dodge — especially one that already potentially exceeded his capacity to react to even in the presence of such tells in the first place. Sable's silhouette of her own former positioning (its smoke-hazed fist still hurling toward Gold's face) would muddy his capacity to take note of the shadow, and the burden of focus in perpetuating the coin's momentum at eye-level would likely further detract from his ability to immediately notice its presence or absence of a miniscule detail on the floor below him. Any sense of its clarity would be further lost in the murkiness of the entire situation, flickering shadows cast multiple ways across the metro stairs by the ambient light of the sorcerer's aureate flames, each of the former's shapes ablur due to how fast Gold had thrust himself into a turn.

_ _

Individually, perhaps, these challenges could be overcome; together, however, they would each necessitate a moment of delay that was decisive against an instantaneous attack made with the express intent of misdirecting him.

To aim to pierce her straight through the stomach would further deny Gold the opportunity to attempt to trade: she was positioned a full 180-degrees behind him, and in targeting her center mass, he would be forced to make a full or at least significant turn to see her, an act which would itself be denied by the force of the kick pounding against his head.

`- -`

Present time.
Golden manas flickered off of Sable's hands as she continued to break away from the metro at full-pace, the moon and sky softly illuminating her form where the light of the pale-gold flame did not reach. Further than her was Endeven, backlit by blinding lights that left him a silhouette in the dusklit setting of the Festival outskirts — nearby flanked by the arena of the ***`Margo Aeternitatis`*** —; further yet than him, however, were the mage's two aureate flames. Those two candlelights — those two ***`LONT`**S* Among many — were carried with the whole of her direct focus, their light as piercing as the speed withwhich they pierced through the atmosphere. Each carried the like velocity of an arrow, thinning as they left behind a stretched, bright trail that curved and warped around and past their target, disappearing into Endeven's blindspot.
 
Both Endeven and Sable remain with handsigns formed, one approaching and one retreating. They are equally as prepared for one-another's next move as their opposite, and they are equally as prepared for the followup that will succeed the first, decisive move. Sable's senses were honed as she sharpened her focus and her extrasensory perception to take note of the Koi-holder's mana, aureate light pouring forth from her eyes—

—as a hole pierces into her lower stomach.

*In a battle between sorcerers, there is scarcely anything more alarming than something present only on a solitary plane of existence.*
_ _

A sorcerer understands that all magic is derived from the spirit realm. The nascent form of a magic is perceived as an agitation of the spirit realm and the ignition of an opposing magician's ***`SOUL`**,* All before mana is given substance and a spell hypostatizes into the material world. One that perceives the spirit realm learns to trust it and its auspices as a precursor of what is soon to come in the present reality.

That is exactly why such a mundane attack is so terrifying.
It is created and exists only within the mundane reality — unseen by eyes that can perceive even the **`SOUL`** — and yet its impact is felt all the same as a greater offensive spell.

Blood seeps into her robe as the world in Sable's perception immediately drops to a standstill, and yet it is not first the sensation of pain that rings throughout her mind, but rather the sharp sense of tremendous velocity only just now beginning to be processed by her mind — a mental afterimage of what was earlier sensed by the extrasensory perception of the two auric flames that first detected Endeven's upward motion, and then the bullets cleaving past them. Though hit, she, in the continuation of this mental standstill and still in the perpetuation of her handsign, was prepared to dodge the two that followed.

***`TFP`***
_ _

As the second bullet sails through the atmosphere toward Sable, it pierces impossibly-clean through her body, blowing a disproportionately-wide hole through her center-mass, as does the third. Each successive shot after the first struck as though it were blowing through a cloud of smoke — because that was exactly what they were doing. Though they were fired quickly in succession one-after-another, Sable had teleported immediately after the first hit pierced into her body, leaving her former position occupied by naught but her silhouette in pale smoke.

Where she had teleported to, however, was... Unknown. Neither of the two flames that had crossed behind Endeven had disappeared, and neither did Sable re-manifest in any position that William could scout from his vantage-point. She had teleported to a position that was unseen by any of the individuals in adjacency to the metro — one that had either long left their sights or had been placed in a location long before this skirmish had even begun.

She was absent, entirely.
_ _

*```asciidoc
☾• "Verdoemde ding..." :: •☽```*
﻿
In the midst of the deeper bowels of the metro tunnel, Sable remanifested, swapping her position with that of a flame she earlier launched via the use of the simple command *"Vooruit".*
Her hand lingers over the wound as she channels a honed and slightly altered form of internal reinforcement, the outflow of blood slowing slightly as she struggles to block up the wound with the crude, unrehearsed technique.

*```asciidoc
☾• "Focus..." :: •☽```*

She takes a deep breath in. In mere seconds, she regains control of her manaflow, isolating the two wounds she had been inflicted: the bullethole and the moderately-sized gash that she had earlier sustained from Ha's initial assault, whose first strike had indeed contacted, albeit shallowly.

Her eyes open, aglow with pale-gold mana. Her palm outstretched as she renews the recently-expended flame — creating a beacon she may later recall to — as her eyes then again closed, her focus now shifting to the extended perception of the two flames she launched at Endeven.
_ _

**```asciidoc
☾• "...Focus—" :: •☽```**

She assumes direct control over one of the twin flames' motion. Both remained purposefully hidden some distance away from Endeven and lingered in his blindspot, and only now did a single of the two reveal its position. It launches straight up from where it once remained, streaking through the air as it rapidly gains altitude — climbing multiple hundreds of meters in the span of seconds, piercing far into the sky overhead. It shimmers, faintly, an infinitesimally-small glimmer in the overlit night sky, barely visible at the height it now remained suspended at.

Save for the two flames on the surface and the one she had just created, the rest of the flames she had created are snuffed manually, fading into the darkness of the metro.

*```asciidoc
☾• "—and retake control of the situation." :: •☽```*



***`Are you ready, Agnes?`***
Sucking a sharp breath through her lips, the sorcerer exhales heavily, before clenching and unclenching her blood-stained left hand. She observes it, before swinging it and its opposite out and then back in—



***`CLAP.`***
**—as she is then immediately plunged into freefall.**

**`DISTANCE FROM THE GROUND: 500 METERS`**

—Her hands still together, she sharply focused, her eyes closed as she descended upside-down. A single flame flickering into existence for each second she descended immediately following her remanifestation, six total spark to life, hovering concentrically about her, until she releases her stance and again opens her eyes.
_ _

**`DISTANCE FROM THE GROUND: 300 METERS`**

**```asciidoc
☾• "VOORUIT!" :: •☽```**

—She yells a command as her eyes scan vaguely over the form of the city from above. All the world is a blur even in her far-seeing golden eyes, and yet it is granted unmeasurable clarity in the sight of the six golden flames she has now sent forth, each toward the general direction of where William's three shots came from. Individually, they could cover little ground; together, they could scan over a vast range of land, surveying almost the entire general region from rooftop-height to both literally and figuratively shine light on the positioning of the marksman.

**`DISTANCE FROM THE GROUND: 100 METERS`**

Her hands come back together as she claps, and yet she does not teleport immediately.

*`Weave the negation of your own momentum into the spell's formula..."`*

__```asciidoc
✧ "Vijfde Licht." :: ✧```__

Flames wholly engulf Sable's body as she disappears much slower than what is typical of her otherwise instantaneous teleportation. The flame left lingering in Endeven's blindspot wavers, as she remanifests in a small burst of pale, aureate light — upright and intact, albeit somewhat disoriented.

**`TOUCHDOWN.`**

```asciidoc
☾• "We're not done here yet. :: •☽```

She crouched down, placing her hand against the cement ground beneath her.

```asciidoc
✧ "Eerste Licht." :: ✧
A fiery rune engraves itself on its surface. Then, rising, she places her hands together.
✧ "Tweede Licht." :: ✧
✧ "Derde Licht." :: ✧
Two more appear, glowing faintly as they decorate either of her palms.```

*`No more fooling around.`*
*`I could die,`* She thought. *`So I will use every technique in my arsenal to avoid defeat.`*

Not immediately acting to attack Endeven, she kept her extended distance about 15 meters behind her target: the Koi-holder. She was still bleeding, somewhat, a fiery presence engulfing the site of her wound — yet she maintained herself with a composure that suggested she was not feeling any of its pain, despite what pangs were truthfully resounding sharply through her body. This time, she would not launch a flame; rather, she would slowly approach the magician floating in the midst of combat. Now, Sable walked at a soft and walking pace, growing closer as she, with both hands, touched her middle and little fingers against the runes on her palms — her index and middle outstretched — making no sudden movements as she closed distance.

Her awareness of her distanced surroundings was growing rapidly by the second, one of her golden eyes closed and attuned to share the perception of the flames actively seeking out William's position. She was effectively fighting two battles simultaneously, and thus she took a much slower and more meticulous approach, her opposite and open eye sharply glaring toward the Cantum sorcerer ahead of her — honing her perception on his **`SOUL`**.
Elfriede
From his position above he saw Starbi hide away from his bullets, he felt *Sad?* He wasn't sure why or why he even cared if Starbi was afraid but that doubt was soon replaced with focus as he saw Sable free fall through the air and send flames towards his area. *Great, she doesn't know exactly where I am, but that fire will act as a flare like from the trenches. No point in hiding now.* He thought to himself, he steadied his rifle once again this time tilting his head so his hat could cover his eyes from the firey glow that came ever closer to his position. He bit down on his dog tags that hung around his neck and began to recite a poem that he said before every major battle, "In the mud and blood, hills and forests, we shall fight. Whether it be thousand or million men, we shall fight. No rest. No surrender. For the bleak battle holds no care for our ever lasting love." As he spoke, a flame grew around his hands and wrapped like a vine of flowers around his stock and barrel, transferring all its heat and gas into the chambered round. With a deep breath, everything seemed too slow, a soldiers minute. It may seem like eternity but be over in a flash.
**BANG-RACK**
While it couldn't be seen by any of the others, what looked to be a *Smile* Tugged at the corners of his mouth. As the bullet left the barrel the sound of a Canon and smell of sulfur filled the air, a travel trail from the extended gas of the round and magic would show his location but he didn't care for that now, he only cared to end the fight one way or another. The bullet traveled at a speed of 3,800 feet per second, giving only 0.2 seconds to cover the distance from himself and the target. Feeling the strain on his rifle stock from the overextended gas, he knew that any more shots of that power would break or even destroy his rifle. He jumps up and offs the roof onto a nearby building and makes his way towards the street level.

If his round hits, then it would pierce through Sables stomach, while not a killing shot. If the wound is not treated immediately or Sable decides to continue their fight, then it could be...
Thomas
**WHUMP**- Pain, both dull yet also sharp as the foot connects; both coins dropping to the floor with a *Tng-ngngngngnngn* As he stumbles to the side, momentarily losing his footing as he falls to the ground with an "Ah-"

That one really hurt. That'll take some time to get back up from.. Not down and out quite yet, but certainly struggling with the sudden, extreme pounding headache that had approached – but not surpassed wholly – punishments of which Gold had taken before.. 

`Take a moment, collect yourself, get back up. Get back up. Get up, K.` His hand reaches to the side of his head that had been impacted. One... Two... Three...

`C'mon K, you've had worse happen.` But yet, for just a moment longer, Gold rubs the side of his head, looking up slightly yes, trying to gather where the flames that had danced nearby were based off of their lighting. One of the coins – the one nearest, which he had tried to launch at Sable before losing his focus – slowly picks itself up off the ground, though the effort for the moment is currently labored.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

**Tckeeeewww-** The *Palm Gun* Primes as Gold attempts to reflect the light off of the coin to try and catch the flame and disperse it, moving albeit very slowly as he attempts to shakily regain his footing; not exposing himself to the outside of the metro quite yet. "Ahh, fuckin'-... Ngghh.."

In other words, Gold effectively just sits there for a moment or two.
Theresa
The three bullets pierced Sable and then she was gone. Just like that. It was beneficial for Endeven that Sable had been injured, but her disappearance was not good at all. Endeven was slowly moving upwards, as he was being pushed away from the air around. While air was everywhere, there was less the further he would rise into the sky. Now four meters above the ground, he scouted the direction which the shots originated from. Nobody to be seen.

```ini
[✦ "Hm.." ✦]
```

They were probably hiding. `But why did they shoot her and not me?` The sorcerers gaze turned to Blossom, Starbi and Gold, then he started looking for the flames that had been around him. Endeven acknowledged them as the means of Sable's teleportation, as demonstrated during their first encounter. This meant that she was able to appear behind his back and strike him at any point. While his ability was active, it would not matter, as Endeven would be repelled before contact, but his ability did not last forever, in fact.. There was not much time left. After witnessing Sable's use of both flames he knew he had to land, and since Sable had used both of her teleportation-points it felt safer to do this than before. But Endeven was now essentially 6 meters elevated, keeping his eyes on his target, Sable. His hands, still performing the hand sign, now rotated by both wrists by 180°, pointed towards the ground.
**`Plus 200KG`** 
Endeven had undone his negative bend technique an regained positive mass, causing him to immediately fall. Before he hit the ground, his wrists rotated back to the original hand position.
**`Minus 200KG`**
**`Release.`**
Although it seemed like he was going to crash down against the ground, Endeven landed smoothly, as if it those 6 meters turned into a quarter. His hands had split, as Endeven held them up in a defensive fighting stance. The Elechrome energy previously split across his body concentrated into his right hand. He had started stepping in an orbit around Sable, attempting to keep the distance, but also trying to relocate into a position which allowed for him to observe Gold and William's directions in his peripheral field of vision. While making his way around Sable, he slowly decreased the distance between the two.
```ini
[✦ "Don't Peek." ✦]
```
He was quick to recognize Sable's attempt of Soulsight, since he was subject to the eyes of many at the academy. His **`SOUL`** Was one difficult to read, considering the tough vessel, obscuring Endeven's inner ideals and deep desires from others. It was as if there was a mirror laminated over Endeven's spirit, leaving the reflection of Sable's own glowing eyes as the easiest recognizable shape. Though Endeven's vessel was clearly not perfect, indicated by cracks that allowed the skilled eyes of an advanced soulsight-user to peer inside.. While he fought against Sable's Soulsight, Endeven stepped closer, now directly approaching Sable.

```ini
[✦ "Evergleam." ✦]
``` *`Zzzzttt`*

A more direct way of dealing with sight. The bright source of light, too bright for eyes to comprehend, appeared in Endeven's left hand. He himself had looked away, towards the entrance of the metro to avoid blinding himself. The cantum sorcerer had amped up the brightness of his Protochrome Energy to an incredibly irritating level. If Sable was to keep staring at Endeven, while he used his Evergleam, the brightness would shortly overload her photoreceptors, causing her to see god for three seconds, followed by a short period of visual impairment via afterimages. During this time, Endeven would charge at her, `She better not teleport again.` and if he arrives infront of her, Endeven would raise his brightly glowing hand, performing what seems to be a left hook, but slips into a sucker punch with his elechromatic right, aiming to hit Sable's solar plexus.
Delores
One eye closed.
And within the eye still open, the essence of the **`SOUL`** Is revealed.

Sable was fighting on two fronts simultaneously. In the apperception of what far exceeded what her mundane eyes could see, the black-robed magician slowed her movements with a level of meticulousness that allowed her to balance her growing apprehension of both what stood directly ahead of her and what lied far beyond her. Aureate flames engulfed both of her sigil-formed hands, as she caught sight the furtive light of sparks of mana, changing and seething beyond the Cantum sorcerer's ever-opaque Vessel, rejecting her use of *`Soulsight.`*

*`Not yet.`*

Though what actions the mage ahead of her was taking that seemed to suggest preparation for an assault — repositioning, channeling a spell, sparkling aglow with *`Protochrome Energy`* — she did not act anticipatorily. Even as the world ahead of her detonated into furious light and her single open mundane eye was blinded, she did not move. For now, even blinded, flinching back slightly, and stancing herself in order to prepare for a head-on assault, she was holding her focus elsewhere, for a single hint: a cue, a sign; one that portended a much more exigent threat against her in this battle.

The six golden flames soaring over the rooftops of the southern Sanctum Mesa district each simultaneously flicker. Even in mundane blindness, she still sees. She sees as with the sight of eagles, each aureate light an extension of her mind's eye. In that eye, she sees⸻
_ _

***BANG.***

`0.000s`
From the time the trigger was pulled to the time it would pierce Sable's body through, only 0.2 seconds would pass.
`0.080s`
Considering his distance, there would usually be no chance for the sorcerer to react.
`0.100s`
However, in her shared perception, she saw him.
`0.120s`
She saw a rousing light amidst shadowed silhouettes,
`0.140s`
Fiery veins simmering across a protrusion in the dark,
`0.160s`
And the flare of ignition;
*`0.180s`*
Sulfur and gunpowder erupting at the foot of a great shadow.

**`0.200s`**
***`TFP`***

Her hand outstretched at the final moment, as its rune glitters alight. The bullet pierces the sorcerer's stomach, and a small, clean hole is blown through her center. Almost simultaneously, she remanifested about 50 centimeters ahead of her initial position, her body aflare in auric glow, with her left palm touching against where the extended hand of the smoky silhouette marked her earlier position. She consumed the outstretched rune and "Swapped places" With it; she had set *Herself* As a target destination.

It was a spell whose timing and precision was so fine that one could not tell whether she had been hit or not. Her position hardly changed, yet the teleportation — if timed correctly — would certainly be enough for her to pass beyond the bullet just as it approached, despite how improbable entering through such an infinitely-narrow window-of-opportunity would seem. It was a teleportation whose success and failure rode on the infinitesimally-small period of time it would take the bullet to travel arms-length.

And still she seemed unperturbed.
_ _

But Endeven's approach and subsequent attack was soon to come. Immediately after the sorcerer had sounded out William's position, she shifted the symbol she formed with her left hand — clenching it into a fist — as all but two of the six flames were immediately snuffed, the twin lights left behind now twirling high in the sky as they hovered slightly above and beyond where William remained stationed following his shot. Simultaneously, her right hand broke from its sigil and into an open palm as she reoccupied one of the then-freed ***`KAARS`**,* An aureate flame igniting just above her palm and granting her supernatural clarity-of-sight where Endeven had stolen her mundane vision. Where the golden light shines, she can see, and see truly through the elucidation of flame — that is her prerogative as a ***`Lichtdrager`**.*

As the Cantum mage flung his fist inward, Sable perceived it clearly. Both her eyes were then closed, yet, unmoved by the oncoming threat, she stepped strongly inward toward Endeven and matches his approach, swinging her open right palm in toward him (the flame originating from it now hovering over her shoulder) — seeking to counter him as soon as he entered melee range. The subtle time-lag between Endeven's feint and his punch toward her center-mass would most likely allow Sable to make contact with him before he made contact with her; it seemed as though she planned to trade with his initial punch, and yet the truth of her plan would be quickly revealed when her palm met contact with Endeven's body.

*The second rune.*
Under normal circumstances, her hand would make contact and she would then swiftly suffer the impact of the full frontal attack. That would be if it were not for the second rune upon her right hand.

*`The Second Light.`*
_ _

```asciidoc
✧ Tweede Licht. :: ✧```

A nonverbal somatic incantation. The words quickly passed across her lips, and then immediately Endeven would be engulfed in the hollow golden-flame — it not singing a hair on his body — as the effects of the spell would then take place: ***Forced teleportation.*** His destination: the rune just behind Sable — the one she had formed soon after landing. Instantaneously after her palm would make contact with any point on his body, that rune she decorated her right hand with would be consumed to instantaneously displace Endeven immediately behind her, his back facing her and her back facing him. They were each separated by about five-steps' distance, neither at an advantage nor a disadvantage.

With her eyes now opening, she turned to face her displaced opponent, immediately seeking to reap what advantage she may have afforded herself by potentially disorienting Endeven, having effectively teleported him "Through" Herself. She, in two steps, dashed toward him, engulfed her left hand with an infernal golden flame, and struck momentously toward the magician's center-back (or the front of his chest if he turned), twisting her hips into a straight punch, this time leveraging her full body-weight, physical strength, and tremendous, superhuman external-mana-reinforcement, into the blow. And also this time, she formed no symbol with her right hand; it was undoubtedly an attack she was completely dedicating to, and intending wholly to end the fight with.
Theresa
```
~4000Kᴍ/H ᴀᴘᴘʀᴏᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ. Dear god, I must adjust the amount of pain transmitted by that.
```

While charging at Sable, stunned by pain, he made a short stop just a moment before the bullet pierced her and promptly gawked down as it entered the ground to his feet. **BANG-RACK** He immediately continued running towards Sable, expecting her to either try guarding his left hook or teleport elsewhere. Of course, this left him surprised when Sable attempted to land a blow before him. Since his right hand hadn't yet been launched towards the dutch sorceress, it played a more defensive role, since she was no longer open for attacks. In a futile attempt to knock away Sable's palm, they made contact, exchanging their awakened abilities with eachother. Endeven gained a rune from contact with Sable's palm, while Sable gained a black charge from contact with Endeven's arm. 

Now suddenly located somewhere else, their trade-off deemed quite useful, since the polarized charge in his left would pull his hand backwards towards Sable from the start, revealing her location to him. This was not the only indicator of her position though, as hidden on his nape was **Oculus Accortex**, which now had a perfect view on Sable both in the mundane and transmundane realm. The Incarnation's ability to view the transmundane was in a way akin to soulsight, but on an external level, incapable of being restrained by the vessel. It views the external flow of mana into the `SOUL` and its ever so slight fluctuations. Which allowed its user to grasp a prediction of spells being cast, more reliably the ones that were higher in cost, like Sable's active mana reinforcement. 

With knowledge of Sable's Location, Velocity and Strength, Endeven was ready for counteracting. One unknown factor was the source of this high detected magic. He did not want to engage risks, meaning that neither he himself nor Ha, via Bind-Technique should be directly opposed to this unknown kind of magic. The Bend-Technique was still unable to be cast due to it's cooldown, leaving this out of the sorcerers options. So his left hand moved into the long robe's pocket in order to grab onto the 9 glass shards in it. Now splitting the Protochrome energy on his left across the fragments, he threw them to the ground in her direction to create a field of mines, intended to keep Sable stuck to her position through suspended monochromatic reactions. Simultaneously, Endevens right hand moved up into the air and as he turned towards Sable and it swiftly moved horizontally downward again to cast **`Quasar Locus: Rend`** In an attempt to cast a barricade for Sable's movement towards him, if she somehow made it past the glass shards, which her black charge was attracted to.

`But she might teleport.` Endeven considered the risk of Sable instantly transmitting past his attempts to block her attack and was qualified to counter her teleportation with his own, like the plan between him and Ha suggested. He truly wanted to impress Salhaeja with his own performance, by not calling them into battle, but it seemed that this was not possible without a high risk. One too high to take. Thus his `SOUL` formed a spiritual bond, placed through the portal that the sorcerer had opened previously. A spiritual bond that would connect his self with the blind swordswoman, Ha aswell as the slayer, Sal. There came an order from Endeven like their plan stated. 
```
Remain ready for the coordinated attack and strike her back with Two Sword.  It doesn't actually sound too bad in action.
```
Nonetheless his high efforts to combatting Sable left him open to the other unknown combatants, Gold and William, which his immense focus had removed from consideration.
Thomas
`C'mon, K...`

Taking a deep breath; head still aching from the kick, of course, Gold aims the *Palm Gun*, catching the last embers of the flame that he had been searching for upon the coin – the one that had been just out of his peripheral vision.

`pfffFF-` The *Palm Gun* Fires, hitting off of the coin and reflecting as it arcs into the wall opposite the surface.

`Gotcha!!`

Of course, while the others may have been able to tell that the manual snuffing had occurred, Gold was not yet outside; still within the metro and thus reveling in a victory he did not take.

`- There's work t' be done. Get up, K.` A mental reminder to himself that – even despite the blows he had taken, he *Needs* That shard. It's *His*..

Getting up to his feet, although still shaky, Gold re-enters the fight, ascending the metro steps and bearing witness to the... Wizarding Scuffle. As Sable goes for the blow towards Endeven, the coin that had been used to disperse the flame flings forward suddenly at its maximum speed; the man not caring – or knowing – if she had dedicated herself fully or not. Endeven is most decidedly *Not* Gold's target; there is no reason as of this very moment for Gold to initiate another fight. 

`Th' enemy 'f my enemy.`

The coin arcs towards Sable's *Spine*, Gold maintaining a good deal of `focus` so that *If* Sable teleported, the coin would immediately pause momentum to avoid harm to Endeven. Even still, the possibility - and risk - are both factors to consider..
Elfriede
Making his way down to street level, William reaches up and adjusts his hat to give the best field of view. He uses the alleyways to remain hidden and make his way towards the metro entrance just in time to spot Gold move down the stairs, and out of sight. Remaining hidden within the shadows of the alleyway, being only an estimated 40 yards away from Sable and Endevan. He slowly reaches his hand down towards the pistol on his hip, knowing that his rifle couldn't handle another high-powered shot. He slowly steps out of the shadows to face the two. "¡Manos arriba!" He shouts at the two, "Lady from the look of that first shot, I got you good. But if you wanna live through the night, I suggest you let me take a look at it. The only thing I ask in return is you give my comrade their protection." He says motioning towards starbi before speaking once again, "I only ask this because that feller who went into the station, I met him once earlier this night and he has something that belongs to me. I know he'll cause more damage if he gets what he's searching for in there. I have my orders, so best take in mind about this, if I wanted you dead, you'll be dead. Whatever happens next happens to you first." He says in a tone of pure focus as smoke began to dance around his form, and the smell of sulfur became ever more present. His hand gripped his pistol, ready to draw at any moment.
Laura
...
Starbi just stood idle like a doll amidst the battle against the several combatants, it's all he could do, as expected. He had wondered for a moment what he could do, but interfering may end in his physical form being damaged. Nonetheless, he considered the idea of getting himself hurt to try and intervene himself, but that was a stupid idea, given that someone was shooting within the area, and how Sable got injured from the bullets shot near the station. Of course, Starbi did feel bad for Sable, as well as he wished that this may have been settled without violence, perhaps if Endeven decided *Not* To come back to the station, it may have turned out easier,
But he didn't. 
Not much could be done about that, as Starbi has said, the smallest, 
Even the stupidest choices,
Could change fate altogether. And he seemed like he was right, given how he got caught up all in this when he just wanted to make others smile, and how this all started just because of a stupid fish, if he maybe had decided to leave once that crow-like mage came to help-

 ```¡Manos arriba!```
Huh, knew it. 

Starbi turned his head to the side,, it was a familiar voice, it was William! A smile formed on his face at the sound of the voice, he had hope that things could be salvaged with his friend! Starbi let out a friendly wave to William. 
"Hey William! Glad I could have you here!" Starbi called out to him, Joyful Aura was now present in spite of the conflict. William then began to speak towards Sable, making a deal that he would tend to it in return for Sable to protect Starbi. Well, Starbi was under the impression that Endeven would do that, but given the context, he was occupied for the time being. Starbi was at least grateful for the gestu-

```I know he'll cause more damage if he gets what he's searching for in there.```
Starbi's smile vanished. What was William talking about? Orders? Did he have orders from someone? Did they involve him?

...
Starbi figured that William had his reasons, William seemed competent to Starbi and someone reliable, maybe this could get better now that he was here.
But he doesn't realise the fact he came after those gunshots, only now it'll get even worse than it initially would've been without his bullets.
Delores
Her approach quickly grew slower, the shards of `Protochrome`-infused glass that now surrounded her attracting to her `Elechrome`-charged arm. Her golden eyes quickly darted about to each of the scattered glints of light surrounding her, each attracting with their own tug upon her form, effectively anchoring her in place.

*`...Telekinesis?`*
*`...No, something more complicated.`* She thought, and since without the chance to swing at Endeven in the first place, swapped her furled fist into a handsign.
*`That strange light was proof of that. And...`*
***QUASAR LOCUS: REND***
*The mage was manipulating space, itself.*

Her opponent was more knowledgeable on magic than most others she had met so far. She had surmised that he had to be affiliated, in some way or another, and her idea of with *Whom* Was beginning to quickly grow clear.
_ _

_ _
*`...Ah, I see.`*

```asciidoc
☾• "Astra Cantum, huh?" :: •☽```

She commented briefly, though she was already casting a spell. 

Mana seethed off her form as she began to control the singular flame she had summoned earlier, the ***`LONT`*** Sparkling aglow before it was sent about three meters up and a meter forward from her current position. Almost immediately following her statement, she began to dissipate into smoke, changing positions. Sable manifest upside-down, mid-air, facing Endeven and yet still not passing his barrier created via Rend. It would be hard to track her as she maintained such quick motion; she was effectively dodging the initial trajectory of the coin gun by teleporting so swiftly. 

```asciidoc
☾• "Vooruit." :: •☽```

From her new position, the mage was already preparing to teleport yet again, creating another flame and launching it at high speeds **Up, over, and around Rend,** Weaving its way to Endeven's opposite side in a single instant. Before the mage fell back to the ground, she clapped her hands — fading into smoke and almost immediately changing positions with the flame.

She manifest just beyond melee-range with the sorcerer, her left index pointed at him and engulfed in mana, as though she were casting a spell—

*```asciidoc
☾• "Swap." :: •☽```*

*...A new technique?* Her **`SOUL`** Glittered with the flarings of magic, as though summoning forth yet another technique, and yet—

***It was a feint.***
Her index would likely be the most immediate thing he would take notice of. But behind it, wound back, was her right fist, engulfed in flame, as she stepped forward, **Immediately taking a swing straight for his chin.**
Elfriede
*I guess we're doing this now." He thought to himself as he drew his revolver with precision and speed, in the same swift motion he grabbed 4 rounds off his belt and threw them into the air imbueing them with fire to create makeshift bombs once again. "Stars down!" He shouts towards Starbi as he takes aim and small bits of lead and brass fly around due to the makeshift bombs. He takes aim at Sable taking notice of the smoke and positioning, realizing that it was the same look of earlier when Sable teleported into a free fall, William slightly adjusts his aim towards where the smoke was concentrated and just as he thought she appeared just out of hand to hand combat of the other sorcerer, "Got ya" He muttered under his breath and with the eyes of a gunfighter, a man of precision and focus as the world seemed to slow down again, he let off 3 rounds.
**BANG**
**BANG**
**BANG**
The smell of gunpowder and sulfur filled the air, and the deafening crack of a pistol following behind, he fires off another volley of shots towards his opponent, while expertly and calmly moving into a new position towards Starbi and reloading his pistol as he moved.
**BANG**
**BANG**
**BANG**
Only aiming to wound instead of kill the first 3 shots would hit Sable in the right shoulder while the other 3 would impact into her left hip, the two different areas of shot placement making it harder for the sorcerer to dodge. It would only take 0.1 seconds for his bullets to travel the distance between himself and Sable.
Allen
The time draws near.

Using a form of SOUL transmission, Endeven had alas called upon The Slayer and his wielder, waiting in the shadows of the tunnel for the perfect oppertunity to strike, yet hardly ways away due to the proximity of the positioned wormhole. Sable was evidently preoccupied with a myriad of considerations in the midst of his magical diversion disguised as an onslaught, dividing and exhibiting counters upon counters, before ultimately deciding on an enflamed punch to the chin. In the passing seconds, as her fist, covered in yellow flame, approached the muzzle of an ally, Salhaeja would only enable Ha to attack through his concise, absolute command. It was awfully simple; attack a distracted foe using Double, but it was strategically important that he waited until the best possible second in order to subdue an opponent capable of the feats Sable was— namely her manipulation of movement, paired with amongst other capabilities, at the very least, competent self-awareness, likely magically inclined to some level.

_ _
He had come to the conclusion that the fundamental reason as to why Sable was able to so seamlessly dodge Ha's surprise attack, even with her means of teleportation, was because she could conduct SOUL analysis. It was a technique he himself used to have access too some time ago, but no longer, not yet in this form. It only made sense, because predicting and avoiding Distort at point blank range was nearly impossible relative to what she displayed without some sort of outlier contingency. That *Had* To be the case, and that mattered. He also had to consider if Sable had seen the wormhole in which they intended to coordinate their strike in the first place. . . Although, there was a possible counter for such that could make the fact irrelevant. Could she anticipate this as well? Another perk of executing this with exceptional timing was seeing if she could or couldn't respond appropriately, and then, ideally, identifying why that was. There was still so much to learn and consider about them, and it truly reminded him of how little he knew about human strength compared to Temporal Beasts, despite everything. It was infuriating, not to mention that they certainly wouldn't be the strongest human they'd meet.

Now, however, was no longer the optimal moment for rationalization. The simplicity of a basic attack was not to be understated in-between balance with the complexity of the progressive defeat of this enemy, certainly. The swordswoman, who had idly stood there with her sword readied, allowing Salhaeja to have an open-view of the battle for an extended duration, had not a thought nor concern to raise. A mindless warrior awaiting the orders of a commander, and much like Endeven had informed him to wait on his signal, Sal would do the same to her. He reminded her that the aim was *Not* To kill, first and foremost.
John
```ini
["PREPARE YOURSELF. PRECISON IS CRUCIAL."]
```
Allen
The words echoed through her mind, as Ha nodded silently for what felt like the hundredth time today, and perhaps the thousandth since she'd returned to this world. They'd gone over what she could and couldn't do during the battle, and she understood it very well, not that it was unusual thus far being a newbie hunter. Her instructions and mild assortment of options were clear and concrete. She had messed up once earlier, and she would much prefer to avoid doing so again. *Don't think. Just swing.* It was a little perplexing that so much emphasis was being put on this matter considering that this had little to do with their actual goal, but this was the first step, wasn't it? If she couldn't get past this stage of combat, she'd for sure be doomed going forward.

With that out the way, Salhaeja promptly followed through on his end of their coordinated agreement: **Activating Double for the third time this evening, a secondary blade would form directly behind Endeven within a matter of seconds**. Thanks to the wormhole, the actual closable distance between them was, technically, not far at all— however, the positioned that Double assumed was critical. It attempted to use the body of Endeven as a blind-spot, and for a specific purpose.
John
```ini
["UPON IMPACT, ATTEMPT TO GRAB THE BLADE."]
```
Allen
Instructions would ring in the head of Endeven in that split-second. Double, initially remaining narrow behind Endeven's body as to conceal itself effectively, would swerve right and, through the timing that Salhaeja so coveted, would **Come into direct contact with the punch from Sable, turning on a side angle and attempting to use the width of the blades metal to absorb the blow. ** He was unsure if this would knock the blade away, and the distance if so, but he was certain that it could take a hit like that and sustain itself for a little longer. The instruction to grab it was off his recollection of Sable's ability to physically transport the clone of himself to another place out of combat.
John
```ini
["NOW."]
```
Allen
While that unfolded, Ha practically sprung and leapt from her position through the portal, revealing herself from the comfort of the tunnels to face the enemy. She got to work quickly, utilizing two abilities in succession of one another. Using Condense, she adjusted the sword and **Aimed as to fire three projectiles out of the tip of the original blade**— and the moment all three exited at 30 MPH toward Sable, she enabled **Fog: First Iteration, subsequently overtaking her image and a large chunk of the confined tunnel entrance in a thick, purple smoke** That was awfully difficult to see through, even provided methods of illumination. Immediately, she shifted and moved from her initial position to avoid remaining in the same place. To even the odds, she needed her own advantage of movement, and what better tactic then the simple inability to see her? Distort hadn't gone so well, but this was another method. If Condense failed to hit, it was reusable quickly, and a confirmation of the fact she could avoid it.
Theresa
Protochrome energy quickly spread downward the Double, in the attempt of creating a suspended monochromatic reaction between Sable's fist and the sword's base. This wasn't a regular reaction however, as the monochromate created here, was connecting the two via the fabric of space itself. Another monochromatic reaction happened between Endeven's left hand and the blade, here as well on a spatial level. It was a theory that Endeven had: If Sable became inseparable from Endeven, she would not be capable of teleportation at all or at a limited degree, due to being forced to move him along with her, unless she was capable of simply teleporting away, which also wouldn't be a bad outcome, as Sable's goal was to get close in the first place. It was an 'experiment' of sorts, but if successful, would allow the other participants to strike, while Endeven could keep Sable at bay with the sword at hand. If Sable came too close, Endeven could release the monochromate from his left hand in an attempt to launch the blade into her abdomen with high force.

During the festival, Endeven's mana pool had slowly been decreased to its current state of 50%. As the indigo stream of mana reinforcement seemed to die off completely, a new light gleamed up, bright yellow mana sprouting to replace the previously dark counterpart. It was much more lively and beared the refined sharpness of the **`SOUL OF JUDGEMENT`**, which also became somewhat visible in his eyes and expression. His right arm took on a defensive position, while his left attempted to aim the sword at her body and he was ready to jump out of reach, incase Sable attempted to use the Double against him. Even though in his current situation there was a lack of offensive, this gap was supposed to be filled by the other combatants around. 
 ```ini
[✦ "Let's finish this quickly. I have more important matters to attend to." ✦]
```
Thomas
Gold's focus remains upon the coin; as soon as Sable swapped her position, the coin itself comes face to face with Endeven, about to hit before – pausing, just mere inches away as words ring in Gold's ears, the coin faltering as the *Palm Gun* Fizzles to life; the man holding it up and preparing a shot should William press further toward Gold himself - coin dropping to the ground for a second as *A Mental Lever Long Enough* Releases in preparation to either make a defensive move, or to steal the shard away.

"I can hear you, y'know?" Gold calls across, preparing himself mentally to defend an attack - this time, not from Sable, but from William should he push his luck. "Y' tried t' attack me, ya' got ya' ass handed t' ya'!!" And if William hadn't indeed started the confrontation, none of this would have happened.

As with before, the presence of Joyful Aura no longer sways Gold in the slightest. 

`Him or me.`
Catherine
Think that's everyone idk
Theresa
You gotta ping prim a couple more times
Delores
***`Don't fall.`***

When William's initial volley was fired off, Sable was immediately struck by a single of the bullets. Pain shot throughout her body as she shifted her mana in a single instant; as the hammer struck the primer on the second round in the first volley, Sable had already disappeared. A single flame and a silhouette of smoke lingered where she once was.

In her haste, she was forced to automatically recall to the position of her most recently-created flame, her eyes opening wide as gravity began quickly to pull down on her. The vast skyline of *Sanctum Mesa* Was stretching just ahead of her — ***She had teleported to one of the skylights she created to scout out William earlier.***

***`Don't fall!`***

***`CLAP.`***

If she had a choice, she would have teleported away from the battle entirely. But now — to avoid building momentum due to gravity — she was forced to immediately teleport back to her former position. Before the smoke even had time to clear, but just after William had fired the third round, Sable re-manifest at her last position. **Now behind Endeven, she would effectively be using him as a shield to prevent further fire from the second volley from hitting herself.**

*`Damned firearm...`*

Her fist hits against the blade as her left hand lowered from its feint. Almost immediately recognizing the presence of an outside party, but not reacting completely in time, Sable quickly began to shift her mana's focus, casting a spell as an aureate flame began to engulf the blade.

***`Forced teleportation of another object.`***

*`...Or not?`*
_ _

*```asciidoc
☾• "——Wat de h——..." :: •☽```*
**The spell failed.**

*`...I'm stuck to him?!"`*

A single blast of **Condense** Collides with the thinning shroud of aureate flames guarding Sable's body as she remained in a moment of confusion. Then two, and three, each hitting the general region, staggering her — but not displacing her.

*`...It's too much...`*

She takes a sharp breath in, as her focus is broken, her reinforcement weakening. Blood begins to more profusely seep from the bulletholes penetrating her right shoulder and abdominal region.

*`...Damn it all! I'll just take him with me!`*

Her finger furls into a handsign, as, her and Endeven bound by the suspended monochromatic reaction, are both shrouded by aureate flames, dissipating quickly into smoke.
Eugene
||(Read this before

`- -`
The two were gone.
...For all of about ten seconds. 
Then a magic circle — identical to the one that formed a barrier between Sable and Blossom — appeared, depositing Endeven and Sable in almost exactly the same place they departed.
Delores
```asciidoc
☾• "Geen denken aan..." :: •☽
☾• "Is dit een soort verdraaide grap?" :: •☽```
Theresa
*```asciidoc
☾• "——Wat de h——..." :: •☽```*
Seeing how Sable's attempt to teleport failed, Endeven had a short moment of delight, indicated by the cheeky smile that appeared in his face, one that was not to last for very long, as he was engulfed by golden flames shortly afterwards, transported to an unknown corner of the Festival. It seemed, that Sable really was capable of teleporting Endeven even for long distances, or mayhaps this was due to their spatial merge. As he dissipated into smoke, Endeven's smile faded and he clenched his jaw. This meant he was all on his own and thus he prepared a punch to hit Sable's spellcasting hand after they remanifested wherever Sable was taking him. **`Disappearance`**
**`. . .`**
**`Reappearance`** Around 10 seconds after their disappearance they were reintroduced to the fray of the south, as if nothing had happened at the place that they moved to. Endeven's right foot moved upwards before stomping down against the ground, a flash of light appearing from it. ```ini
[✦ "I almost feel bad for you." ✦]
``` His foot too was now spatially connected to the ground via monochromate, a flaw in his initial plan, fixed with the goal to make teleportation absolutely impossible for the dutch mage, since Endeven was now connected to the ground. `Let's see how you teleport out of this one.` His right arm returned into the same defensive position as before, while his left was still attempting to keep the sword away from his body, but also trying to guide its end to aim at her left leg. Endeven's right hand was prepared to protect the swords grip from Sable's left with a reinforced punch.
```ini
[✦ "If you want, I can leave like nothing happened here." ✦]
```
A final offer to Sable, originated from Endeven's pity for the injuries and the funny incident from that parking garage.
Elfriede
Keeping his pistol trained on Sable ready to put a well placed shot into her heart, he stopped when he heard Gold speak. Adjusting his aim to the sound of his voice, William speaks up, "Oh please. You followed me, I ain't about to be bushwacked by some yellow belly too scared to face me hand to hand. You got something that belongs to me... That blade You got, I earned that in a war, one way or another I'm getting that piece of steel back." His voice carried by anger and the smell of sulfur followed his voice. A voice within William that none could hear, a voice from his very own *Soul*, **THEY'RE A THREAT, WE MUST KILL HIM AND THE SORCERER. LET. ME. OUT.** As the soul spoke, fire engulfed his body and the smell of sulfur became ever more potent. If one could see his soul then they would see the unstable flame growing brighter and hotter by the second... But just as soon as the flame grew it died down and ashes were what remained. William took a glance towards Starbi before speaking up once again, "How about we come to a compromise? I saw that tumble you took earlier, you're all worn out and in no condition to fight while I'm still fresh as a daisy." His cowboy humor being present despite the tension. "How about you place that steel on the floor and you walk off, you got my word that I won't follow you. I got my orders but they don't include you. That's the best i can offer." His voice calmer than it was before but the smell of sulfur still present in the air around him. He reaches down towards his belt and softly takes 2 shells into his hand as a precaution incase Gold or any others make a move on himself or Starbi.
Thomas
The man draws a breath, before letting out a sigh, keeping his eyes trained on William while still being semi-aware of his surroundings. "Y' pulled a gun on me. That ain't my problem. Gave ya' th' chance t' put it away. Anythin' that happened afta'that? Y' only got ya'self t' blame, '*Pardner*'. "

The **Palm Gun** Remains trained; Gold giving William yet another chance to *Back off* And back away. "You shoot that gun, th' bullet is gonna block the barrel again, and then ya' gonna have t' fix it again. Then I'll blow ya' kneecaps off."

"Or, ya' put th' gun down, ya' get lost, and we don't hafta' do all that."

"Howzzat sound for a deal? 'Cause if y' shoot..." A small trickle of electricity, white-golden, arcs and trails itself down Gold's arms "Then that's *'th' best a' can offa.'*"

Gold is not within physical distance of William – not even close. But that pistol...

No, it's not the best Gold can offer. There's an even better idea available...

`Him or me.`
Elfriede
Hearing Gold respond, William took a few steps back to adjust his angle, making himself a smaller target and opening up for a clear shot of his own while staying out of the distance that he observed Gold being able to use his magic. If one looked onto his face, what could be seen was a twisted smile. William spoke once again, "Well, Hell's bells, I was kinda hoping you would say that." When he finished the sentence, an unstable flame burst from his hands and engulfed his body. In one swift motion, he threw the two shells into the area that Gold was in, causing an explosion of shrapnel made of brass and lead to fly toward him. Using the distraction of the explosion, he followed closely with a shot from his revolver into the wall nearby, causing a ricochet of the bullet. The flames burned bright, and the smell of sulfur filled everything around. Gold now had two attacks on both sides of him: shrapnel from two explosions and a ricochet bullet on the other side. If Gold was not careful with his next move, the ricochet bullet would enter his left shoulder, and the shrapnel would pierce multiple parts of his body.

By him using the sound of the explosion to mask the sound of his revolver firing, it would help in the ricochet in hitting due to it being unknown that a pistol was fired
Thomas
"'s your funeral."

The very second that the shells leave William's hand, something strange happens.

`Not this time.`

Gold had already previously seen William attempt a maneuver similar to this in the Navis Auri. The same trick is not going to work again.

The shells do travel a short distance, but Gold is still quite far from William. The fact of the matter is that William has not seen Gold's true maximum range on his telekinesis — that being *Over 600 feet* (200m = ~650ft, or 70ft off of being 2 football fields), and high above the range that someone could realistically pitch. Their last encounters had been very close in range — before they hang in the air, and suddenly drop much closer to William. The bullets, though being two objects, are still immensely light. They do not require much exertion based on the weight. Gold had previously been working using two toonies – coins of similar weight to the rounds that William's revolver utilized – at the same time.

The rounds drop to the ground; his own technique now being used against him as they're shoved closer to his own feet and the kinesis on them swiftly ends.

Gold hadn't even needed to look away from the attack. The gun goes to fire, and–

The bullet flops onto the ground, plucked out of the air.
Elfriede
Seeing his shells and bullet hit the floor softly, he took a jump back out of its effective blast range, clearly not being the first time he's been around explosions. That same twisted smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth was still present before he spoke again, "Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" His voice sounded *Off*. The smell of sulfur was becoming stronger by the second, he softly placed his revolver back into it's holster and spoke once again, "'s your own funeral" He said repeating Gold's own words to him in a mocking tone, "Oh please, I've been dead since 1927." He said in that same mocking tone. A flame grew within his left hand, and it began taking shape into a dagger made of brimstone. "You know, back in the war, after our guns ran dry, we used our blades and clubs. When those broke, we used our hands. Have you ever seen a man cough out his own lungs from mustard gas? Let me tell you, it ain't a pretty sight to see. You learn a thing or two in those trenches, and you ain't got what it takes to live in them." He said with a twisted smile, and the blade in his hand gripped tightly. He rushes forward towards Gold, quickly closing the distance between the two, William's form and expertise in hand to hand clearly being visible in his stance and speed. A trail of fire and smell of sulfur followed behind, but so did the screams of thousands of deaths hidden inside the flame could be heard as well. The smell of blood and sulfur followed, and death came with it. This made it clear that it wasn't William in charge of his own body. No, it was his *Soul*. A soul of pain and anger, war and death.
Thomas
"Y'ain't know *Shit* 'bout me, Belloq-" With a tip of Max's hat using his free hand, Gold begins to float himself - as William closes in, he backs away at a speed of 40.2km/h (25mph), eclipsing William's own running speed "- or what I've gone through, so keep ya' sentiment t' ya'self!!"

The *Palm Gun*, being previously primed and juiced with Gold's own electricity, sputters to life again 

*Tck-EWWW-* Gold readies the powerful blast, staying outside of the effective range of William's hand-to-hand attempt, the smell indeed overpowering; the smoke stinging Gold's eyes. While the correct response may have been to float *Up* To truly get out of fist-to-fist range, he maneuvered backwards solely for the fact that smoke *Rises*. To go upwards then, even if momentarily safe, might provide a poor angle later on, or potentially provide Gold with further reduced visibility, especially now that the *Smoke* May combine with Ha's *Fog*...

`Ya' overthinkin' it. Focus, K.`

Gold moves in accordance to William's own movements, attempting at each possible turn to narrow down the line-of-sight between each current target; of course being William himself, and Sable.

The combat is indeed a problem, but even still – 

`Get the shard, an' get out.`

*PFFF-* The *Palm Gun* Fires, attempting to strike William as non-lethally as possible near his *Appendix*.

`He's lucky there're rules here; done worse fa' less.`
Elfriede
*William opens his eyes to a starry night, but he wasn't in Unity. No, this was a night he knew all too well, one that replayed in his mind over and over—the night everything changed. A little ranch just north of the border, the year was 1910.* William's body moved with expertise, clearing the distance between himself and Gold. But upon seeing Gold begin floating backward and aiming a shot toward his appendix, William's body darted to the right and just as quickly darted left into a zigzag, making himself a harder target. "The thing I never liked about guns is that one change in angle or small movement can mess up the whole shot. But a blade, you can guide that through skin and bone if needed. You're injured, and you ain't nowhere close to my skill in aim." His voice sounded rough and smoky as more sulfur filled the air. As he snaked around with the speed and experience of dodging rounds, William closed the distance faster, readying a slash across Gold's chest. But something new formed in his right hand—a chain made of brimstone and fire that whipped behind Gold, blocking his continued movement backward.
Thomas
Although William had been approaching, Gold's floating speed far outpaces the gunslinger's own (14mph v 25mph) especially when considering the zig-zagging pattern that William had adopted; the knife connecting is still almost impossible to happen at this rate. The shot from the *Palm Gun* __does__ miss however, falling just in front of William as Gold fails to lead his shot properly given the distance. No problem.


The chain forms, and as it soars past Gold – `'s an element, can't control that–` he floats upwards, just out of range of the weapon, readying a stream of electricity to fire upon the hand William was using to wield the dagger; [aiming to forcibly contract his assailant's *Bicep* Towards the chest through the use of electricity.]( 


`There-` William, like Gold and many others that he himself had experienced today, was *Human*, or at the very least human*Oid*, meaning that the metahuman had a great idea of where exactly to shock.

``KrrZZZt–` The electricity fires from the *Palm Gun*, of which it acts as a sort of range-extender. Not that it would be relevant for it to do so in such an encounter... 

With his free hand, Gold reaches into his *Pocket*, withdrawing a bag of coins and manipulating the bag in such a way that it opens at the top slightly. An insurance policy.
Elfriede
[Vel:*William began walking through the desert towards the ranch nearby, with each step his clothes changed and shifted to one's he wore when he was young. His spurs jingled with each step and his worn out leather chaps covered his legs from bushes and cactus.* In the present, his body continuing its zig zag pattern but upon Gold start floating upwards out of reach of his chain and immediately upon seeing the electricity begin forming around Gold's arm, William took a sudden leap to the right and covered his position with smoke. The brimstone weapons quickly disappeared as smoke covered the whole area where William was present, concealing his true position from his opponent above. While William couldn't beat the speed of his opponent, he did beat him in one aspect. Their reflexes (70ms v 210ms). As the smoke covered the area bringing the smell of sulfur and smoke everything seemed to slow down until 3 blades made of brimstone flew out of the smoke into the direction of Gold, each one moving through the air faster than an average person could've thrown, clearly the expertise of a crack shot who's done this before.
**BANG**
**BANG**
Suddenly 2 rounds came flying out of the smoke but something was *Different*, they were made of *Brimstone* And they moved faster than the original rounds. Traveling at 850 feet per second it would clear the estimated 30 yards between William and Gold in under, 0.105 seconds, delivering 2 shots into Gold's lower abdomen.
John
```ini
["STOP."]
```
Allen
Before the swordswoman could make her next move, she was instructed to halt by her companion, her feet planting themselves within the purple cloud of smoking engulfing the tunnel's entry zone. Something *Strange* Was unfolding, wasn't it? Ha was by no means capable of sensing the intricacies of magical warfare, but Salhaeja, on the other hand, was searching for something specific in mind. As a matter of fact, he had been the moment he met Endeven— specifically, the very second he knew his *Surname*, because it belonged to an extremely distant past. Or, maybe not. Prior to any conclusions, this encounter had to dealt with, and even in the midst of being subject to teleportation in his **Double** Form, he did not panic in the slightest. He was intrigued. Three good hits by Ha using **Condense** Also pleased him, and he did quickly reassure her that she was doing well, but that wasn't the immediate focus. Her stoppage would only be short-lived, anyway.

The Slayer, provided two major viewpoints between **Double** And the original blade as carried by Ha, was direct witness to what took place between Endeven and Sable. It seemed that, in its quickness and from what he could tell transpired. . . The former was able and had intention to subdue the latter's teleportation abilities with a technique, which is why **Condense** Landed so seamlessly in the first place. She had tried to remove the second blade from the equation once again, but failed— and in her apparent panic, decided the best course of action was to take herself and Endeven away. Did his plan falter, then? Was there an unseen counter to his apparently temporary disabling of her affinity?

_ _
. . .They were back here. Ignoring how vexing it was that *Another* Teleport user was present here, Endeven was able to swiftly recover himself and put Sable in a highly disadvantageous situation using further leveraged magical techniques, if not outright declaring their victory provided no blunders are committed. It was surprising that Sable was disallowed to vacate the premises considering that in these circumstance, it was a perfectly viable resolution when being severely outnumbered— but that wasn't to dismiss their strategic success, and she was physically damaged significantly anyhow. Taking what you can get against an opponent like her is smart pickings: a powerful *Irritant*. Of course, Salhaeja had a few questions based on what he'd seen— because in many ways, it wasn't what he'd expected— but first, he had his own obligations to take care of. What's that human saying he'd heard earlier. . . Don't want to leave Endeven 'hanging', was it? He seemed extremely confident all of the sudden, of which could be debated considering there was an aspect of luck involved, but he did nonetheless have identifiable counters working in his favor, including but not limited to Ha. Speaking of which. . .

It was night time. She hadn't noticed till now how dark it was, really.The moonlights illumination would make it easier to see how pathetic she would or wouldn't be in this moment.

Ha shifted from her halted position the instant Salhaeja spoke again, anticipating his command in a perhaps slightly ill-advised, but nonetheless correct way. She knew precisely where End and Sable was from all the noise they made relative to her extremely keen senses. *Don't fail.* The swordswoman knew that Sal would ultimately leave her exact maneuver up to her wits and instincts alone, but she did manage to communicate that there was something she needed him to help her with as part of her approach. The attack itself would be simple in nature, but it required a level of precision that someone who lacks *Sight* May be susceptible to missing their mark, even with as much as that was remedied in her combat state Not that it was impossible, but better to go about it this way. He agreed.

``Do this, Sal. You will see.``

Ironically, Ha decided to do something not unsimilar to what had gotten her into this very situation; discovering a left-side wall in the midst of her self-created fog that was approximate enough to Endeven and Sable for this maneuver including the required duration of time, she bolted, leaping upwards using her momentum, and then pushed herself against the surface of said wall using her legs— thus propelling her body into the air, towards the position of her ally and enemy. She kept her blade in her grip as she catapulted forward. Her other move put her into a bad spot, but this would, in concept, lead to the final blow.

*Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. . .*
The swordswoman, whilst accelerating in the air, swift and yet mindful of her shorter window steadily lifts her original blade up, having her arm cocked slightly backwards. It's *Handle* Was facing forward, as opposed to its pointed end, and it seemed as if she was waiting on command.
John
```ini
["THROW."]
```
Allen
Ha **Hurls the blunt end of her blade's handle with all of her viable strength at the precise moment where it land on target with Sable's head**, exactly thrown to where Salhaeja said it would've been relative to her position, hence his involvement. It'd have a decent level of force considering she was a little stronger in this state then she normally was, but it wasn't her central attack.

Sal had two viewpoints to confirm the hit, and that wasn't all— mere seconds later within quick succession, her image promptly appeared from the veil of fog surrounding Endeven and Sable. The first and hopefully last thing Sable would see was the base of the swordswoman foot, before **Making direct impact with her temple after the original blade had fallen— in other words, she kicked her in the head.** The thrown blade was meant to as more of a distractive measure and stun mechanism, whereas the immediate, subsequent kick was supposedly the finishing blow that would contain *Considerably* More power in it between using her leg muscle and the added velocity of her descent. Ideally, this would render her unconscious, but she had to be ready for anything otherwise— in the event this *Was* Successful, she would land a few meters behind Sable's body, catching herself as to land in control without much trouble.
Delores
The sorcerer's total mana input had died down greatly from the beginning of the fight following her several injuries. Merely to prevent herself from bleeding more than she already had, she was expending roughly forty percent of her reinforcement output on blocking up the two direct hits that William had landed with his firearms, her focus clearly drawn thin as she gazed down on the slayer's blade, bound forcibly to her hand.

She took a sharp breath in as she hard Endeven's offer, one of her golden eyes peering sharply toward the Cantum mage's own, her other closed — she seemed to be scouting someplace, somewhere lse, through the extension of her senses via her technique. However, seeing as any attempt to even try and teleport would fail due to Endeven, Sable, and part of the *Ground beneath them* Being considered one-and-the-same object, she seemed to relinquish some deal of effort, exhaling deeply out.

*`"Fffft..."`*

```asciidoc
☾• "...All right..." :: •☽```

Now, Ha's weapon was close in approach.

```asciidoc
☾• "I give up." :: •☽```
Cora
```
"...𝙩𝙨𝙠."```

Light flares in the darkness and the smoke, as a magical circlet creates a divide between Ha's sword and Sable's head. Consequently, her followup — the kick — would be blocked, both attacks nullified just in time. The participant of the Hunt had tapped out, and now it was finally time for the arbiter to show his face, fully.

A two-meter-wide magical circle breaks into existence as a well-dressed, blonde-haired, suited man steps forth from it, manifesting out of a single long stride from the arcane geometry of the hovering, two-dimensional surface, perpendicular to the ground.

```
"That's enough," he said with a slight sigh, his hands still in his pockets. With a gesture of his hand, a precise wave of mana was used to clear the purple smoke in his immediate proximity, freeing Endeven, Sable, Ha (most likely) and himself to see one-another.
"She's done. Step back."```

Something evidently bothering him, the man remained closed-eyed with his brow furrowed lightly, as he stuck his right hand into his pocket, withdrawing a phone — an IPhone 37™️ — as he lazily tapped through it with one hand.

```
"Let's see... I got that nun's contact info, right...?"```
Thomas
The distance between the pair was still sizable, and thus serviceable – at least for the first attack.

The smoke expands outwards; there is a small window of time, no matter how miniscule, before the knives are launched. 

Seeing them fly outwards all at once, Gold reflexively takes the rightmost knife telekinetically and swings it into the oncoming blades, knocking the blades into one another and veering them wholly off course while immediately *Switching direction* In regards to his flying pattern; choosing to move sharply left, up and *Back* Further. If William were to base his shots off of Gold's previous whereabouts or movement and attempt to track accordingly, the bullets would not hit or come close to hitting. 

`'s 3 bullets gone.`

Having smoked himself off, William is in the dark as to Gold's whereabouts; realistically, Gold could be anywhere in front or to the side of him right about now...

A coin lifts itself out of the ziploc bag, flying towards the right and remaining well-outside of William's smoke; immediately turning to provide a ricochet angle.

*Tck-eWWW–*

**PFF-** 

The *Palm Gun* Fires, with both sounds coming from William's *Left*. Yet, the shot comes from his *Right*, aiming at a general area based on where the *Knives* Had come from and intentionally going *Wide* So as to hopefully disorient and trick William into dodging a blast that had *Originated* From his left, but instead shot entirely to his *Right*. Gold immediately repositions himself once again; the coin, upon the ricochet, would immediately move as well.
Elfriede
As the sounds of the Palm Gun echo from his left, William's instincts screamed at him to move, but the seasoned fighter knew better than to trust only his ears. The scent of sulfur and the thick smoke cloud he made allowed him a momentary veil as he pieces together Gold's strategy. William remains eerily still amidst the chaos, a move against his nature, but necessary against a cunning foe. Knowing Gold's use of misdirection, William does not dart towards the sound but instead waits, his eyes narrowing as he takes the true origin of the threat. The shot indeed comes from his right, confirming his suspicion. With an agile sidestep, he avoids the energy blast, the heat brushing past him close enough to singe the edge of his coat. "Nice try, partner," William's voice rings out, slightly hoarse from the smoke but tinged with amusement. "But I've danced with the devil under moonlight darker than this. Gonna take more than parlor tricks to put me down. Hell, I'm the one who perfected this." His voice echoed throughout the smoke, making it unable to give his location. The smoke glowed with burning embers giving a soft, gentle hue of orange and red but concealing what was hidden inside. The smoke began to grow larger and pushed itself towards Gold, obscuring his opponent visions even more. Watching the shadows from his position within the smoke, William adjusted his aim towards the silhouette of Gold, and with a deep breath squeezed the trigger.
**BANG**
As the bullet traveled through the air, it glowed an intense flame, flying at a speed of 920 feet per second, it would only take 0.09 seconds to travel the distance and break any barrier in its way. Something was different about this round once again, the round seemed to move in a straight trajectory but infact it would shift and change if Gold moved. Suddenly 2 more blades shot out from the smoke, their edges glowing a hot flame.

If the attacks hit then Gold would be stuck in the right shoulder by the bullet and both blades would enter his lower body.
Thomas
The smoke around William was thick and dense; as it expands outwards, Gold is still able to keep well outside of it. The little bits that *Did* Reach stung his throat and choked the surrounding air for the two of them.

In that cloud – that filthy, husky, polluting cloud – was a silhouette. A silhouette of a target that Gold could easily *Hit*. The coin that had served as a ricochet angle just moments prior remained on standby, as Gold suddenly moves *Forward* A bit, keeping the 30 yards between the pair rock-solid, as he launches his-

**BANG**-*VWOOSSH*

`—-`

*Thkkkkrrrr-* Something swiftly collides into Gold's shoulder as the *Coin __itself__* Is thrown at the same time; aiming for William's *Stomach*. At the range the pair were at, it would hopefully be _**Just**_ fast enough for William to be unable to muster a reply to at a speed of 750mph, taking 0.08 seconds to reach its target. One fast enough for William to certainly see coming, but with only 3 milliseconds total left to spare, and a barely audible, much less *Visible* Projectile — owing its obscurity to William's own smoke —, Gold himself would be momentarily unable to visually confirm that his own projectile had landed and they had traded shots.

The force of the bullet lodges itself into Gold's shoulder as he temporarily loses control of his telekinesis, leaving the coin to continue its sharp forward momentum towards William and causing him to drop down to the ground as he processes exactly what had just occurred. The knives, having been aimed originally for a much higher target, and one whos body had not immediately twisted and contorted from the impact of the bullet, soar entirely overhead as he lets out a gasp, left arm instinctively moving to cover the bullet wound in his shoulder as his grasp on his coin baggie loosens, but doesn't entirely let *Go*; the bullet was successful in hitting its designated target.

_ _
Purple liquid begins to flow outward from the wound as Gold grits his teeth, letting out a low growl as he gazes towards his opponent.

**"I'm gonna __gut__ you like a fuckin' fish, _'pardner'_."** He manages to bark out, tone swiftly turning from the version of himself that had been wholly uninterested in acting in anything but self-defense against the gunslinger to one that made evident his now overflowing animosity; anger and impatience that had been brewing, festering, and bubbling just beneath the surface finally showing itself.
Elfriede
As Gold hit the ground, within the smoke, a grunt could be heard clearly one from an impact. Suddenly, the smoke between the two began to clear, but the smoke surrounding the two became thicker, and sulfur continued to fill the air. Standing now in the open space, William bled through his shirt, but it seemed to have no effect on the veteran. He stood with a twisted smile, "Now there's that *Anger.* That's what I've been looking for." His voice sounded *Joyful.* He then began to walk forward towards Gold, and as his blood fell, it burned and fizzled as it hit the ground. With each step, the sulfur around him burned, and in a blink of an eye, fire surrounded the two. "You know. You're a tricky shot. I think this might be the most fun I've had in a long time." A hint of what seemed to be respect was in the voice. "But you have something of mine and something that belongs to a comrade." He raised his pistol and aimed a clean shot at Gold's head. His thumb reached up and cocked back its hammer. He stood calm, his eyes full of precession. "Bang," That twisted smile remained on his face as he spoke those words.

.
.
.
Suddenly, out of the flames came two coyotes made of brimstone. They jumped out the flame with speed to grab the bayonet and hat off Gold. It carried the object through the flame towards William, a third, more larger, coyote appeard infront of Gold, it's fur made of fire and brimstone eyes stared at Gold. The coyote snarled it's feral teeth showing ready to bite Gold if he attempted anything. William with gun still trained on Gold, took the bayonet and placed it back it it's sheath on his belt, taking Max's hat, he put it into his satchel. He turned around and walked into the smoke, the coyote still snarling it's teeth at Gold. The smoke around William became thicker, hiding his position from anyone looking in. The fire died down and hidden inside the smoke, William dropped down to his knee, the strain of using so much magic clearly showing. He took his tie off to bandage his wound and quickly used the smoke to hide his entry into the metro station, he grabbed starbi before entering, "C'mon, I need some help." His voice a soft whisper still hiding his position.
Thomas
The hammer, with William's finger on it, suddenly freezes; an immense amount of force fighting against him, *Not* Threatening to yank the gun out of his hand, but to instead force the gun to remain uncocked.

`Double-action.`

The trigger is attached to the hammer. 

He moves swiftly upwards, disallowing the coyotes from grabbing anything off of him and keeping the gun stuck as Gold *Himself* Begins closing distance towards William as fast as he can, eyes brimming with anger as his tired, strained fingers clutch harder onto the bag of coins.

`Him or me. Going to make a mural out of his entrails.`

He had seen many animals in his life. Coyotes aren't scary. Elephants are, though. Nothing quite like an elephant suddenly appearing in your room and pancaking you against the wall accidentally.

The smoke consumes William's whereabouts, and as Gold advances, the smog retreats.

William is *Moving away*.

"Who's the coward now, fuckface??" Gold yells, the middle finger of the *Palm Gun* Raising slightly from its grip on his shoulder as the gunslinger shuffles away in attempt to flip him off.

Gold drops back down to the ground, hat and bayonet still in his possession as he looks to his belt. "Holy fuckin'..-" He gasps as the adrenaline that had previously alleviated some of his pain slowly begins subsiding. Selecting a light blue crystal from his utility — one of the very rare times he had gotten his hands on _**Ice**_ courtesy of his sister's boytoy — and sliding it into the *Palm Gun's* Activator slot.


*FssHHHck-* A cool, numbing sensation trails itself across his shoulder. Better than nothing for the time being.

`'m gonna kill that cowboy.`

Gold slowly shuffles his way over to the rest of the group, letting out a few breaths as he takes note of their situation

_ _
"Y' - ya' stopped *Fightin'?*" He asks, looking between the magicians, whoever the new guy was, and the swordswoman. "'ey, pretty boy..." Gold speaks softly towards Fyodor, a bit worn out from his fresh encounter, and accompanied with an equally worn out smile.

`Shard...` Maybe this means... 

**A Mental Lever Long Enough** Engages, lazily trying once more to tug the shard away from Sable's shoulder.
Laura
Just like before, and up untill now, Starbi remained at the sidelines, along with Blossom, as he watched the combatants battle it out. Endeven standing victorious against his battle with Sable, and, well- William... Standing victorious against Gold.

However, during the fight between the two gunslingers, at a specific moment nearing the end. Starbi had sensed a change in William, perhaps it was something only someone like him could've noticed. At the end, those words... They sounded happy, but it felt tainted, it felt sick. It wasn't the burning fight, or the appearances that stuck to Starbi to most, it was that bitter joy he had sensed. 

Because of the sound of that bitter joy, a single drop of doubt plagued Starbi's mind for a few moments, and then, he began to feel nervous, if not... Scared? But, that feeling was quickly swept away, he was being ridiculous, he just needed to calm down. However, he was a bit oblivious, his eyes averted away from everything from his moment of dread, resulting in him ending up distracted, if dazed from the end of the battle.

```"C'mon, I need some help."```

"Huh-"
The voice of William, as well as the grip of Starbi's arm then broke Starbi out of his daze, blinking, Starbi's eyes looked to William bringing him back down to the metro.
"Oh, uhh... Yeah, sure!" 
Starbi spoke with a signature tone of joy with no second thoughts to what William had asked of him, looking back at those above the metro before, hearing Gold call out to William, before making it down to the metro. As they made it down to the metro, Starbi glanced at William, looking at the blood on his shirt, as well as ;
"Uh, are you gonna be okay, William?"
Starbi asked, his eyes on the blood now looking at Willaim.
Allen
``"—"`` The swordswoman was quick to react to the nullification of her initial attack, hearing the distinct clang Salhaeja's vessel bang against the ground from the preventive force of the magic circle. In this realization, she managed to stop herself moments before landing the intended kick, instead shifting her body as to land and adjust herself gracefully on the ground, immediately entering a combative position. She held her hand out in obvious effort to recall her weapon, and the blade did return to her grasp. It glowed a bright purple hue alongside her damaged glasses, but—
John
```ini
["HALT NOW. THIS RODENT IS NOT OUR ENEMY."
```
The Slayer said, his voice particularly filled with an audible, clear growl and disgust through words in reaction to what he'd just seen unfold.
Allen
Salhaeja was most evidently displeased, but not with Ha herself, naturally. For one, he was vexed that Fyodor once again involved himself in this battle, presumably acting upon the arbitrary rules of this Koi Hunt that, as far as he knew, were not explicitly stated (hence his angered use of the term 'rodent'). Perhaps it was true that without his unannounced intervention, their well executed plan may've backfired given that Sable *Was* Technically able to feasibly remove herself via teleportation— but even so, he would've rather won or lost under fair circumstances alongside Endeven. Luck was *Not* An acceptable nor sustainable measurement of success, especially when it came to the dangers of what his goals— and hers, of course— exactly were. The entire purpose of this was to see if this ally of theirs was capable, including for some reasons unstated, and now, the results were tainted. It was hard to say if he was more irritated with the fact that their victory was achieved by outside intervention, or that said outside intervention existed in the first place. The man was *Hardly* A professional based on his base demeanor. However, none of that compared to the more pressing issue for him. It's what he hated to see more then anything in the world.

_ _
Ha absently stood as the man's words rang aloud, as well as Endeven removal from his spell and landing. She titled her head downwards, as if to face the floor, untensing from her combative position, and there was, in the slightest observation, the faintest frown on her face. She was upset, because she believed she had failed. No, she *Did* Fail, even if Sable gave up. Her move didn't register, and regardless of why, that was the fact of the matter, the second time of which it was to be clear. Her grip on her sword loosened so much that it nearly slipped from her hands, feeling a sense of dread that Salhaeja had no choice but to share to some extent as part of her essence. An uncomfortable feeling. 

For a girl that showed and/or had no emotion whatsoever in a perceptualized state, there was an indication that she was considerably dejected at this result, not to mention that she essentially thought Salhaeja's anger was directed at her. It wasn't about some kind of honor or conviction, either; she just wanted to prove herself, and she didn't. *This* Is what disturbed him, for reasons beyond anyone's understanding but his own. It was all so complicated, and yet so simple. She could put it into words, but understanding it in full was impossible. The great qualms of human resurrection, and if she was going to do this— not just today, but in *General*— this obstacle would have to be surpassed at some point. 

``I. . . Did the attack right. I didn't. . .?``
John
```ini
[". . .NO, NO. YOU DID WELL. THE BLAME IS MINE. DO NOT FAULT YOURSELF, MY WARRIOR."
```
Coming from the voice of a ghostly, not quite restful spirit entrapped within a sword for the rest of eternity, there was a certain softness and remorse in his tone as he said this that was unusual for him. 'My warrior' was certainly a choice of address.
Allen
Ridiculous. All this strife and effort over subduing an opponent that hardly mattered to them in the grand scheme of their presence here. It was indeed his fault, though, because he was the one who told her to take the Koi, and the one who had a cherished desire to return it to its owner— that rancid farm animal— once done as some sort of sentimental bid. He was foolish, selfish, and his justification of this being an acceptable test for his wielder was equally self-centered. Ironically, in trying to dispel notions of what he once was, he was acting exactly as he did before, when he was. . . *Different*, unspeakably so. His actions had consequences, and the worst sort, because it was hurting her again. Those faint moments where Ha was able to smile. . . They were the ones he cherished, and in contrast, moments like this is what he dreaded. An unfeeling woman's sorrow pertaining to the only thing that gave her purpose. That wretched fish. . . It seems, he was too consumed by his own self-disappoint to even consider the certain strangeness of Fyodor that was otherwise somewhat apparent. To put it in human understanding— at least they won, right?

_ _
Where *Is* That vile goat, anyway? Kuouo must've had some sort of improved sense of smell given his bodily structure. Surely, that dueling event he joined must've had some sort of intermission by now, no? The gunshots were an obvious indicator of their location, if needed. The issue of Gold and William, meanwhile, had come to an unclear stalemate, as the latter had fled the scene along with Starbi, whereas the former was sneaking behind Sable during Endeven's tending for whatever selfish reason that didn't interest him. By now, Double had dissipated, and Fog had cleared out of the tunnel entrance. The tides had calmed down. He thought back to the battle, and how Endeven had praised Sable— to which he had a point in doing so, in fairness. True, he found her irritating and self-centered by nature, but he had to acknowledge her circumstances and skill.

The Dutch mage was indeed greatly outnumbered and outmatched, and *Still* Would've put herself in good position to win hadn't Fyodor became involved. Add on the nature of this ploy, and clearly she fought best she could. She was a pest, too, but an impressive one no less. Normally, he would've told Ha to bow in respect to their opponent, but it didn't feel right this time. If anything, it was him who should've bowed. That being said, there were still numerous things that had to get settled, but relinquishing this target on Ha's back was the priority. He had no right to subject her to this anymore, nor was it conducive to their mission. Hopefully, conquering *That*— in other words, the only thing that mattered— would make her forget about this, although she probably would regardless. Thankfully, her memory wasn't so good.
Cora
```
"Yes, hello. This is Fyodor speaking," the man said, the call having gone through.
"Yes. Inner Management." 
"Yes. I need you to put me through to somebody——" he spoke, his brow furrowing as his sentence was interrupted by a closeby gunshot.
"...The... Healer. She's..." ——BANG.
"...Yeah, her."```

Fyodor's brow remained furrowed as he muted the phone's microphone, folding his left arm under his right as he tapped his foot against the ground, waiting, and still clearly annoyed. In addition to whatever was bothering him to begin with, the addition of the intermittent, ringing gunshots brought him slight annoyance. A small wait later, someone seemed to return on the other end, and the blonde-haired man unmuted the call.

```
"Hello. Are you free?" 
"I need to borrow you," he continued rather forthrightly, flinching subtly as the monochromatic reaction was released. "—Where are you now?"
"—I see. I'll pick you up."```

*BEEP.*

The phone was slipped back into his pocket.
Delores
```asciidoc
☾• "...Fffft..." :: •☽
The black-robed sorceress took another deep breath, now focusing the whole of her mana on preventing further bleeding.
☾• "...Perception, teleportation, reinforcement..." :: •☽ 
She turned to Endeven, sitting upright, her hand resting over the wound by her waist.
☾• "Endurance——reinforcement——is what I have dedicated a third of my life to learning." :: •☽ 
☾• "I would have lasted longer. Longer if..." :: •☽```

Sable's eyes, still flickering with the figments of light-yellow mana, peered toward Fyodor. She stopped her words as she began to glare, harshly.

```asciidoc
☾• "...Why?" :: •☽```
Cora
Already beginning to cast another spell — creating a magical circle that seemed to serve as a spatial gateway — Fyodor spared her little more than a downward gaze, his eyes barely even opening in acknowledgement.
Delores
*```asciidoc
☾• "...Verdomde indringer..." :: •☽
☾• "Bemoei je er niet mee." :: •☽```*
Cora
Fyodor's spell was already finalized, his hand beginning to poke through the two-dimensional circlet that bridged himto another point in Sanctum Mesa. 

```
"Maar het is wél mijn zaak."```

—yet he responded almost immediately to Sable's statement in the same language, spoken with such smoothness and clarity that it sounded as though it were one of his more fluent.

```
"Voor wat het waard is, ik heb niets tegen jou."
"Het is gewoon..."
"...Zaken."```

One leg already through the portal, he looked over his shoulder as Gold arrived.

*`Ah... It's... Him.`*

```
"Don't do that."
"Just stay right there and wait your turn."```

He warned simply about his attempt to take the shard.
With a step forward, Fyodor disappeared, the magic circle remaining suspended in-place.

`- -`

Thirty seconds pass, and Fyodor returns — but he is not the first to emerge from the magic gate. Rather, a classically-dressed young woman is, her head half-covered by a veil typical of clergywomen. Brunette hair extended in gentle waves along her brow, the sister smiling awkwardly as Fyodor introduced her, guiding her through the magic circle by pushing her lightly below her shoulders.

```
"This is Sister Carleo," the blonde-haired man spoke, his head just now emerging from the other side of the magic circle. His eyes were still closed as he addressed the group.
"She will be assisting the injured."```
Reggie
"Please,"
"Just *Lucia* Is fine."

She smiled, her hands folded by her waistline. Her voice was soft, though with a subtle stress upon it that made her seem somewhat uneasy — or perhaps confused — about what was going on. Nonetheless, she smiled with a small greeting.

"Good evening."

Gently kneeling by the Dutch sorceress' side, Lucia folded her hands in prayer, an auric warmth soothing the former's wounds. Melodic prayers proceeded forth from the sister's lips as the formative incantations that brought forward a healing spell — the telltale signs one was a member of the *Vicariate.*
Cora
With a motion of his finger, the magical circle that served him as a spatial gateway now collapsed, disappearing into flickering white light. He folded his hands behind his back.

```
"Let's start with something simple."
"I apologize for intervening in your battle. Still, I can't tell you why I did."
"Just know that it wasn't on a whim."```

Fyodor paced past Lucia and Sable, walking just beyond the shard, which now hovered at the center of the group — Ha, Endeven, Sable, and Gold together.

```
"I'm conducting business on behalf of the O.S.A. For Inner Management, particularly. Let's call it... A small inquisition."```

His left hand came ahead of himself as he motioned a circle with his index finger, mana channeling as he did so. Yet no spell's effect was visibly manifest.

```
"Still, there's the matter of the..."
"...𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥, I could call it."
"It will go to the person last in contact with the participant who held it when she forfeitted."
"Put simply, that's you, purple-hair," he motioned at Endeven. "Go ahead and take it."```

Another motion of his hand, as white mana begins to flicker—
*`tssskch`*
—before streams of pale-blue mana coiled about his fingers: a rejective force applied like small cracks of electricity buzzing against his hand.


*`...Tch. Still...?`*

```
"And you," he motioned to Ha, "I would offer you my gratitude if you would continue business-as-usual."
"Just pretend I was never here," he gestured. "And for you,  he motioned to Sable, "I'll offer you something... Much more valuable."

"Any questions? Problems, maybe...?" Fyodor questioned, though his left eye opened in slight as he gazed with a subtle pressure toward the group — as though he were suggesting there 𝘸𝘢𝘴 no 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 here.```
Thomas
Gold lets out an aggravated breath, still clutching his shoulder as the *Palm Gun* Continues dispensing a soothing sensation onto the wound. Not enough to mask it by any means, but any relief is better than no relief. 

"Shard..." He speaks, tone gruff and reiterative of what he wanted to achieve, speaking in a very simple manner towards the rest of the group. "All I want is th' shard, and'll be outta' ya' hair... Don't even gotta use ya'...." A weak motion towards Lucia and whatever she seemed to be doing to Sable "...... Whateva' that is.."

Still frustrated overall from the encounter having pulled him away from the shard, he glances at Endeven, eyes silently backing up his intent to possess the shard. 

"Please." He says, accompanying it with a low, pained growl — not one of malice, but one born out of his overall poor condition — towards Endeven. "Jus' want th' shard..."

"... Cool hair color..." A bit airy now as Gold points to his own hair. They both have ourple hair isnt that cool
Theresa
Endeven pulls out a honeybun and quasar-microwaves it until it is set ablaze. He then throws it at the homeless beggar approaching him.
Thomas
Despite struggling to keep himself fully conscious, Gold manages to worm his way closer, yet closer towards the group, letting out pained groans with each step forward; coming within a respectable amount of personal space from him and the others.
Elfriede
Taking into the Metro, William was stuck in his thoughts until Starbi asked if he was gonna be okay. "Huh? Oh, this little thing." He looked down at the spreading blood stain on his shirt before looking back up at Starbi and continuing, "I've had worse, but I got orders from Athena. She said that y'all found the Koi fish here and she told me to protect it. I got a bit carried away back there and in no condition to track or get into a long fight again. I need you to show me where y'all found that Koi, if need be I can get into another scrap but if it's alright with you, I'll need some rest." His voice sounded pained but still determined to execute his orders despite the toll his body has already. He then placed his arm around Starbi and placed some of his weight onto him, still ready to draw his guns if need be but for now placing some trust into Starbi. "Lead the way. I'll be right here catching my breath." He said as he placed his hat on Starbi's head to clear his vision a bit and make it more comfortable to lean onto his comrade.
Theresa
As the Double faded, Endeven was left with monochromate in his left hand aswell now. He merged both monochromates in his right hand and stored it in his robe, attaching it between his upper back and its fabric. When Fyodor told him to take the shard, Endeven immediately nodded and approached the shard amidst the group. As he reached out his hand, he heard Gold's begging for the shard - an item he himself had very little interest about. Endeven hadn't even known about the shards presence until he was made aware of it by Fyodor just now. The sorcerer stopped their motion and gave Gold the time to speak. For around five more seconds after his statement about their alike hair color, Endeven stared at Gold without words.
```ini
[✦ "The shard? If you want it, you can have it." ✦]
``` 
His hand touched the levitating shard and he snapped his fingers at it, causing the glowing crystal to hover towards Gold. Endeven concluded that there was nothing he could ask for in return for the shard. Besides not caring much for it, Endeven was already occupied and did not want to fight this man over this meaningless item. He was sure that Gold would attack him sooner or later if he did keep the shard, considering that he did the same for Sable too. Endeven now returned to Ha, in order to ask her for about their next course of actions, paying little attention to Fyodor. Although he considered communicating to Fyodor about the foretold future from the metro, Endeven ultimately decided that it would be more fruitful to investigate the roaming soul of chaos, than trying to converse with a high member of the O.S.A.
```ini
[✦ "Now that the fight is finished, what shall we do next? Locate and investigate the soul?" ✦]
```
He was hinting at that soul of chaos that he had mentioned earlier, but did not want to refer to it like that it in the presence of Fyodor. The O.S.A member was a bother to him and at the current moment Endeven desired to move to some place away from Fyodor, Lucia, Gold, Sable and William. Starbi would have been left behind sooner or later too. Then there was also Blossom, whom he wanted to bring along aswell, since that was what he called them for. But.. Where is Blossom?
Laura
As the two had been walking through the metro, Starbi was now walking alongside William instead of being dragged by him at a decent pace. He wouldn't walk faster or slower than William due to William's noticeable fatigue from his battle with Gold. Now with the two alone, away from the rest, they would be surrounded by the looming silence of the metro, not a hint of sound besides the footsteps of Starbi and William echoing throughout.

The sounds of footsteps were then accompanied by the gravel-like voice of William, who then responded to Starbi's concerns with the addition of his reasons for coming to the south of the Sanctum Mesa, to find the Koi Fish. Starbi looked at William, and then down at his shirt which was soaked with drying blood. Starbi's face was painted with uncertainty.

Starbi then felt William put his arm around Starbi, as he then felt weight added to him, Starbi steadied himself as his left leg angled to support him and William for a small moment before Starbi began to stand properly once again. Starbi then put his arm around William for more stability between the two,
```
[☆ "Well, if you say so— but, William. I don't think the koi fish is here." ☆]
```

Starbi commented; at first, he didn't trust William's nonchalance towards the blood much, but the best Starbi could do was keep his eyes on William so his condition wouldn't get any worse. In addition, Starbi was confused by the orders given to Athena, he was under the impression that the koi fish was in the hands of Emily from what Endeven told him, but then it was taken somewhere else.
```
[☆ "I thought the orange haired girl had it with her. I don't think we should get in her way, she got it fair and square." ☆]
```
Starbi thought that he and William should just go find Athena and Max, maybe they all should take it easy for a bit, and let people like Endeven handle whatever threat mentioned before, he had Blossom and Ha on his side, so Starbi figured he'd be fine without extra help. But at the same time, Starbi turned his head to the exit of the metro, he then let out a faint sigh of guilt, just hoping that Endeven would be okay.
Theresa
Blossom mentioned? Where is Blossom?
Elfriede
Feeling Starbi's arm wrap around his body for stability, his body seemed to grow stiff. Wordlessly, William reached up with his right hand and moved Starbi's arm away. It was clear that William wasn't used to this, and a moment of silence was between the two. "Look, Starbi, I have my orders. I don't want the fish myself. All my orders are to protect the fish, not take." His voice sounded serious but also gentle. He then continued, but his voice sounded concerned, "You okay? Up there, it took you a bit to realize I was there. What's up with you?" He looked at his comrade, his eyes softened now, something William hasn't done in years. "How about this. You talk, and I talk. You ask me questions and I'll answer truthfully, same goes to you." William having more than one reason for this. His voice sounded genuinely concerned, but one question remained in his head: *Why do I care for him?*
Thomas
"Thhhnnaanngghhh ya'...." A weak attempt at a 'thank you' towards the magic wielder as **A Mental Lever Long Enough** Comes into contact with the floating shard; it being freed from the mage's possession willingly by the other party. 

Indeed, Gold would have likely licked his wounds before attempting to track down Endeven to take back the shard. Beaten, shot, and bruised, Gold attempts to simply *Walk off* With the shard, blood still oozing from the wound, as though it were just a scratch. A brave face, or something of the sort.

"Hhmghhh..." He groans, attempting to trek back towards the middle of the event in hopes of finding Medeian food; it has healing qualities, right?
Laura
With Starbi turning his head as he continued walking, he could sense from his upper arm that William's body had stiffened a few seconds after he put his arm against William, leaving Starbi's pace to halt for a moment, watching William removing Starbi's hand around him. Starbi's expression remained neutral as he kept his eyes on William, he thought that maybe William didn't like how Starbi put his arm around him. William then spoke in response to Starbi's mention of Emily and his reluctance to approach Emily for the koi fish, had it not been for the koi fish as the supposed main objective, he would happily come along to see her again. 
```
[☆ "Ah, well– I guess I can't argue with that!" ☆]

```
Starbi commented with a casual smile, accommodating to William's mission, it was better to just go along with it, it wasn't going to be bad, they were, including Starbi, only just going to protect the koi fish. The two began to walk in the metro again with Starbi looking forward once more, only now that Starbi's pace had slowed slightly out of concern for William due to him not wanting Starbi's arm around him. The Starborn turned his head towards William when he asked Starbi a question, specifically what was up with Starbi. As William spoke, Starbi grew a bit confused. Starbi didn't think that something was wrong, he seemed to be fine so far, he wasn't hurt yet, nor was he upset in any way.
```
[☆ "Oh, I'm fine, William. " ☆]
[☆ "I didn't think I looked like it, sorry about that!" ☆]

```

Starbi apologised, following with a simple laugh, reassuring William that he was fine despite everything that had happened so far. As the two walked, William then spoke again. The cowboy then offered Starbi an idea. It could be considered as a sort of game, where one would ask a question while the other had to answer truthfully. In reality, this was just a conversation, but maybe that was William's way of talking to someone casually, Starbi didn't know much about him either. Regardless, Starbi didn't mind! He was happy that William offered that idea, he would happily talk to him about anything!
```
[☆ "Oh, yeah, of course, we can do that!! " ☆]
[☆ "And thanks for the hat too!" ☆]

Starbi spoke with immediate glee, before he spoke again.

[☆ "So, do you start, or do I start?" ☆]

```
He asked, tilting his head at William with his usual smile, Joyful Aura now present.
Elfriede
Walking at a slower pace to keep up with starbi, William gave some thought to who would start first on his recommendation, *I don't want to share my personal life but I need to gain this person's trust. C'mon William, it's just like back then, we don't have time for friends... But i wouldn't mind one.* He thought to himself before he opened his mouth to respond to Starbi, he had a small smile on his voice and his tone of voice suggested he was happy, "No problem about the hat but I will need that back later. Since I'm the one who suggested the idea I'll let you go first. Whatever question you got for me I'll answer." His voice had no hint of sadness or his grumpy tone. A voice ringed in his head, **WE DONT HAVE TIME FOR THIS. WE DONT GET FRIENDS, WERE DROWING.** The coyote of his soul spoke within his head, but William responded, *I hope you die. I hope we both die. Hand in unlovable hand, we're injured and we need help.* His thoughts echoed, showing his true feeling but on the outside there was no hint of this. All was seen on his face was a small smile and hint of joy in his voice. William is used to this, maybe starbi can be used as a means to an end. He continued his pace with Starbi.
John
```ini
["WE MUST RETURN THE SEA CREATURE TO THE GOAT MEDEI. THEN, WE WILL CONTIUNE ON OUR SEARCH. DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH THIS."
```
Allen
Salhaeja intended to rekindles Ha by reminding her of the objectives and what was subsequently at stake. This was successful, because Ha, in a mostly robotic fashion, turned her head back up, and slowly nodded in response to his comforting words. New mission, new orders— or same mission, but a new directive, more accurately. She looked up at Fyodor upon his request, as well as his subsequent inquiry that had a threatening undertone, not that she could recognize such a thing in someone. He was offering Sable something, but who cares? They forced her to tap out. Whatever else he had said before, she was too ingrained in her own incompetence to overhear.

To be fully transparent, there were a number of things that raised a finger as far as Salhaeja saw, but he would not burden Ha for the moment with them. Aside from annoying him immensely, the notion that he could not inform them why he did what he did was odd. Even as O.S.A. Inner management, his initial assumption was that they'd broken some kind of rule. Excluding that, his actions would serve to benefit some sort of agenda from the organization itself in that case. Strange. And why was he giving away the shard? Was it not odd that he spoke the same language as Sable did? German, was it? No, Swedish? Something along those lines. Why was his presence some sort of secret? Still, the man was obviously powerful and likely deserved his status, no mistaking that. Also, it's not like he was the only person who knew more then he let on. Sal himself had been a tad dishonest about certain things, but for good reason. Fyodor? He wasn't sure.

_ _
``". . .No question. I will forget. Thank you."`` 

Ha responded in an non-tonal manner, affirming his wishes. Once that was done with, she turned to Endeven's general direction and his inquiry as it pertained to the rogue SOUL. This was the next and crucial part of her objective, now that this ordeal was dealt with fully. It was then, however, that her mind wrapped back to the fish itself. Salhaeja did not need to remind her, which was ironic given that it actually concerned him more then her. ``". . .Yes, but we must give the fish to the Medei, Kuouo. It will help. Then we can go."`` The swordswoman commented, although she wasn't certain how to go about that. Would he find her, or vise versa?
John
```ini
["THE FARM ANIMAL WILL COME TO US. HE WOULD HAVE HEARD THE NOISE AND KNOWS YOUR SCENT. HIS TOURNAMENT WILL HAVE STOPPAGE."
```
Allen
``". . .He will come to us, I know. Wait for a little."`` Ha added this upon Salhaeja's comment. He practically read her mind— to be fair, he *Can* Actually do that.
Venessa
Dashing from rooftop to rooftop, with his SOUL manifested and blazestep being used much more efficiently, Kuouo Aiche Dee scoured the concrete jungle of Sanctum Mesa, holding his paw close to his snout in order to block out any other scents. The handshake that activated the two's ``SOUL VOW`` greatly increased the distance in which Kuo could track her down with his animalistic oriface. 

```
"C'mon, I know yer nearby. The hell are y-"
```

Kuouo's snout snaps to yet another familiar, fishy scent. He quickly called Infernium to his right paw, hopping off of a three story building and digging the dagger into its exterior to decelerate his descent. There, brushing himself off from the dust and debris, he finally looked up. Not quite the light at the end of a tunnel, but... Certainly a tunnel with a messily-dressed swordwoman at the end of it! Just as good in his books. 

```
"There ya are! Woah - Looks like you got yer hair ruffled a bit. Everything good?" Kuouo tilted his head, finally appearing in front of Ha in a disheveled yet bombastic fashion. 
```
Delores
```asciidoc
☾• "...Cantum mage." :: •☽
☾• "There's something you need to know before you give that shard away." :: •☽```

Her words came perhaps just a moment too late, as she was mentally preoccupied with the resurgence of the sharp pain panging throughout her open wounds. The mana that once reinforced the sorcerer's flesh had dispersed such that the Vicariate healer could properly tend to Sable's wounds, and now she was feeling all of the pain she had earlier hidden away with her internal and external mana control. A rough grunt was forced from her chest merely as she sat upright. 

Her eyes, though weakened, still fixed strong upon the form of the shard as it hovered through the air.
Cora
```
"I thought I told you to wait your turn," Fyodor spoke, his eyes opening lightly as he glared toward Gold. His hand outstretched as a magic circle separated the shard from the participant.
"I still have questions for you."```

As the shard was attracted toward Gold, it pressed against the magical circle. An inverse push was applied to both the shard and the magic circle, swirls of blue mana crackling up the length of Fyodor's arm once more.

```
"Until we're done here, the shard will stay w——"```

*`Tssskch!`*

...It seemed louder this time. A rejective force, sounding off like electricity. Fyodor stopped in his sentence, his brow furrowing.
Delores
```asciidoc
☾• "𝘧𝘧𝘧𝘧𝘧𝘵..." :: •☽
☾• "This mystery — the Hunt, the Koi, this shard, the purpose behind it all——" :: she paused, taking another deep breath. •☽```
Cora
```
"...As I was saying, the shard will stay with the one to whom it belongs. As for you and me——" Fyodor continued, though he was interrupted once more.```
Delores
```asciidoc
☾• "——can't... Be solved... With just a half of the puzzle. All you'll be left with... Is a broken theory! You need the Koi 𝘢𝘯𝘥 the shard t——" :: •☽```
Speaking out of a coarse, forced breath, Sable winced as she put forward a pained series of sentences together, each spoken with constricted air within quick, intermittent clusters.
Cora
**```
"I am still talking."```**

Fyodor broke the chain of interruptions, speaking over the latter quarter of the sorceress' sentence, as though to silence her. For the first time, his eyes opened wide, pale-silver irises peering sharply toward the incapacitated sorceress with an identical, though exaggerated, semblance of that same annoyance that the O.S.A member had displayed when he first arrived.

```
"You sure talk alot for someone who's already disqualified."
"I'll deal with you in a minute, mage," he said, his irises now barely visible as he stared down at her in a squint. With a motion of his hand, a magic circle swallowed up both Sable and Lucia, teleporting them elsewhere. His visage shifted toward Kuouo as he arrived.
"...Tch."```

*`Too many damn people.`*
*`This is growing to be annoying.`*

He shifted his hand in another halfcircle, a spell once again cast discreetly.
_ _

```
"I'll make this very quick. I don't have much more time for this," he said, now shifting his attention back toward Gold. "You have taken things that do not belong to you. This is true?"```

Fyodor questioned quickly, and with his mannerisms, tacitly stated both his impatience and the fact that he knew already.

```
"A hat and a knife, was it...? Yeah. You're the guy."
"Anything else you have that isn't yours?" —he flicked his fingers to point toward Gold. "𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 isn't something permitted by the rules of the Hunt, I'd remind you," he insinuated disqualification, "So I'd suggest you speak up now. I'll be taking all those things off your person."```

Though he stated his intents rather forthrightly, there seemed a second, unseen intent hidden beneath them. He acted now as a genuine arbiter of the Hunt — seeking to ensure each of its rules were followed properly — and yet there was something beneath the surface; *Something else* He wanted. That very same desire was the thing that drove his ire—those subtle tinges of anger that flared to the surface as Sable spoke of what she was not supposed to, and as more individuals (witnesses) came within the proximity of the ordeal.
Laura
Starbi kept his eyes focused as William responded to Starbi's question that would settle who would start asking questions. As it was offered by William, Starbi would begin by asking William a question, how fun! A visible smile on his face, eager to try and learn more about William.
```
[☆ "Yeah, sure! Uh..." ☆]

Starbi spoke with glee; he then took a moment to think as the two walked, obviously not prepared for a question. As he then looked around the metro, as he had a simple question to ask William. He then turned to him;

[☆ "What's your favorite color?" ☆]

```
Starbi asked with an eager smile, it was a good question to start off with. Up until now, Starbi didn't really know William at all, besides the fact he seemed super cool, however, that was a usual impression he gets from people he comes across. Regardless, he was excited to learn more about William, no matter the fact!
** **

```
[☆ "You give me the kind of feeling that you'd like brown! I think brown's a cool color, my color is personally yellow because it just screams energy and happiness to me at least, and that's what I'm all about!!!! But if you don't like brown then that's fine too!" ☆]

The Starborn spoke with little regard to what William may have said while he had rambled;
 
[☆ "I like how everyone has a favorite, just one— or many colors, and someone can like them easily, that's so strange, but I like it!!!! Oh— and there are so many shades of color too! Like how red can become many kinds of pinks!! There's also the fact that every color can become a completely different color too, like black or white! Like even the brightest of yellows can eventually become a nice black color with enough tints of black! " ☆]

[☆ "What do you think Athena's favorite color is? She seems like blue is her favorite, but I could be wrong!! Maybe Max too, he seems like he's maybe a green kinda guy, we can ask them when we see them later!!!" ☆] 

[☆ "Ooooh, there's also my friend, Dioscuri! To me, he seems like purple is his favorite is purple! Speaking of purple, it's also the complimentary color of yellow! There's so many facts about colors, I didn't think that you could talk this much about colors, but you never know, someone out there has to be super into colors! So many worlds, and limitless possibilities!!! It's all just so amazing how something so seemingly simple can be entirely complex somewhere else!! Isn't that amazing?" ☆]

```
Starbi had then ended his rambling with a question for William to supposedly answer. He then turned his head back to William for his input.
Elfriede
Having his attention focused on Starbi, William did seem to be interested in what he had to say about colors. Perhaps even a *Smile* Was on his face, but he quickly hid whatever emotion showed on his face. It took him a moment, clearly thinking about how to answer the first question, but he did come up with an answer and responded. "Well, I do like brown. I really like brown leather. It reminds me of home a bit, but I really like orange and green too. I like the darker shades more." His tone did suggest he was happy. He continued speaking. "In my experience, nothing really is simple. Everything is somewhat complex, but I guess colors are nice." An expression of thought could be seen on his face, *Maybe this could work. They don't seem harmful and maybe they could be a friend*....**NO, WE CANT AFFORD FRIENDS. EVERYONE WE KNOW IS DEAD AND THEY'LL DIE TOO.** His soul responded to the thoughts he had about Starbi being a potential friend. William shifted a bit, and looked down at his right hand, watching as small sparks cane from it and died back down. *Everything feels so weird. Am I dead?* He asked himself. Turning back towards Starbi, his eyes seemed to soften a little and a little smile was seen but it changed back to his usual grumpy demeanor. "Well I answered your question, so now time to answer mine. Tell me about where you're from. I doubt Starbi is a common name nowadays." He said, his voice sounded calm.
Misty
BLOSSOM WAKE UP!!! BLOSSOM, WAKE UP!!!! BLOSSOM!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!
Laura
Starbi looked at William with a smile as the two remained walking within the metro. When he was rambling about the idea of colors, he was able to sense a form of joy from William, however, wasn't able to notice his smile due to him looking around the metro as he spoke. Regardless, Starbi was happy to know that William was also happy. He then turned his head to look forward while walking with a smile; 

```
[☆ "Yeah, even if life can be super crazy, at least we have the little things in life to make life even better!" ☆]

The Starborn commented on William's final remark, a smile on his face as he already knew what to say, Joyful Aura's presence strengthened, maybe even being able to wash away William's hidden feelings, even if it was for a moment. 

```
Starbi had then noticed William shifting and looking down at his hand, he bent over to see his right hand forming small sparks before seemingly dying down. With a curious expression on his face, Starbi looked at William's face, as he then went back to his original posture when William had turned his head back to Starbi, it was then that William asked his question; it was about Starbi's background he had entered Unity. Starbi looked at William's face, his smile seemed calm and... Truthful as it was accompanied by his calm voice, Starbi then looked forward, and down to the ground as the two kept walking.

** **
```
[☆ "Well, I live in a world that's actually very like this place, actually. Although I'd say that the place I'm in is calmer than this place, but I'm sure it's not like that every day!" ☆]

The Starborn spoke, turning back to William with a smile, as he turned his head forward again to continue speaking, albeit feeling nostalgic, even though he's only been away from home for a while, only a week, his friend could survive without him, Starbi was sure of that.

[☆ "And there's also my best friend Lune! I met him when I was visiting that earth before I began living there! I crashed in on a starlit night, you could call me a shooting star! And then I found him! At first, I was surprised to find him, I hadn't really seen anything like him yet up until I met him, but I didn't mind! We talked and stuff, and we instantly became best friends, he's like a brother to me. I think I have a picture of us together, he likes sea life like sharks, I do have some pictures of us at an aquarium. " ☆] 

Starbi then dug his hand into his pocket in search of his phone. He had then found it, and took it out, his phone had colorful stickers and keychains as decoration. He searched through his gallery, then showed William a picture with his free hand. 


```

** **
The picture in question was of Starbi, energetic as ever, with someone in the background, Starbi's friend Lune. The two seemed to be outside, with a building in the background, from what Starbi had said before, one can assume that it was an aquarium. When it came to appearance, Lune was a tall fluffy figure standing at around 6'0". The fluffy adjective came from him having black fur covering his body, wearing a very pale green sweater accompanied by big red glasses on his face. His legs didn't look like legs, they rather looked like the big end of a broomstick's hay that was made out of the same black fur, he looked happy as well, waving to the camera. Starbi's hand holding the phone then moved back to him, as he stared at the photo with a casual smile. 

```
[☆ "I hope he's doing okay! I wish I could at least contact him. My phone hasn't been able to call people out of this place yet. But I know that we're both gonna be okay, I'm sure of it!" ☆]

Starbi spoke, turning his head to William once again. As said before, it had been a while since Starbi had spoken to his friend Lune, but Starbi was confident that, despite the circumstances, both of them would be okay, he was sure of that. Starbi then turned to William, with a joyful smile on his face.

[☆ "What about you! Where are you from? Do you have anyone else close to you? Besides Athena and Max, I mean!" ☆]

```
Starbi asked, after all, it was his turn to ask William a question now that he answered his question. To Starbi, it made sense to ask a similar, if not, the same question back. No harm in doing so, right?
Thomas
Turning and letting out a low, rumbling growl, seeing as he had been shot and was still bleeding, **A Mental Lever Long Enough** Not attempting to pull the shard from the confines of the magic circle, but rather to just keep it floating in its same position as when Fyodor had attempted to intercept it.

"Ahhhh, boy scout. Listen, I ain't buyin' ya' expensive popcorn." Using his free hand in a pained motion, he motions lazily; because again, he had been shot. 

Gold manages to meet the man's gaze, eyes narrowing only just a bit. "I ain't kill someone, I ain't attack anyone who ain't involved, an' I haven't left th' grounds. That's ya' rules, right?" That same free hand counts to three on its digits, one per each listing.

Regardless, the hat and the bayonet slide off of his character and to the ground beside Gold, one-by-one. Bayonet first, hat second. "Ain't steal th' shard eitha'.. Asked fa' it, got given it. Ain't that big a' deal. 'sides, it ain't *Stealin'* If ya' catch a thrown knife." 

`Can't 'fford to be kicked out. Can't 'fford it.` He thinks to himself, still holding outwardly resolute to the opposition. `Can't let that happen.`
Elfriede
Listening to Starbi, a small smile was able to be seen on his face. Not only were his questions directed to find out as much about Starbi, but it also felt as if he's having a true conversation, something he doesn't remember having much. He listened carefully not only to find any advantage he could use but because it was the polite thing to do, he even paid attention to the photo Starbi showed him, it wasn't the weirdest thing hes seen all night especially with a light box that starbi was holding. Maybe the boy his mama raised is still there, somewhere within his soul under that harden grit. But that smile quickly faded, and he looked away as Starbi asked him if he had anyone close and where he was from. He began to think to himself, *I don't want to expose too much about myself, but I also need their trust and to find out if they're a threat. C'mon, William, it's only a question.* It took him a while to turn his head back to Starbi to respond, but his eyes seemed sadden. He opened his mouth to speak but he had trouble finding the words, his eyes narrowed as he looked towards the ground and back up towards Starbi, taking the small moment of silence to regain his thoughts and composure. "I wouldn't say me and Max are friends. I only met him tonight." His voice sounded cold, but he continued on, "Athena, well, she saved my life, so I reckon I would call her a friend." With his free hand, he reached into his coat pocket and took out his pinkerton badge, and stared at it for what felt like eternity but in truth was only half a minute. Without looking back at Starbi, he spoke again, taking breaks between each sentence, "I had some friends, I guess. They're all gone now. Same with my family." His tone shifted, not one of anger but of regret, "Only people who were close to me were my brother, mom, and my two best friends. They're all gone, James... He stayed in the trenches."

A memory of his friend being slain on the battlefield replayed in his head, but he continued on. "My brother, well he never forgave me for leaving... My mom, she died a long time ago. She would've liked you." He said, a clear nod back to what he said to Starbi earlier while on the rooftops. "My other best friend, well, she's gone too." His final words seemed to sting. After all these years of hiding his emotions, looking back at it all, it hurt. It really *Hurt*.....William wordlessly placed his badge back into his pocket and took out a cigarette, but remembering that Starbi didn't like the smoke, he placed it back. It took another moment between the two before William said anything again, "Too make it fair. You showed me a photo of your friend, so here's a few of mine." He said as he took the hat off Starbi's head and took out photos that were hidden underneath the sweatband of his hat. He presented the photos towards Starbi as he placed his hat back on his own head. The black and white photos showed a group of soldiers on horse back, a group of 12, and the writing on the top right showed the date the photo was taken, July 16th, 1914, the second photo was similar to the first one but the date was,

January 8th 1918, American Expeditionary Force, in both photos it was clear that William was the leader of the groups, his face was emotionless with his rifle slinged on his back and revolver on his hip, but it was the third photo that stuck out. It was a black and white photo just like the rest, but it was dated October 17th of 1910. It was a photo of William and another standing beside him, Bonney Rose, William looked happy, a true genuine smile was seen on his face along with flowers tucked into his hat band and his hair, Bonney had their arm wrapped around Williams, and a bright smile was seen on their faces, her eyes only focused on William as his were focused only on her. William smiled at that photo, but for only a second, as his smile faded away once again, he placed the photos into his inside coat pocket and continued walking alongside Starbi, there was silence between the two but William spoke again, "You know, I haven't had this open of a talk with anyone in years. How much longer is this walk?" He asked, hiding his emotions once again reminding himself of the reason he is here now. Completely forgetting to answer the question of where he's from.
Richard
Landing onto the last rooftop overlooking the metro station, he watched the group of people, focusing mainly on two. Kuouo and Gold, pointing towards the two, Manolo spoke in a low tone towards his captain, "Those two. The one bleeding out his arm and the goat man. Those are the others from the boat. They don't know we're here, we have the surprise. What you think to do?" He said turning his head towards his friend, the light reflecting off his eyes again giving that eerie brown glow but something was different this time. His eyes looked soft and the electricity coursing through his body gave his fur a static look. *I really need to brush my fur, and maybe get it cut.* He though to himself as his ears twitched and his tail swayed softly behind him.
Susan
Sasori perched on the edge of the building, surveying the metro entrance below below with a sharp focus, his gaze following the direction Manolo had pointed. A wry hum escaped him, his tone laden with the calm of impending action.

```
"That goat man down there... Likely a Zoan type Devil Fruit user. Such powers are formidable, yet given the commonality of goats, he's not particularly special and is just that, A zoan type. The other one, however, remains unknown; we can't tell if they possess any abilities. And the others, they could all be part of a crew. It'd be unwise to engage; even by my standards, the odds would be against us, ill go down there and attempt to get some info. Im much more of a people person, and can get info without raising suspicion that way. Join me if you want, but please. Try to keep calm, we dont want to put these people on edge."
```

He said, his tone low so only Manolo could hear. He then carefully navigates his way down the building into an alleyway. He would await in the alleyway, to see if his friend would join him before entering the crowd of people in front of the metro.
Eugene
In the midst of eventide, the wind breaks.
A silhouette shifts with intense speed across the rooftops, air whistling in its wake.
The light cannot catch the form of the one who casts the shadow. It eludes even the illumination of the magelights, a blur that the eye could scarcely keep up with.
Like an umbral bolt of lightning, it pierces blind through the night...
Diane
Just as quickly as he appeared, had he drawn his weapon. The cold sensation of a familiar blade quickly became apparent to Manolo. Its tip met the scar where it had once impaled the gunslinger before. A voice hushed into the pirates ear as the blade pierced an inch into his flesh.

`"Move and your heart is open..."`

A man stood behind him with midnight black hair and a face covered in bandages. A man with white samurai-like clothing and a cursed blade firmly placed between his two hands . A man who, just like the two travellers, seemed very much out of place in the city of sanctum mesa. He was barefoot, bleeding from his soles due to glass shards that sprung into his feet as he jumped on them, yet he seemed unfazed, dragging his feet along the concrete ground which he stood on to wipe them out of his flesh. 

`"Pirate, are you..? Leaving your friend to die... I don't blame you though, really..."`

**Hika Meguro**, fresh from their previous encounter. Unlike Sasori and Manolo he had not aged since, making this much evident. Most of his wounds from their battle had regenerated though and he was ready for a second round, if need be. Notably, one factor which he wasn't aware of was Sasori's presence.

`"What's your business with me...?"`
Richard
Listening to his captain speak and soon watching him go down into the alleyway, Manolo was ready to jump down himself until he smelled something or someone familiar, but he didn't smell fast enough. Feeling the blade enter the scar that lay on his back, Manolo felt lucky that his steel chest plate caught most of the impact, but it still hurt as the tip went through his skin. Making a low pitch whine and growl, his fur stood on end as the feeling of blood trickled down his back. "I ain't after you. And you couldn't kill me when you had the chance, so what makes you think you can now? You coward." His voice sounded angry as his mouth grew into a snarl showing his pointed teeth. "You always did go for the back, and you call yourself a swordsman." He said, showing the reason he called Meguro a coward. If the tip remained on his plate, Manolo would transfer electricity into his plate and throw the attack off, but meguro decided to pierce his skin, his body already had electricity coursing through, it's time to see what would happen if he had electricity everywhere. Suddenly, 60 volts of electricity coursed through his body into the blade of meguro and into meguro himself. In one swift motion, Manolo used his dueling dagger, in his left hand, to break off contact between him and the blade while simultaneously drawing his own rapier with his right hand. Using his speed, Manolo jumped away from meguro but still in range for a sword. Seeing Meguro, he noticed that he still looked young, this confused Manolo, given that their battle was near 15 years ago, but now was not the time to dwell. Taking a stance that allowed him to have a mixture between both defensive and offensive attacks, Manolo coursed electricity through his blades, causing the air to fill with static and his fur to stand.

This was not the same Manolo, Meguro faced all those years ago. Manolo has already fought Meguro once. He knows his tricks and tactics, but Manolo has also grown. He is no longer the ex-marine from all those years ago. Now, Manolo is a musketeer for the Freeheart Pirates. While he specialized in firearms, a main weapon of the musketeer was a rapier first and foremost. It was time Meguro learned that.
Catherine
The third party for the third party
Susan
Unbeknownst to Sasori, as he took a few cautious steps forward in the dim alleyway, Yin erupted into a series of alarming caws and ascended sharply into the air. The unusual behavior of his feathered companion instantly put Sasori on edge, his instincts honed by countless dangers whispering of impending peril. His eyes narrowed as he tracked Yin's flight.

```
"Hmmm"
```

With a swift climb up the nearby ladder, Sasori found himself on the rooftop again, noticing Meguro whom fate should have claimed long ago was there. His grip tightened on the strap of his backpack, his breath frosting in the cool air.

```
"..."
```

Delving into his backpack with icy calm, Sasori's voice was a low growl of disbelief and rising fury:

```
"...You. How are you here, you are supposed to be dead."
```

His hand emerged holding a skull, a relic of battles past and not just any skull, but Meguro's. Placing it ceremoniously before him, he rested his boot upon it, signaling Yin with a subtle gesture with his hand.

```
"Back from the dead to get your ass kicked again huh? Your new skull will make a fine re-addition to my collection you coward."
```

As the skull began to crack under the pressure of his boot, Sasori unsheathed Purgatory's Inferno, its blade igniting into fierce flames that sliced through the darkness. His voice thundered over the rooftop:

```
"YOUR FATE WAS DECIDED AND I SHALL BE THE ONE TO DELIVER IT AGAIN, YOU WILL DIE BY MY HANDS AGAIN."
```

He charges towards Meguro, his opponent's death his goal. Applying Haki, More specifically Mana Reinforcement in this universe to his blade turning it into a black color.

```
"I WILL PLAY YOUR GAMES WITH THAT SWORD OF YOURS NO LONGER, ILL SHOW YOU MY TRUE STRENGTH. THE STRENGTH OF A MAN MARKED BY DEATH"
```

As he closed in, his blade aimed a vicious slash at Meguro's torso.

```
"I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER, I WILL MAKE YOU DIE. IM A MAN OF MY WORD AND I KEEP MY PROMISES. YIN CONTOUR."
```

Yin unleashed a barrage of 24 sharp feathers, each one a deadly projectile aimed at their target and as the feathers flew, two clones of Sasori materialized, echoing his assault with synchronized slashes aimed to injure or disorient Meguro.

```
"YOU SHALL FACE MY WRATH, NOW BURN IN A ENDLESS INFERNO FOR I WONT GIVE UP"
```

Sasori would put all his force into every single one of his attacks, and would not let anyone get in his way. He has a personal vendetta against this dude.
Richard
Seeing his captain, Manolo felt relieved that he didn't have to fight alone once again, but upon seeing the flaming blade, his ears and tail shot up clearly agitated by the flames. Whether it be intentional or accidental, Manolo's growl grew louder, and his snarl became more prominent. Manolo was becoming feral. With a quick move, Manolo thrusted his rapier blade forward into a quick, precise stab into meguro chest. Given the style of blade and its fighting style, this allowed Manolo to still keep out of range of any dual handed swordsman while still allowing him to slash and parry if his thrust was unsuccessful
John
```ini
["HE IS HERE."]
```
Allen
The swordswoman naturally picks up on the initial vibrations of Kuouo's descending impact regardless of Sal's callout, soon recognizing his distinct vernacular tone as he approached her. She had a small sigh of relief, contented to know that this particular objective regarding the return of the Koi was now likely completed. A *Success*, not failure, regardless of the setbacks they faced, including some of which were her own fault. More importantly, she figured they could focus on what Sal had said was considerably more of a concern as far as the festival went. Perhaps now, she could undo her mistakes to an even greater extent. She could prove herself better than what she'd done thus far. Plus, Kuouo was an ally, and nice.

Salhaeja thought it was curious that Kuouo was seemingly taken aback by her physical condition— which was no doubt affected by battle, certainly— rather then the simple fact that she was *Standing*, unhampered. Generally, he and Daniel had only seen her within a crippled, disabled state prior to this exchange. There was a small concern of his that the Medei would accuse her of deception upon seeing this, but perhaps he *Already* Knew or assumed beforehand. Given that he willingly gave her the fish, and would not have good reason to do so if she was that weak, it was entirely possible for that to be the case. A farm animal, but not an idiotic one, then? Food for thought. Incidentally, The Slayer was also glad that this goal he had took up for no real gain other then ultimately self-serving, emotional reasons was over with. If nothing else, it reinforced the idea of forging temporary friendships, as Ha had eluded to, and they had extracted value from the item itself, didn't they? Even with some *Luck* That he so devalued, the circumstances were acceptable.

_ _
Both of their newfound alliances at this festival were now face to face, Kuouo and Endeven. They could not be *More* Different, but both were, as far as he knew, very competent— the Medei was returning from that tournament provided his lack of dejectedness, which could only mean he sustained himself long enough to make it to at least another round. Goals were different, and the latter raised a lot more revealing questions yet to be asked, but it was still noteworthy. Something did puzzle him, though. . . With his non-reaction to her changed condition, and knowing that Endeven himself had not seen Ha prior to her current state: was he even aware that she was *Blind?* Was *Anyone* Aware? Not that it mattered greatly, but in principal, such a weakness as visual impairment should be known amongst cohorts. He hadn't stopped to think about it until now. On an unrelated note, he had no interest in Sable herself and implored Ha to do the same, but her words on the shard and Kois relationship were notable if not lies. She had no reason to do so in defeat.

``"Hi Kuo. I am fine. There was a big fight."`` Ha would reply by stating the obvious and turn toward Kuouo's general direction, a minimal expression of happiness within a grin appearing on her face in effort to accommodate politeness. For Kuouo, he could reasonably discern that her tone was far more lively then before, as well as her native Korean accent— perhaps he'd attribute it to mere adrenaline, though. She wasn't that surprised to see him, obviously, since Sal informed her that he'd be here sooner or later.

_ _
``"Yes. You can give it. Oh. . . This is Endeven. He helped keep the fish."`` The swordswoman responded to Endeven and added an explanation, seeing as it could be strange for Kuouo to observe his items in the hands of another. Salhaeja was still not pleased that he had to resort to technicities for this endeavor, but he was also displeased with the entire situation in general, as already elaborated upon. All that mattered was that the Medei could receive it now, in peace, and the shard was an added bonus based on what Sable said, something he'd surely like. Grounds for trust.

``"How is the match? You are doing good?"``
John
```ini
["YOU AND I MUST SPEAK AFTER. ALONE. SHE WILL HAND ME TO YOU."]
```
Salhaeja communicates again, but this rings in the ears of *Endeven* Alone. Before they could continue their temporary alliance and hunt of whatever threat was present at this festival, there was something he needed to address— mutiple things, frankly. However, he would not burden his warrior with it, especially considering he'd already done so on this night undeservingly. Even if he did, she'd struggle to grasp the concept. This was far beyond her understanding.
Laura
As William spoke, Starbi noticed the cold tone within his voice as he responded to Starbi's remark about Max and Athena. It left Starbi curious about him, but his train of thought was gone as he noticed William taking out a sort of badge. Starbi had stared at the badge in William's hand, even staring at it for 30 seconds before William began talking. Starbi was even a bit distracted by the badge, and looking at the wording on the badge, Pinkerton National, Detective Agency. The name Pinkerton did ring a bell to Starbi, he has been aware of what he might call *"Common"* Human history but wasn't an active follower of it, but with his time as a traveler, through time and through space, he was aware of what it was. And with this, Starbi had figured that William was a detective of some sort, it left Starbi with a small smile on his face, finding it fascinating.

It was then that William began to speak in response to Starbi's question from before, Starbi's thoughts regarding William being a detective had vanished as his eyes came back to William with a curious but friendly expression on his face. He kept his smile as William had confirmed he had some friends, it made Starbi happy to know that part of William's past. But it quickly vanished as William's words confirmed that they, including his family, were dead. It left with a concerned yet considerate expression on his face as William continued. It made Starbi feel a bit sad regarding William's family, but was left with a feeling of warmth from William mentioning his mother and how she would've liked Starbi again, his mouth curving into a faint yet appreciative smile to William's words. But that smile vanished as William then revealed that he had lost someone else, it left Starbi wondering about William and his well-being.
** **

It was then that William removed the hat off of Starbi's head. Starbi watched as William rummaged through the hat's band for apparently something. William then revealed 3 pieces of paper hidden under the sweatband of his hat, as Starbi looked longer, he figured that these were the photos of his friends. Starbi was eager to see them, as William then presented the photos to him. Starbi looked at the photos, analyzing the first photo of 12 men on horseback, Starbi had a glance at the date but then went back to the group. Starbi then took a look at the next photo, it was of William, he noticed his cold expression, it was the first thing Starbi had noticed, and with the photos he's seen as of now, the faces of those in the photos, their expression, their feelings portrayed through them. But Starbi wondered about William's cold expression in the second photo and remained in the back of his mind for the time being. 

The next photo, however, was different, completely erasing William's dead expression from Starbi's mind, it was William and someone else. As said before, it was different from the other photos William had shown Starbi up until now. The photo, just by looking at it, was from a great memory. Starbi analyses the photo, it was William and a girl, the girl was wrapping her hands around William, Starbi wondered if this was the "She" William had brought up before. Regardless, Starbi looked at the expression of the two, they were happy, not focusing on anything, nothing to worry about, they were both happy. William then took the photos away and put them in his pocket. Starbi looked at William's pocket, and then to the ground, William began speaking in regard to how much was left until they could stop walking, Starbi turned his head to William to speak.
** **

```
[☆ "Well, I'd say there isn't much time left until we're out of here!" ☆]

Starbi commented, irrelevant to William's question, a smile then forming on his face. 

[☆ "And there's nothing to distract us, so I'd say we'll be out here even sooner!" ☆]
```
Starbi assured, with his signature smile, Joyful Aura was now back after William finished talking about his past relationships, Starbi then looked forward, and then back to the ground again with an expression of thought on his face. Starbi was in thought as the two kept walking. A few seconds passed, Starbi's mouth then turned to a smile, as he then let out a small yet cheerful laugh.
Elfriede
Walking quietly, he listened to Starbi respond about the distance that remained. He remained silent. The expression on his face was one of regret. William never had time to fully deal with the loss of his loved ones. It was always job after job, but now, speaking about it and looking back. Everything was hitting harder than any bullet or blade he's felt before. It felt as if his heart was breaking all over again, but he couldn't understand why. William didn't say anything, as they both walked in silence memories of his past flashed through his mind. He took notice of the expression of thought that Starbi had on his face and decided to ask about it. "What are you thinking about?" He asks, his tone still cold but warming up to the starborn. He reached into his pocket, retrieving a cigarette and looking at it. His thought wandered back to the night he quit smoking for Bonney. He still remembers how she looked in the smoke of his last cigarette. A faint smile was seen on his face before turning back to Starbi. "You know, I used to hate these things. The past is haunted, and the future is laced." He said as he placed the cigarette between his lips and lit the end with his fingertips. As the smoke began to drift upwards, William looked calmer as his stance relaxed, and he moved off Starbi. Now walking with no aid, he touched the grip of his revolver with his fingertips. "I wasn't always like this, you know. I know you want me to be happy but I can't afford to be happy anymore." He said, taking a long drag off his smoke. "What are you thinking about?" He asked once again, but his tone suggested that it wasn't a request but more so an order.
Cora
```
"Hmm."```

Fyodor's eyes did not open, but one of his brows shifted as he lifted his left hand to his side, two fingers pointed up as he motioned in a circle with a twirl of his wrist. Refined, white mana flickered from his fingertips, marking the origin of a spell.

*`If there's one thing September is good for, it's probably this.`*
*`What a truly mundane ability. And yet her interpretation makes something absolutely ridiculous out of it.`*
*`"The transfer of items" As a readable contract, huh?`*
_ _

```
"Yes, those are the rules. But beyond the absolution of assault and battery charges, you're still subject to the laws of Pacifica."
A magic circle manifested on the ground beneath the bayonet. The first item and the one immediately proceeding it falls through. A second opens above his left, the handle of the knife falling into his grasp. He shifts the hat with into right hand.
"Not stealing, huh?" he tilted his head backward. "So you didn't steal this thing either?"
"Rhetorical question. Far as I'm concerned, everything on your person could be stolen." Fyodor stared down at Max's hat. "This thing's... Enchanted...?"```

He flipped the hat upside-down. Something wasn't right about how the light hit it... 
Fyodor slowly extends his hand into the hat, his eyes widening slightly as it is allowed to delve deeper and deeper in. Soon after, he withdraws from it the pitch-hued revolver stored within.
He shifts the thing in his palm, his finger catching the cylinder latch so he may swing it open, confirming that it is truly a functioning firearm. Or, at least, is intended to be.
_ _

```
"..."```

*`This makes things alot easier.`*
*`Suppose it makes sense, if he's sticky-fingered enough to have taken 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.`*

```
"...C.I.C, P.S.L category 31, subsection K and L, amended by the Revised Weapons Control Act of 2025. 'It is considered a criminal deed for any misappropriated munition or weapon of either natural or supernatural nature that is of or of a commensurate classification to Type II.B or greater, to be brandished, stored, kept, transported, concealed, given, taken, or traded in any way, by any person who knows or possesses reasonable cause to believe, that the item in subject has been misappropriated from its rightful owner, excepting cases wherein the item is submitted to...'" his sentence broke off there, already having tapered off in volume near the end.

"That's four federal misdemeanors." 
"Triple criminal theft and the keeping of a stolen firearm."
"You have anything to say for yourself? Actually... Don't answer that."
"Answer my questions honestly and I won't disqualify you on the spot."
"You are in possession of a briefcase, yes? Used to store a Winchester Model 1897 pump-action shotgun — modified, as I understand it. Neither of these things being rightfully yours. Where are they now?"```

_ _
His expression shifted from the moment he pulled the revolver from the hat. Seemingly by having entrenched Gold within the legal conundrum he was in now, one of the things that irked the well-dressed man had been alleviated. Or, at least, so it seemed. This whole thing — from him having stolen the bayonet and hat to the revealing of the revolver — seemed, in some part, not the most of the blonde-haired man's worries. They were adjacent to something else, and the actions they insinuated he could do were now what seemed to matter most to him. Or, again, so it seemed.
Laura
With the two walking in the metro, Starbi remained in thought and wasn't completely paying attention to William, still keeping that smile on his face, he was thinking about something that made him smile, but then again, when doesn't he smile to a thought of his? His head then turned to William asking what was on Starbi's mind, a curious expression on his face. 

The Starborn kept quiet, looking back to the ground as the scent of smoke filled the air, his smile then returning. He then heard William's words regarding the past and future, he was paying attention, but more focused on something else. Starbi then felt the weight of William lift off of his shoulders, Starbi glanced to his right to William's shoes as he heard him speak regarding the past and the future, his smile gone for a moment, but again, returned. 

It was then that William had asked the same question from before, the tone in his voice made Starbi look at him with a curious expression, his eyes then looked in the direction they were taking.
** **

```
[☆ "Well, it's just that..." ☆]


```
The Starborn turned his head forward, then back to the ground. He then answered William's question at last, with a smile on his face.

```
[☆ "You two looked so happy in that one photo." ☆] 

[☆ "She was your best friend, right? The girl in the photo, your smiles were the first things I noticed." ☆]

[☆ "But there was that other photo of you. You didn't look happy at all. But... That's because she was gone, right? And... Because of that, you can't feel like you can smile like that ever again." ☆]

[☆ "But, despite everything. I don't think what you said was true, William. I'm sure that you're able to be happy, otherwise, we wouldn't be having this talk! You'd be like the William in the other picture, who didn't seem happy at all. But... The William I'm seeing right now is the one in the other photo! The William who's nice, who wouldn't be talking with me right now, the William who gave me biscuits, the same William who also deserves to be happy." ☆] 

[☆ "It can be difficult to be happy, but that's because everyone has their own way of being happy! That's just how people are. And I'm sure that despite everything, you're going to still be happy." ☆]

...

[☆ "And I'm sure she'd be happy to know that too." ☆]


```
Diane
The skull which Sasori presented to him didn't bring a reaction out of him, mainly because he was unable to see it in the first case due to his blindness. As Sasori drew his blade, Meguro readied his. Shuku Enshi had been a black blade since the start of their encounter, charged by mana reinforcement just like Purgatory's Inferno. But while Sasori approached Meguro, the latter wasn't just going to stand there and take it. He prepared his own counterattack, his own signature attack.,
`"You, idiot, never learn, hm..?." `
 At inconceivable speeds, Meguro performed dozens of slashes into the air with his blade, each creating a wound of vaccuum in the air, quickly travelling towards the enraged captain charging straight at him and possibly carrying him along the current that would last 200 feet, whilst performing more smaller wounds all around his body and finally dooming him to fall around 15 meters, if he was caught by the..
`I bet you remember this one very well..-`

```
▬ι══════ﺤ 『"!!VAGRANT RAZOR!!"』 -═══════ι▬▬ﺤ
```
Under this circumstance, the Echoed Ronin would leave their effective range. Yin however was an addition to Sasori's arsenal uknown to Meguro, causing a great surprise and equally great damage. 
**`PLCK!`** First hit, left shoulder. **`PLCK!`** Second hit, left lower thigh. **`PLCK!`** Third hit, grazed cheek. **`SPLRT!`** Fourth hit, left lung pierced.
Blood streamed into his lung and Meguro groaned in pain, but the assault was far from over as more feathers had hit him.
**`PLCK!`** Fifth hit, left forearm. **`SPLRT!`** Sixth hit, guts hit. **`PLCK!`** Seventh hit, right shin. **`PLCK!`** Eigth hit, grazed right arm, **`PLCK!`** Ninth hit, broke right rib.
Meguro sword lashed out at the rest of the feathers, the moment they entered his reach. He was able to tell their exact location and even though none of them were able to hit anymore, the previous few had done great damage to him. He had further difficulties breathing due to the feather bullet that was stuck in his torso within his lung. It had not collapsed, due to the feather pinning it to its location, but Meguro was clearly in pain.
`He coughed a few times "..Bastard..!!" He yelled.`

Manolo too would be in range of the Vagrant Razor, however considering that it was not centered on him, he might have a chance of evading it by sidestepping. If he was hit, he would only receive slash wounds on his right arm and be launched 10 feet away, very close to the edge of the building.
Susan
As the cold wind howled through the night, Sasori flew through the sky, His coat billowing as he did. About halfway from the Edge of the building and the South Group, he would release his blade. He then continued flying and landed on the cold and hard concrete in front of Dioscuri. The impact of hitting the ground was brutal. The impact produced a horrific, wet splat, as if a ripe fruit had been hurled against a stone wall. Bones snapped audibly, mingling with the squelch of ruptured organs. The earth beneath him, unyielding and cold, didn't just receive him; it punished him, embedding fragments of concrete into his flesh. Blood pooled quickly around his form, dark and thick against the pale dust, his cloak absorbing the crimson tide like the embrace of an old, grim friend. Some of the blood might have even gotten on Dioscuri's boots.

A few seconds pass, Then the blood starts to contract back into the Body, Bones, Flesh, Organs, Etc reform, and heal as if nothing had happen. Sasori, opens his eyes and sits up, Looking around he sees a bunch of random people, The Goat and bleeding man that Manolo says was at the ship. With a calm yet unmistakably frigid tone, he apologized:

```
"Sorry about that"
```

He then looks towards the Goat

```
"You Goat and Bleeding Man with the weird detached glove looking thing, I Have questions for you two after I resolve this personal business"
```

Without another word, Sasori sprinted back toward the building from which he had been flung, Stopping halfway to retrieve his blade.
Elfriede
Listening to what Starbi was thinking, an anger was growing within him, but he couldn't understand why. It was the final mention of how she would've been happy that seemed to break something in him, he stopped in his tracks and stared at Starbi, his hand reaching ever closer to his pistol. "I wasn't happy in those first 2 photos because it was war." His tone sounded angry, but also regretful, he continued speaking, "The first one was a group of bandits I led during the revolution, out of those 12. I'm the only one left. The second one was the Great War, the war to end all wars we called it." He took a moment to reflect and continue, "But in truth it ended nothing." His voice sounded stern, full of hate and regret. "That photo of me and her, that was taken before I joined the revolution, in fact she served with me. In both wars she did. She left 3 years ago. She knew what I was, and it cost her life." He began stepping forward towards Starbi, given the small space it wouldn't be hard to cut the distance between the two. The smell of sulfur was becoming more present but there was no fire or smoke that came from his body. No it was coming from his soul. "Only reason I'm being nice now is because I have nothing to lose anymore. You wanna know what I am? I'm a gunfighter, I've killed men, women, children all the same and I sent them straight to fucking Hell!

His tone raised as the sound of brimstone could be heard in his voice, he continued stepping forward, pinning Starbi's back against a wall. "You wish the truth, I don't know one thing about kindness. Only reason I'm nice now, is because of that promise I made her, and if it wasn't for that. I would've shot you in that alleyway." This talk wasn't only because he was angry but to also keep Starbi at a distance, he knows that if he let's Starbi close, then he'll let him down just the same as he did everyone else in his life. It became clear that in each previous encounter, William held back. He held back his aim, his speed of draw, his ruthless fighting. He held back, because of a promise he made to a girl who died over 100 years ago but for him only 3. He then stepped off from Starbi, the smell of sulfur leaving as he continued his walk forward, without looking back towards his companion, he spoke again. "I ain't a good man, I've never been one so don't call me one." His voice sounded sincere but that hint of anger was still present.
Richard
Sidestepping in order to evade Vargant Razor, his new position placed him lower to the ground, knees bent and elbows back. Manolo readied his blade for a quick thrust, given that his knees are now bent and his elbow is pulled back, it would be faster than a regular strike especially given that his strikes were already fast due to his fox reflexes and speed. As his blade thrusted through the air, his ears turned back, and his snarl became louder. The air filled with static electricity, and as the electricity coursed through his rapier blade, it sparked at the edge and tip of his blade. As the blade inched closer to his opponent with speed and deadly precision, suddenly something happened.
***CRACK***
The sound of electricity cracked through the air as Manolo changed the direction of his blade. Given the style of rapier and its fighting style, it allowed Manolo to create what is called a false strike to hide his true one. His blade cut through the air as he shifted his hand position to allow him to use the momentum of his thrust into his now slash across Meguro's chest aimed directly towards the Crow bullet, given the angle and speed not only would it cut Meguro, the slash was directed towards his left effectively cutting off that direction to dodge, but it would also remove the blade from his lung. It was clear Manolo knew the tricks of his captain and the weaknesses of Meguro. Given that his blade was now coursing with electricity, Meguro, if the strike was successful, would have the crow blade removed from his chest causing his left lung to collapse but he will now have a slash across his left side as electricity equivalent to 70 volts charged through his body.
Thomas
"Ahhh, ya' like pullin' rabbits outta hats?" 

Gold has, up until this point, only seen a grand total of one time that The Pitch had anything to do with the hat; not enough to formulate a true connection between the two, either.

"'s a fun trick... More a fana' th' card tricks, myself." Gold just glances up and down between the man, the hat, and the magically-appearing firearm. 

As for the briefcase, Gold's eyes narrow. The OSA Agent can clearly see both of Gold's hands; neither of which currently holding said case. ".. No... Don' possess it. Y' can see ma' hands.."

\- an error. An error in the man's words. A flaw.

Gold hadn't touched the shotgun. So then... Exactly how much has this agent actually *Seen*, and how much is he *Making up*? 

He giggles, a bit sluggish "Aw... Ya' thinkin' too much o' me. If ya' know where I've been, then y'know where those items are, 'specially items ya' know I ain't put ma' hands on..." In reference to the shotgun that the man had just insinuated Gold had taken or touched.

— *Whumpcrrkkk*—

Gold jumps back a bit, surprised wholly by- whoever just made an emergency landing directly in front of him, quickly looking away as the man reformed himself and ran away "Uh- w- yeah, um."

`th' fuck whazzat`

— He clears his throat, attempting to get both the image and sound that he had just witnessed out of his head... "I ain't touch a shotgun since a' got here. Can't help ya' with that. Didn't know 'bout the gun eitha', unless ya' plantin' evidence."
Theresa
Although the streets of the festival were lit up, the shade of the sorcerer's ricehat mostly congealed his face. Despite the rather cold impression, which most would perceive, Endeven respectfully placed his right hand close to his chest and bowed down as Ha introduced him to Kuouo, before personally sharing his name and occupation in an, albeit, minimalistic manner. 
```ini
[✦ "Endeven Dioscuri, Cantum Sorcerer." ✦]
```
The sorcerer remained distant while Kuouo and Ha were chatting. Kuouos behavior made him believe that the two of them were good friends, while Ha on the other hand seemed somewhat unnatural in the interaction, which wasn't really unnatural coming from her. Their interaction reminded him of his own friend, whom he had called to his location as a reinforcement, Blossom, receiving another glance from Endeven. (
```ini
[✦ "Hmmm.." ✦]
```
Kuouo's question left him thinking for a moment. His curiosity about Salhaeja should remain hidden and even more should the premonition of the spirit-koi. That premonition was mainly why he approached the wielder of the koi-fish, but Endeven would not tell the goat infront of him about that. His response was not a lie either though, it was merely missing Endeven's intentions and few details. Since they were in contact, the koifish would be transferred to Kuouo. The shard was an object that Endeven had very little knowledge about, but it was described to be a key to the Spirit-Koi, which was not just useless to him, but would also get in his way as other participants might get in his way over it, most likely the case with Gold. He passed it to Kuouo along with the Koi, completing his and Ha's objective.
```ini
[✦ "I was looking to briefly examine the koi-fish, out of curiosity, but as it turns out mine and Ha's goals for the festival are aligned, so I also assisted her in battle. An exchange of favors if you will, it cannot really be considered as business." ✦]
```
Next their goal would be to track down and investigate the individual of chaos that he had identified within the tunnels of the metro. Endeven acknowledged Sal's request with a nod, but before he could move towards Ha, he backed up from Kuouo as many things suddenly happened almost simultaneously:

1. Oculus Accortex identified fast movement, causing Endeven to immediately dash backwards, away from Kuouo. 
```ini
[✦ "What the-" ✦]
```2. The presence of a pure black soul became distantly detectable to Endevens keen sense of chaos. This one different than the previous one.
3. Sasori landed and splattered into bloody pieces, directly infront of him and Kuouo, close to where he had been standing mere moments ago.
```ini
[✦ "What the fuck??" ✦]
```Endeven stared down at the mess infront of him for a while. Although the shattered one quickly reformed, Endeven was visibly confused and disturbed, mouth agape, as most people would at the sight. His boots and lower pants had been dyed red due to the proximity, but quickly lost their color again, due to the ability that restored Sasori's physical form. As the man rearranged infront of Endeven, he crossed his arms and simply stared at the person. His unperturbed reaction and the audacity to exclaim a request along with blunt nicknames did not help the bizarreness of the situation. He simply stood there and watched as the man rushed off soon after he had appeared. ```ini
[✦ "Weirdo." ✦]
```
He walked around Kuouo, towards Ha. He wanted his staff back and then he wanted to leave the South. Enough is enough. But the arrival of a new combatant might delay the pace at which Endeven get's the peace he desires: Stan Bracken.
Diane
The cursed blade, Shuku Enshi rushed down, creating an afterimage, a Vagrant Cut, meant to force Manolo's rapier away from Meguro. Notably, the cut did not move like the other razors, for a certain reason. Meguro indeed did fall for the faint and Manolo managed to perform the slash across the swordmans chest, however was met by resistance from Shuku Enshi soon after his rapier had made contact with Meguro's chest, causing a small gash, though never actually reaching the feather stuck in his lung. 

`"I'll ask again..."`

The masked individual had no reaction to the wound, considering how minor it was. His Electricity mostly remained away from Meguro, despite what seemed to be contact between the two metallic blades. His sword had moved in, creating a thin barrier of vacuum and a gap between the rapier and Meguro, by stopping the rapier's movement towards him and pushing it upwards to point at the sky. The Vagrant Cut was now completed. It had been following Shuku Enshi's movements since his downward slash geared towards the false attack and had now taken the shape of an equal horizontal slash as Manolo equal attempt on hitting Meguro, ready to travel towards the captains right hand. As it did. 

`"What is your business with me?"`

The Vagrant cut would immediately move towards Manolo, with enough force to push him off the edge of the building down onto the fire exit staircase, 2 meters below the flat rooftop, if he was hit. It was not an attack aimed to kill. Meguro clearly wanted an answer on his bizarre question.
Richard
Feeling the contact on his blade and the movement that forced the tip of his blade upwards, Manolo quickly reacted by driving his hilt into the blade, effectively locking both blades together. Meguro allowed Manolo to dive in close. This would prove to be a mistake on his part, especially with a feral side. With both blades interlocked, it became clear that Manolo was weaker in terms of strength given that his rapier was a one handed weapon while his opponent was able to use both hands for leverage, but Manolo was a fox, a trickster, one who fought Meguro before. With the distance closed between the two, Manolo knew that Meguro would send him off the rooftop, but he was gonna take him with. As the electricity coursed around them both, Manolo's fur stood on end, and his eyes glowed a brighter eerie brown. The growl grew louder, and his teeth showed once more. Given the distance and speed of Manolo, it would be impossible for Meguro to react within a set time. Suddenly, without warning, Manolo bites down onto Meguro's shoulder. His 4 canine teeth pierced the skin, drawing blood, while in the same sudden motion Manolo's dagger, which he has kept hidden, came forward aimed under Meguro's 3rd rib, these attacks would lock Meguro into stance with Manolo but also if the blade was removed his lung would fill with blood, and his shoulder would be injured. Manolo suddenly felt the Vargant cut hit his person and send him launching back, but now with 3 points of contact and interlocking, Meguro would travel with him. The fox is a trickster and so is the rapier, speed is used as both instinct and as skill.
Laura
As Starbi kept walking, he kept that hopeful smile that was on his face as he spoke to William, as a way to encourage him that he deserved to be happy. However, he was a bit oblivious to what the cowboy was feeling when Starbi spoke in response to William asking what was on his mind.

As William stopped in his tracks, Starbi noticed William had stopped walking, which made him stop and turn to William, leaving a distance between the two. When William spoke, the tone in his voice made Starbi feel... Tense, his tone before felt blank, stoic yet calm. But now, his tone seemed angry, it turned Starbi's hopeful smile into one of nervous confusion. William's words resulted in a small `Huh?` escaping from Starbi's mouth in response, Starbi wasn't sure if he said anything wrong, did he?

It was then that William continued, describing the content behind the first two photos that he showed Starbi. As he spoke, Starbi grew more wary but he did his best to try and keep his composure. As William mentioned that the friend in that one happy picture had died, it made Starbi feel a bit guilty, as he wondered if maybe that's what made William upset. It obviously did. 


As William stepped close to Starbi, he made one step backwards, away from the approaching William. His composure weakened for a moment, as Starbi began to feel a bit tense. As William continued, his claim of killing people, men, women, and children, it made Starbi uncomfortable to hear that. Those claims even made his legs feel weak, the yell at the end of that gravely-toned voice making Starbi slightly grimace, keeping his eyes on William. 
** **

Starbi tried moving back again, but it was then intercepted by William pushing him against a wall. Starbi kept his stare, clearly nervous, but kept calm. William then spoke, that if it wasn't for a promise he made, Starbi would've been shot in that alleyway. But despite that threat, Starbi kept his calm. It wasn't an alien concept for Starbi to be threatened, and in turn, he kept his composure. He wasn't going to give in that easily, that's for sure.

William had then let go of Starbi, his eyes were still locked in on William and his head turned to see him walking away. His final words were a request to not call him a good person. An expression of uncertainty brushed on Starbi's face, Starbi's eyes looking away from William. He didn't know what to think of William at the moment, he didn't feel angry, he just felt lost. Lost in thought for a few seconds, Starbi had then let out a sigh, a sigh of *Relief*. And out of nowhere, Joyful Aura returned, as a smile had formed on Starbi's face, despite William's intimidation, it left him still smiling in the end. He recalled that William had asked Sable to protect him. That strengthened Starbi's resolve that William was a good person, He was sure of it.
Venessa
Kuouo smirked as ownership of the koi was tranferred back to him, the crystalline mana trail circling around the bandit once more as he listened in to the Cantum alumni's explanation. Kuouo lightly squinted at Endeven for about as long as it took for the Astra Cantum mage to carefully choose his words. The bandit quickly interpreted that, for whatever reason, Endeven was choosing to withhold information as to *What* He learned from 'briefly examining' the koi and an *In-depth* Reason as to *Why.* Indeed, not a lie, but a device that the bandit has seen time and again or even used himself. Kuouo grasped the shard in his paw, looking to press the Cantum Mage a little to squeeze some more information, but that sentiment was immediately postponed.

```
"Hmn.. So what did ya happen to lear-"
```

Kuouo noticed the blur out of his animalistic peripheral vision, instantly dashing back with his right paw reaching across his waist to hold onto the hilt of Infernium before the flesh meteor made impact. Like an eldritch Rice Krispie, the man instantly *Snapped, crackled*, and *Popped* Followed by a tsunami of blood getting all over the caprine's tanktop. The bandit immediately cringed, reeling back another step as the hideous mass of flesh eventually squelched back to life with a request for the goat and Gold in mind before sprinting away.

```
"... Eughhh, now I got the smell of blood all over me. God fuckin' dammi—"
```

And then a malicious roar echoed across the South. Like a calamity, another meteor touched down in front of the group. The bandit's eye twitched — *'A temporal beast!? No...'* — A closer examination, with the beast matching the same muscular build and smell from earlier, revealed to the bandit that this was his opponent from just a few hours ago, though his form and mannerisms disturbingly a lot more unhinged than what Max was. Kuouo grunted a bit in frustration, deeply securing the shard by stuffing it into his pocket. Though the bandit didn't know it, he too, began to share Fyodor's sentiment about this place getting too crowded. Kuouo readied *Infernium*, taking it halfway out of its sheathe before he realized... An opportunity had arisen. 

With the vengeful, vantablack beast occupied with settling a grudge between him, Gold, and the O.S.A. Agent questioning the psychic, Kuouo worringly glanced back at Ha. The Korean swordswoman, despite being in a relatively better condition than when Kuo first met her, had just gotten through a tough rumble. Furthermore, with the koi and shard now in hand, Kuo felt as if fighting Stan was a needless risk to the pieces of the puzzle he just gained but had yet to solve. Approaching Ha and Endven with the thumb of his paw thrown behind his right shoulder and pointing at the muscular beast, Kuouo made a crude suggestion:

```
"I'unno 'bout you and yer strawberry-flavored friend over there," Kuouo tilted his horn over towards Blossom, "But Ha, I think it'd be better if we make like a tree and get the fuck outta here while he's distracted. We got everythin' we need after all."
```

Indeed, the bandit suggested that they abscond from the area — Not out of cowardice, considering the tension in his body that indicated that he was ready to confidently strike at a moments notice. Rather, he'd prefer to deploy his simple stratagem surrounding preservation of the koi, shard, and further exploration of the mystery and *Prize* Surrounding them.
Cora
```
"I can see that," Fyodor said, his eyes closed. "It isn't on your person, but..."
"——Let's try another angle. I believe you have the shotgun. I 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 you have the briefcase."
"So, the question... Where is it?"```

The blonde-haired man shifted the revolver in his hand, its barrel facing the floor. His eyes opened lightly as he glared toward the man opposite himself, a subtle mana effervescing into existence at his side.

*`"Enchain. Level 1."`*
His lips moved to these words, but only a slight breath pushed forward from them.

A magic circle broke forth from the white mana, and from that circlet broke forth a thin, v-linked steel chain. Fyodor swung the cylinder of the Pitch shut, then pivoted his arm by the elbow to extend the revolver beneath the chain. The chain bound the revolver by its trigger-guard; the man released the weapon, allowing it to hang, suspended by the circle.

```
"If I can't find that briefcase, your presence on festival grounds becomes a liabili——"```

He felt a shift in the air. As Sasori descended, Fyodor preemptively shifted his hand, two fingers pointing at an angle as a large magic circle expanded into existence. Sasori's blood wouldn't even get a chance to sully his clothes, the blonde-haired man opening squinted eyes upon the flattened slab of viscera from behind an arcane barrier.
_ _

*`...What is this?`*

Fyodor hadn't the time to verbally comment on Sasori or his regeneration before the atmosphere began to stir again. A fight was occurring, distantly — he knew this already — but moreover, a darkened — no, *Already pitch-black* — ***`SOUL`*** Was growing closer. A magic user with an awareness of the ***`SOUL`*** As strong as himself would typically have flinched, troubled to the core by such a calamitous presence, but Fyodor was all-too-familiar with the nature of that deeply-disquieting, tar-black spirit. 

*`...Some kind of fucked up test?`*

He only needed to tilt his head slightly to glare at Stan, his pale-silver irises peering harshly toward the monstrous figure of the pitch-black ***`SOUL`***-ed individual approaching him. A swelling sense of impatience gave rise to a subtle ire that flickered beyond his composed, casual surface.

```
"Don't come any closer. I'm busy right now."
"I'll deal with you later," he said, his hands enclosed within his pockets.
"𝘽𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙮 — Level 4."```

Magic glinted between himself and Stan, a large, 5-meter wide magical circle of pale-white, algorithmic-geometric texts separating the black-***`SOUL`***Ed devourer from both Fyodor and Gold. He wouldn't be able to access melee range in the first place, the O.S.A agent preemptively acting to prevent a potential threat from ever growing close to himself.

```
"You've got thirty seconds," Fyodor's eyes returned to Gold, slightly open, and his tone was now full of a brusqueness he had not shown before. "Where's the briefcase?"```
Elfriede
As he walked away from Starbi, the sounds of his footsteps echoed throughout the tunnel, but so did his anger. He suddenly stopped and looked up at the ceiling and cursed himself, whispering under his breath, "Damnit William. He didn't deserve that. It's not his fault." He then looked down at his pistol and took it out of its holster. Observing the pistol he carried for a decade, the fingers of his right hand touched over the engraving on the frame, the initials *W.R.* Were there. His thoughts wandered to the night Bonney gifted him the pistol. The night they both shipped off for the Western Front, Bonney took his revolver and gifted him the new one, custom tuned to aid in accuracy and those initials. The promise he made her. The pain he felt when he lost her. He then placed his pistol back into his holster and turned his head towards Starbi, "C'mon, I'm sorry I lashed out." His voice sounded calmer but also genuine. He motioned with his free hand for Starbi to follow before he turned his head forward and continued walking. He spoke, his tone taking a more apologetic tone, "I'm just old. I'm tired and angry. You didn't know about the war or their deaths." He said as he threw his cigarette away, the smell of sulfur softly becoming fainter with every second. He continued walking in silence for a few minutes. There was still clear tension in the air, but nowhere near what had just happened. He spoke again, "I guess I've always been like this. My mom died when I was near 11, and when she died, it killed the family. My dad, well, he was a bandit. My mom knew what he was but still loved him, but after she passed. He grew cold, and he became mean. So it was only me and my little brother, soon after she came."

These words suggesting to the girl in the photo, but he continued, "I worked for her family, but she ran away. Soon, she stayed with me, and we grew up together. I would work on ranches and do whatever odd jobs I had to in order to make ends meet. One night, while I was playing guitar up on stage, this feller came in and started causing a scene. I threw him out and kept playing, but later that night, while I was walking home, that feller came running up to me with this branding iron. Got a good hit on me, and I hit the dirt." His voice then shifted, William didn't understand why he was telling Starbi about himself. Maybe he felt bad for lashing out, or was it something different? Was it regret? Right now, that didn't matter. He just continued on with his story. "We fought, and I grabbed a rock. I bashed it across his head and turned him on his back. Now I was the one on top. I took the branding iron, and I just kept hitting. I don't know what took over me, I was just so angry that I kept hitting and hitting until nothing was left. _That night, I realized that I was just a reflection of my father._ So I ran away, my brother he was only 14. He didn't understand why I had to leave, and why I couldn't come back. He never forgave me. I went and joined the revolution, there I became meaner and soon I found myself leading a group of bandits. Our orders were to cause chaos everywhere we could. With that much freedom, it didn't take long till we started killing men who weren't even in uniform."

His tone suggested that he wasn't sad but scared? "When that was coming to an end, I went and joined the Great War. I led another unit, and we were part of the harshest battles. First to fight, last to leave. In all that time of combat, in every battle, I never felt bad about taking a life. I just grew angrier." This last sentence showed why he was scared. He was scared of himself, scared of what he was, hating the monster that was him. He continued walking, but now he was not speaking. His eyes remained weary, his body was stiff, and his hands close to his sides. The tortured memories that lay within his head, the anger that builds in his heart. It was then that he spoke again, "I don't know God. I think he's dead, but if I'm wrong and I stand in judgment. I won't repent, I don't deserve it." His voice sounded true, but also broken. A war-torn cowboy stuck in the present. This must be hell for him, and Starbi was his penance. That same joyful aura, and his smile. How it tortures William.
Laura
Starbi remained looking down on the ground before William called out for him. Starbi's rigid resolve that William was a good person remained swirling around in his mind since his sigh of relief with his feelings, his caution, all of it had washed away, in the end, left alone with his smile. Starbi had turned his head to the right, looking at the path he and William had been walking through for a while. He was a bit unmindful of his surroundings as if he was just high on life, however, he was wondering what may have been going on with Endeven and the others, he swore he could've heard some sort of sound, or yell. However, along with a strange feeling, Starbi remembered the promise to Endeven that he'd stay out of the way.

Starbi turned his head to see William turning to look back at Starbi. Starbi's smile turned to one of curiosity as William called for him to catch up, following along with an apology for his behavior to Starbi.
** **

```
[☆ "Oh, it's no worries!" ☆]

```
Starbi spoke, a smile returning on his face as he began to walk at a quick pace to catch up with William. Walking at a small distance, 3 or so feet away from William. Starbi then looked to William as he began to speak, William began to speak, and Starbi listened to William. William seemed to be talking more about himself, more in detail about what he spoke about before, as William spoke, that sympathy Starbi had for him from before returned. William then began to reveal more about himself and his friend. But his retelling of his past took a stunted turn, mentioning how he hurt someone, albeit in self-defense, and in turn led him to go down a dreary path in his life. Despite all the violence William talked about, Starbi still kept his sympathy towards him, he had the feeling that there was more to .

```
[☆ "Well..." ☆]

Starbi then placed his hand on William's shoulder, as a way to comfort him. The noticeable warmth from his hand acting as a way to comfort William's cold dismay.

[☆ "I'm glad you at least got to talk about it. I'm sure that you at least feel better, even if it's a little." ☆]
```
Starbi asked, a concerned, yet hopeful smile forming on his face similar to before, again trying to comfort William amidst his dread.
Elfriede
William didn't expect Starbi to place his hand on his shoulder. He didn't even have time to register a response to what the Starborn said. His body tensed, and his hand reached for his revolver. In one swift motion, the sound of a gun being drawn from leather was heard. William's hand stuck out, holding the Starborn at gunpoint, but this was instinct, not want. As the barrel of his pistol was aimed at the face of the starborn, his finger squeezed the trigger, causing the hammer to slowly but steadily, ready to fire. If one were to look at his eyes at this moment, they would only see the darkness of his brown eyes and the coldness of death that they had seen. His face remained emotionless but hardened, his eyes weary and untrustworthy. The voice of his soul were the only thoughts that echoed throughout his mind, **DO IT**, it repeated louder and louder as the trigger pulled back, *Death* Only a few pounds away 
But in one moment, in that split moment before the break of the trigger, his eyes grew soft, and his hand wavered. He loosened his trigger, allowing the hammer to fall safely into it's resting position, he soon lowered his revolver and placed it back into his holster, refusing to look Starbi in the eyes with each motion he took. He looked away from the starborn and looked down the direction of the path he was taking, he then looked down at his hand and he could've swore that he felt the grip of another's in his. A small flame flickered and died in his hand, and with it, his eyes grew softer but hard at the same. He then turned his back to Starbi and continued walking, and without looking back, his voice filled with shame and guilt, he spoke again, "Don't touch me kid, and don't trust me. I'll hurt you the same as I always have. I don't even know why I'm talking to you." His voice was low and near a whisper, but he continued his way, his head dropped low and brim of his hat covering his eyes.
Laura
In an instant, Starbi's well-meaning demeanor was wiped away. As William's body tensed, it didn't go unnoticed by the Starborn, as Starbi stopped in his tracks, but didn't have enough time to focus on that small detail. As William began to move, out of instinct, Starbi moved his hand away from William. Confused for a moment, the Starborn kept his eyes on William, only for them to be met with a pistol's barrel pointing close to his eyes. Starbi's body jolted, his arms raised accompanied by the palms of his gloved hands facing against the ground, as Starbi's body froze.

Familiar tension had filled the room, only now, it was accompanied by Starbi against a ledge of oblivion. Starbi kept his eyes stuck on the barrel, his smile now painted over with an expression of panic upon the Starborn's face. He didn't know what to exactly do, whatever wrong, or whatever move he could make, may end with a clean hole between his eyes. The only thing Starbi could do was stay in place and watch the barrel with shaken eyes. However, it was strange, before, Starbi seemingly managed to handle William's approach with ease, calming him down in mere seconds, only now he was unable to figure out how to do that again.

As a second or two passed between the two, Starbi's body began to ease, even managing to have his dread fade away for a moment. Starbi's eyes were now not shaking anymore, only staring at the barrel of the gun with familiar composure. A soft sigh escaped from Starbi's mouth, before Starbi's eyes then looked over to William, as the two were now staring at each other, one's eyes filled with caution meeting one's filled with weariness. Who knew what could happen between the two? It was all decided by the literal lift of a finger that would push Starbi over one side of a fence or the other. 
** **
Elfriede
As William continued walking, he took notice of the footsteps behind him but decided not to say anything to the starborn he just held a gun on. A whirlwind of thoughts echoed in his head, memories of war, pain of death, injuries taken in battle. Everything began to take a toll on the gunfighter, but so was the pain from his earlier fight with Gold. As the two walked, William tensed his hand and relaxed it. He controlled his breathing, clear attempts to keep his Shellshock and pain in check, but both attempts were failing. The pain was becoming too much. Taking a moment to stop, he took the rifle off his back and laid it against the wall. He then moved his hands up towards his torso. William took off his jacket and placed it on top of the rifle, using the rifle band as a makeshift coat hanger. He followed this action by taking off of his blood-stained button-up shirt, with each movement, William took no notice or care towards Starbi, but instead only focused on the wound and the memories that laid within his head. *Damnit William, you almost killed him. Hell, why is he still here? Why did I even talk to him about my past, this is rookie mistake.* He thought to himself as he finished taking off his shirt, showing his lean torso which was covered by scars from battles of the past, his dogtags hanged loosely around his neck, no longer kept in place by his shirt.

The scars covered his back, chest, sides, and his upper arms, on the shoulder that Starbi touched in his attempt to comfort William their laid a clear bullet scar, that was still healing, and a scar of a blade which came from a trench raider. The scars that laid across his body were small and many but deep in the skin, but there were two large ones that seemed out of place. The first was a large gash surrounded by a dozen smaller ones that laid on his left hip, and the scars traveled up from his hip to the bottom of his ribs. The scars resembled that which came from shrapnel. The second out of place scar was one on his neck, hidden by the collar of his shirt. This was a smaller scar, a bullet wound, on the right side of his neck. Despite the showing of his scars, William continued to take no care or notice of Starbi. His hands moved with precession as he took the now blood-soaked tie and set it ablaze with his hands. He then grabbed the coat tail of his jacket and tore strips of the fabric to use as bandages, using the strips of fabric he wiped away the blood from the wound and with his other hand reached onto his belt for a bullet.

With bullet in hand, he placed the tip of the bullet between his teeth and separated the casing from the bullet, he then poured the gunpowder onto the wound and dropped the empty casing onto the floor, reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the Trench Lighter and sparked a flame, and suddenly the powder caught a blaze, effectively cauterizing the wound. "Fuck!" Were the only words that came from his mouth followed by a low growl, his tone showed that he was in pain doing this action. Nearly falling over and dropping his lighter from the pain, William reached out his hand and used the wall to keep his balance, the sound of his tags hitting eachother echoed throughout the tunnel, taking a moment to regain his composure he put the lighter into his pocket and continued his work by using the leftover strip as a bandage to wrap around. From these actions, it was clear that William had training and experience. William took a moment to regain his balance and thoughts, finally taking notice of Starbi. He spoke with a cold, dead tone, "How much longer is this walk?" He asked as he placed his shirt back on and buttoned it back up, once again hiding his scars. He reached down, wincing in pain, and picked the casing off the floor placing it into his pocket, standing back up and regaining his balance he reached towards his jacket and placed it back on. Now finally looking at Starbi, meeting his eyes, there was a clear expression of pain and weariness in his eyes, as he slinged the rifle back over his shoulder and continued to stare at the starborn, wordlessly his left hand reached for his cigarette pack and placed one into his mouth.
Misty
Endeven uses his new move, quasar temporis, to skip irl time to where the festival is over
Also he uses quasar locus: banish to destroy the brain of that guy jenova
Laura
Starbi remained walking behind the cowboy, nothing but a small smile on his face as he looked to the ground. He was in thought, specifically remembering what he had said to William before the first time Starbi had upset William. Those words were in an easy battle against the relatively fresh memories of the aftermath of both times Starbi tried to console William, and how it ended in Starbi being threatened one way or another. In the end, Starbi's thoughts of hope easily won against those memories, now buried under a veil of trust. 

Starbi stopped due to his friend William stopping in his tracks. Watching as William took the rifle off of his back to lay it against the wall and then began to take off his coat and shirt. Starbi looked at William's face, he didn't have much of a notable expression besides the familiar stern expression on his face. Along with the dog tags for a moment, Starbi then took notice of a scar on William's shoulder, remembering it as the same shoulder he placed his hand on, maybe that's why William responded like that, Starbi's eyes looked away for a moment, thinking due to a cold drop of guilt, wondering that maybe it was his fault for scaring William like that.

 With those thoughts discarded, Starbi then began to think about other things, something about where the two are exactly. Now focused on something else, Starbi decided to take out his phone with the intent of trying to discern where the two are right now, and for an exit out of this metro. In the meantime, Starbi wondered about maybe listening to some music, but his line of thought was interrupted by William's loud swearing. Starbi turned to look at William struggling to keep his balance, in instinct, Starbi jolted and then took a step a few feet closer to William.
** **

```
[☆ "Are you okay?" ☆]

He asked, worried for William. Starbi watched as William thankfully regained his posture. It was then that William had spoken to Starbi, asking how long until the two would be out of here. 

[☆ "Oh! Uh..." ☆]

Starbi then looked back to his phone, making his way to an application on his phone, the phone acting as a source of light within the metro. Trying to read the two's location, Starbi responded.

[☆ "Well, I'm not exactly sure. We're what some would call a metro! It's kind of like a maze with set routes for trains to go to different places. So we may come across some different paths if we keep walk—!" ☆]

Starbi spoke, before stopping in the middle of his sentence, as he got an idea that he thought may help the two find who William was looking for. 

[☆ "Wait! We're looking for that girl who took the koi fish, right? I think I know how we can find her somehow! We can find her as long as we just keep going north!" ☆]

```
Starbi responded, looking at William, his face lit up with joy with his new idea, Joyful Aura taking hold of a strong presence, washing away the awkward tension between the two. As Starbi turned his head to his right, pointed down the path the two had been taking when he mentioned the word north.
John
```ini
[". . .THAT ONE CONCERNS ME. I AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT OF THE FARM ANIMAL. IT IS UNSAFE HERE."]
```
Allen
``"Yes, I think we should go now."`` Ha plainly agrees with Kuouo's idea, sensing Endeven's approaching footsteps. Of course— he must've wanted his item back, the Bo Kanpakua heirloom that was given in their exchanged agreement. Such a thing may've been forgotten by the swordswoman had she not been in her enhanced state, but that wouldn't be a problem here. She removed the stranger's staff from her sword's sheathe, having safely kept it in there for the duration of the battle, and held it out towards Endeven's general direction so as to allow him to take it back. ``"Here."``

Salhaeja had a couple of things to think about and/or address, of which required them *Not* Being here to do so in an ideal scenario. That ever so-interesting conversation with Endeven and revealing misinformations, but also the fact that his mana was likely depleted at the moment and wasn't fit to do battle with whatever exactly that black amalgamation was that shared their company. He possessed the nature of their concurrent enemy, yet had not been on his radar, nor their newfound ally as far as he knew. Focusing on one at a time would serve them well, anyway, especially when better prepared to handle them. The goat had a tournament to get back to playing in, as well as whatever mysteries that interested him regarding the Koi. There was value in its knowledge, apparently. He considered the possible dilemma that Gold, a momentary friend in combat was facing, but decided that the elusive Fyodor would keep him safe for his interests. That one. . . It'd be wise to keep an eye on him from afar, and he intended to do so.

_ _
``"Where should we leave too?"`` Ha asked, as if inquiring both Kuouo and Endeven. Salhaeja was uncertain if they'd be willing to align themselves furthermore then this meeting, but it ultimately didn't matter too much. Endeven's goals were the priority being they most aligned with the swordswoman, but Kuouo still had means of being critical support regardless of what he did. There was still much to be done at this festival despite the hours passed, much to be addressed and combated sooner or later as per obligation of the Hunting Agency. The job had hardly begun, and now was not the time to get complacent. Powerful words to be exchanged, principal threats to be discovered, intense battles to be waged like clockwork in a facet that echoed what being a hunter was about, not that Ha herself was the type to care about that. Such things merely were the nature of Sal's agenda.
Elfriede
Watching as Starbi suddenly took steps closer, William instinctively placed his hand onto his revolver, hand tensed and ready to draw, but upon hearing him ask if he was okay, his hand relaxed but still placed on the six shooter. Listening to what Starbi said about the path to take and being told what a metro was, he began to think. *Jesus, he's just like a kid. I just held a gun on him and threatened him, but he's still offering help. And so joyful while doing it, too. I'm a godamn fool.* He thought to himself as he softly nodded his head and lifted his left hand to light the butt of his cigarette. As the flame appeared in his hand and the smoke began to fill the air, the flame vanished and he proceeded to hold the cigarette between his fingers, William took a long thoughtout drag before removing his hand and dropping it to his side, cigarette still between his fingers. Looking away from Starbi to prevent the smoke from being pushed into his face, William exhaled, watching the smoke fade into the air as it exited his lungs. He stayed silent for a bit, the expression of thought ever present on his face, he then looked down the tunnel that Starbi pointed towards and then down to his hands, one still gripping the handle of his revolver and the other holding the lit cigarette. He watched the faint glow as it flickered, and smoke came from the ashes. His breathing sounded calm, eyes filled with thought but face expressionless. It was then he spoke, voice calm and stoic, "I always hated these things when i was younger. Look kid, I don't know why you're helping me." His head moved up to look at Starbi's eyes. "I just held a six shooter on you and threatened you just a bit ago. Either you're batshit crazy or you truly are naive."

The last few words had a hint of concern in his voice but he continued on, "Word of advice. Don't trust me kid, I'm about as shifty and quick as a rattlesnake. You'll either end up dead or in prison if you stick with me. Dead is the most likely." His words rang with honesty and truth. His eyes were filled with weariness as he spoke these words to the starborn.
Laura
A few seconds passed, as the starborn kept his determined pose, keeping his optimistic expression. A few more seconds passed without some form of response to William, Starbi's determined pose vanished, turning to William with a confused expression due to his silence. Starbi kept staring before William turned to him and spoke, what William said were words of confusion from his end, how he was confused as to why Starbi would still be offering help despite everything that happened so far. 

But then, William offered some form of advice to Starbi, warning that trusting William would only reward him with death, or imprisonment. With these words of advice, a sense of nostalgia phased through Starbi, it felt like the conversation with Endeven. However, Starbi responded with a small shake of his head, a smile on his face returning.
** **

```
[☆ "Well, I guess that you can think of it like that!" ☆]

Starbi responded with confidence,

[☆ "To me, all I see is just me helping out a friend! I don't think there's anything wrong with that! Plus, I'm sure that things are gonna be okay!" ☆]

Starbi assured, keeping a determined smile on his face.

[☆ "Whatever happens, I'll take my chances! I'm gonna help you get out of here! I'm confident that everything will be okay! I'm still here smiling, so I'm sure that I'm doing something right!" ☆]

Starbi added with confidence before he regained his determined pointing pose, only now was he pointing at William. As Starbi pointed at him, a breeze of Joyful Aura flowed through William's direction, possibly washing away any sort of turmoil he had.

[☆ "There are people like me who believe in you, so I'm sure you should believe in yourself too!" ☆]
```
Starbi assured, keeping his smile. Although his words may have been a little bit inconsistent as a response to William's words, it was clear that he was trying to reassure William that nothing bad would happen.
Venessa
Like machine gun fire, the vengence-filled menace's punches reverberated through the south from the sheer impact of his flurry against the magic barrier. Kuouo, staring at beast out of the corner of his eye, snapped his gaze back over to the swordswoman agreeing with his own sentiment. The bandit nodded quickly in affirmation, turning towards Endeven to see if he, too, agreed with the notion to get the fuck up outta Dodge. However, as Ha began to raise a question the bandit didn't have the answer to quite yet, Kuo immediately felt an instinctual pressure lock onto him. This unpleasant feeling compelled the bandit to glance back towards the magical barrier that encircled Fyodor and Gold. Outside its perimeter, amethyst, leering eyes pierced the darkness towards the caprine before being consumed by vantablack. In what seemed like a flash, the bandit was already three meters away from where he was initially standing, fire dancing below his paws before Infernium was sent forth from its sheathe on pure reaction.

```
"—!! The fuck!?"
```

Kuouo grimaced, his paw immediately stopping Infernium's momentum forward before it collided with Stan's chest. The bandit wondered if his instinctual attack would have even worked, considering his opponent's rather sturdier build — At least, that's what he could infer, considering Stan didn't seem to be fazed whatsoever from wailing on such a sturdy magical barrier. Nevertheless, Kuouo recalled Infernium back into his paw, still at the ready as the beast introduced themselves in a... Brooding? Edgy? Yeah, definitely edgy manner.

```
"... Yeesh, someone's been readin' too much manga." The bandit muttered to himself before also straightening his posture from a fighting position. "So yer name's Stan and yer takin' control of yer brother's body, who — and lemme see if I got this right — tried t' beat the shit outta me while I was riddled with bullet wounds and now wants to be all buddy-buddy with me even if I dipped out on our lil peace-treaty discussion back with the cowboy."
```


Kuouo's eye twitched a bit in disbelief. If it were anyone else within Terra Sancta, he'd immediately call 'bullshit!' But... Something about Stan being so unapologetically edgy coupled with the sudden orange chains that held his body from unleashing — angel knows what kind of strength — Made the statement hold some weight. The bandit crossed his arms with the hilt of Infernium still comfortably hidden within the folds.

```
"Suuuuuuuuuuure. Fiiiiiiiine." Kuouo hung his head to the right and lightly smacked his lips before sighing. "Arright, if yer real about this, then first things first, y'can call me Kuouo." He stated, offering the first leafling of an olive branch. "And if ya wanna make things all amicable and what not, then ya both gotta promise not t' go after me, the fish, my friend Ha, or our acquaintance Endeven 'ere." 
```

Kuouo hesitantly held out his left paw yet his sharp eyes peered into Stan's face. Although nothing but darkness enveloped what would be the Devourer's eyes, it was almost as if Kuouo was directing his words towards Max instead of Stan. If anything, this meant that at the very least, there'd be one less person on his fluffy tail — ``Hell, maybe the cowboy won't even shoot me if he happens t' see me again...`` The bandit smirked, swapping Infernium over to his right paw and holding out his left.

```
"We can even shake on it. Howzzat?"
```

``"Well, guess what Raven said was true. I am a fuckin' idiot sometimes."``

Kuouo's grip on Max's hand was not completely shattered, but it continued to fracture the longer Max held on. Indeed, with such a steel grip and no means to pull back, the bandit's heart raced as pain rushed to his paw, feeling an instinctual urge to buckle at the knees — However, and more importantly, two seconds of contact had already passed, putting Kuo's possession of the Koi in danger. With a pained grimace and determination in his eyes, mana surged through Kuouo's body. With SOUL MANIFESTATION still in effect, raw flames began igniting around his forearm, flaring up for a split second before internalizing once more. Grinding his teeth, the bandit managed to quickly circulate mana in his paw. The internal reinforcement was quite imperfect, but for the moment he had managed to utilize it, it reduced further injury to great effect.

``3 and a half seconds have passed.``

Kuouo quickly stabbed Infernium. Not into Stan's iron-like flesh, but rather, in-between their clasped hands in order to leverage Kuo's paw from Stan's. Steel-like flesh against SOUL-enchanted steel glowing a bright orange, Kuouo managed to strengthen his arm further, yanking his paw away and blazestepping backwards about three meters to where he was previously, sharply inhaling through his teeth. The bandit grunted, a bit annoyed that he ate both of his Medeian gryos and that the Royal Physician was more than a bit far away. Once again, he was pitted up against this opponent at a disadvantage.

```
"Ggh, bastard. I'unno what I was thinkin'." Pain radiated from his palm, to his wrist, all the way up to his ulna, but he had managed to dash away with only a few hairline fractures in his paw. "... Though I'd rather break my hand tryna make amends rather than gettin' shot from 50 yards out." He sighed to himself, rubbing his paw against his tanktop and slightly whining. Nevertheless, he readied himself for Stan's next move, unconcerned about landing a blow on the Devourer but rather his innate durability — The likes of which the bandit had seldom seen.
```
Elfriede
As he listened to Starbi speak and point towards him, his expression changed from confusion to one of surprise and back to confusion. He softly nodded his head and brought his left hand back to his mouth to take another drag off his cigarette, blowing the smoke to the side so Starbi wouldn't be hit in the face by it, William took a moment to think, his stance softened and so did his eyes, visibly affected by whatever aura Starbi surrounded him. He then began to speak, "Jesus you're naive but you're alright I guess. You remind me of this kid I knew, he's gone now but he was nice. Even during the revolution he always held a smile on his face, he was a good memory during hard times." His voice sounded somber but also proud. Proud to have someone such as him in his group. He then turned back around and walked down the direction that Starbi indicated would lead to his destination. He spoke, his tone suggested he was happy even if slightly, "C'mon we're burning midnight oil. Hurry up the pace, we got a lady to find." He said as his pace quickened.
Thomas
That's okay. Even if the circle hadn't been constructed, Gold had already formulated a plan- his ignoring of the devourer was not absolute. There was a way around him.

".... Ya' gotta give me more insurance than that." He speaks directly, "What, with th' threatenin' 'n'at; not ta' mention the fake accusations."

So it was confirmed, then, that Fyodor had not seen absolutely *Everything*, but additionally had made incorrect guesses. Or, maybe not guesses, but just false accusations in attempt to discredit Gold. In that case, then, it would be wise to not seek moving to another location — keeping people *Around* To witness it seemed the best course of action.

...

Gold turns, watching the interaction for a split second between the Devourer and the goat man, before swiftly resetting his attention back to Fyodor. 

`That was fuckin' weird...`

"I ain't trust ya'." He states, giving the man another look up and down. "I say anythin', 'r... Feed int' this..- whateva' ya' sayin', how do I know ya' gonna uphold th' deal?"

Before, of course, once again turning his head at the sound of Stan's bellowing about whatever deal he had just turned down. Best to make at least *Some* Kind of ally if the going gets tough.
Cora
Each time one of Stan's fists hammered against the arcane barrier, he could feel its thinness and the reverberation of his own strength, impacting, against what felt like like an incongruously-durable glass window. For a barrier made on the fly, its strength was quite remarkable—especially considering how contradictive to its own sturdiness the sensation of striking against it felt. What held the boundary together — the magical shield still physically separating the two — was Fyodor's hand, which remained outstretched about halfway, unfurled and held toward Stan as the latter continued his assault on the barrier. His pale eyes, slightly slit open, glared toward the antagonistic force crashing against his construct, a degree of focus necessitated by force of the assault.

```
"I'll deal with you later, I said." Fyodor said, his eyes closing. A small series of cracks fractured across the surface of the barrier the moment the pale light of his gaze was hidden."𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳."```

And just like that barrier, the veneer Fyodor had been putting up began to crack. There was a distinguishable sense of ire that had surfaced upon his face, his brow furrowed as a strong tension wrought by hostility began to form in his presence. The remembrance of everything he had been taught — every word *Engrained* Into him — began to pound, repetitively, like a chant in his mind.

_ _
*`you... Aberration... Vessel of chaos... Monstrosity... Enemy... Enemy... Enemy...`*

```
"This isn't a deal." Fyodor made a declaration, as his attention began to shift away from Gold. In a way, though his patience was running thin, much of the vehemence that was being summoned from him was alleviated by its redirection toward the true subject of his ire: that embodiment of chaos——the 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙢 stood beyond both him and Gold."𝑰 am all that is withholding your disqualification. I'm not going to bargain with you."```

He gazed at Stan — who was now close and conversing with Kuouo — and took a step forward, flicking his hand upright, over his shoulder, arcane light dazzling into existence at his side. The light spread thin into a series of two-dimensional algorithms, geometric shapes and esoteric texts, the span of a magic circle beginning to form and expand behind him.

*`...Disgusting...`*
The notion that that he had already overstayed his welcome had already emerged in Fyodor's mind minutes ago. He wasn't supposed to be here for more than a small visit — to end the fight, acquire information, and to relay the rules — then disappear, back into his distant, invisible state of arbitration. Gold's withholdance of the key piece of information he was searching for set into motion this whole series of circumstances that further and further tested his ire, stalling long enough that the situation grew increasingly more distasteful—crowded, murky, *Disorderly.* But what brought him to his limit was the emergence of something that forced a response from his hand: something he considered an affront even simply *Existing.*

_ _
A ***`SOUL OF CHAOS.`*** 

With Stan's emergence, his animosity reached its acme.

```
"Haetae."
"Come out."```
Lisa
A silhouette broke from the magic circlet, a three-dimensional object emerging from a two-dimensional projection. The surface of the magical circle — a portal — was perpendicular to Fyodor himself, as a hand surfaced from the light of the geometry at its centerpoint. Her leg came second: the form of a shorter woman, long, periwinkle hair extending as bangs along her brow, the majority of its volume captured in a bun tied by a black bow behind her head. A dark, desaturated-blue mana was already surging off her form as she arrived.
Cora
```
"New directive."
"We're taking control of this fucking 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴."```

Fyodor slid his hands through his hair as he began to approach Stan, though still talking.

```
"Three unidentified combatants in the distance. They're not on the 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩. Otheruniversals."
"Contain the collateral damage. Do not engage with them. If I enter combat, return to me."```
Lisa
*"The 'list'...?"*
"Mm.. Okay. Gotcha..."

She did not give a spirited response, but seemed understanding nonetheless. With a single bound forward, the woman had already burst into a sprint that far exceeded human capabilities, propelled forward by her incredibly superhuman strength. She had begun to take the tail of Sasori, Manolo, and Hikaru, her mana compressing about her body into what seemed like water-like droplets of condensation. But before one could even fully visually confirm her appearance, she had already treaded deep and disappeared into the darkness of the derelicted district of the city.
Cora
```
"You've got ten seconds, thief. This is the last time I ask you: where's the briefcase?"```

Fyodor was already well beyond Gold — probably some five-to-eight meters' distance from him — yet still maintained the strongness of his tone and in the assurance that he would disqualify him if he was dissatisfied with his answer; he was confident that he still possessed complete control over the situation, regardless of where he stood. But now he was approaching Stan, as though to enter an engagement.

```
"...An enemy of everything we work toward..." he muttered, as one would a mantra.
"...You're the enemy of... The ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ I've been building."```

There was hardly anything more antagonistic to a man with affiliations like Fyodor than an agent of *Chaos.*
There was a great reason that the O.S.A was contracted as one of the major defense forces of this Festival.
They were here to keep those very cataclysms in check—those like the one now standing before him.
But it seemed as though there was something more that fueled the agent's unhindered resentment — it was almost comparable to a religious fervor.

***```
"Catenā me operibus tuīs supernīs."
"𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐍  — LEVEL 7."```***

Magical circles began to manifest in series behind the blonde-haired man, creating a heptagonal formation that effervesced with a potent, white light. The chains had not yet been made manifest, though seemed ready to erupt into existence at any given moment: they were restrained, the magicks that would give them form condensing deep within the theoretical space that gave form to all Fyodor's spells. The algorithmic texts upon their surface glowed effulgently behind Fyodor, shifting, spinning, like a halo suspended behind his back.
Harold
Gets rid of Starweaver Vates (you decide how).

*As the great devourer used his hand to try and shatter the thief's bones, he'd notice how the goat would try to free his hand to get away from a broken hand. The method would work in having Stan let go of Kuouo's hand, but not before Stan pulled Kuouo closer and grabbed him by the neck with his other hand as he lifted him up into the air. Tightening his grip around the Bandits throat to start choking him out.*

"First you take my brother's hat off his head and allow it to get stolen, actually NO! You tried to STEAL from him and tried to play it off! Then you got his hat stolen, and yet you STILL try to make a deal with us!? I should crush your throat to the size of a fucking PENCIL!"

*You could hear the anger in each of the devourers words, his bright amethyst eyes flaring up like a flame with each word. His body starting to twitch and shake with anger, pent up hatred that hadn't been let out in thousands of years all directed toward a singular individual in the current moment.*

`Kuouo.`

"I will use your corpse as a sleeping bag! Make your head into a mug! Use your fingers as toothpicks for when I EAT! YOUR! FLESH!"

*He still held the bandit in the air up until a sudden burst of rage hit him and in the moment he picked the raised the bandit and slammed him into the floor as hard as he could before finally letting go.*
 
`Stan... He's had enough. Just let him go, he's not worth it. Remember what mom had told us... What she taught us. Before she... Left us for good...`

"Find peace in yourself, when you can't see it in others. And forgive whoever, no matter the wrong done. I wretch hearing these words due to my very nature, my creation as something no more than a destroyer. A devourer. A catalyst for the death of millions.Yet I can't seem to get these words out of my memory, as if they've been etched into my very SOUL."

*Stan stood still for a second while questioning his entire purpose, what he was, who he was. He was created as nothing more than a walking blackhole.*

*A machine with a singular goal and purpose, or atleast that's what he thought he was. His entire purpose was shattered the moment he found a person who didn't suit his look on the people he saw for years on end, an anomaly which he had no way of knowing about. Max and his mother. Two people who changed his view on what people could be like, that everyone wasn't made to be anything specific could always change in time. It made him wonder, it made him ponder, it made him. Confused.*

"I'll just kill him here and now! NO FORGIVENESS! NO MERCY!"

`STAN WAI-`

*Both stopped as Stan's true eyes flared and up and looked to his side in confusion, he then slowly turned around and looked at Fyodor who was slowly approaching and made the devourers already growing hatred boil over.*

"What the fuck do you want! First you said you'd deal with me later, now you wanna try something?! I'm not here to mess around, attack me and see what fucking happens I DARE YOU!"

*The devourers amethyst eyes flared up up more then ever before as he readied himself to fight, he didn't know what would happen if multiple people tried to attack at once but he wouldn't run like a coward. He's not a weakling who resorts to running away as unless it's a last resort.*

"I will not be imprisoned again, not after all of these years! You can't make us go back to being nothing more the savages that need to be put in CHAINS!"

`Stan...`
Venessa
In the half-second of freedom granted to the bandit, Max Bracken attempted yet another devious grapple to the caprine's throat. Locked in and with movements as quick as greased lightning, Kuouo audaciously extended both of his arms outward and slipped under the Devourer's grasp, swiveling around behind Stand and quietly snickering before blazestepping away in the manner previously stated. After cursing to himself, inspecting his slightly broken left paw, and concerning himself over Stan's durability, the bandit glanced up, Infernium pointed at Stan with a sharp bravado and guised smirk coupled alongside it.

```
"Ah well, it's really my fault that I thought someone with th' intelligence of an angry, drunk teenager would let bygones-be-bygones." Kuouo lightly snickered, tapping the temple of his own head with Infernium. "... But I promise, by the end of this, the only thing you'll be eatin' is dirt!" The bandit bluffed.

```

Stan reverberated with a strong anger that would shake the world around him in any other anime, deeply focused on making sure the bandit would be eviscerated by the time he was done with him... So why did Kuouo persist in goading him? The bandit's pupil twitched to the side, diverting his attention to *Fyodor* For a fraction of a second before locking back onto Stan. In Kuouo's mind, all he had to do was stall Stan and keep him in the general vicinity so the O.S.A. Agent could properly deal with the *Cataclysm* After finishing up his business with the psychic. Beyond his sight, Kuouo could hear a woman seemingly summoned from nowhere before absconding with new instruction to intercept whoever was on this 'list', followed by one last attempt at interrogating Gold. All the while, Stan stood in front of Kuouo, seemingly deep in conversation with Max and the own depths of his SOUL.

```
"...? Those're some profound words, but what the HELL are ya talkin' abou—"
```

*```
"Catenā me operibus tuīs supernīs."
"𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐍 — LEVEL 7."
```*

Fyodor, finally getting his priorities in line, began approaching Stan with binding magicks at the ready. The bandit let out a quiet sigh of relief, extinguishing the flames around his body and putting Infernium back into its sheathe while Stan was distracted by the O.S.A. Agent. Quickly dashing back over to Ha, Endeven, and the pink-haired mime that has yet to talk whatsoever.

```
"Hey, so this'd be our second perfect chance to dip the fuck outta here if you wanna be real."
```
Thomas
"Y' seem pretty sure of ya'self f' someone who didn' pay th' full attention..." Gold grumbles, side-eying Stan — of course, his words weren't *Meant* For the beast, instead targeting Fyodor, but remaining on-guard just in case the barrier waned further. His eyebrows raise as the woman emerges, only grabbing a very small, swift, and blurry image of her visage - `Kinda cute.` - `but, 'm spoken for.` A quick correction. Such thoughts would get him in trouble if his other half were around to observe them!

Watching now as the man turned his attention towards the Amazing Bulk, `'r whateva' that thing's name is`, Gold speaks once more "On th' casino roof. I ain't gonna lug somethin' 'round that ain't useful 'r important..." 

Hopefully an answer good enough.

Even despite this, his eyes continue scouring; locating his exit point should the situation get even hairier. `Still there...`
Eugene
You will be banished
Allen
The swordswoman remained firmly stationary with her blade in her right-handed grip within a defensive position, sort of absent-mindedly looking around excluding meaningful analysis or thought process, much akin to a malfunctioning machine. She was somewhat perplexed with how the situation was progressing, and the lack of input or commentary from Salhaeja only served to reinforce this hurdle— her *Misunderstanding* Was not unusual in and of itself, especially in her Reversed State, but the silence from metal-entrapped companion was conversely strange. Talking was all he could do, literally.

The Slayer needed a moment to think about things, barring any interruptions from the would-be destructive forces nearby. Not *Just* His next move, either— more-so about what has happened thus far in general at the festival. Endeven had grown abnormally silent, and the farm animal yet again suggested they leave in light of his newly discovered rival being distracted by the untrustworthy Fyodor alongside his new cast member(s), friend and foe. He was correct, that said; if ever a good opportunity to make an exit amidst the growing chaos, it was now.

_ _
If his warrior were to battle Stan, she would be outmatched. Considering that Endeven and Ha were unable to subdue the likes of Sable without great fortune, it stands to reason that battling the creature ahead of them would be a mistake, not to mention that clearly End's mana was significantly depleted— even without any notable SOUL techniques currently accessible, Sal could tell. The only reason he initially hesitated was because theoretically, Stan met the criteria of the sort of 'force' that they were supposedly hunting down here at the festival. However, after reconsideration, it was likely that although problematic, the fact that the creature had been *Allowed* To roam the streets of the celebration up to this point indicated that he was not a priority target, or perhaps not even a target to begin with. Moreover, Fyodor was preparing an attack sequence that The Slayer could uniquely discern as a highly refined form of old sorcery. While it was true that he was skeptical of the agent, Stan would most certainly suffer grave consequence assuming an extended combat scenario. The man's patience was waning, viewing the former as a pest to be exterminated among others. So, effectively speaking, he'll likely handle him in any case. Distrust remained, but that'll have to be monitored from afar. It *Could* Relate to why they were here.

_ _
The issue that plagued his mind had little do with the aforementioned concerns, really. Salhaeja was starting to question whether he had *Truly* Prepared Ha enough for this setting. True, he blamed himself for the mishap with that teleporting rodent, but even so, if his wielder could not excel against her nor Stan, who's to say she'd stand a chance against greater enemies that no doubt were on the horizon? Was she simply not. . . Strong enough, yet? And to die here was a reality he could not accept, hardly even an inch towards his ultimate goal. What if he were to leave, right now? No longer did they have any obligation to the goat Medei, and Endeven seemed plenty capable on his lonesome, didn't he? It is only wise to give up when outmatched. A warrior knows that. . . Except that's not what she is anymore. She would only see it as failure, and nothing more nor in-between. But does he? Was coming here a mistake? It was already nightfall, and they hadn't even seen their supposed enemy yet. All this talk of neutralizing a threat that was still nowhere to be seen. . .

_ _
. . .But no, he wouldn't entertain the idea in spite of everything. Salhaeja refused to believe that she was too weak nor that their unclear mission was insurmountable, not until proven otherwise. It must've been that his own strategic ability had faltered thus far. For example, failing to detect or consider Sable's magical intuition during their blundered sneak attack. *He* Had to be better in his own role of putting her into successful positions. That was the problem, not her. A tactical, immediately correctable issue, and it was his job to discern the threat, too. Intangible responsibilities belong to him solely.
John
```ini
["I HAVE DECIDED. WE ARE TO LEAVE, NOW."]
```
The words of Salhaeja not only echoed through Ha's mind—but extended into Endeven's SOUL channel as well, insisting that they vacate the area at once aligned with Kuouo's suggestion. His moment of contemplation had wasted too much time, and regardless, he had come to a conclusion. This is where they had to be.
Allen
The swordswoman acknowledged the words of Salhaeja alongside the subsequent, specific instructions of where exactly she was to go directionally speaking and the restated layout of where she currently was. She turned to face the direction of Kuouo, her visionless gaze behind her sunglasses fixed on the entryway wall. She would lift her presently unused blade, pointing it vertically— and then, slowly, move it leftwards in the air, until she came to an abrupt stop, almost as if *Told* To do. Her sword would end up on somewhat smaller, climbable but still sizable Mesa building towering above the tunnelway. That was the rendezvous he suggested.

``"I think we can go there. I will go now."`` 

Ha bluntly says to both Kuouo and Endeven— which was followed by her *Bolting* From towards a nearby wall, hopping upwards and using her legs to push off against said wall backwards, reaching the *Alternating* Wall, and then repeating this motion several times until completing her acrobatically inclined, video-game like exit, bouncing back and forth with urgency. Salhaeja suggested she 'use her agility', and this was her interpretation of that command. 

She would only assume the two of them would follow her, but her telepathic friend would was capable of navigating any communication problems or related difficulties. For what it was worth, while taking on the Koi in and of itself was largely a selfish choice, the value of their resulting partnership with the goat Medei was vital. As for Endeven, they still had things to talk about. Old stories.
Cora
The agent's sharp gaze over his shoulder faded the moment what key information he sought had been divulged. From thenceforth, every thought regarding the man whom he once had deemed an utmost thorn in his side dissolved behind the chain of priority that now presented itself before him. His visage returned to his forefront and his eyes opened, pale-silver and aflare with the light of an astonishingly intense mana flow, a coded energy fuming palpably off his body. Wide-open and eerie in their unnatural color, his eyes were situated with an obsessive focus upon the form of the one whom he had challenged. That cataclysm—that __**`SOUL OF CHAOS`**__—before him... His own **`SOUL`** Cried out with such a forceful and honed animosity that it set the world around him into a blur, only allowing for the existence of himself, the magic he wielded, and the presence of an **Enemy** In his sight before him. He continued to march forward.

*```
 "...enemy." ```*

The O.S.A's existence is one currently operating under a simple pretense: to identify, control and exterminate the presence of temporal threats — black-**`SOUL`**Ed __**`TEMPORAL BEASTS`**__.
But those who are more familiar with its internal structure have come to understand that its origins do not come from as simple a place as its modern iteration. Before it was an association, it was a religious creed, possessing a single fanatical obsession that led them to that same end goal of total *Extermination.*
While the presence of that creed has almost entirely faded away, there continues to exist evidences of its history still enduring within its ranks: the cinders of what fervor has yet to burn away.

```
"Figire."```
_ _

He now stood at about eight meters' distance from Stan. Without sparing his opponent further a word, Fyodor violently thrust both of his arms outstretched far ahead of himself, as all seven of the magic circlets hovering at his back hummed in unison, launching like streams of light directly in flow toward Stan. As they would enter about a meter's distance from him, they would rapidly shift course one-after-another, curving about and around him and then abruptly stopping, such that he would be positioned at the center of all seven with all of their flat faces directed straight toward him. They travelled with an impossible precision that allowed them to follow his every motion in real time — as sure and exact as the geometric glyphs inscribed upon their faces, they would remain in a perfect circle formation around Stan. Salhaeja had surmised rightly—Fyodor was not using a technique of his own contrivance, but rather an intensely refined form of an ancient sealing magic.

Powerful silver chains spit forward from the hollow at the center of the two-dimensional magical circles: **In effect, a chain was being launched at Stan from every side**. The very same thing his *Enemy* Had voiced his rejection of, Fyodor would attempt to force upon him: enchainment, as though he were no more than a savage beast. He would not afford him even the opportunity to make the first move, each chain guided at high speed toward one of his appendages. 
_ _

They were launched with the intent to bind him at every point: two each were assigned with the purpose to wrap and bind his arms, one each to restrict the motion of both legs, and one with the intent to ravel about and strangle his throat. They were by no means individually unavoidable, but as a collaborative attack originating from each side, it would be incredibly troublesome to dodge all at once — moreover, dodging them a single time would not even guarantee that he would elude it fully, as they would **Actively change trajectory mid-flight** To remake attempts at restraining Stan. While he could theoretically overpower the wrapping force of a single chain — snapping even one outright was out of the question — if he allowed himself to be grabbed by the same limb by more than one chain, it would effectively be fully restrained; the magical circlets the chains originated from were anchored purposefully to resist his motion if he had been bound.

This was the *Silver Loom:* An inescapable weave of chains that had earned Fyodor his colored sobriquet amidst the echelons of O.S.A management.
Eugene
I might do a post for the metro line tomorrow if you guys need one

Im skipping on a 36 hour cycle again
Juan
Well that's what we're doing
Donald
Just gimme a sec to cook
Thomas
With that conversation out of the way, and the O.S.A agent now focusing on taking down what could only be described as a spiky, darker version of whatever the hell that thing rampaging through a city was on the news a while back, Gold re-assesses briefly.

`Ow.`

Oh yeah, Gold is bleeding. Because he's been shot. Right. There probably should have been much more haste put into his previous words and actions.

`..... I ain't fuckin' dealin' with'at...` This *Was* An exhibition for Gold — his entry into the Koi Hunt to prove himself for something, or, rather, to some*One* — but that would do him no good if he were to fall here. *Maybe* It would just be better to take the consequences.

He closes his eyes briefly, letting out another low growl of pain - `No.` This isn't the last he'd be in the Hunt, he just... Needs to lick his *Wounds*. The shard would have little use to him right now; attempting to grab it from the sorcerer who possessed it while still *Near* Fyodor would prove even more ineffective as well, as demonstrated previously. Then, of course, there's the matter of all of the *Companions*.

`Can't risk that kinda' fight right 'bout now...` He takes in a shaky breath. If he tried to leave any other way right now, it would just cause that *Cryptid* To follow, even with the active resistance...

*But*, there *Was* Still a way.

**The portal.** The portal that Endeven had previously opened — connected, of course, to the *Metro*, was the escape route. It wouldn't take much. `'m that much closer...`

**CRcck–** `Now–` As Fyodor summons the *Silver Loom* Against Stan, he lifts himself off the ground. His assailant now being fully preoccupied with whatever attack was going on- Gold of course not knowing the specifics-, it was the *Perfect* Time to leave. Within the span of just 268 milliseconds, he levitates himself fully into the portal, leaving the others to their own devices as he fucking *Dips*.
Harold
*As the man threw his hands out Stan stepped backwards and got ready to hit the dash, but something stopped him right before he got out of the way as if he had remembered something.*

`Stan, if things get bad we need to try and escape or maybe make a deal. If those don't work, then I'll just have to switch with you or we'll need to come up with something else.`

"With how things are looking now... Only chance we got at not being imprisoned is a deal. To run away would just incriminate the both of us and make us a bigger target."

*Despite standing still and allowing the chains to get near him, his eyes still flared up and widened as they quickly surrounded him with incredible speed. He wasn't expecting them to be that quick, but to chain him up would be a bigger mistake than allowing him to get away.*

"I warn you boy, trying to seal me away will only end with failure. You know not of my capabilities, of my strengths. My weaknesses, you do not know of the mistake you make by using these chains against me. A creature such as myself is not from this land, my host not born nor raised from it either.*

*He paused for a moment before stretching his arms to his sides as a bright amethyst smile formed on his face, for he knew that the chains would still bind him regardless of his words.*

"But it seems your choice is already set in stone."

*As the chains wrapped around his limbs, an eight handled wheel slowly formed above his head. Each chain wrapping around his limbs made it more and more visible, Stan's smile only widened as it fully formed above his head.*

"I warn you boy, the longer you keep these chains up. The closer I get to breaking them off, even taking them off isn't a good idea now that you've used it against me of all people. Oh, and I wouldn't suggest killing me."

*His face became a blank slate as a series of symbols appeared on his face, tho one last thing appeared on it. The hat.*

"If you try to kill me, you kill my little brother along with me."
Cora
Something peculiar was unfolding before Fyodor's eyes. There was an unusual tameness to the chaos before him; an unseemly amenability originating from the calamity whom he had enchained. The **`TEMPORAL BEASTS`** Of the same purely-chaotic nature as the one before him never allowed themselves a moment of passivity; they lashed out violently at the idea of being chained up, destroying every hindrance along their path to spread the disparity pouring forward from their **`SOUL`**. Never before had Fyodor had such a monster attempt to convince him — *Negotiate* With him. 

```
"Stop."
"...Stop talking."```

The agent gave a simple dismissal of Stan's deal, his unusual eyes of faded-silver finally closing from their wide-open, dogmatic gaze. An air of hesitance engulfed Fyodor as his brow furrowed, and he appeared almost disturbed, speaking over him moreso out of an unwillingness to hear anymore than anything else.

*`...This isn't right.`*

In perfect simplicity, most of what Stan had said did not make sense to Fyodor due to his lack of context. Yet the notes he had touched upon — of his so-called "Brother", warnings, weaknesses, and so forth — all held a strangely human tone. It was uncanny feeling, uneasy—revolting, almost—and yet provoked a response of what felt more like caution than rage.
_ _

But his eyes did not lie.
They never did. 
The *Thing* Standing before him was a walking calamity; something he had sworn he would never treat like a living being. He—it—was an enemy to be dispatched. 

*`Don't try to play human with me, monster. I'll kill you.`*

Anger flared to the surface of Fyodor's face as he extended both hands out toward his constrained opponent, his eyes opening wide again as magic began to swell around both of his palms.

```
"Die."
"𝘾𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙞.." He incanted the second half of the spell that Stan had already been restrained in. But something was wrong—
"—Ghhk—!!"```

A series of runes of a fiery hue surfaced into light along Fyodor's neck, its texts identical to those inscribed across the surface of the magical circles he manipulated. Mana encircled his throat and constricted his breath, his hands lowering as his fingers felt across the searing-hot surface of the runes.

*`——Ridiculous!`*
*`...I refuse to believe this...!`*
*`I'm not thinking of that... Damn... Thing... As...!`*
_ _

An ire of exponentially-increasing heat filled his eyes as his face darkened with wrath. Yet his eyes shut closed, his breath was held fast, and he clenched his teeth...

*```
"...Release."```*

He crossed his hands over one another as he spoke the short incantation, each of the silver chains disintegrating. The magic circles shrunk into nothingness, and, in the blink of an eye, Fyodor's expression had returned to neutrality, as though he had purposefully killed all his emotions. Simultaneously, each of the runes binding his neck faded away, as he lifted his right hand to rub against the cooling surface of his throat.

```
"...I'll hear you out. But first—"```

*`...I need to remove all these uncertainties.`*

He outstretched his hand to his side. White mana sparkled into motion from his fingertips, as a **Large, 4m-diameter magical circle appeared behind Endeven and Blossom, immediately hurtling toward them at over 120 km/h**. Were they to "Pass through" The circle as it was thrust beyond them, they would immediately be transported elsewhere. Fyodor shifted the direction of his hand. **Then another magical circle appeared behind Kuouo—a second glittering into existence behind Ha shortly after—both thrusting toward them simultaneously at the same speed following a half-second pause.** Likewise, they would be transported to the same destination if they were swallowed up by the magical circles.
_ _

Fyodor was taking the opportunity to remove the bystanders — potential *Collateral damage,* As he saw them; and as unwanted witnesses, also — immediately before speaking with Stan.

```
"You. Who the hell are you?"
"And what's your business with these stolen items? Answer me."```

With a motion of his wrist, the two magical circles that suspended the binding link enchaining the items in question — the hat and the revolver — hovered toward Fyodor, suspended at either of his sides. It was clear that he disdained even *Speaking* With Stan.
Harold
*As the chains dissipated freeing the devourer, a dark purple smile flared up on his face as he glared at Fyodor. His amethyst eyes peered deep into Fyodor as if he were attempting to put a hole through the man with his eyes alone.*

"Well to late now blondie, now that you've used that it's only a matter of time till it won't work on me again. I could kill you where you stand... But sadly I am still shackled by my..."Brother's" Will."

*The expression that hard flared up seemed to diminish and return to a completely blank slate, the hood covered most of his face after the fact and left most other expressions unseeable.*

"Hmm?"

*He raised a metaphorical eyebrow as he turned his head and watched the magical circles transport the other bystanders away to who knows where. It wasn't his problem, tho he still had to turn that yellow fur ball into a 5 star dish. He then turned back to Fyodor upon the questions being asked.*

"Ay, stop acting high and mighty pal. I may be less powerful then I used to be, but I can still slap the hair off ya head like a damn wig you no neck Voldemort, head build like a poptart!"

`Stan stop saying those things, you'll get us sent to the afterlife-`

*Stan stopped his verbal assault and straightened himself up, he then formed what was basically a movie on his face. It'd just show everything he was about to explain like a YouTube video.*

"As you may have assumed by now, I am not of this world. When I was created I was nothing more the storm of hatred and malice, a creature of hunger and gluttony. I was known as the great devourer by my true siblings who then struck me down and sealed me away... Can't blame em really, I mean I was basically a sentient and malicious black hole. After like a few couple years... Or millions of years, knowing the time gets kinda funny when you're sealed in a shard but I digress. The fact is I was able to get free of my old prison and was able to catch ahold of a new vessel... Sadly it was a goody two shoes-"

`Hey!`
Eugene
You will be banished
Jeffrey
Your wig is banished from ur hairline
Lucille
I posted yesterday you can't do anything to me

Also I'm out eating for Father's Day
Eugene
Im not like adam so i wont say hateful things

You cant gbe banished

The rest will still be banished

You will be banished
Henry
The Twin Swords Banished Knight from Castle Sol teleports behind Kuouo, unleashing the ten-hit combo and killing him from full HP.
Eugene
Think twice before you cross me, worm.