starsand | [network; the day after the Spirit Day Festival] UN: K

[network; the day after the Spirit Day Festival] UN: K

i ran into a being last night
i thought they were some kind of spirit, but they said they weren't. nor were they a kami
... has anyone heard of anything called the "Wish Maker"?

[Even just typing that name out makes her feel cold again. Like those unnaturally long, slick black fingers were grasping at the back of her neck.]

They said they had the power to turn every spirit into a Rumor
they

they... challenged me
saying that they'd return on New Year's, and use their power to grant the wishes people make on that night
to see if they could bring more hope than my music
and that if they won that challenge, they'll turn every spirit in the city into a Rumor

[Yeah she's totally not about to have a panic attack just typing this out. She has faith in Niigo's music, but that sort of pressure...]

they... they really seemed to want to bring down the kami of love's power
they don't want us to trust her, so the power in her faith will be weakened and someone can enter the city

... I know some people here can fight
and protect
that... won't happen, right?

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So you spoke with that being as well?

[ His device is more of a grimmore, so he's able to put a thumb on the page he was writing in and check another section of it for instructions on how to send private messages... ]

not intentionally...

they cornered me and just
kept talking

I see... Perhaps I can help.

[ A few moments later, this message shows up in K's DMs. ]

Forgive me for being secretive. I was weakened in my last battle before finding myself here, and I do not wish to reveal my true nature to the public until I've recovered some of my power.

I am Kallamar, Bishop of Pestilence. Back in the lands of the Old Faith, my siblings and I had to deal with a heretical beast who used similar tactics. A vessel raised from the dead to gain power from their cult and slay us all for the sake of releasing their dark master. Though it seems this Wi being may be capable of more direct influence, its goal seems to be the same as my enemy.

I do not want that being to succeed, but if I am to be of any help I must ask you to do some things for me.

[Haha oh wow this is. A lot. Considering poor Kanade's just a normal teenager and all. She's never really been exposed to religion like this, so the... fervor in which Kallamar types is... intense.

But still, she can't just ignore this offer to help. The spirits will need everyone to watch over them come the end of the year.]

what do you need?

[Because it's not like she's already putting enough pressure on her shoulders.]

My most immediate need are weapons. Specifically blades. Can you help me acquire a sword and a dagger?

[ At least his first demand seems simple enough. ]

[...?

????????

Is. Is she in over her head with this one...?]

um
i don't know where to find weapons here
i've never needed to use a weapon in my life

You should learn to wield at least one. The last thing you want is to be ambushed with no means to protect yourself.

[ He may be projecting a little, but then again the last thousand years or so have been especially hard on him. One doesn't shake all that off overnight. ]

In any case, don't you have any blacksmiths in this city? Or weapon makers in general?

Edited 2022-10-30 20:45 (UTC)

I don't really get into conflicts bad enough that I need to worry about ambushes...

[The worst things she's ever had to deal with are shitty internet comments???]

i think the spirits could just provide us weapons if we asked
so i'm not sure if there are blacksmiths here?
um, if you really want to know where one might be, you'd have a better chance of asking someone who knows how to fight...

Of course... I'll seek one out when I get the chance.

[ He forgot for a moment people who could not fight exist. Why else would they turn to others for protection? ]

My other request may be easier for you. In the past, my followers prayed to me for long lives and good health. If I am to reclaim my power, then I may require this sort of devotion.

Perhaps you could hold the honor of being my first follower in this world? I may be able to help keep your stamina while you write your song of hope.

[ Reading this sent chills through Ryoko's body. She figured others would have come across that thing... Wish Maker. She had hoped not many would, but it was challenging others as well?

That cruel-- ]

I met that thing last night too. It feels like they're making a game out of this. But it said the same thing to me, that they'll return and they challenged me to stop it.

[ She specifically types "me". She knows she won't do it alone, but she has to start there. ]

How many challenges did they even make? How many people did they get to?

[ ...she does need to say it. ]

It did get to Yuuto. He... he's recovering. He wasn't hurt, but it was clear that something happened when they met.

Edited 2022-10-29 15:25 (UTC)

If it's a game that they're playing, then we should send people to defend Mega. She may get caught up in this.

Thank you for your help, Asakura-chan. Yuu-kun is at home now.

I'm glad to hear that. I hope he's doing okay. I agree, I don't know Mega-san that much but it seemed antagonistic enough to coax anyone to play their game.

I'm sorry that we got involved again, Satou-san.

You don't owe me an apology for that! I'm sorry that you all got caught up in this.

They're trying to get under my skin. How dare they use all of you to make me mad.

Are you okay, Asakura-chan? Did you get a good night's sleep?

Not really, but I have no plans today. I'll probably sleep the rest of the day, and then tackle this tomorrow.

I want to figure out how to maintain the spirits faith in you, and keep their hope high so they won't need to make wishes.

Alright. Just don't make me come over there!

And that would be nice, wouldn't it? But ideally, we need to help the spirits have faith in themselves, right?

Then they can protect what they love on their own.

I'll be fine. Aisaka-san's here to make sure I don't completely waste away.

That's right, actually. That's the right way to go about it. Honestly... maybe K-san's idea of using music might work really well for that.

Yuuto-san?

[Oh yeah forget all the awful things they said to her, they did that to her new friend too??]

you said he wasn't hurt, but still...
is he okay?

I don't know for sure. He was different last night. His eyes were dark and the air around him was really heavy.

...he did leave us with something to help with. We knew they'd be coming back on New Years, but also: underneath that gross aura, there's a solid body. It's small... and has multiple souls.

I'm sure he'll be back soon. He just... needs rest. Having faith in him wouldn't be bad either.

multiple souls...
do you think... finding a way to separate them all might help?
maybe it could help them, as well as us...

[That sounds... unpleasant. Like they might be hurting. Maybe that's why they're so focused on all of this...?]

... yeah
he seemed... really happy, when I told him I'd try to visit his shrine often
I think i'll do that, too
let him rest, but... maybe I can tend the flowers a bit, so he has something nice when he's ready to come out again

I know he'd appreciate that, K-san.

But... I imagine so. It felt like I heard so many voices, but they weren't in sync. It was really scary...

mmm, it was like that effect a lot of shows do, when someone is possessed
several voices saying the same thing, but some are slightly delayed, so it's just... a tangled mess

to think there really is suffering like that in the world...

[Not to discount anything terrible that happens to people back home, but... that's so completely different, in such an alien way.]

It's hard to know how much suffering there is in any world. I'm sure deep inside of it, those souls are hurting but... I don't know how we would separate them.

Still, one thing to know is that we're in this together now. I don't know much about music, though...

do you think one of the kami could help?
they all have great power, don't they?

I can handle the music
this... it's not that different from my goals back home

You're right. The problem is, Satou-san and Shugo-san would be busy trying to keep us safe, and I don't know if Dimitri would be willing to help us with this. I can't think of any other kami that could help us...

Wait. Wait wait wait. Is someone trying to curse others where you're from too? Have you been saving cursed kids with music already??

[ what the heck???? ]

but if there's a risk of every spirit here becoming a Rumor, wouldn't that be something big enough for him to help?
i don't really know anything about him, but... nobody would really stand aside while that happens, right?

... i don't think so???
as far as i'm aware there's nothing really supernatural going on back home

[Which. Isn't exactly true. But how does one explain the fact that she can use a music file to enter an alternate world where she can hang out with Miku and the other virtual singers???]

but even in a more mundane sense, music has a way of reaching people in a very deep way
... I compose music because I want to be able to reach out to people who feel lost and hurt, and i want to pull them out of that darkness

Maybe. I'm sure there's a way to get him to help, especially if so many spirits'll be in danger.

...honestly, I really think if you can do that back home, you should be able to win against that monster. That's a really noble reason to make music, K-san.

As long as we have multiple routes, we can't give up hope, can we? If this Wish Maker thinks that we can't pull off a miracle, we just have to tell it that they're wrong and show them once and for all.

[Noble... is it really, though? She's just... selfish, for doing what she does. To want to help people, but to also desire that so she can atone for what she's done... that's not really noble, is it?]

i suppose i'm also just... worried
they said they'd go through with their plan whether i accepted the challenge or not
so... do you think if we won, they would just accept the loss?

[ On that, there's a long pause. Her mind dwells back to that rotten experiment. They didn't trust it, and they paid for it. There was no true guarantee that the scientist wouldn't have gone through with it in the first place, but they flew far too close to the sun and felt themselves burn as a result.

Whether she accepted or not, there were others they threw down the gauntlet to. Even so, she can't bring herself to reassure her that it'd be alright. That if, for whatever reason, one of them failed to outpace the Wish Maker, they wouldn't consider that a total loss. Looking for any excuse to continue. ]

I can't trust it, no.

[ Probably the most pessimistic she can be in this situation. ]

But, if you hadn't have accepted, they would have put this weight on someone else. They already placed some of it on me, and who knows who else.

If they won't accept it, then we'll have to change our approach. We can't just let them walk all over us.

Thank you for the information. We'll get started on increasing defenses around the city right away!

But are you okay?

That's a lot to have happen in one night.

i'm
fine

all it did was talk, so it didn't actually hurt me

[See??? If she's physically okay that means everything is Fine.]

i'm sorry that all of you have to deal with this now
but i promise, i'll do my best to compose something that will outweigh their power

[She has to. This isn't just about reaching out to others. If she fails, if all the spirits are hurt because she couldn't write a good enough song... this will make what she did to her father seem like nothing. She'll be a monster...]

I don't doubt that you will be able to be fine. But if you need to take a break on the way there, then that's okay.

Composing songs, huh? You're the one who played the song that woke Tau from her dream, aren't you?

I have no doubt that you'll come up with something amazing.

that was me, yes
that song wasn't just mine, though... it was my group's. all of our hearts put into that song

[Sorry satou, she's just. blatantly ignoring that encouragement to take a break. Even though that warm encouragement seems to rattle her... a break is the last thing she should be worrying about now]

... you have such faith in me
i promise it won't be misplaced

I don't recognize them by name but could you describe what they looked like?

Also: if they're granting wishes, there's no way that they're granting true, genuine hope.

they were just... shadow. a space-filled shadow
like those pictures of galaxies taken by high-tech telescopes
they had glowing white eyes and a mouth that was the same

yeah...
there are a lot of stories about malevolent beings who will twist wishes of others into something terrible because of how they're worded, right?

I can unfortunately say that I've seen them in the past. I didn't see them yesterday since I was at home, but I did see them prior to that.

I can confirm that they weren't lying, at least. About their ability of turning a spirit into a Rumor.

if you've run into them before...
do you think they can be stopped?

[She'll try. No matter what, she'll try. Even if her whole body gives out, she won't stop composing till New Year's. She can't...]

There's no such thing as impossible.

It'll be very difficult, but it's not a 0% chance.

... yeah
you're right

there's no way we'll let them have their way

Well.

Let's just prepare for the worst and hope for the best. In any case, this just means we'll have to make sure that things are in order by January.

If their plan is to grant wishes at New Years, then we need to have granted as many wishes as possible before then, right?

If the spirits know they can turn to us for help, then maybe they won't be tempted by this Wishmaker at all.

yeah...

the spirit day festival should have gone a long way to show the spirits that they can come to us, right?
everyone did so much for both them and the kami...

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