As Kuroki was returning to the city, something else was shifting among the forest. Something was watching the caravan as it left, observing and waiting. Shifting between the walls of the old ruins scattered about, it observed and looked at the caravan...and especially at the children. It was a presence that seemed to go unnoticed and unseen, but it had been there the whole time. Watching. Waiting. Evaluating. Contemplating.
"Time has shifted. Something has happened".
"The old magic has allowed us to awaken".
"What shall we do? They are all quite valuable".
"The Forest Spirit is not so malleable".
Two voices spoke in whispers, although no one could comprehend them. They were sneakily watching, but they could not chase after.
"The Ancient Ones bar our way, preventing our progress".
"We remain sealed here, thanks to their madness".
"Our influence grows from within our prison".
"They are ripe for the taking, thanks to our reason".
Was it one being talking to itself? Or multiple beings talking to each other? Or was it something more, or something less? But the disturbances of the forest, along with those who had entered it, had awoken it from its ancient slumber. A bit too late, but not late enough.
It eyed Zak and Kuroki especially, watching the two.
The beings seemed to perceive them for what they truly were.
But in that moment, Zak turned his head and looked right back at them. And in that moment, they shrieked and pulled back.
"The Time Torn Child..."
"...shall not take from us!"
With those words, the voices retreated into the ruins.
----------------------------------------
Eventually, Kuroki and the others made it back to the city. They all headed to the guild, including Zak who needed to report his findings. When they made it back however, the guild was unusually packed. All sorts of adventurers were watching them, of all sorts of ranks. H and G ranks, those who were already E-Rank and above, as well as fellow F-Ranks who had yet to make the cut. All were gathered to watch and observe. Everyone here knew what would happen next.
Kuroki wasn't naked, nor was there any reason to strip here, but given the stares on him it almost felt like he was. No, it was even more uncomfortable then if he was. That was the sheer amount of pressure and stares heading his way. There had to be at least a hundred around, so the guild was packed. Ozlo was waiting at the center receptionist counter, looking mildly amused.
"I see everyone has returned safely. What a relief".
"Yes, despite the fact a giant Sylvan was seen within the forest. Someone will need to go and deal with that thing by the way, its way too dangerous to leave there".
"I understand. I shall form a hunting party to take it down as soon as possible. Now, how did the exam go?"
"Alright, everyone line up shoulder to shoulder".
The examinees lined up as requested, as the examiners watched them all.
"First of all, the good news. You have all passed!"
This was met with cheers, both from the examinees and the audience. The newly minted E-Ranks jumped and hugged and high fived each other. Some of the adventurers seemed to cry in despair or dismay, as others were collecting money from others.
Kuroki had a pretty good idea of what that was about, but he decided to ignore it. It probably wasn't illegal, and was even normal around here anyways.
"That said, there are some things we need to make note of. After all, some of you did have some demerits that need to be addressed. Themist, while you did remain alert all throughout the gossip you were going, and noticed the shifting in shadows...you did distract others from noticing the same. You need to reign it in regarding your tendency for gossip".
"Ah...right".
"Furthermore, you might not notice anything that was really trying to remain hidden, not just the tests we threw at you. As a party leader, you are responsible for your party as well, so this is something you need to work on".
"Yes ma'am".
As Vanessia finished talking, Baxter spoke up next.
"Kuroki and Silver Storm, you did very well considering your youth, not to mention you were able to provide good cover for everything and asked good questions. However, at least some of that should have been research you did ahead of time. While it is commendable that you sought insight before it became an issue, you should have done some of that research ahead of time. You did a great job preparing the objects you need, but the mind must be prepared just as much as the body, and that is something you need to work on".
They had asked many questions and not known many things. While they covered the core topics well enough, they were still very new to this world, so this was an inevitable criticism for them. Its not something they could help, but it was a reminder they needed to work harder on that.
Fisto then looked at Ezeri. "Ezeri, you and your party did a very good job overall. You remained reliable and well rounded, and continued to stabily support not just your own party but others as well. You remained alert and stable. However, while they are just acceptable for E-Rank, you need to improve your combat skills more. During combat, you never really stood out. While you showed great leadership, you need to be able to defend yourself to not hold your party back. You should keep this in mind and focus more on combat training".
"Yes sir".
After that, they went into the other members, before finally having them hand in their guild cards, except for Kuroki's group, whose already had been upgraded to E-Rank. With this all done, no one could complain anymore about their rank up, and it would be harder for anyone to throw stink at them in the future as well.
Overall, it was a very successful operation as a result.
Then Kuroki had a thought, and went over to Ozlo.
"How did Deep Dashers do by the way?"
"Ah, they returned a bit before you did. They completed their assignments, and got a lot of praise as well. The examiner was also very happy with them as well, so things went well on that front".
"Ah, good to hear".
The Deep Dashers got caught up in this issue as well, so Kuroki had wanted to make sure things turned out okay. With that done, their business at the guild was done.
And so, Kuroki walked right up to Zak. He went in a straight line, with not even so much of an attempt to disguise his focus.
"We need to talk".
"I suppose we do. But not here. There are too many people around".
Kuroki grabbed his hand, and dragged him over to the side room Vanessia had taken him to before. It was soundproofed in an unusual way after all, and no one would be able to overhear them there. Riku, Kaede, and Ryuu all came along as well. Once they were all nestled in, Zak couldn't help but noticed he was totally boxed in.
"Ahh, I see...you really don't plan on letting me leave until I explain, do you?"
"No, we don't. But I suppose we can hurry this along by letting you know, I already figured out you were an adult".
"Yeah, well...I haven't done much to obfuscate that. I suppose that is my own damn fault. But to figure it out from a single interaction...as expected, you really are quite clever".
"And you are delaying. Now, who are you?"
"I suppose you dont fully remember the nickname Kuri then?"
"...it feels familiar..."
"Ouch. I didn't think my uncle's curry was that unfamiliar".
"Uncle's curry...ah, wait...hold on...are you that one detective?!"
"Bingo".
There had been one policeman that treated him to curry long ago. He was low ranking on the totem pole, while all of Kuroki's father's friends were higher up. He looked like he wanted to do more, but he was forced to be unable to.
"So you became a detective?"
"I had to rise up the ranks. Blind eyes shouldn't be so easy to turn like that, after all".
"I see...and then all this happened".
"Yes. But you should know, things are not so simple as they appear" Zak said, looking a bit sorrowful.
"Nothing about this appears simple" Kuroki countered. "We still don't know why we were brought here, unless you figured something out somehow?"
"Ah...nothing concrete. I can't quite say how I know, not yet, but I have learned some things. I don't know how well they will be useful though, since things keep shifting and I cant be certain everything will stay the same".
"...I believe we told you not to be cryptic".
"Sorry. Unfortunately, I can't avoid some crypticness. And I mean that quite literally".
Kuroki narrowed his eyes.
"A restriction?"
Zak nodded.
"Is this related to you taking a different name?"
"Ah, no. I did that to avoid being hunted. Be warned, Devils and Demons are not the only things hunting us. Unfortunately, I don't know what else is behind it. But I know this. Its something immensely powerful, but at least at the moment, restricted in its influence. I still don't know the full details though, but it seems to have had designs for us. Now, I need to ask something in return. Have you felt a certain...pit of darkness flare up from time to time, when you feel intense hatred or disgust?"
Kuroki was confused at first, but he quickly remembered what Zak was mentioning. It was his murderous impulse. He wasn't looking to kill people normally, but sometimes he felt this overwhelming urge to kill. By the time he realized what was going on and stopped himself, he was already in the middle of casting a spell. A particularly lethal spell, which he came up with on the spot somehow.
Riku grimaced as well. It appears he had felt something similar. Even Kaede had an unpleasant expression, but Ryuu seemed to only have a minorly vexed one. It seemed he had the least experience with it.
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"Do you know what it is?"
"I believe the best word to describe it would be...Compliance".
"So it was related to that then".
Kuroki and the others had similarly named it that.
"Yes. I do not know the full details, but Compliance is more then just listening to authority and complying the Rules of the World. It is also meant to twist us, all of us, into servants who have fallen into darkness and are okay with murder".
"It is meant to normalize murder and killing for us?"
"Yes. And eventually, it will try to make you kill people".
"Yikes..."
"Exactly. It especially is prevalent in those who have grudges and plenty of spite, or reason to have spite. Someone like you".
"How do you know all this?"
"I cannot say".
Another wall.
"Is this part of your restriction? Can you at least tell us about that?"
"If it's about why, when, who, or where, I cannot say. As for what, I cannot talk about any information about those topics, the restriction itself, or the sources of that information".
"You do know how this is supposed to work right?"
"Sorry, but things are complicated. Forces are at play, and even without the restriction, I made a promise to someone, and a plan".
Kuroki clicked his tongue, but realized this was getting nowhere.
"Alright, what can you tell us?"
"Your father is not currently within this kingdom or any of its neighboring countries".
Kuroki slammed his hands on the table, and looked him right in the eye.
"Now how the fuck do you know that?!"
Riku put his hand on Kuroki's shoulder, and Kuroki started to calm himself down again.
"Sorry. You can't say, can you?"
"I cannot. All I can say is that this is confirmed. My sources really wanted to keep themselves hidden you see. I can say that given what he has done, he will likely have to deal with a Devil on the level of the one that went after Anna, Ozlo, and the Guildmaster. I suspect you will start hearing rumors about a mage discriminating berserker in the north soon".
"...berserker?"
That word caught Kuroki off guard. His father was an asshole in every way possible. A child abusing, alcoholic, prideful and arrogant misogynist would be one way to describe him. But, as brutish as he could be, as much as he got lost in his anger, Berserker did not quite fit. His father, even in a rage, only rarely lost precision and did something that would leave an actual mark on Kuroki or give him a broken bone.
That didn't really line up with Kuroki's image of a berserker.
"Yes, well...let's just say you are handling things way better then your father is. Although, I suspect once he adapts, he will become an even more dangerous threat".
Kuroki remembered the dream he had. Of the corpses and heads of his friends, being tossed at him by his father. Of the look on that person's face, and the rage he felt. And about the feeling of something that tried to hold him back, deep down.
And then, Kuroki realized something else. About why he might be called a Berserker.
"How long?"
"Seeing as how he didn't start after the Starfall with an ally to help him? I would say...a year. He has the ability to vaguely sense the direction you are in, but you possess the ability to protect yourself from abilities that try to locate and control you, especially from your father. Your wishes directly clash and fight against his. And he has to make a long journey, across an ocean and through several kingdoms. And he has to earn money for food, clothes, weapons, shelter, and passage".
"No, he won't. Not for that last one. Not if he got even more physical abilities. He probably is an incredibly dangerous frontline attacker".
"...I see, so that was what went wrong with the timing..." Zak mumbled to himself.
"Wait, what?"
"Sorry, just thinking things through. In any case, I suspect due to his obsession with strength and physical ability, he is probably one of the most dangerous Starfallen. He likely has power that exceeds what any of us had at the start, so you will need to focus on honing your magical abilities. I can try to support you as best as I can, but I will be traveling around a lot. There is a lot I still need to investigate and prepare".
"Like what?"
"The actual Starfall ritual. From what I heard, there is no reason this many Starfallen should be here. Apparently the Starfall is a natural process that can happen randomly. People are not summoned by it, its a natural phenomenon. And yet, with this many people, and with Compliance, its clear we were summoned. Someone forced an artificial Starfall. One of the oldest, natural phenomenon in the world. And there is clear evidence that it was artificial too. You heard about how the world experienced a strange wave and spike in spacetime magic right?"
Kuroki nodded. It was mentioned when he first visited the Mage's Guild. Its why he couldn't use their chamber to get his True Arcanium at the moment, and why he had to do it the old fashioned way to get it as soon as possible.
"Unfortunately, despite my expansive investigation, its not like I could be everywhere all at once and look everything. Plus there are criminal organizations to crush..."
Zak just said something dangerous very casually, but Kuroki let it go as he kept talking.
"...and ancient threats to deal with..."
Kuroki really tried to hold in his questions. Someone should really praise him you know?
"...not to mention the rest of the Four Cardinal Cataclysms".
"Wait wait wait, what?! What was all that?! Especially that last one, what do you mean by rest?!"
"Ah, you haven't heard? There is someone known as The Oracle, located within the Ivory Tower of the Church's headquarters here on this continent. The Oracle has produced some new prophecies recently. One mentions the Four Cardinal Catastrophes. 'In the north, a prideful man who uses force and muscles, who will destroy entire cities to seek the one he wants to make follow his path. In the west, a greedy man who would kill and torture, who wishes to see himself surrounded by a sea of gold. In the south, a lustful young woman, who will make servants of those enchanted by her, and butcher those who defy her. And in the east, a wrathful old woman will rise, seeking to destroy all who get in her way and interfere with the Grand Plan'. The North is clearly your father, when corroborated with my other hidden sources. The West...I think I might know who that is too. There was this corrupt businessman. He killed people for profit, even for just thousands of dollars. He arrested him, and he was found clinically insane, so we have him incarcerated in a mental ward...unfortunately, it wasn't too far from the city, so it probably was within range. I am not sure who the South is, but the East...".
Kuroki noticed it too.
"The East sounds like she was involved with the Starfall".
"Yeah. I have yet to confirm it at all, but from what I heard, she actually started with clothes and a full understanding of her abilities".
"What?!"
Not a single Starfallen had started with such things. Every single other Starfall, from what Ozlo said was thousands he had roughly confirmed, all started with nothing. Completely naked with no items of their past world. This was because they were not physically transfered. Their souls were brought over, and then their bodies were reconstructed on this side. That was the general theory at least, but apparently it had enough evidence to be considered confirmed. And yet now he was hearing that there was someone, of the tens of thousands of years of history of this world, who was the first and likely only exception.
He wasn't even jealous, he was just baffled.
"Does this mean..."
"Most likely, her clothes are a part of her body...probably some artificial form she generated. I don't know who she is, but I think the better question to ask is what she is. Cause I don't think she is actually human. But, that's about all the information I did have on her. Anything else is pure conjecture".
"If this is true, then..."
"Yes, its likely all four Cardinal Cataclysms are Starfallen. Thats likely not something we can ignore. One of them has a connection to you, one is a criminal, one has a connection to the Starfall, and the one in the south is a mystery. And it's said more prophecies and oracles are being created every day now, as if a surge of new activity is coming. This might cause trouble for all other Starfallen too..."
"Is that why you took a new name?"
"Yes. Please only call me Zak now. It is also to help me hide and avoid the Devils, so they don't see my movements and plans as I work. But its also to avoid discrimination against me as well, should the views of Starfallen go down and people start suspecting others".
"You might want to try channeling your inner child".
"...you do know that feels creepy and wrong to me as an adult police detective who investigated countless cases of child abuse and crimes against children right?"
Even Zak had his weakpoints, and this was one of them. As much as he could change his name, and work in the shadows, changing his behavior was tough for him. Especially to act like a kid, given how many creeps he arrested who did the same to go after their targets.
"Well, we all have to adapt to this world. That is part of blending in right?"
Zak groaned. "I know. I really do know. I need to make a bigger effort".
To be honest, as much as Kuroki knew what he said was truth, he appreciated Zak's straight-laced feelings and responses. It was nice to know they had such an honest and morally responsible policeman in their city.
"Incidentally..." Zak muttered.
"Yes?"
"Can you please, please introduce me to the place you got your clothes from? Please? I really need better socks and underwear!"
Yes, that was another reason why people often slept in the nude. The average quality of underwear and socks in this world wasn't as high as the modern one. It wasn't bad, but the better ones were absurdly expensive or were in shops you needed references for. While the people of this world were actually better adjusted to them, as those with modern world senses, they had to appreciate the quality of Ellie's crazy expensive clothes. So naturally, they would introduce Zak to her as well. They had once tried other kinds as comparison, and well...they would rather sleep nude then try and sleep in those. Which probably spoke to how much the modern world spoiled the people of the modern world. In ancient times, clothes were not only more expensive, but on average were not as good as the ones of the modern world. This world reflected that as well, and it was something they would just have to live with. After all, the science for the science to create the machines and techniques needed to make such clothes more common didn't really exist yet.
"Speaking of clothes and belongings...what is with the rainboots? And the Yo-Yo?"
"Ah, these? These are actually high-quality magic items I found in a secret underground ruin. The Yo-Yo, which I am sure was made by a Starfallen long ago, is actually an incredibly powerful magic weapon blessed by the gods. These boots might be similar as well, though maybe not blessed by the gods. They were created with Anti-Snare magic built in using artificing techniques, and having surprisingly good grip as well. Furthermore, even if they are removed, the magic remains applied to my feet for a period of time, which is good since they can also be used as ranged weapons. With a kick, I can launch them forward with the speed and power comparable to a cannonball, and even more if I charge it with mana ahead of time. The only thing is that I can't wear socks while im fighting, since they can interrupt the connection...and also, walking around outside is better for bare feet or shoes, socks is just weird".
There was a bit of a preference there at the end, although Kuroki could understand the sentiment. Still though...
"They do that much?"
"Oh, they do way more then that. I can also push off the air twice before needing to land on the ground to recharge the effect".
Riku blurted something out.
"Wait, you can double...no, triple jump?!"
"Basically, yeah".
"What can the Yo-Yo do?"
"Well, I can manipulate the direction, speed, hardness, and sharpness of the wire, as well as its length. I can do this to hang people, break their necks, so on secretly while they don't notice. That said, its rather slow for the heat of battle. But I can make the actual yo-yo part shrink and grow, and manipulate its weight to get heavier or lighter in an instant. Furthermore, it's almost entirely invulnerable and has a self-repairing feature, supposedly even if its totally destroyed it can repair itself eventually. Not only that, but I can even recall it back to me. Same with the boots. Incidentally, both are bound to me now, so no one else can use them until I die".
"I see. Alright, is there anything else we should know?"
Zak thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"Yes. Based on my understanding of the wishes, as well as some information I collected, your friends are within this frontier region. It appears the Starfall even interpreted your mutual desire to be 'Best Friends Forever' as a combined wish. I am sure that it will be one of your most powerful and most helpful wishes, as well as one that gives you some grief at times. I suspect it will only be months until you find each other, provided nothing unexpected comes up. It seems that the younger you are, the more powerful the wishes could be on average. There are exceptions of course, but...I think you will find you all have great potential within that you still have not unlocked".
"How could you know all that?"
"The gut instinctive of a detective, obviously" Zak lied, although it was an obvious lie he made no effort to hide. It was clear there was more to the story sure, but it didn't seem like he planned to tell any of them any time soon. Kuroki figured it might have something to do with the agreement he made with these sources he mentioned, but he also suspected he was deceiving them about just how much he couldn't tell them. And that all of this likely had something to do with his own Wishes.
----------------------------------------
Once the group split up, and Kuroki promised to refer him to Ellies and told him to go there tomorrow, Zak was walking down the road. Once he was clear, his expression became quite sullen.
"I had to lie to them. A lot".
"It can't be helped. You couldn't contaminate things too much" a voice spoke to him, but no source was visible for it.
"I know. I have to let certain events play out the way they are supposed to. It just kills me inside, not giving them the full warning".
"Frankly, I think you spoke a bit too much. Kuroki might figure it out, given how much you spoke of his father".
"I know, but I needed to maintain his fear, while still making sure he knew he would be safe to get stronger for a good while. Balancing motivation without panic is really hard".
"That is fair. But, you must keep walking forward. The events that are about to transpire must happen still. Without it, arrests will be delayed, and that organization will cause more damage and drive things down a worse road".
"I know I know! But it is just so infuriatingly terrible!"
"Besides, if it makes you feel better, you will be joining them" the voice told him, and Zak froze.
"I see, so they came for revenge huh?"
"Yes. You won't be able to fight your way out of this. But fear not, they have been told to capture you to sell, not kill. It looks like there are fools among them".
Zak spotted a few of them now. These guys were true Cherry Road Elites. And the more he checked, the more he realized there were thirty of them.
"Well, this wasn't supposed to happen".
"It looks like you got a bit careless. Kuroki was right you know? You need to play the child act better. And more. Otherwise they had to notice the strange adult like child watching them and would take action against you".
"But since they know that much, I should put up some of a fight right?"
"Don't reveal your trump cards, but yes. At least this way, you aren't making them suffer through this next part alone".
"Sometimes, being a detective sucks".
"But aren't you more of a private detective now rather then a police detective?"
"Shut up. Don't fret about semantics".
And as he said that, he decided to go somewhere more isolated so innocent people didn't get caught in the crossfire.
At least they will probably use a sleeping drug to put me to sleep. I got absolutely no sleep last night after all...
He thought that, as he purposefully walked into an ambush to control the situation.
Cherry Road was making its move.