COI C58
The entire team along with Rusic and U’ecin, except for Thean who is teaching with Quail and the others explaining the details about the third landmark. They left having such a severe experience with the Soulfate individuals, Coral had already explained about facing them, including the data they have access. Alche never would have imagined that this kind of humans exist, it is more an alternative universe when he examined about their world. Everyone starts to worry that staying this world might not be a great idea after all, still having hope among them, it is best to realize that they have to prepare everything what this world trying to bring.
Alche reviews on the Soulfate world,
“Hybrid descendants of eternal power, bound with hellish environment and souls together, and never dying with collection of souls under one body but only one will control the whole individual while the other souls will be the parts of the host’s body. Two of the examples are the wooden man and the undead crystallized woman, I could only examine that the two are related to Eldritch, but it explained about the dependence on consuming each other’s souls and can use any types of mana. Which is logical since the source of controlling mana rely on the interaction through our own will, except for Archscience”
“Furthermore, these types of mana are originated by their race bringing it to this world. Neutral mana is the true origin while the rest are from another world, it is kind of unbelievable where those magics coming from”
Alche leaves a mystery about their origins, while the others search deeper through the computer. The sphere gives so much data that they have to pick one at the time and delete it after use. It is the first time the most advance technological software is out beaten by the size of memory that the sphere had. It was remarkable for Alche’s discovery.
The teachers who still continue on updating the computer system, they already started to wait a bit more this time. This new kind of data made it harder for their computer to process,
“Aah! We can’t go any further than this, did anyone know about new computer hybrid made recently?”
“Unlikely, our industrial facilities don’t have essential electronics parts like processors, computer chips, or even mother boards. The devices we have now are carefully improved by adding just one memory chip made out of our mana”
“There’s an article about advancing the technical stuff that we need actual components, which are involved more demands for raw resources in Enders Bridge”
“Yikes, will our spending power be inflated?”
“No, the trade seems to be optimal. We have good trade goods with Purissarwell with the ‘exotic’ trees we had, and there are those Agatheans’ investments for Stranding Island’ projects”
“Geez, I will rather go home to our world if we start a recession”
“It’s complicated, sigh*, let’s hope we could survive this”
“Still worried about what we saw?”
“They told us they will never coming back, and I wish we should’ve used the Foundation . . .”
The city starts to become stricter since the realms’ incident, many people and their communities are becoming more cautious than before. The realms are becoming more frequent and raided as the time goes on, it was the success for the police department to cease the secret areas where the suspects are trying to hide. They still didn’t apprehend one rebel yet, but signs of them already been done throughout the incident. The locals have warned them that there is one of them walking among the community, not by chance or anything, but letting their connections stop cooperating once they are discovered.
Those gangs are one of them who followed the rebellion, it was a matter of time they will be found out if they are too immature for their behaviors.
“Why are we have to be the errand girls for our gang again?”
“Kyra, the dark green dot gang is a mix of us and the rebellion. Only few defectors are actually from the east coast”
“But Umf, we already handed out their new identification”
“Updated, yes, yet they are the ones who help us a lot by the ‘conspiracy’”
“Don’t try using the ‘conspiracy’ thing at me. You’ve been too much on the internet”
“While you're doing most of the time scrolling posts on your social media account”
The dark green dot gang grew more members after the incident in black and white zone. They don’t know why they grew bigger than the Scraypers, but only rumors heard among them. These two young women were part of it before the incident, they stop recruiting after the same incident but someone else guiding to their gang in secrets.
“Augh! If only they shouldn’t be out of the open like it was normal”
“They have the audacity too when they are going through the Chojima district. Now the neighborhood notice about the . . .”
“It’s fine Kyra, I may be mad, and we should realize that the security is improving in weeks”
Umf and Kyra is inside the commercial building, and they are in a restaurant. It was not all bad to be errand girls for their gang, receiving extra money and using the internet to sell stuff through scraps from the rebellion had brought. The only thing they hate is the new security being surveillance around the districts. Where shamanism become a trend to most summoners and other people using them as living merchandise, it wasn’t real animals but authentic enough to be real for them. Umf checks on her device again to see the new trends happening on this district, Mihayara district.
Kyra brought out again with the lens given by the guy who always on stage, she mentioned
“Who was that guy again who give us this lens?”
“Kyra, I already told you. He never going to say his real name and neither with the others. He is too out of the open and we can easily spot him from his comedic appearance”
“I still say bullshit, the first time we met the guy he is as crazy and dark once he finally did the . . . groan* stuff”
Umf didn’t respond for a bit as her friend need to cool off, she scrolls a bit with her device and see the profits they are getting at. It looks promising where the profits are not noticeable enough to be suspicious, then she turns back to Kyra.
“Don’t be like that, at least we are not in construction duty”
“Gulp* You’re right”
Kyra takes her shake drink it all in one go. They finished their business there and continue on in their merry way, one step outside of the building. They see a familiar face, not noticeably from them but the other gangs posted secretly on the internet, because of that post. The people who saw that picture somehow that man noticed them, Kyra hastily pulled Umf back to the building where the infamous man resting outside among the benches.
“Holy crap! It’s him!”
“Are you still going on that internet bullshit again?”
“I don’t want to believe it, but the ops where never active again after that post they made”
“Grr, Sigh* It’s fine, just act normally, ok?”
The two walks out and try to walk pass him, trying not to be suspicious. One of their gang members comes along greeted the known infamous.
“Excuse me”
Both Umf and Kyra quickly rush away where they recognize the man they were talking about before. Heart racing, legs moving faster, mind blocked by swears and tears by a single moment passing by.
“. . . Is there something you need?”
The man pointed at the two, as they are shocked and oblivious to the point of screaming within.
“The metro station, there is something strange happening there”
U’ecin look at the man is pointing and proceed to go there.
The two goes down to the subway where they see him going this way.
“Shit! Shit! Did the idiot betrayed us?”
“Calm down Kyra, maybe he is trying to trick him or something”
“You’re not helping Umf, we both know that we are not smart enough to get away from this mess”
They try their best not to be seen, where at the time sees the same guy who guided the infamous man through here. Umf pulled Kyra to one of the seats available where her friend almost feint where U’ecin is close by. The man stops where the two girls sit, Kyra literally feinted, while those two standing are trying to find something.
U’ecin sees where he turns his head above them, Umf starts to sweat with her friend remained unconscious, and the man who is with him pointed out the direction. U’ecin begins moving in and passed by them, it was short but menacingly dangerous. It is going to be their first time nearly getting caught. The man sighs in relief and he had finally distracted him somehow. Umf pulled him close to her where he crouches down.
“What in the fuck are you doing here?”
“Sorry, who are you?”
“Can’t remember us, where still in the 1st moon cycle”
“Moon cycle? It’s almost the 2nd cycle”
Both of them argued a bit using so many slangs that they already know they are in the same group. A woman comes along pulled him back up and sees the two errand girls, pretending to be as a couple, she hugs him from behind acting like a jealous girlfriend.
“Hey, something a matter?”
“Please no more, I don’t want to have this soulless relationship”
She frowns at him and trying not to break her character. The errand girls look confused and received a message. Umf checks her device that they shouldn’t be involved in this and have to leave.
Umf tries to wake Kyra up, without being suspicious during this moment, they have no choice but to ride the train away from this place than back out from the entrance. Kyra remained confused but managed to act casually once they boarded the train. Umf looks outside where U’ecin comes back to them holding something to them, the man acts normal by showing his gratitude to the infamous man. The train leaves while she starts to continue reading the message from her device. Kyra checks her device as soon as she sees her friend’s message.
“Get out of here! . . . We’re both in terrible shit at the moment if you blow up our cover. It is stressful enough to gain that son of a bitch his trust . . . we have literally sacrificed the people we think they deserve it . . . Seriously though, I respect him in an immoral way”
There is an added text among the spaces, by checking the time, it was already sent when they are trying to move pass by him. The other one as they sit on the public seats, and now here in the train just recently. Out of their curiosity's sake, one of them respond the message.
“What did he brought you when we were getting into the train?”
“. . .” “. . .”
Waiting for the reply, a picture posted on their messenger to see what lies inside. Stolen goods for women and she added a comment.
“Perverts . . .”
and nothing else with only periods afterwards. The girls never would have thought their own world crimes blew up as well, for the past months that the crimes are related on magic. Now is getting out of hand for the creepiest people are all around the city, stalkers.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Man, and I thought magic is the most active”
“And those creeps have it too, let’s hope they would not mess everyone up because of their hobbies”
Meanwhile, the pretending couple is having a chat with U’ecin. Away from the public view and the woman checks the bag with a few pics on it, U’ecin secretly kept his 'equipment' in check as the two knows. He is still tired since his defeat from a Soulfate man, but continue on in his contribution. In truth, these couple did this only way to hide from the public security to get contact with him indirectly. All of them agreed to make as indirect as possible.
“Thank you for your help from that ‘thief’”
“. . .”
“Let’s go dear, it’s kind of embarrassing to have it here”
“Ok, bye”
Trying to act natural, as they do their separate ways.
“This is the creepiest mission we have to do”
“You’re lucky that you are a man instead of a woman, this bag filled with stolen undergarments really made me sick by those freaks”
“I can’t imagine those gangsters let those people joined like that”
“I know why we have to stay away from insane organizations calling themselves gangs, but sheesh, these are no ordinary people”
“I still can’t believe we are coordinating someone with different resolve”
“You were the one who initiate the conversation with them”
“Well, I met them before they kill me. Getting stuck with those choir men does give me a chance to talk to an Enders”
Rusic sees the couple passed by where he found U’ecin.
“Those people, did they offer another suspect?”
“Yes, it is getting stranger where people around me kept reminding themselves that I act the Dark Hero Sork”
“The goblin? It probably means he already implemented the dark side of our society”
“I am not a hitman but a huntsman, yet they didn’t know I connected the information they offered me. I might be helping them to remove their bad sides”
“I don’t know who they are wanted to get the hit, but can you trust them, U’ecin?”
“It doesn’t concern me, the tracks already imprinted on foot”
Kyra and Umf left the station where they are now at South Shore Bay district, in the west part of the district. Skipping few more stops just in case they were followed, they were kind of lucky they left without being suspicious. Everyone starts hassling about the incident where Umf only sees a bit of the incident. Many people didn’t even notice there was a chase coming in the metro station. It is kind of bizarre how those gang members do to hide themselves with their elusive magic. The infamous man is getting involved with their gang members where they are starting to get curious.
But both of them don’t want to be nosy something dangerous like that. The woman kept texting them about the situation, regarding about the inner gang wars, they feel not obligated not to get involved where in the dark web they read in the forums. More and more manga like tactics going on inside the internet, even some supernatural fictions are becoming real by those people who are involved. These errand girls don’t want that, but it is too tempting to read the blog where those suspects are doing. Even the notorious perb is in the forums, hunting his men of prey.
“I really want to see the website again after that incident”
“Don’t try to post it, Umf, I have enough of internet trolling in there”
“No, not like that, it’s about the infamous man’s target. They are probably posting warnings about him”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go to the city guild. Social media exploded after that viral video, and we have to check it out”
They go to the city guild where a crowd of people waiting outside filled with numerous, newly and returned, adventurers where they read in social media that a safer way to train themselves in higher ranks. Hearing someone with a megaphone where everyone cheered in excitement.
Kyra pulled out the lens and see what those people hide inside of them. They are already here, the people who joined the gang and the people who are curious about it, but something was not right through her lens. The lens she sees are the spirits hidden inside the stuff toys and other objects. Shamanistic spirits and fully fledged creatures revealed instead of its blurry light. Quite outstanding to see them in their true forms as actual animals but remained in one colored light in each of them. Umf asks
“Do you find the actual perpetrators?”
“Yeah, and the spirits already staring at them”
Umf couldn’t see those little toys hiding from the crowd, and only Kyra’s lens shows where they are floating and looking at people who are alleged gang members. Both of them can’t recognize any of them as they are worn their adventurer gears. Eventually a screen pops up from the sky showing the city guild’s sphere, showing the videos of them fighting against the Enders for training. The two were shocked that the sphere is there, and no one knows what it is capable of. They remembered the members of the rebellion keep mentioning to stay away from the spheres, everything that relies on an orb to interact, project something on view, or entering it.
“Say Umf”
“What is it?”
“Remember about the rebellion not going to the orbs”
“I remember that sphere though. Who made it?”
“The screen doesn’t explain about it, I’m guessing someone from Enders Bridge. Do we still be going in there?”
“We are going to just look around for a bit, there is nothing special”
“Special!? The Enders made it for them”
“Will see in the comments”
“You really need to get out from the internet from time to time”
“Probably much safer than witnessed ourselves”
“Umf, you really need that training”
“You mean here?”
“No, training from our ‘friends’”
“Right, friends . . . I hope I could survive that”
Both of them laugh where the people are already getting inside the city guild, it has been like this since morning until the afternoon. Many people have grown potentially without facing the consequences, using all their powers within the limits of the sphere. It was enough for them to boost their confidence back. The two girls head inside and watch the magic happened fighting against the Enders. To their eyes wide opened on screen, the same reenactment happened when the gangs where chased. They realized that those tactics are alike, now they understand why gangs are secretly wanting to check it out.
Such opportunity leaving the girls want to experience it too, but their strict orders kept their fantasy in check. The screen shows how much effort they have been through chasing them down. It wasn’t an intense chase but trails of mana leaving those runners behind. It can be possible to hide it, but since the start of the hunt, those fuckers finished it. Both of them where amazed how persistent those Enders can do to severely butcher them by imitating the pranks they are using as traps. It’s humiliating, but funny to see that one of the Enders is buying time to execute them like taunt kills in game.
Soon after, they are starting to get hungry and thirsty after watching on screen. There are also stalls that provide food and drinks, and eventually buys every of it. They have no regrets as they never spend so much for the entire summer.
“I think we deserve this”
“I hear you girl. We’ve been eating at home cook meals back home”
“. . . Well, that was kind of awkward to say that Umf”
“Yeah, I think I should lay off my NEET life back to our original world instead”
In all honestly, they live humbly within the hideout. Food is abundant and the flavorings and spices are from Agatheus City, yet they still miss their food here.
They step outside from the city guild and see more people waiting for their turn to get into the sphere. Whereas there is one doll is looking at them, it was no ordinary doll, and behind it was Silfa herself.
“Why are you looking at those girls?”
“Puma”
“Hmm”
Confused of why that doll talking like that and an adventurer starts to wonder why it said that. Kyra pulls out her lens and see what lies inside. Umf touched her back controlling her body, remembering what Kyra said to her. There are no telling what spirits are inside. Also, Umf didn’t forget the hordechief that says puma.
Kyra sees the true spirit of puma, waiting along with the spirits of horde waiting behind it. Not knowing when exposed the spirit rituals that will never see by the living, the lens let her see it. Pounding hard through her mind where the rituals and spiritual curses forced down on her in every thought. No nightmares nor painful flashbacks, there is a force coming through her head. Umf had sensed her consciousness already passed out, opening up her magic to control her like a puppet. Thankfully, Silfa don't know about her. She smirks inside her head.
The goblin spirits stared at her where her body shines light to them, all of them gasp to see her soul floating among them. The interactions to both sides can’t be identified, through every spirit looking at her soul where she herself looks at them back. Only hearing gibberish, while the hordechief bounded with the doll. Co-exist both his movement and dialogue from both realities, differently.
“Puma” / “The girl possessed the spirit kin”
“Hadza” / “From the line of lineage, it comes from the far west”
“Puma” / “My tribe land”
“Hadza” / “Yet the beasts are cautious”
“Dogumahn” / “The Humiskis don’t know that. Still stares without body mahn”
“Puk” “Muyl” “Dinju!”
“Puma” / “Yet she still here, the spirits will go wild”
Silfa is trying to calm down Puma, the doll, who are acting wildly when it looks at them.
“Puma, what’s gone into you? Sorry, I’ve never seen it being this wild”
“Puma! Puma! . . .”
Kyra remained unconscious and Umf tried her damn mind to fit her personality when she wakes up, then she quickly gives up. Umf stares at the doll where she smiles at it. Silfa is having trouble even with her own magic. The doll keeps moving around like a child with no sign of stopping saying puma.
“Puma”
“Is it your child?”
Silfa's mind blown from what Kyra said, where she tries to control the doll.
“Sorry, but this is a doll . . . hey!”
The doll manages to drop off from her arms, it reacted violently not because of that but in the spirit world. The spirits are closing eyes to Kyra, trying to communicate with her. The presence of ancestors empowering the doll from their presence, even it loses control of itself by the wild spirits concentrated in one area. Kyra on the other hand heard them clearly and can’t understand what they meant. Their presence made her lens do weird stuff and letting her body lost conscious but her mind awake and see what happened. The dense of spirits untouched to the real world as herself can’t see and only to the spirits.
The images of rituals are too much for her, and decided she had to take off the lens. Lens drop from her eyes and quickly tried to pick it up. Umf controls her to place the lens back to her pockets. The doll returns back to normal and acted out its usual self.
“Puma?”
Silfa was relief, while Umf wanted something better when Kyra wakes up. Kyra had to say it “Laugh* I was joking, kind I take a picture with your doll”
The doll shakes it head and Silfa wants payback.
“Sure, but remember it is wild”
“I’ll be fine, what’s worse going to happened”
Umf carefully moves her close to the doll, closer steps where her magic starts to lose power. Intervene by the spirits’ aura, Kyra getting possessed by the doll without the portal. Without Umf knowing that Kyra is inside the portal, the lens had connections to see spirits, in other words a ritual to the spirit world. It was not the doll intention to mess their game, and Silfa ordered it.
“Puma!"
"Take the picture and we can go, ok?”
It turned its head to her showing no expression only its limbs to move. Shakes it head then nods during of it. Umf feels the curse flows through her and the spirits are already control Kyra.
Umf still continue controlling the head, and the body now controls by the spirits. Puma gets pick up and try to take a picture. The spirits had already watch over the living world in this city, and it did some good tricks as they use Kyra’s magic innovatively. Umf thought of doing a joke with Kyra, for the second time she fell unconscious, now she smiles at the camera. After the first pick, she switches to the other device to take another one. The doll kept it posture like a tribal chief reluctantly from SIlfa's order.
Kyra returns the doll to Silfa’s arm weirdly,
“Umm, you can place it on the floor instead”
“Sorry, but it did act a child a minute ago”
“Hey, you know that doll is the same puma doll who fight in the challenge. Remember, the shield doll”
“But look at that teddy head mff*”
The spirit controls her body, shutting her up where the spirits’ presences are festered to Umf. Giving warning through her head given only the image of Kyra along with the other spirits close to her. Looking at Kyra at the back facing the spirits all numerous in numbers, Umf got worried and stops it.
“My bad, it’s nice to take a picture with it”
“Sure, but you are the first to ask”
“Thank you and goodbye”
“Yeah, sorry for taking your time”
“No problem”
Kyra moves faster than Umf could control her, continue to maintain the expression of happiness that she took the picture. Moving away farther from the doll, Kyra regain consciousness and broke off of her control. She turns around looking at Umf hid her bad impression and kept smiling at her.
“Kyra, you're back”
“Yeah, and I see what you did there”
“You were out when you are try using your lens at the doll”
“You should have mention me about those goblin spirits, the lens was not meant to look at them since they notice you like person to person”
After that errand, they go to the grocery store to buy some supplies for the hideout. Umf couldn’t believe what she heard from Kyra that her mind left from her body letting the spirits control her. They thought it is rare to use possession rituals, but the entire horde of spirits can do that. The easiest way to get possessed is by get to their world instead building up the disorder between the spirits and the living.
“So, you didn’t get anything when entering the spirit world?”
“I didn’t even know where I am back then, I’m glad that I’m not dead because of that”
“Sorry”
“It’s fine, it’s that adventurer's doll and the spirits can’t kill me if it is justified”
Kyra shows the picture to her again when the spirits added a modification within the frame. The edited is clearly from the city somewhere, the picture shows Kyra cosplay as an amazon woman riding some beast with the doll wears a bear pajama.
“Stop being show off Kyra”
“You’re trying to make prank on me, but the spirits say no”
“Laughing sarcastically* This time I would make it different”
“At least we got some souvenirs out from that guild”
The errands they have are done, now they have to go to their safe house. Realizing they are in the far across district where they are now, they decided to take a cab.
“Umm, Umf . . .”
“Don’t . . . you dare . . . sigh* . . . say it, I’ve never let go my old habits”
“Just teleport us somewhere else, I think this is enough spending for the day”
The place they are waiting were most taxis or cabs use to station, but now it's gone and replace with zones for the cars to park instead. It still exists but using private cars instead, the taxi company weren’t teleported to this world.
They teleported where they reside, near closer to the edge in between the two districts, between Chojima and Mihayara, and the highway that goes to all districts. They unpack the supplies inside their apartment trying to teleport secretly back to the hide out, with three apartment rooms under one floor of the building. It’s a special floor just for them to live in. Each of them has their own small apartment room and the extra one to store the resources. They completed their errands for the day and hope there are something on the internet.
Kyra’s room, compacted with different collections of fashion of clothes made through her tailoring. Practicing making clothes with the resources collected from this region, since the beginning coming to this world. It wasn’t her interest to stay here, and she don’t care what the world it is, she just wants to go home. Her life is alright but leaving her home is won’t worth staying here. Open up her account in social media where pictures of her family members back home, trying to go that far to leave is what she is on about. Kyra wonders off in her head after everything she had done to become like this
“How long does we have to do this in order for us to leave?”
Umf’s room, messy to the point that is easily clean by the robotic maid she bought. Owing a lot of money to Kyra and the rest of the gang members in Dark Green Dot. It is a selfish investment to herself, but her investment to gather data through digital research is well spend off to her NEET life. Yet, she still wants to go back. At the beginning, she was happy away from her home world but now so many happened regarding to magic and almost got caught from the east coast incident. Still wondering those adventurers returning because of the sphere.
“No matter how improved this city gets, those videos are no jokes”
Divided by the differences of each individuals becoming the people they are now just make them desperate. The promise heard by their leader, the covered man, will promise them they could leave but first they need to improve themselves when they leave this world. Anything they could do to hone their skills to ready themselves back to their world, Umf is still trying to decide which skills she had to do or else she will remain as a NEET, while Kyra already had one, she needs money for her business. Yet, both of them never share about it to each other.