Atlantis

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai," she said seeming to approve of the lad's general attitude about making amends with Miki, though it seemed unnecessary. After explaining what she'd witnessed of their favorite adventuring pair, it seemed that Arjuna was enough of his original self to find their plan to still be one worth carrying out. He stated he'd like to wait around with her until the pair returned in favor of not potentially interrupting an actual date. "Of course it is, I'd enjoy the company..." mentioned Seriri. Of course, she wouldn't get very long to enjoy the lad's company solo. Even so, he seemed quite a bit different from his other self in a completely acceptable way.

Floating along side the lad, draped over her pillow, also eating snack wafers was Miki. She was almost pretty amused by the variety of food offered within Atlantis. "Hai! I've probably been a bit spoiled by this. But... if there are others like Tsu-chan. I bet it will be really easy to find more samples of home!~" she chimed optimistically. The blonde haired lass was in a surprisingly good mood. One that was obvious on her face as they entered the palace and headed towards the Throne Room because of its placement. Upon entering they would see, Queen Seriri sitting upon her throne. 'Hm? Tsu-chan has a new friend? It's beginning to look like she has a type,' Miki thought to herself though she didn't immediately say anything. Instead the Queen would greet them both. "Okaerinasai," she said to both of them waiting to see how this next bit of interaction would play out.

[Bloodedge]

Every other step, Kou was biting into his wafer, using his lips alone to pull the next segment between his teeth. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. I'd really like to find a place with a good burger. Might create AoE McDonald's; who knows?" Kou said in jest. He was becoming infinitely curious how many ways their world had influenced this one, but in reaching such a curious state, he also began to wonder what parts of this world influenced their own. Surely, it couldn't be a one-way street. That wasn't a thing of importance now, though. Kou had convinced himself that there was no going back at this point.

As they entered the throne room, there was an unfamiliar identity in the queen's company. Kou looked onward with mild curiosity. Nothing in his vision gave him an immediate answer as to who this person may have been; perhaps it was a glitch that clouded his sight? "Ohayou..." he said nonchalantly, seeming interested in this meeting taking place. Arjuna turned to the pair, wasting no time in approaching them. "Ah, there you are. Now that you're here, I'd like to see if either of you would be interested in taking this," he said, offering yet another Holy Magic Mystic Code. Kou took pause immediately, looking at the raw code whilst blinking again and again. Moments later, he shifted his gaze toward Miki, ever more curious. "Uh..."

[Apollymi]

"Burgers... I've never really had any before. If you open that spot though, I'll be the first customer~" she mentioned seeming to be both serious and amused. Upon getting to the right spot they were standing before Seriri. "Ohayougouzaimasu..." she mentioned to the woman sitting on the throne. The other man seemed to be new and Miki had a look at him though her Nexus vision but found him clouded for some strange reason. This man came forward with an air of familiarity and showing very strangely a raw mystic code of the Holy Magic variety. Miki also took great pause blinking before she found Kou's gaze and almost immediately spoke to him and him alone in this moment. 'I'm not the only one confused, right? It has to be too good to be true, random Holy Magic Mystic Code for free,' she asked of Kou. All the while Seriri looked on at the pair finding their reactions to this both amusing and kind of weird. "Hm, so I am not the only one sketched out by something like that. Good good, I didn't know if I was being cautious enough or not..." she said aloud wondering what exactly would happen between these three. It had become obvious that this pair also didn't recognize the lad in her company.

[Bloodedge]

Did he hear her properly? Did Miki say she'd never had a good burger before? That was undoubtedly the statement she gave, but Kou's interpretation was much better than the actual truth. "Really, you've been settling for mediocre burgers your whole life? That's a shame. We're gonna have to set you up," he said. Of course, he assumed her statement was to be taken as literally as possible. Little did he know.

This new individual was... questionable. Who was he, to so brazenly offer a rare type of magic in the form of pure, unfiltered Mystic Code? How did he even develop such an ability? He looked to be a member of the Church, but they weren't necessarily trustworthy individuals in the way they should have been. Miki agreed, even making her thoughts known in their shared mental space. 'Well, it's not completely ridiculous. The Church in this game was always really sketchy, though. I had to deal with them a bit when doing Holy Knight stuff, and I was glad to be rid of them. I'd assume that Holy Magic was laced with some sort of brain control, but... it's too pure,' he replied. Realizing he was now making the same mistake twice, Arjuna scratched his head and sighed. "Sumimasen. I'm still not used to it yet. I am... Arata. Arjuna, in this Avatar. I finally managed to subdue Karna, for now. This is my apology for taking so long."

Kou was left absolutely dumbfounded. He knew how stark a difference there was between Karna and the human behind the Avatar, but this was unprecedented. He wondered what even produced a need for an Avatar like Karna to be overwhelmed, but that was of little consequence. "Oh, well... yeah. Obviously. It was easy to notice, no doubt..."

[Apollymi]

Miki had indeed mentioned never eating a good burger before. But that wasn't really what she meant at all. She'd never eaten a burger before period. Strange though that was, she was definitely the kind of person who had her diet controlled and arranged for her most of the time. Even her snacks were made by chefs at her house at her request and based on the dietary guidelines enforced by her mother. "Yeah, never had a burger before. I don't think my mom would have allowed it. Actually, she found out I went to a carnival and ate fair food and ... well yeah," Miki's eyes shifted a bit when she thought about her lack of food diversity as a young person. In fact, she'd make it a habit to have a good few new food experiences while she was in this world. A giggle escaped Seriri when Miki mentioned her controlling nature of her mother but she stifled it immediately turning her head away.

Miki heard out what Kou had to say and could do nothing but agree. 'Yeah, I was always really sketched out by them. But I definitely wanted to get my hands on one of those Grails... It would complete my collection,' she said with a bit of deviousness in her eyes moving right along. This lad apparently was someone they knew, the name Arata was one she had seen before on the Nexus information of Rook who'd become Karna. "Did you just apologize?" there was pure confusion in Miki's voice. Miki couldn't help but have her eyes widen quite a bit, this lad was so vastly different from Karna as an Avatar without confirmation of his username she'd scarcely believe the information. "Uh-huh, that's pretty cool. I guess..." Miki said also trying to be as nonchalant as possible. But she gave up really quickly. "No, just no. Why the hell do you have a pure Mystic Code and why are you trying to give it to one of us?"

[Bloodedge]

It made no sense at all. How could she be saying she'd never had a burger at all? Was this what it meant to be wealthy in their world? Kou knew how rich humans tended to behave, but he never imagined they'd go without even experiencing a hamburger. Stunned though he was, this couldn't be dwelled on; there was something even more stunning afoot. This man, this Arjuna, was the user called Arata. Kou hadn't heard something so mind-boggling since coming to Atlantis, though there was also something refreshing about knowing Karna was 'asleep' as it were. First though, there was another interesting claim made by Miki. 'The Grails? You think the Church would actually have any of them? I seriously doubt it,' he offered in response. With that, he was able to begin expressing his... opinion of Rook's new Avatar. "I have literally no idea how I'm supposed to take this all in, but sure. Nothing against Karna, but he's a little extreme from time to time."

Arjuna nodded. He knew how problematic Karna was, even more so how he would have been if entirely unrestrained by the person within. As for the Mystic Code he had on offer, he had but a simple answer. "I have it because I need to have it. I offer it to both of you, if you are interested in taking it. I should tell you though, there is every sign of the Doom Ending occurring in this world. Holy Magic would be a boon if it were, no?"

[Apollymi]

If Kou was surprised about Miki's former dietary restrictions he didn't seem to express anything about it immediately. Instead he seemed to be a bit caught up on her mention of a treasure known as the Holy Grail. A bit of a chuckle came from the lass within their mind space, and she'd share what she knew just in case it was pertient. 'I received a tip during my game play that the Magisterium had discovered one of them. I may or may not have planned on finding a way to relieve them of their burden,' she said with just a hint of deviousness in her eyes. She wasn't a bad person, but she did express a strange bit of greed, particularly when it came to things she could get for herself. This seemed to be an innate part of this character and maybe of Kimiko herself, and it would be a very obvious thing as it spread about. As they moved along, it seemed that Kou only had to say that Arata's other Avatar was extreme and he wasn't sure how to take this rather drastic transformation which resulted in Arjuna. "Yeah, I'll borrow that one too. That's the nice way to say it..." Miki affirmed.

Soon enough, Arjuna as he was called was explaining himself in light of Miki's outburst. He claimed he had it because he needed it, and that the Doom Ending which was rumored as an event was likely to occur in this world. As such having Holy Magic would be a bit of an advantage. What was more, was that he was offering it to both of them, taking care of the only real issue that Miki would have had with accepting it in the first place. "Well, I was already preparing this Avatar to deal with that sort of thing, that being said... I can't simply let something so potentially good pass by me. Though I don't think I want to cast it. I think I have a decent idea for it," she mentioned, giving a gentle shrug to Kou. She intended to take this offering of Arjuna's, and given Kou had already looked it over and knew it to be purely what it was, she had less of her normal misgivings about it. She eased herself forward atop her pillow and aimed to take it whenever Kou did. "Oh? So, you do intend to take it. I took one too, and mixed it with my existing magics. I can protect the whole Kingdom with it that way..." Seriri mentioned. "Nice Job, Tsu-chan!~" Miki encouraged realizing the lass' choice to handle the situation in such a way was pretty good.

[Bloodedge]

'The Magisterium? If they have a Holy Grail, I guarantee you'll be able to tell when you run into them. They'll most likely be parading the streets and flexing at any opportunity they get.' Kou's interactions with the Holy Church and Magisterium of this world didn't give him much faith in the organization as a whole. They bordered on the excessive most times, and were the bane of his existence during his training to become a Holy Knight. All he could think of for some time was the moment he'd officially be a Holy Knight, just to escape direct contact with those annoying groups.

Arjuna wondered what this pair would do with the Mystic Code he offered. Miki seemed interested though, and judging by the curious expression he wore after a brief exchange, it could be assumed Kou had interest as well. Alas, there was a matter he had yet to address with these two. Considering both of them could have a desire to own the code, Arjuna chose to share this information without further ado. "You both want it, then?" he asked, looking primarily to the unconfirmed Kou, who hesitated briefly before showing a certain nod. "In that case, I should tell you. This is the only additional source of Holy Magic I have, so I cannot offer it to two of you in its full form."

Though he believed Arjuna should have mentioned a bit earlier, Kou hardly expected different. Still, he didn't seem too bothered at all by the notion, as he stepped forward and interacted with the Mystic Code regardless. "That doesn't matter. I don't have the space for a code anyway, so I know what I'll do with it. An Overlay sounds pretty good..."

[Apollymi]

A chuckle came from Miki as she heard what Kou had to say about the Magisterium. She could only agree of course, as a person who wasn't a knight, nor connected to the Magisterium or its services in any way, she only knew what she was told about it. But large organizations like that were rarely without their faults and corruptions. 'To be fair, I was kinda just hoping it wouldn't turn into some ridiculous quest. Though given how things have been turning out in this world, I have no reason to assume it won't be exactly that...' she thought at the lad with a minor bit of discontent. It would be nice, if she could just steal the item, but she didn't expect to receive that much grace in this new life.

Beyond this it was soon mentioned by Kou that he'd also like this Mystic Code in a not so direct way. This lead to Arjuna mentioning that he only had this one left, and as such he couldn't provide the full code to either of the individuals currently present. Miki shrugged that information off, it wasn't as if she needed the full thing to get what she wanted out of such a thing. It was mentioned by Kou that he intended to use it for an overlay and thus was fine with a potential split. "I have a different idea entirely... I also don't need a full code," she said stepping forward and interacting with the Mystic Code as well. "Ara? You can split it up like that?" Seriri wondered aloud, she was learning something new and wondered if she couldn't have shared her own much easier than she had. "Hai, you don't have to use every line of Mystic Code to get a particular skill. Some are made with multiple skills involved anyway," Miki mentioned for the sake of clarity and to help her friend out in the future. Whatever the case, Miki intended to claim five lines of this code, to add to her own. And after receiving it, she intended to write it into a different kind of skill. After she claimed it, she'd leave the others for Kou assuming he'd do the same, leaving him the other half of the code to claim as his own. Then with no further prompting she busied herself the mark on her forehead glowing as she used the Skill Creator in her Nexus Vision to combine the partial Holy Magic Mystic Code she had, with a copy of five existing lines of Mystic Code she already possessed. And what code did Miki add to this Holy Magic one might wonder? Well, it was... Necromancy.

[Bloodedge]

Two hands met the raw Mystic Code, and two bodies took it into themselves for different purposes. Unfiltered Holy Magic fragmented itself into two segments, both containing all the information to produce Holy Magic, but without substance due to being incomplete. As a glow overtook his own eyes, Kou also spoke to Queen Seriri. "She's right. It's best if you don't even think about it as a certain number of lines, unless it's to fill space. Think of it like computer coding. Lines of coding each have an individual purpose, but they only make a program when they come together. To do this..." Kou paused as his absorption of the code reached its final stage, in which he copied the source code of his current Avatar and applied an overlay of the Holy Magic to it. In one additional tweak, he scrambled the codes within himself until they came together to create a new existence entirely.

"Code Synthesis. Strip the code from multiple sources, combine them, and make something entirely new. That's where the endgame builds come in," he explained further. An ethereal glow had encompassed his body, and was beginning to reshape the lad. His hair remained mostly the same, though his bangs grew out on either side of his face, extending most of the length down his body. The most drastic change involved his clothes, which took the shape of form-fitting white robes with exceptionally long sleeves, and an odd three-layered adornment over his shoulders which curved around his head. A rather alien visage was created as a result of these things coming together, and was completed by the fact that the ethereal glow became a mere fact of this Avatar's existence. When glowing emerald eyes opened, he spoke again, in a voice that seemed to resonate a second time in the mind of the listener as a magical aura radiated from this new presence. "There. All sorts of things are possible when combined the right way. Even..." Once more, he took pause. This time around, he did so for the sake of glancing in Miki's direction. His Mana was strange in this form, yet stable in a very different way. It existed while not existing at all, but his sense for energy was acute enough that he knew the extent of what she'd done. As such, he looked to her with a quirked brow. "... Divine Rebirth?"

[Apollymi]

Both Miki and Kou were explaining the finer tuned uses of Mystic Codes to the Queen of Atlantis. Such a lesson was one she hadn't quite gotten to yet, as such she took in the information attentively. "Sou ka, so it's like basic programming functions..." she said seeming to understand but getting a full view of the kind of things that are possible. Strangely Kou had chosen to use his new coding to make himself something entirely different. But before he did this, he explained the importance of this action. "Code Synthesis, huh?" she said thinking about it. She thought she'd been accomplishing something amazing when she combined Holy Magic with her own ability to manipulate water, but what she was now witnessing. A new Avatar which was entirely different from the lad he'd been before. "Sugoi! Sugoi! That's really amazing. I have a lot to learn," she said. Still there was whatever Miki was working on which was bound to be interesting as well if her friend maintained her usual amount of creativity.

Miki for what it was worth, was finishing up her own creation when Kou became an entirely different being. He had a strange glow about him and she was a bit captivated for a second or two longer than she needed to be. "That is... pretty cu... impressive. Yeah," she agreed with Seriri in a way that could be considered awkward, but she didn't really have any idea how to respond to the new look, aside from knowing that she liked it, just as much as she seemed to like his other forms. Moving right along as her own new Mystic Code settled it seemed that the new version of Kou was indeed super magical. He was also very attentive and knew what she'd done before she got a chance to mention it. "Yeah, Divine Rebirth is a good way to think about it," she said with a bit of a chuckle. There was obvious confusion on the face of Seriri so she began to explain. "Instead of using what I took to make a new Avatar, I used the lines I had, and combined them with Necromancy. So, I can summon a certain Divine Beast, while it retains its sentience, Divinity and so it can use its original powers," she said which made Seriri chuckle. "Alright that is pretty normal for you... I guess, which summon did you get?" she asked curious about what kind of creature the girl had summoned. "Gugalanna." Miki's final word was that alone, which made Seriri's eyes go wide as she tried to find the right words to question her friend and couldn't do so immediately.

[Bloodedge]

This new Avatar of Geno Killer's boasted a far sterner expression than Kou, though he held no clear animosity toward anyone in the vicinity. "That's the cut-and-dry of it. I would recommend always making an attempt to use Code Synthesis, even just to create your spells and abilities. If you do, then no matter what path you take, there will always be a touch of you in your choices." This was the very same advice he could offer anyone, in his long-standing war against 'the meta' as it were. Hundreds, thousands, millions of individuals playing games in vastly different ways. That was the dream. That was the goal.

His eyes were still set on Miki. They had narrowed slightly, curiosity becoming something even deeper yet. Divine Rebirth was a mighty power; enough to fell entire lesser guilds in the right hands within a PvP environment. This one seemed to possess such power, though even he could not tell precisely what it was just yet. Beyond all this, Miki herself had something to say regarding the male's Avatar shift. She seemed to shuffle through a couple of descriptors, one remaining as an incomplete clause while she showed an unnecessary amount of attentiveness. His head tilted, and he spoke once more. "Hm-... Arigatou. This one's name is... Licht," he said for the sake of future reference. While information regarding their alterations were being discussed, Miki openly shared the identity of her reborn divine creature. Licht fell silent, appearing shocked for a matter of seconds before his head leaned back in a burst of laughter. "Gugalanna!? Of course you'd build a Necromancer capable of summoning the Bull of Heaven! Subarashi!"

[Apollymi]

Did Miki note the sterner expression upon the face of the new Avatar? Yes. Did she care or feel threatened by it? Not really. As one who bore the burden of a normally sour expression she'd make no assumptions about what was going on in the mind of the lad. Actually, if she were being perfectly honest, she actually found the slight hint of a more brooding expression a bit attractive in its own right. After all one couldn't be too much of the same thing all the time. Still he had words to share with Seriri who nodded her understanding in a manner quite similar to his younger sister. "Hai hai!" she mentioned well on her way to further defining the character she'd already created.

As this conversation progressed, the lad thanked the lass for her initial observation of him. His speech at the time seemed very much like that of his original Avatar and beyond that point he even took the opportunity to give his name which happened to be Licht. "Hai hai, Licht it is then," said Miki as she committed this man's Avatar's name to her memory. This whole interaction seemed to be very normal even with two people's Avatars shifting about. The thing that cemented this idea was Licht's response to the lass' new summon. He laughed and seemed well beyond amused even pleased. Miki smiled at this and managed to look just a bit sheepish. She was quite used to doing out of the ordinary things with her builds, but not necessarily used to getting praised for them in such a way. "Well, that name line I left to luck, but I think it turned out alright," she said with a bit of a chuckle. She wanted balance out of her character and as such she'd done a lot to ensure she'd get the Divine Beast she had, but there was still the possibility of the coding not providing her with the summon she intended and choosing instead to give her something more suited to her alignment. "Thanks for the code lines, Arjuna..." she mentioned to the lad who'd provided her with the basis she'd needed to gain the newest trump card in her arsenal. "Yare yare, you can say its luck but I don't really believe you Kimi. Traveling with you has to be too exciting for normal people. Both of you even..." she said of the pair. Not only was their weird relationship something worth stalking, but their style and how the interacted with this world was something completely extraordinary, even for someone who was somewhat familiar with them she could be nothing but amazed at what the two had managed with half a Mystic Code to split between them.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. Arigatou," was Licht's only additional statement, offered to Arjuna in the wake of Miki's gratitude. The tanned male held up his hand, shaking his head with closed eyes. "There's no need. I'm just pulling my weight as a member of this Party. I have something different for Hikari, so I should be off to find her now." With an immaculate bow, Arjuna excused himself of the others. He had a general idea of where he could find Hikari to offer his present to her; all he had to do was locate her.

Licht glanced into the palm of his own hand, which quickly became surrounded by white Mana 'birds' that fluttered their way as far as his elbow. This outcome was ideal on all fronts, and he now wondered what one such as Hikari would be granted. "I guess we'll be ready for whatever's coming. I have an itching suspicion that it's Akuma," he said, clearly sarcastic when he spoke. Seriri verbalized an opinion which, frankly, Licht shared when discussing the lass. "She's got a point. It's hardly luck, but more... choosing an omission well enough to leave little to no choice when the equation is complete. Almost like multiplying by zero, right?" he asked rhetorically. Either way, they both had what they needed. The lad had been giving consideration to a 'pure Caster' for quite some time, and Holy Magic's Mystic Code had given him what he needed. Of course, this also temporarily solved his problem of not having magical ability for the time being. He certainly wasn't going to resort to using Akashi. "You solved that puzzle. It's going to be hard to say you didn't do this as well."

[Apollymi]

"As you like..." was all that Miki had to say to Arjuna. After all, the lad claimed he'd only been doing his part, as if he didn't want to be thanked for his efforts given this she wouldn't argue this point. He claimed to be going to find Hikari and give her a gift as well which was a grand idea. Having the whole party caught up a bit was probably for the best, especially given their current levels and their need to finish off gear, builds and the like. Where was Hikari at a time like this, well she could be found in another room within the palace. Here she was currently sitting off to the side fiddling with something between her fingers. She seemed to be working on a small charm of sorts while other business took place within this workshop. Of course, she also looked a bit different now. She'd aged up a couple of years, her face slightly more mature. Though her eyes were still that same glittering color of magenta that they always were. She seemed to be in deep concentration, her tail and ears twitching ever so slightly. 'This shouldn't be so fucking hard...' she mumbled to herself as she kept trying to do work on whatever she was doing.

In the meantime, Miki watched as Licht stared at his palm, eventually producing small Mana birds. Beyond this it seemed his magic was fully stabilized once more, so she figured it was a good thing. He claimed that they were now ready for the next big thing they'd face, which he thought might be an Akuma. "Hmm, it wouldn't be surprising. Still, I'd rather get a couple other things done before dealing with something like that..." she mentioned. Soon after this, something strange occurred and Licht seemed to be agreeing with Seriri's point about Miki's 'lucky' break. Even to the point of explaining in a roundabout way how the lass had accomplished it. Miki's eyes widened and a blush came to her face. She turned away slightly embarrassed she'd been caught so quickly. "Of course you understand how I managed it. Just giving away trade secrets all over the place..." Miki said. Making Seriri do something funny climbing down from her throne she wrapped her arms around the lass' neck and playfully whined about the situation. "Oh? Kimi are you keeping trade secrets from me now? So mean... I thought you were my best friend..." she emphasized a few of those words which made Miki respond the other way she could. "Urusai!" she said which only made Seriri laugh. "Yay! You are still my best friend!~" the Queen announced triumphantly.