Atlantis

[Apollymi]

Miki listened to what Kou had to say and his comments about the nature of this being a sunken city and the likelihood of the magic powering the artifact being connected to why this place was able to exist as it was made Miki scoff. Hikari's face managed to look childishly pouty as the easy fix proposed by Miki was basically shot down by her brother's rather casual appraisal of the potential futures, and she knew him well enough to know what this sort of thing meant."Of course, because simple would likely be way too much to ask..." she commented, looking at the other lass. Still, if there was even the possibility of her taking the piece out and causing the massive sinking of the place, then she couldn't really do it in good conscience. Hikari looked back and forth between this pair and wondered what they would do about this problem. It was obviously a double layered issue. They couldn't allow anyone to be controlled by the Lich but they also couldn't rightly allow the Merfolk who didn't have gills to drown. "These Lich puzzles are annoying tests of alignment... can't go too hard for chaotic because you'll have to kill a bunch of people, though that would make it easier to use Lich Powers. If you want to be nice about it, you have to do like hours and hours worth of work, deal with tyrannical rulers, or go through ridiculous puzzles or dungeons " commented Miki. Her senses still open she searched for the greatest power in the area and found it to be near one she also found to be familiar. "Fine, fine... let's go find out why Karna didn't just take this for himself while he was down here the first time..." she said with the same kind of displeased expression she always had. She was already thinking about the logistics of having to figure out how to maintain the already established barriers around this place without having to spend days and days establishing them herself and making sure the pillar itself remained unclaimed to avoid an Atlantean vs the Land-dwellers kind of interaction. With that in mind and seeing no course of action to take otherwise, she intended to keep walking in the direction Karna had gone until she made her way into the throne room.

In the meantime Karna was having a conversation with the Queen of this place and it seemed to be one about the nature of his companions. His shift in speech wasn't to what she wanted it to be, but he seemed to be the type to nickname people to start with so she supposed she could take his shift in suffix as a sign of proper alignment. "I guess that is better. It's sad your friends won't listen to you..." she said truly meaning it in the moment. Beyond this point there was the fact that he wanted to tell her about something but he went on to explain that he had no intention of fixing it himself. According to him this would end in the Kingdom becoming more of an aquarium. "What? I don't really get it. Why bother telling me about it if you don't plan to do anything about whatever problem there is?" she questioned, all of this sounded really confusing and she didn't really get his motivations.

[Bloodedge]

"That tends to be how it works," was Kou's response to Hikari. At the very least, provided Atlantis had an understanding monarch, there was a very real chance they could go through with this while avoiding maximum difficulty. Much to Kou's expectation as well, the direction of that monarch was the same direction Karna had taken, and Miki seemed to have latched onto that fact as well. "Hmm. Yeah... let's go," he said. Kou was quite perturbed by something, but he moved forward nonetheless. There was a lot to take from today's interactions thus far, and a lot more to infer from what was taken. This was shaping up to be an... interesting journey.

Karna raised his left forefinger, meaning to interrupt the queen. "Aht aht! People I travel with." With his point made again, he was able to move on to the queen's confusion, and why he very much didn't care to be directly involved in the fall of her kingdom. "You're the queen, aren't you? It's not your place to be worried about why a random traveler, who's giving you a warning, doesn't plan to help you out directly. Besides... that's what the other schmucks I hang out with are for. They're a little weak for this job, but I guess they've got some skill. They're the ones you should have help you with your stupid problems. You don't have enough to give me, to make me even think of helping."

[Apollymi]

"Stuff like this is why I didn't do a lot of leveling before... I can't really imagine trying to think through all this stuff on my own," Hikari said, this was already really heavy content and though she wasn't stupid, she couldn't begin to think about things the way her brother and apparently Miki did. Miki herself was still rather annoyed, she didn't really mind so much doing the things necessary to make sure they didn't sink Atlantis any further. Even so, she didn't like the amount of work being forced upon her. Atlantis itself wasn't even a Kingdom with pull in-game, knowing this she knew that this place wasn't high on the priority list for the completion of their Guild goal. And as she walked towards the palace she could see that they didn't use money for trade, so much like the Marshes, this place wouldn't be good for the kind of grinding she most enjoyed.

Karna felt the need to interrupt what the Queen of this land as saying, in clearing up his apparent relationship to those he brought along. "Weird point to argue, but whatever you say..." she pointed out as it seemed unnecessarily almost comically hostile. His message to her was that, her being Queen meant it wasn't really her place to worry about the message he planned to deliver without helping for whatever reason he planned it. "I am Queen but that seems pretty sketchy. For all I know you're the reason I have a problem now... and you telling me something and bringing in other people could be an invasion. But, if you really thought the problem was stupid, you don't seem like the type to interfere..." she mentioned with a casual shoulder shrug. At the end of this leg of the conversation, she found herself looking out of the throne room towards the opening doors as the trio of other Adventurers entered the palace. 'Please don't be a pain in the ass. Please don't be a pain in the ass...' Miki whispered in her own mind as she approached with a markedly neutral look on her face. This was the face which caused the eyes of the Queen to widen and she slid forward on her seat in absolute disbelief. "WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT FACE?!" she outright demanded to know, much to Miki's outright surprise, she was literally unable to speak immediately because the question was so confounding.

[Bloodedge]

When Hikari spoke again, Kou shook his head. "You can make it. You've got the skill," he said. It seemed they weren't incredibly far from the palace, so Kou chose to leave his rebuttal at that. Meanwhile, Karna still faced the queen. "If I were the reason you had a problem, this ocean would be red by now, and you would either be eye candy... or food. I wouldn't need to bring anybody else for that. That's your problem here, by the way. Too many people."

Upon entering the palace, the Adventurer group would initially be bombarded by a sudden yelled question from the queen. Kou first thought such a question would be aimed at him by someone who saw his username, and somehow made the connection to his appearance in the other world. When he looked at the queen, though, her attention was instead on Miki. This had to be someone she knew in their past lives, so Kou took a moment to view the queen through his Nexus vision. 'Ootsukichan?' he thought. "Close friend, huh..." he muttered afterwards, failing to even realize he spoke these words aloud.

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" Hikari affirmed trying to believe in herself but still figuring her brother being along would be a boon to all present, even Miki who seemed more than capable in her own right. Upon arriving in the Throne Room the trio was immediately accosted by a question which seemed to be aimed at Miki exclusively. Hikari's eyes widened and she looked to Miki who seemed to be a bit stunned, while looking back at the Queen of Atlantis who seemed to be upset by Miki's presence. The words of her brother would be heard by her and she'd look between them again, she trusted his knowledge of the situation and if Miki had a good friend here this was something worth looking into. Devious light played in the eyes of the lass. 'A friend eh? This is great!' she thought excitedly.

After a moment of recovery Miki's face went sour. She was in a bit of a foul mood to start with but was in the process of putting herself back together for the purpose of meeting with the potential ruler. All of this had put her back into the same foul mood she'd had before. Her expression immediately soured as she snapped back at the lass before her. "This face is mine. I scanned it in myself..." she said flippantly. The eyes of the lass on the throne lit up and she moved down and ever closer. With each step came the clarity of this face, and given its current look she was more certain about it than ever. "KIMI!!! You're here too!~" she said excitedly as she aimed to hug the lass excited by the prospect of knowing her. Miki's eyes widened, no one called her Kimi. Her own parents didn't call her Kimi. The only person who'd ever gotten familiar enough with her to feel comfortable with it, she hadn't seen in years. This was something easy to confirm, so as she was being hugged she had a look at the lass in the Nexus view as well. She was a bit amazed to see the one username that mirrored her own, because they'd created them together. Beyond that, she was a bit surprised by niceness of this young woman's introduction, considering the less than happy way they'd parted.

"Ah... sou ka. Hasashiburidana, Tsu-chan," She greeted in return, only to have the lass look at the group and be utterly confused by the idea of Miki travelling with other people. "Yay! You said it. I figured you might not because you were upset, but... you did it. I knew it, we're still friends." she said seemingly excited about the prospect. "But you're travelling with people, Kimi?" she asked seeming to forget all about her potential problems to catch up with her friend. "Who are they?" she asked willing to not call these people Miki's friends because she actually knew Miki and given the girl's general disposition didn't figure she'd properly made any. "Uh, well yeah. This is Kou and Hikari, and you've already met Karna."

[Bloodedge]

'They know each other. Well. Miki doesn't have friends in our world, though. That's what everyone's always said.' Kou took the time to consider the relationship between Miki and this queen. He'd never seen Miki face-to-face as a human, but he'd seen her in passing many, many times. The same could be said of anyone who attended their school. But, who could have been in the same age group without attending school, or even being known as the girl's friend by other peers? 'Ookimichan... Ootsukichan... Tsuki, Tsuki...' He wracked his brain for a spark of an idea. There had to be someone, right? They reacted to each other in too much of a friendly way for this to not be the case. Eventually, his name was spoken in a way that pulled his attention away from his own thoughts for a moment. He looked up, toward the queen, realizing he'd do best to greet her while being in her palace of all places. "Oh... hajimemashite," he said, though he didn't seem to be very focused on his introduction. In fact, a glow that was more eerie than normal was beginning to overtake his eyes.

In the meantime, Karna made an interesting decision. The queen had abandoned her throne, so he did what any sensible sociopath would do. He sat on the throne himself.

[Apollymi]

There was now a conversation happening between Miki and the Queen of the Atlanteans as they caught up as old friends. The entire time, there was nothing but smug happiness in the face of Hikari who gave a little gesture but was content to let whatever gems drop from the mouths of everyone present. Miki took a deep breath and poked the sides of the lass hanging on to her, making her squeal but she didn't let go as Miki would have hoped. "That tickles cut it out!" she chimed seemingly too happy to see the lass to let her go. "Nice to meet you... all of you!~" she said beyond amused. "Seri-chan desu!~" she introduced herself with the Nexus correcting her speech once again. "Sou ka, it's going to be like this. I'm glad to see you up and moving around, and not hating me and all, but we've got business to talk..." she said to the lass. "Aww, I could never hate you. That whole thing wasn't your fault, I tried to tell you but Tou-san said it might be too much for you at the time. I didn't want to add to your plate, but I figured you'd come around again eventually. Seems like eventually is in a whole new world, but I was never mad in the first place. Kaa-chan wasn't either, not that it matters now, but I thought you might want to know anyways..." Seri said about some unknown event which happened between the two lasses. Miki's facial expression shifted slightly, though she didn't really care very much about the other world, it was strange to know about the misunderstanding that took place between herself and what had been her only friend. Beyond that, she wasn't really very surprised given the personality of her own mother. Miki's commentary about business though also needed to be addressed and it caused the Queen to scoff.

"Of course, it's all business with you, at least at first. Well, I suppose if anyone was going to be like that, it would be you..." she said frowning slightly but still apparently in a good mood. "Karna-kun said I had a problem but that he wouldn't help, do you know what he's talking about?" she asked of Miki which made the girl huff. She looked up to the throne the other lad was now sitting upon and wondered what the point of his existence actually was besides annoying her. "You have several, Lich King's Obelisk, lack of money and trade, who knows what else. Those are the two I noticed, I'm sure Kou at least picked up something I wouldn't have noticed as well," Miki said looking to Kou to find the lad's eyes taking on a rather strange hue. "Kou... are you alright?" she asked fully giving her attention to the lad, and any looking at her would find her expression softened. In fact the shift in this lass' face made the girl who had been referred to as Seri blink several times as she let go of Miki for the first time legitimately surprised by the action. She couldn't believe the shift in the girl's personality towards the lad, perhaps to others this favoritism wasn't exactly obvious, but Tsuki had known Kimi since they were children, and the change in her tone and expression on her face were so severe she was shocked. 'Who is he to her?'

[Bloodedge]

There was a puzzle here, and Kou would be sure to solve it. He wasn't even aware of the oddities occurring within himself. Who was this Tsuki person, and how was she on such friendly terms with the presumably friendless Kimi? 'Tsuki, Tsuki...' Perhaps he was on the wrong track. Maybe instead of searching for Tsuki, he should inspect the facts about the one called Kimiko.

His thoughts paused when he considered the technology the girl possessed. She was able to scan her face into this game, and play in virtual reality. The game itself didn't naturally have such features, so there had to be some form of technology capable of bypassing the game's standard limitations. That was it! In one brilliant moment, he knew who Tsuki was, and how she was friends with Kimi without anyone knowing. She was the home-schooled daughter of the Kaiba Corps. CEO... "Kaiba... Tsukiko..." The glow in his eyes intensified. He was being addressed, but he couldn't tell. It looked as if there was literal space in his irises, surrounded by a glow akin to that of the Nexus itself. Within moments, Kou was struck with a burning fever, and collapsing.

[Apollymi]

A scoff came from Seriri in the moment as Miki pointed out several things wrong with her Kingdom which she would expect from the lass given what she knew about her. "Do whatever you need to take out the Obelisk. I heard it was something that would corrupt whoever had it so I don't really want anyone here with it, and leave it to you to notice all the things financially wrong with my Kingdom. Does it mean he's the people..." she paused she'd been talking but the change in Miki's features had surprised her, beyond that when she looked at the lad Kou right before he passed out from his burning fever she saw the rainbow like pigment of his irises. "Oh no!" this was the only thing spoken by Seriri as both Hikari and Miki approached the falling Kou. Hikari managed to catch him and Miki moved around the pillow to cushion him completely as she approached more directly. She touched her lips the lad's forehead and found him to be entirely too warm and was visibly worried.

"He's burning up..." such a strangely affectionate thing happened before her and Hikari didn't know whether to be excited the lass cared so much or properly worried for her brother. "Baka-nii, how dare you be sick when I'm the one who was sick. Miki-nee you'll save my brother right?" she asked of the lass with those large eyes she normally only turned on Kou with this sort of intensity. Miki looked over at the lass and in this moment of emergency she didn't have it in herself to be embarrassed by how she'd acted while checking his temperature. "I can't," she said calmly, Kimi was no healer and she didn't have the ability to do anything to non-physical damage with her current setup. Then she looked at Seriri flatly, just as Hikari managed to look defeated. "But you can. Fix him, Tsu-chan," she said which made the Queen of the Atlanteans look at the lass curiously. "You want me to fix him for you?" she asked, this was a surprising turn of events. Firstly, Miki knew this girl played support extremes so she was well aware that she would know how to fix him up. Beyond that she also knew that she would do it specifically if she asked with nothing else on the table. On the other side, Seriri found this strange because the Kimi she knew didn't care that much about other players because of her past experiences, if she cared enough about what was happening to this other boy to want him fixed, he was close to her in a way Seriri couldn't imagine. She doubted the lass would have asked such a thing for the lad called Karna whom she hadn't addressed directly since they'd entered the room. "Yes. I do, I want you to fix him now. And I'll do what I can to help you with your other problems..." she said, and when she looked at the other lass she found the threat within Miki's eyes and visage. The unspoken one of the kind of hell she would raise if her demands weren't met, quickly. "If he's that important to you fine, no need to threaten me, Kimi." Hikari was surprised but her little tail wagged as it seemed her brother would be helped. In the next moments a single droplet of water spread from the tip of Seriri's finger around the boy's body tracing his circulatory system as she opened his eyes to confirm the information she was taking in by virtue of the water. 'Hm, I don't want to say this... Kimi's going to be mad,' she thought to herself but the swirling color of the lad's eyes confirmed this even as she tried to begin reducing his fever. "This isn't good, he has the Devouring it isn't something easily fixed," she said. "What the hell is that?"

[Bloodedge]

Nothing occurring around Kou registered in his mind at all. His eyes were wide open, and he was panting. However... he could see, and feel. What he saw was not the throne room in Atlantis, but instead a mixture of different realities, which he couldn't even comprehend. He witnessed things familiar and unfamiliar, and he felt everything just as solidly as he saw it. It was truly some strange sort of out-of-body experience. At the mention of 'The Devouring,' even Karna perked up and sat forward on the queen's throne. He'd spent a lot of time in this world, and he'd managed to hear mention of this disease a few times in his previous life. It was a rather serious situation for one to be in, leaving Karna legitimately curious as to whether the lad would even survive the next few moments.

[Apollymi]

While being asked about the Devouring, Seriri pulled from within the robes of her clothing one large blue gem which seemed to glow with magic that moved as smoothly as water. She continued to manipulate the singular droplet to regulate the lad's temperature as she explained. "As far as we all know, the Devouring is a disease that only affects players. It isn't an effect of a character but about being from the other world, our world..." she said frowning. "It seems like the fever tries to force you back to the other world when you aren't anchored enough to this world, but you disappear completely from this world. There is no saying you don't end up back in the other one, but... as far as I know its the one thing considered true death for a player character..." she said finally. Miki looked at her impassively, but Hikari seemed a bit more determined. "Don't let that happen to my brother!" said firmly. "Hai hai, I am trying not to but I need to do something drastic. We have to anchor him to this world, the easiest way possible is to force him to take another avatar's form, preferably one made after coming here, but..." Seriri paused holding onto the gem. "Avatars crafted within this world seem to be very much their own beings, they could have different alignments and all of that," she said looking at Miki with a straight face. "If I force him to take on the form of another Avatar will he be a danger to us?" she asked firmly. She wanted to help her friend but not at the direct risk of her entire Kingdom. Miki thought about it for a second or two. "He only has one other character that I know of, and it is very dangerous I wouldn't touch it or anything..." she said calmly. "And he's not evil, he's more chaotic neutral. As long as you don't attack him, it will be fine... just save him... I'll deal with any consequences later if I need to," she said. This was more shocking than anything else. Kimi didn't take on unnecessary debts, she also didn't take bets she wasn't sure about, if she claimed to want to take responsibility for anything that happened as a result of forcing the lad to take this form she would do it without question. "Alright, it takes a while to get my hands on more of these so don't any of you others go losing yourselves before I can get my hands on some more..." she said and then she pressed the stone into the center of the lad's being. Doing so would cause the liquid within to spread across the entirely of his body and begin the Nexus interaction which would force the change in his form. Miki continued to watch over him from a fairly close distance to make sure it would be alright but she was still cautious of everyone else. "I wouldn't stand too close, his body could light you aflame..." she mentioned as a warning.

[Bloodedge]

As they discussed the potential change of Kou's Avatar to halt the progress of his disease, Karna quirked a brow. He already knew where this would go in the end as a result of this discussion. He remembered the other Avatars of both Kou and Miki. They were powerful, but he wasn't sure if they would cooperate or not. What he was sure of, though... was the power. There was no forgetting that, especially from the point of view he had.

Kou's experience came to an abrupt end as Seriri performed her seemingly unique magic. His fever didn't drop. No, it rose even higher instead, but this was no simple fever anymore. At the same time, both his eyes and hair became a brilliant shade of red. The remainder of his transformation occurred with a glow applied to the whole of his body, granting him the punk-like ensemble of his Dragonoid Avatar as the molten horns and wings sprouted from his body. A long tail, of course, emerged from his backside as well. With that... his consciousness was able to return, not as Kou... but as the Purgatory Dragon Akashi.

He rose properly, initially looking to no one in particular. He bore the aura of supremacy which leaked from his very pores, of course along with the actual burning aura he exuded at all times. When his consciousness solidified with this form, he said nothing. He did not move. He simply... stood there.

[Apollymi]

A few moments after, the effects of the condensed magic became clear, clear in the form of Kou becoming Akashi. A sigh of relief came from Miki as the lad stood and she pulled her pillow from beneath him and put it back behind her, knowing he didn't need such a thing as he was probably floating off the ground regardless. "Sugoi! Nii-san has such a cool second avatar!~" these were the first words spoken by anyone else, and they came from Hikari. "You scared us for a second there..." she said crossing her arms over her chest and turning away to pout slightly but overall she was very relieved that her brother was fine, and didn't apparently care about the obvious change in his personality. In the meantime, Miki had a look at him in this form with the eyes she was most used to having, she knew at her current level she couldn't really do anything to him if he decided to rampage, but she figured it wouldn't be a problem as long as no one attacked him. "She's right, you did give us a bit of a fright. Nice to meet you I guess, Akashi." Miki stated, knowing she'd not had any direct interactions with this Avatar before. In the meantime it would be Serini who'd gone on to cling to left arm of Miki seemingly out of habit and a bit scared of the overall meanacing aura being presented by he lad in his Dragonoid form. "Kimi, he's a fucking dragon! You said chaotic neutral, that's a natural disaster. I've never even seen one of those in this world. Not even a regular one, much less a player controlled one," she whispered seemingly distraught. "Oh? You swear now... I wonder where you learned words like that..." Miki said most sarcastically, still there was a regular conversation on the table so she'd answer it. "It will likely be fine just don't touch him and don't fight him. Calm down, Tsu-chan," she said, giving the Queen a gentle pat. She didn't bother admitting that she also had a form like this, she didn't want the lass to worry. There were several logistical things she needed to discuss before she took care of the Obelisk in the middle of town.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi knew only one person. Who were these things with enough nerve to address him so casually? Those almost hateful crimson orbs in his head first landed upon Hikari, who spoke to him with utmost familiarity. "Nii-san?" he questioned, though there were more issues at hand. Another one of these pitiful creatures dared speak his name, as if she had the right. All the while, the final one cowered before him. Yes, this was the most reasonable reaction, though it remained unsatisfactory... just like the others. His second utterance would not be a pleasant one, as the unbridled Mana of a Dragon flowed out into the city of Atlantis...

"Rengokuryuu..."

"Oi, oi! If you're gonna wake up a Dragon, at least don't be stupid enough to keep standing around it," Karna spoke suddenly, in his typical fashion. This action of his at least had the effect of pausing Akashi's... whatever it was he was preparing. He floated forward, hovering over the stairs leading to the throne. "... Off my throne, Jester. A King sits there." Interestingly enough, Karna had no words to say in response. He rose from the throne and cleared a path, which Akashi took to seat himself upon the throne of Atlantis.

[Apollymi]

Akashi's response to being called Nii-san was markedly different from Kou's at least, the reaction given to someone like Hikari. It came out more or less like such a conversation happened between Kou and Madoka which let Miki know about all she needed to about the current situation. She motioned towards Hikari while using the 'Snatch' ability, doing so, 'stole' the distance between them putting the smaller lass near her as well. This was done because she didn't trust the lad's reaction to all of this. She was right to do so because the unbridled power which leaked from him was massive. Too massive for her to steal, but strangely enough, Karna's words put a stop to what Miki didn't doubt would have been a flaming annihilation for this chunk of the city. Still, the blonde haired lass didn't quite know when to quit and committed herself to stealing a bit more of his mana for later, just in case she needed to buffer their defense. "Kimi he stole my throne," she whispered still obviously frightened. "Yeah, well, he could have set us all on fire so... probably shouldn't think too much about the chair. Come on... I'll take care of the Obelisk and let him have his chair, and tell your staff not to get in his way..." she mentioned, this created a nod from the Queen of the Atlanteans as she walked away to do what was necessary, and as Karna had given up the lad's throne there didn't seem to be a problem. Except one little thing. "No." this was the only word spoken and it came from Hikari. A sigh came from Miki as she began working on what she assumed would be a defense of the girl who seemed like she was about to blow a gasket.

"I don't care if he's a fucking dragon. That's my brother and he doesn't get to act like a jackass towards me just 'cause he got a set of scales and fire power. Fuck that and fuck him if he's gonna be like that!" she exclaimed going to stand before the land with hands on her hips and eyes burning with intensity. "You keep acting like that and you'll end up all alone, no partner and no sister. No one who matters will tolerate you acting like that you ridiculous fucking jerk. BAKA-NII!" she fussed the lad out in a manner that Miki found surprising she couldn't even breathe at the thought that this girl might get annihilated. The pillow floating behind Miki was slowing growing in-size and she was preparing to pull the girl back towards her and defend them from flames, though the difference in level was going to make it damn near impossible perhaps she could help them avoid enough of the damage that they could be healed by Seriri and that would be enough.