Munetsuchi

[Apollymi]

Sakura was now receiving the third degree from her parents, and Anais sympathized. She was once used to having her own decisions questioned in such a way, so she had a strong feeling of connection to Sakura. The first man addressed as father by Sakura would have Miwa answer him first but only to nudge him into a more open way of thinking. "Very unusual, but pitiful is only his present state, Qin-sa. Humans are beings of infinite potential with no true leaning in the three original directions. He could be anything, for all we know he could be quite impressive when he is whole," Miwa stated. Sakura took the time of her mother talking to clear her thoughts, and then she answered. "I was just observing some interesting people around the shops," she said as her code for eavesdropping on people who were quite in love with each other. "During it, I gained an interest in what had fallen from the sky and I became curious enough to investigate. After stumbling upon them... I felt that they both loved him and I knew his state was one which would lead to no simple death, so I decided to help. But... I couldn't... it's still interesting to me. Besides, the thread that connects him to the goddess is as strong like the one that connects you to Kaa-sama... so I want to see what is at the other end," she clarified.

At the same time the recently identified Ailen was questioning in the scientific manner. This was why he was a member of this harem, though his tangent was quite odd it was also normal. "I do not know if I count as a friend," was Sakura's honest answer to her next father's ramblings. "She is quite confused, she does not know yet how her interests align, but she likes you quite a bit..." she said to her father while gesturing loosely at Anais. Then she pointed to Astolfo and considered him for a moment. "He likes most people and most people like him, but I feel like that is also complex," she said. "And the one who is shattering is principled enough that he thought to turn down even a simple mana transfer because he was married, but I still don't understand what that has to do with anything," she said of Charles.

All the words traveling around the room entered Miwa's mind. She was taking mental notes for later. But she did indeed manage to stop Charles constant breaking state, temporary though the fix was. The lad's own tale was something rather interesting. He had been getting married, crowned as Holy Emperor, then been framed for stabbing someone and had fallen during the commotion. He'd also had his core broken and mostly stolen at the same time. Such a thing was pretty interesting from both the prospective of drama and magic. He also claimed he didn't want to hear them discussing his lack of future existence. To that bit Miwa had only one thing to say. "Not telling you will not change it. It would be wise to remember that your existence and not your life is at state while we discuss ways in which to potentially fix you..." she explained just as clearly as Sakura spoke. Ah, well oddities had to come from somewhere, but just as easily as she said that her mind moved on and she began walking around him again. "Still, it sounds like you had contact with someone who wanted to use your human potential for something..." she was talking aloud, bouncing ideas off her two present husbands. "So, we have established a title, but you fell from above so that alone isn't enough. Ah, it could have been just to steal your wife, but it would have been easier to do that if they hadn't let you get married. So no... the person in question wanted you for something, but what? What about you was special enough to make your existence something worth erasing through absorption at that. What was your identity needed for?" as she pondered this question she remembered something else and turned to face Anais.

"Yes, I am a goddess that is the truth of my existence, if you have questions you may ask... I won't have the uneducated wandering around in my empire," she said, though the words themselves weren't exactly soft, Anais still felt like she was just talking to a tough teacher back home. "Well, it's just that we were taught that there is only one god. God who did all the things, and that any other gods are false, or evil or demons," she explained, still confusion on her visage. "Still, you don't seem to be any of those things, so now I just have questions..." she expressed she couldn't make heads or tails of this day. "But... Charlie is way more important than my curiosities," she said while bowing. Anais had almost outed herself again, Charlemagne was more important to her than her curiosities. She knew it wasn't possible for her to fix Charles himself so she could set aside all the breaking of her mind and heart until there was a real solution to his issue.

[Bloodedge]

"Your words change nothing," said the man called Qin to the goddess. "He was left in this state, and could do nothing about it despite being so much. We question why Sakura would spare more than a passing glance at such mediocrity," he continued. Meanwhile, Ailen's attention was being divided between Sakura's speech and that of Qin. He was one who delved deeper into things considered mundane by the other male, whether he personally cared or not. Sakura could not call herself the boy's friend. The girl was confused, but had an interest in Ailen himself. The boy in a skirt was fond of all, and all were fond of him. The broken one, however, held what he interpreted to be human values that were beaten into the species ages ago. "Still no friends. One day. To meet another goddess would be good for you, though. Hmm. Maybe the five of you could blossom into something incredible together. That's a rather interesting dynamic. The foolish yet resolute, the confused yet longing, the free-spirited, a presumably dominating force, and you to fill all necessary niches and act as adhesive to the group. Though one being confused is not at all conducive to the balance of manas. If it's me she's taken an interest in, I do have an elixir that could alter my own mana to allow an experiment for better understanding. . ."

Ailen was rambling again, eventually mumbling words only he could make out. He'd begun pacing to and fro, occasionally stopping by one of the others to look at them directly. "Hmm. Perhaps─" he said upon reaching Anais and Astolfo. More incoherent mumbles continued as he took in their visages very closely, inspecting them as a unit and as individuals.

All the while, Charlemagne was addressing and being addressed by Miwa directly. She was quite blunt about the way she approached things, much to his dismay. "Yeah sure, knowing is good and all that. But... we already know about the not existing thing! Less of the me exploding, more of the fixing please!" he blurted out. Miwa continued her musings. There was plenty of information to sort through. The idea of stealing his wife was raised, which would make sense of his nonexistent magical wedding band presently. "Gross. He's her dad," Charlemagne commented in the midst of Miwa's speech. What could Father An have wanted him for? Rather, why would he want his identity? That was a proper question. Charlemagne didn't think himself special in any way. He wasn't worth an identity theft, especially by the person who gave him that identity. Actually... "Wait. He did say something about... I dunno, a necessary sacrifice? I'm not sure about all the identity stuff; I'm just a guy. He's the one who set up the wedding, and the one who gave me the title and everything that came with it. Why would it be an identity theft thing?"

In addition to all the other hullabaloo, Anais had her earlier concern addressed by the goddess. In response, she spoke of what she was taught about divinities... or rather, the 'singular' divinity being preached about. Astolfo, relaxed as ever, saw the time fit for a random truth. "That's what they were teaching? Geez, I'm glad I never paid attention! There were loads of gods back in the day. I think I met a couple when I was... uh... traveling! Gods get into some crazy stuff!"

[Apollymi]

The apparent question on the table for Sakura despite her mother's words to one of her fathers, was why she chose to look longer. "Hm, I don't know, sentimentality, curiosity... probably curiosity," she seemed somewhat more certain. It was interesting, seeing someone with two people around them who seemed to care so much about his well-being while they weren't physically invested in each other. The ramblings of her second father were heard by Sakura and made the lass' brows furrow. At the same time, Anais heard those words as well and her face reddened again. "It was just a passing thought. I hadn't seen so many pretty men before... I mean I know a couple of good looking ones but not many who count as pretty. Think nothing of it!" she said with her head bowed. Miwa was quite curious about how these children were being taught to deal with anything when they were so prone to embarrassment, but no matter. That would be something they grew out of, or eventually considered a plus by whoever they ended up matched with.

Moving on it seemed Charles was rather quickly gaining enough of himself that he didn't want to consider his non-existence. "Saku-chan seems interested enough, I wouldn't let her lose something before she is certain of it..." she clarified her reason for helping in this moment. "Well aside from the fact that I find it interesting and feel the need to fix the gaps in all of your educations..." Miwa mentioned. Her other statements of conjecture were responded to by Charles directly one of them being about the theft of his wife, in which moment he mentioned that the girl was child to the man who'd stolen his identity. "Hm, I initially thought that you may have been overreacting, but a father-daughter relationship isn't something that just works. I mean it has before, but that was a very specific case, and would in the case of a goddess involve said goddess accepting or even initiating such a relationship of her own accord. It would require an individual to be truly deranged..." she stated. "Brother and Sister, Uncle and Niece, Aunt and Nephew... these are fine... I suppose same gender relationships also work but not directly up to Father and Daughter. Mother/Child exchange is technically always possible, but most grow out of the need of such a thing..." she explained in the moment as she continued thinking about it. Something about this situation didn't add up though.

Miwa assumed a Creator was responsible for this problem of Charles. It wasn't completely unheard of for gods to decide human lives needed to be sacrificed but it was odd the amount that went into this. The planning of it, made it seem almost necessary. "You ask good questions. Identity theft was my first thought because, I think the person who stole your identity is an old male Creator. And taking an identity in this sort of way could simply be a means of gaining access to something he couldn't naturally use. For example, there is a holy sword which won't allow itself to be lifted by the unworthy, but if you stole the identity of someone worthy, you could use it..." she said. "Considering how little of you is left, I don't think he intended to do the nice thing and steal just your core and give you your wife as a prize. No, it was likely his intention to absorb all of you and leave nothing of your original self. Taking everything he'd bestowed on you unto himself... including his daughter who'd already accepted you so wouldn't know to reject him?" her last thought was one way it could have gone. But Charles had said everything about him was given by this man. "Uh...huh, so what did you get on your coronation, besides your wife?" she asked, specifically concerned with magical items.

At the same time Anais was being directly observed by this elf man and hearing the words spoken by Astolfo. "Wait, you knew about the other gods? I really don't get it... why bother telling everyone there is only one god if people know about new ones. Our oaths swear we will uphold that information as truth, if it is not the truth we're spreading lies and that's wrong!" she stated clearly. Miwa turned to face this girl in the moment and her head tilted. "It's all connected isn't it? It seems like it is..."

[Bloodedge]

Curiosity. Sakura blamed curiosity. He did believe that answer, though that belief came with some nuances. He believed that she thought it was more accurate than saying sentimentality. Perhaps another layer of truth would come of it, or perhaps not. "If you insist," was all he said. There were enough things in question at present. That girl with antlers, for example, was a point of curiosity for Ailen ─ as was the skirt-wearing lad to a slightly lesser extent. Even as the former tried redirecting, she only created more confusion. "Pretty men? But you are of the forest. Hmm. Your standards must be quite high. I wonder the criteria for attractiveness. Are we seeing something purely physical, or does this one have the higher sense to be attracted to mana as well? This has some merit. My concoctions would be better for clarifying things," he said, much to Astolfo's satisfaction. "Oooh, I know! There are plenty of ways to find the answer to... whatever you're talking about~" said the lad who proceeded to nudge Anais from behind, seeming to plan on pushing her toward the taller male.

Charlemagne continued to discuss the goings-on with Miwa. She was very quick on the uptake and moving forward from everything spoken with rather solid thoughts. A few explanations were coming as well, such as the way intrafamilial relationships functioned in this world. He did suppose with everything being about mana instead of genetics in this world, there were bound to be some caveats that allowed something his world considered taboo. Considering the things he learned about mana earlier, he could even understand how a mother/child exchange occurred, based on the act of breastfeeding in infancy. "That... all sounds weird to me, but alright," he conceded.

Apparently, his questions were good ones. How strange; he fully expected to be called an idiot for not understanding the logic of divine beings in this world. She used a word he wasn't familiar with in the given context. Creator, she called the man who stole part of him. "Creator? Is that like a primordial or something?" he wondered. That holy sword Miwa spoke of was one he knew well, belonging to the one he could still accurately call his sovereign. He had no such thing, though. In fact, he hardly owned a single thing before today. Thinking ahead however, Miwa wondered what he received during the coronation ─ apart from his wife. "Uh, well... what was it? I got this sword, the Holy Grail of Aincrad, and uh... the crown, I guess," he listed.

Meanwhile, Astolfo was shoving away at Anais from behind, using his own backside to do so. Her ignorance of the gods was no surprise, though the reason was odd. Oh well! "Of course I knew! I knew some of them really well! Whatever though. I figured everybody knew the 'one god' thing was stupid. What were we doing any of it for anyway? Wait... I don't care; never mind!"

[Apollymi]

Sakura was let off the hook by her father after explaining this was a matter of her curiosity. Though he seemed to only take it at face value in the moment. Anais on the other hand was not let off the hook at all. Ailen seemed content to question her further about the nature of her interest in pretty men. His words and references were strange enough and she took them potentially in the way they weren't meant. "I mean... I was born in the forest but I was an orphan, I was found and raised by the church. I don't think my standards are exceedingly high. I think certain people are attractive, but this is very different..." she said accidently answering this man's questions. "Wait a minute, no. We're not doing this..." she murmured fighting against Astolfo pushing against her. He was ever the instigator and she didn't sign up for this. What was more she began poking the pink haired lad to keep him from doing too much.

At the same time, Charles was having his education expanded upon, and he seemed to take the information pretty well, even if it was rather foreign in nature. "I suppose it would sound strange to humans. Since they don't actively create their offspring, having them with people too closely related to them, could cause problems, especially if they don't have a lot of mana to work with," she said seeming to have some understanding of the slight taboo nature of the relationships even if she didn't see them herself as such. Moving on from this point her use of the term Creator made Charles ask her another question, her eyes lit up at his curiosity. She was staring to like this boy, "Another good question. Primordial would make this entity sound more important than they are. But technically the term isn't wrong as a descrption. Creator is a term from a previous time that refers to the earliest point in this world's existence. A Creator was one of three types of soul which held great power in the previous world. The official triumvirate, was Gods of Creation who could create at their will. Gods of Destruction, who could destroy at their will... and Great Sprits who embodied chaos and concepts, and could do whatever they wished within the bounds of their capabilities or concepts. For the sake of avoiding extra questions, the human equivalent sat in the middle of this triangle and they were called Heroes. They grew into their leanings and didn't have natural ones..." she said seeming to share the information she'd learned recently with a huge grin on her face. "I just met one of those old Destroyers the other day. It was exciting information~" she proclaimed seemingly happy.

Moving right along, Charles had to answer a question, what he'd received and when thinking about it he listed the items he'd been given and one of them stuck out. It would be to this that Miwa had but a simple thing to say. "Oh? And what were you told about Holy Grails to make you think one was given to you?" she asked of the lad. That was the sticking point. It wasn't reasonable at all... she knew a lot about grails, and she knew that they were complex magical items. Of course, the sadness of Anais wasn't missing at all, and though Astolfo shared words they didn't help her reconcile what she'd been doing. "Of course I didn't know, I was raised by the Chruch. I've never even met another me type of person at all... and apparently I've been lying and convincing people to join our cause earnestly and it's a lie! There are bigger questions here, because if the good stuff is lie, what bad stuff are they lying about?" she asked directly. Even though she was saddened and outraged, Miwa had a bit to say. "That is also a good question, skepticism in his early stages feels a bit like anger, but keep at it... you'll get to the truth."

[Bloodedge]

"An orphan in the forest? That's the most nonsensical thing I've heard in weeks. We of the forest care for our own. All children are our children. I would surmise that you were just... the only one left," Ailen said. He knew very few negative things happened in Druid homelands, except... when others with ill intent made their way in. Perhaps this girl was the remnant of a more recent annihilation attempt? No. Based on the other events surrounding this group, one could assume her existence as an orphan was somehow connected to everything else. Time would tell, as always. . .

First however, there was Astolfo and his pushiness. He'd begun bumping Anais from behind, only to receive a series of pokes. Surely Anais thought that would deter him. Instead, the result would be just the opposite. "Eh?! Are you trying to stop me? Astolfooooo... thrust!" The time had come for his super-secret ultimate attack. Anais tried to halt his actions, but what she'd acquire instead was a shift in purpose. He'd been bumping her with his own backside previously. In response to her poking assault, Astolfo turned on his heel to bump her with his pelvis instead.

Meanwhile, it seemed Charlemagne had managed yet another reasonable question. In his own mind, there were no such things falling from his mouth. Miwa seemed highly intelligent, though, so her affirmation certainly counted for something. She explained to him what Creators were, and furthermore what the original soul types identified as. Based on Angelica and others he knew from the distant past, Charlemagne could assume Gods of Creation were more likened to the Gods of Celestia. Great Spirits were a total mystery that he couldn't imagine at all, but Gods of Destruction... sounded familiar. "That sounds... like demons," he mumbled. The human equivalent she spoke of was also very familiar. Even in the modern era, there were Heroes. Charlemagne assumed they were somehow different, given Miwa's specification, but perhaps they were connected somehow? Well, no matter. The more important thing at present, according to Miwa herself, was apparently the Holy Grail he'd been given. What was he told about it to make him think it was given? "Well uh... not a lot, honestly. The one I got was the main Holy Grail of Aincrad. There are a bunch of them, but only mine and one other were big and ornate. The other one was Jeanne d'Arc's before... oh, right." An interruption in Charlemagne's speech occurred suddenly when he recalled one important thing. The other two needed to know about that as soon as possible, but... not just yet. "Anyway, the one I got was considered the main one of Aincrad. It had to be either the Father's, or... Angelica's, by that logic ─ unless I'm missing something? Your question makes me think I'm missing a lot."

[Apollymi]

The idea that Anais was the only child left was something that hit her ears wrong. Oh... she didn't remember much about her childhood. It'd been assumed she was traumatized by being alone in the forest until she came to Aincrad. In fact, her general quiet nature and disdain for bright lights had led her to wandering around with candles. It'd taken quite a while for her to grow into certain things, including speaking with people in general. "I was alone when I was found... I was brought to Aincrad's orphanage with a bunch of other kids close to my age..." she said thinking about it. Ah, but she'd been casually fending off Astolfo, her guard was down and she had been poking away, but the Astolfo thrust wasn't something she was prepared for... and she went stumbling forward as a result of his nonsense. All the while Sakura was watching, was this a friendly interaction? Was this the kind of closeness friends had?

Her questions would go unasked as Charles and her mother continued conversing to get to the bottom of his missing self and his problems. His mention of 'Destroyers' sounding like demons made a smile come to the goddess' face. "Very good. Demon is how this world recognizes the former Gods of Destruction and their offspring... some of them even seem to prefer it as a term. The one I met was not evil as the term demon seems to imply in this world. He simply enjoys his work," she mused moving right along. She'd posed a question to Charles and in return she was given information. He wasn't told much, but that he got the main one. That there were two ornate grails in Aincrad and one belonged to Jeanne d'Arc. He also said something else, which caused a hang-up in the thought processes of Miwa. "Excuse me? Did you say a bunch... did you say someone has collected a bunch of Holy Grails?!" she seemed for the first time to show something besides her general interested demeanor. No... that wasn't right. That was wrong so wrong. Words were spoken many of them and at least one wrong thing was making more sense. "The Father's? Did he call himself that... did he use that term?" she asked afterwards. Well her mind was jumping around quite a bit and she was already becoming more sure of a certain thing. "You are missing quite a lot, but I doubt it is your fault... well unless you willfully chose ignorance. Though it is quite clear the lot of you are also being deceived on multiple levels about a lot of things..." she said carefully. There were many problems, many holes in her knowledge base, and several that would need filling. "My thought processes might be hard for you to follow, you should continue asking questions that I might clarify what I think. And Ai-chan... the forest girl will need comforting. Solo-kun is always absent when he could be used for exposition," she said seeming to understand that she was going to say something disturbing in the near future.

[Bloodedge]

Ailen had no concern to offer for the strange interaction between Anais and Astolfo. To him, it was just a thing that was happening; it neither aided nor impeded his musings. "Hmm. Alone, you say," he repeated. For one of her ilk to be alone in childhood, at least without having a very specific reason, nothing normal could have been the case. Weirder still was the mention of her being gathered along with other children in her age group. That didn't really happen unless a specific age-range was being targeted for something. The higher-ups of Munetsuchi all knew one thing, and it would come to light soon enough. Ailen noted the conversation about Holy Grails between Miwa and Charlemagne, mentally linking their discussion with his own. The only thing to halt his process was Anais being bumped to the point of stumbling, which happened to be in his direction. It took nothing to reach out and prevent the girl from falling by catching her, and that... was exactly what Astolfo had planned ─ the pelvic thrust into her backside being a lovely bonus on his part. Whatever the case, Ailen continued talking even as he caught the young lass. "And how old were you when this occurred?"

Gods of Destruction were indeed the creatures now called Demons. Some even wore the new moniker as a badge, strangely enough. Stranger still, was the fact that not all of demon kind were evil. Well... maybe that wasn't so odd after all. There was the hidden truth of Olivier and her demonic powers, which never registered as evil to Charlemagne. Father An perpetuating another false truth couldn't even be a real surprise at this point.

Speaking of the Father, Miwa questioned the specifics of his title. Charlemagne was taken aback briefly, wondering how the title wasn't natural. "Well, yeah. He's called the Holy Father. He called everyone children and all that jazz, but I doubt I'm the only one who figured that was normal papal behavior─" he stated. Ah, but there was another thing Miwa took special issue with. She had already brought into question his mention of Holy Grails. "Oh, and yeah. There are dozens of grails in Aincrad. Groups are sent out to collect a new grail almost every decade. For the longest time, they've been spread across churches and stuff. So... if I'm supposed to be asking questions, I guess the first would be... the thing you skipped over. You said I thought one was given to me, so... it wasn't? If that's the case, what are you saying happened instead?"

[Apollymi]

Alone. Yes, Anais had a memory of being quite alone, and quite small in the forest where she was happened upon by Knight of the Holy Templar Order. That was the truth of the matter, though, she couldn't say her memory of this time period in her life was particularly clear. "Yes, alone... I don't know how long I had been alone..." she stated honestly. Of course, remembering such things would be opening a strange door and she didn't have time for that. In the present moment, she was busy warding off Astolfo and in the process nearly falling on her own face. Much to her chagrin, instead of just falling she was caught midfall by the very attractive father, of their most recent acquaintance. "Ah... gommenasai," she mumbled quickly, her face practically aflame for several reasons not the least of which was the random sensation of Astolfo's manhood against her backside. Oops, being in a Japanese place was bringing out her initial understanding of language. At the same time, she was being asked how old she was when she was brought together with the group she'd known in the orphanage. She had to give it a bit of thought, it was quite a while ago for her life, "Um... six or seven? I don't have a lot of memories from that time... it was a long time ago after all," she said still not quite completely caught up to the situation at hand.

Perhaps Charles was counting his chickens a bit early on his lack of surprise. He stated that he thought it normal for 'Father An' to refer to himself in such a way and Miwa simply shook her head. "The importance of words and titles in this world is far too high for that to be coincidental. In places where beings like me are worshipped those who commune with us, are called 'elders' , 'chosen', 'vestal virgins', 'sacred prostitutes', 'oracles', 'prophets', 'priests' and 'priestesses'," she started her explanation. "Father in this world refers to 'The Father of the Anunnaki, the Father of the Gods, Anu. There is power in such a title, to spread it is to spread his influence," she said to be perfectly clear. "Which puts us one step closer to an answer," she finished up, Keeping a bit to herself just for now. She was already about to ruin one life, ruining another in the same breath was probably not a good thing.

After that brief explanation a set of dual questions left the mouth of this lad. Both of them were very good. If this situation was less grotesque she definitely would have been tickled pink by this lad's very existence. Actually, she could be that and disgusted by what she'd figured out so far at the same time. Yes, she'd be both. "Aren't those very good questions to ask," she said knowing he could work his way through it with a bit of guidance. So guidance by way of information is what she would provide. "No the Grail you have, wasn't given to you. Grails cannot be given, they must be earned due to their nature. If a 'Holy Grail' belongs to you, you earned it through merit and there is no other way, whether that merit was combat in a Holy Grail War, beating the holder of a Holy Grail or completing some other type of thing that the grail would have spawned around, it is yours. If your 'Holy Father' is the god, that was the little g sort in case you were wondering, I think he is, he is incapable of having his own grail and of fully utilizing any one he gets his hands on. Gods who were gods near the beginning of this world, are incapable of using the full power of grails. They cannot enter the white room nor speak to the Nexus. The Holy Grail won't even spawn near me. What is more disturbing is the idea that he has been collecting them for any amount of time because of what 'Holy Grails' are in truth," she stated unsure of if she should continue speaking past this point.

[Bloodedge]

Ailen doubted the girl had been alone for a very long time. A pilgrimage of some sort would have left her in such a way, but he couldn't imagine her still being within the forest. Not hearing of anyone coming to her defense when she was approached by strangers was the most disturbing thing. Even the more pompous druidic sects among elfkind were more caring than that. The actions of Astolfo were interestingly helpful, since it placed Anais in direct contact with Ailen. He held the girl against his torso with no regard to her flustered apology. Living with Miwa in the palace of Munetsuchi, one naturally acquired a certain knack for feeling mana through contact. Anais was very clothed, so with his arms hooked around her, there weren't many options. Ah, but one hand could rise up to rub one of the deerlike ears poking through her hood. It was a gentle caress that allowed his own mana to trickle just slightly into the flesh, as if to allow touching the soul within. "Six or seven, you say. Hmm. Traces of high nobility. A gentle soul with a thousand possibilities and the purity of Aegiess. Such an impossible combination. The few times such a thing has shown itself, it has done so in response to a need, but to be born with it is nigh impossible. I understand. Such beauty is sure to be coveted by all who see what the naked eye cannot. It is enamoring," he rambled.

While this exchange was going on, Charlemagne was mentally preparing to hear more disturbing news for the day. The more Miwa spoke, the more ominous the conversation became. Sadly, she didn't seem the type to just blurt out the facts... though that was probably for the best. Too much heavy information at once definitely wouldn't be good for the brain at this point. She listed the normal forms of address for those who were worshipped as she was across the world. Father was called something that acknowledged one very specific individual: The Father of the Gods, Anu. Charlemagne's eyes widened. There was such an obvious thing, a simple puzzle he'd never even dreamed of connecting the pieces to. "Father... Ancelin," he muttered. Ancelin was the man's full name. Those who followed the Holy Father addressed him as Father An in an endearing fashion, but the whole of his name was French... meaning Little God. Thinking about it now, it was more than a little on the nose.

Moving on to the importance of his Holy Grail, Miwa refuted the idea that it was given to him. Rather, she explained that a Holy Grail couldn't have been given to him. In terms of earning something like the grail, he wasn't sure how it could have happened. "But I didn't do anything. The only accolade I've got under my belt was... the... Labyrinth..." He started hesitating toward the end, wondering if things could have really been that dark. Could this entire ordeal have been organized since so long ago? There was the rumored Grail of the Labyrinth, which could have been the very same one. If that were the case, the entire Labyrinth served the additional purpose of being a proving grounds for... Father An's sacrifices! "Merde!" Charlemagne whispered. "So you're telling me I was set up to be a sacrifice centuries ago. Alright. What's the next disturbing surprise then? What makes collecting grails so weird, and why would he get so many if he can't use them?"

[Apollymi]

Anais had been in a very compromised position when she was younger. And now, she was in one of a different sort. The man before her had indeed caught her as she would have fallen and her muttered apology and flushed face had done nothing to get him to let go of her. Most people wouldn't have remained touching her in such a way, but everyone in this particular palace seemed to have less boundaries than normal people. Right now, there was a certain touch of her ear which was nothing too great but very odd. Had someone ever actually touched her like this? Did she like it? Well, the answers on both accounts was yes, she found that touch comforting and relaxed in this man's arms as he prodded her being with his mana. He was speaking too, saying things which counted as making sense in her own mind. "Aegiess? I've heard that word but I don't know what it means," she said softly.

At the same time, Charles was coming to some dark conclusions. These were the sorts of conclusions which had to be reached, but couldn't just be given. If one gave someone information they weren't ready to process, it would end only in disbelief. If they came to the conclusion on their own with the pieces that they'd come across on their own, they gained wisdom. That was what Miwa strived for and that made sense given her own divine origins. Moving on a Labyrinth was mentioned, and Charles had apparently completed it. His conclusions were dark as ever but all roads were leading to this singular conclusion. Still he asked more questions at the end of his conclusions, a likable trait indeed. "To be technical any who completed that trial could have claimed the grail, and probably should have," she said. "There are a few disturbing surprises yet, but since you narrowed it down to those concerning the grail directly..." she stated seeming to think of the best way to phrase the information.

"Holy Grails, at their base level, are wish granting artifacts. They are spawned by the Nexus in the world in a form of infinite potential... that is to say, they are spawned into the world as children. It would be more accurate to call them the Children of the Nexus," she clarified. "They grow to maturity expend their natural energy to grant the wish of their holders, they change the world with all they are, in the form of a chalice. They can then be reborn through their holder, who would become their parent," she explained the truth of this situation. "But if only two of the ones present are ornate, it means that they did not grow to their maturity. But you wouldn't be able to tell completely what child would be a Child of the Nexus initially. You would have to be collecting them while they are in the form of children from everywhere they could potentially spawn... it would have started to become obvious by the time the child was around six or seven years old..." she clarified. Ah but he'd asked a two fold question, so she still had to answer the other half. "Even if you cannot use a grail, you can technically use it to grant wishes. But he wouldn't be able to fill a grail in the traditional way by communing with it. It would be necessary to use the others to fill whatever one he was trying to use actively. To keep using it, to do whatever thing he is trying to do, he'd need a constant supply of energy unbound by potential... so more grails... or to be more accurate more Children of the Nexus," she concluded. This explanation had been heard by all present. Sakura seemed to understand that dozens of children were not being born instead their bodies and souls were being used up as energy. Meanwhile the speech was heard by Anais who seemed to go ghostly pale, losing the strength in her legs and seemed to be softly mumbling... about her part in this, they were doing wrong. Everything surrounding Aincrad was wrong!

[Bloodedge]

Ailen had spoken a word in Elvish to describe Anais and her very unique situation. She claimed to have heard it before. Interesting, he thought. Regardless, she didn't know what it meant, prompting further explanation from the blonde male. "Aegiess is in the language of the elves. It is also called Patronus, Dul... all words that, in Common, mean Protector. It typically manifests similarly to light-attribute magecraft, but is more likened to an early magic at times. You may have seen it manifest as some form of guardian that is especially effective against those who seek to do you harm."

Apparently, it was very possible for Charlemagne to acquire a Holy Grail by completing the Labyrinth. Miwa insisted that anyone who could have completed said trial should have claimed it. That only made more sense as he considered the Labyrinth's history. "Well... the only person who cleared it alone besides me was Jeanne, and she already had a Holy Grail of her own. If it can only go to one person, then I really did win it ages ago," he clarified. Of course, that only made things even darker. Darker still would be the truth of Holy Grails ─ their existence as children from the Nexus who grew until they became wish-granting Artifacts. The thought of utilizing a dead child for power was somewhat... disgusting, but there was more. In becoming Holy Grails, those same children somehow became the children of grail-holders in the future. That was perhaps the strangest thing he'd ever heard, but he couldn't be too surprised about anything at this point.

The children who did not become Holy Grails in the 'natural' manner became the lesser grails. Charlemagne was still stuck on the idea of grail children becoming new lives through their owners. His right hand rose, and as if responding to his curiosity, the Holy Grail linked to him appeared within. It was still filled with the very same liquid it had when he received it: a golden nectar with a red and dark-silver, almost black substance swirling within it. "So this thing will become a child? And... used to be a child, who died to grant me a wish... who will also be reborn through me at some point. The smaller ones... you're saying are children who were hunted down and killed before they transformed naturally?" There were many questions, but few of them relevant. "Wait, why tell me that before saying something like... I dunno, like I could use my grail wish to fix whatever problem I'm dealing with? Or is there some reason I can't do that?"

[Apollymi]

Anais was receiving a lesson in language. What was this lesson, that her connection to a word, was something of a light based power, which when translated to common meant, Protector. At this Sakura seemed to look over, "Oh, like the fiery deer, you were summoning in the woods," she seemed to have a certain understanding. "Yes, it's a white hart... that explains its lack of effectiveness. Someone who isn't out to harm me can still approach me," she mentioned. Still that was a lot, there was far too much going on in this girl's head. She needed to decompress but she knew that making sure Charles didn't shatter was still a more pressing issue than her emotional discontent.

Jeanne d'Arc was one of the Grail winners from a Holy Grail War. It would make sense if she conquered a Labyrinth after such a thing took place that she wouldn't be at all affected or claimed by that grail. "Yes, that does make sense. You can only claim one, and after attaining the evolution presented by the Nexus you cannot attain it a second time," Miwa explained. Still there were many things said at this time by Miwa and many of them seemed to be swirling around in the mind of Charles. She'd given him the information and wondered what he'd make of it. A few points of clarification were necessary, still the lad seemed almost exceedingly capable. "I never said they die. I said they change the world with a wish and are reborn. As beings related to the Nexus I am presently able to hypothesize that death doesn't apply to them. Death is a gift created by the goddess of Death for this world, to avoid the negatives of growing too old without having the body, mana, or means to continue progressing. Death however isn't something applicable to those born before it was conceptualized. This can be hypothesized to apply the same way to beings that are not part of this world, like Children of the Nexus. That being said, being forced into the form of the cup, could count as an end to their physical existence, but that isn't the same thing. Again dying would be much more pleasant than not being able to continue their life cycle as intended," she clarified her thoughts. However she realized that saying they don't die didn't mean they weren't suffering, actually she was pretty sure they were, and when Charels produced his Holy Grail she was able to confirm it.

"Kaa-sama it's tainted," was the simple sentence spoken by Sakura. Miwa looked at her daughter who was approaching and gave her a gentle pat on the head. "Right you are Saku-chan! I'm glad you've been paying attention~" she mentioned. "Also very interesting that you noted that I didn't make that suggestion immediately after finding out you had one, and that was for multiple reasons. The first of which was I wasn't sure the state of your Holy Grail, and it does indeed seem to be tainted, cursed or some other type of negative aspect," she said while looking at the cup and its strange liquid contents. "The second reason is a bit complex but comes back to me figuring out exactly what is happening to you, but I may have enough information to figure it out now that I have the base background understanding of how you came to be in the situation you showed up in."

[Bloodedge]

"Fiery deer?" Ailen questioned when his daughter spoke up. Anais went on to specify that her manifestation of the blessing they discussed was the White Hart. Finally, Ailen released the girl's ear in shock. "Oh? To have the purest form as well, it's no wonder they thought you were a candidate. You are quite the interesting specimen," he mused. With that, Astolfo finally had additional words to share from behind Anais. "And more interesting from the other side~♥" the pink-haired lad said with an accompanying whistle.

Miwa confirmed that an individual could claim only one Holy Grail. He recalled something about that, either from one of the grail wielders or the journal of Jeanne; he couldn't recall which. If that were the case, the lesser grails of Aincrad had a chance of being owned by those who claimed them directly... or those who executed the children? No, it seemed 'execute' wasn't the right word, as Miwa debunked the idea of those children dying. While on the topic of death, she went on to explain why the concept even existed in this world ─ and presumably his original world as well. With all these separate pieces of information piled atop existing problems, Charlemagne was starting to have difficulty keeping everything straight. Too many lies had been spoken for the truths to be unveiled in a single day. "This is a lot. My head's starting to hurt," he admitted. Maybe that was just the same shattering sensation again? Well, it would only be worse if he tried figuring out which thing it was. He'd just take everything Miwa said as truth, so long as it fell inline with beliefs he had reason to harbor this day. Thus far, he had no reason to disbelieve anything she said, even if he decided to be incredibly skeptical.

Once Charlemagne showed his grail, Sakura immediately claimed it was tainted. Miwa confirmed her belief, then moved directly on to her omission of the grail as his solution. She seemed to have expected a tainted grail or something of the sort, and further needed to confirm whatever was going on with him. If she had enough information to figure out a better method, he'd be quite the satisfied man indeed. If nothing else, he'd be... anything but deleted. "So... is that to say you've got an idea for how I can start moving around without breaking apart? Because I've kinda just been standing here for fear of breaking apart. . ."

[Apollymi]

Anais had been realized, but this was mostly a thing of shock. Apparently, the manifestation of a White Hart was a rare thing and worthy of note. It seemed to be something worthy of compliment as well, even so Anais felt strangely knowing this information. Was she even worthy of something like her blessing while being associated with the cult like practices of Aincrad. How much had she let go by? How many bad things were her fault either by action or omission? It would be a while yet until she made peace with everything... But there was always something a bit more light-hearted. Unlike previous times in her life, where she might have completely shut down at some point, Astolfo was present and being very much himself. His compliment about her rear, "Astolfo why?!" she managed with a bright red face but... no shut down so one could suppose Astolfo was good for morale.

Speaking of, there was a certain amount of information overload. Charles was taking in too much information for a single day, figuring out how bad the entirety the 'Holy Father' and the organization he was connected to was, was likely way more taxing than anything should be. His constant shattering being was also something to be taken into account. "I know. I was trying to keep it from being too much at once..." she mused, knowing that many in his position would have broken mentally long before this moment. There was quite a bit of fortitude in this lad if nothing else. As for the nature of his physical self, it was the perfect time to give him a bit of a break. "I should ask first, have you heard a parable of a king or god, who was once tasked with deciding a dispute between two women over a single child? In his wisdom he presented the idea that he might cut the baby in half. His judgement was deemed good because he gave the baby not to the woman who didn't care if the baby got cut in half, but to the woman who was willing to give up the baby to spare its life... a decision of selfless love," she gave the story as an opener. A mental palate cleanse so that she could better explain to Charles and Sakura the state of his body and why what she was about to suggest was something which might be likely to work.