Munetsuchi

[Apollymi]

Wukong was a very interesting monkey man. He claimed that he wanted spoilers and that Anais sounded like Solomon. She found herself looking playfully terse. "Eh? If you know what spoilers are, you know why I can't give them..." the girl countered. Still, at least in the moment, she was quite certain she could get along with this man. Actually, he felt more like a goofy upperclassman than a teacher. Hm, she liked that idea, 'Monkey-senpai,' she decided and boxed away for later usage. Ah, and now there was a real lesson. The graphic produced by Miwa took her attention and Ailen's voice drew her mental workings.

She now knew the rest of this lesson. 'Clockwise, seiman, anti clockwise, anti-seiman...' she mused internally. These words seemed to describe the order being taken with positive or negative aspects. And then there was the extra. Solomon spoke of the additives of Yin and Yang, and the subsequent alignment of those to Mugen and himself, respectively. The swirling image this gave, made her think that she'd made the right choice to not influence herself to go a specific direction initially. Ah in hearing all of this information, she figured she had a pretty good idea of the path she would be taking. But there was one more thing she needed to clarify. "So, if I take one path, can I not take the others at all? Or do I just have to finish a path before starting a new one?" that was the last point of clarification. At this point Miwa looked at the girl strangely. She'd heard a lot of things from a lot of people, but she didn't actually expect the girl to question whether or not she'd get to take multiple paths. She didn't actually expect anyone to want to do something like that. What were these Japanese school children made out of? "I... didn't expect that question," the goddess of wisdom admitted. "Was that a weird question?" Anais asked with wide eyes.

[Bloodedge]

Of course Wukong knew what spoilers were, and of course he knew why she couldn't give them. Ah, but there was one fact missing. "Yeah, but I still want them!" he said. Eventually, he'd be looking for a way to fish for information safely. For now though, the Monkey King would be waiting silently for... essentially his place in line. Where would it be?

Well, a bit of explanation would ensue before anything else. Anais learned the fuller version of a lesson much needed for an informed decision, as Ailen always desired. She took only moments to speak again. When she did, however, it was not a decision that left her mouth. She instead questioned her ability to choose an additional path. Even Ailen, the girl's own mentor by choice, seemed shocked. Mugen was visibly excited, Wukong indifferent, Qin curious, and Solomon... amused. "Mortal magic," Solomon said once Miwa expressed her surprise. "I'll be the one to tell you, there is no realistic way to lock someone out of taking an additional path. Only two have ever completed every possible route, but there is nothing halting progress," he explained, only to be interrupted toward the end by... strangely, Mugen, who spoke of the paths with utmost familiarity. "You'd have to finish one cycle before starting another. To do anything else, you'll break the cycle and thus, yourself. Every cycle is a full rebirth. You won't have to die in this case, but you'll awaken each time to a new plane of existence. Just don't steer off course once you've decided something... unless you want to become a monster~"

[Apollymi]

'Definitely Monkey-senpai,' Anais concluded. This man was most definitely one who would be terrible to read a story with, or watch a show for that matter. Even so, she was quite excited to potentially pick his brain for information and take special care not to reveal any random mystical powers he didn't already have to him. He was a dangerous person to randomly chat with, she realized by virtue of how much she enjoyed stories surrounding him. Strangely, he would also be considered one of the ones she'd easily get along with.

Anais asked her question and received various reactions from the group. From that she could assume she'd asked something strange, but Solomon had referred to it as Mortal Magic. Miwa for her part, managed to recover but she was still surprised. "Uh-huh... I didn't expect to be shocked by a question today..." she said. Perhaps she was getting old. Children were becoming quite different from what she was used to. Maybe mortals really took life very differently. According to Solomon though, there was nothing stopping her from taking other paths later, though admittedly it'd only been done by two people in its completion. One was presumably the goddess. By process of elimination she'd say the other was Mugen. As if to further confirm her ideations, Mugen also spoke. He seemed almost excited by her desire to truly know everything. "Ah, I see. That was very informative, arigatou gouzaimasu," she said to both Mugen and Solomon. She gave it a bit more thought, and seemed to be rather at ease. Knowing she couldn't be locked out of anything, and that she'd likely have instead of a death, the creation of a new avatar for each path, there was no reason for her to fret over her decision. She wans't the type to stop at anything halfway through and she definitely wasn't about to start now, so there were fewer risks involved with everything. "Hm, so I'll take the path of promotion starting at Shishou first then, it seems like it would be best for how I am currently," she clarified her decision. It wasn't like she intended to abandon her actual mentor, nor would she take an order that would take her to someone other than Mugen second. Yes this was the best decision. She realized then that the order she was taking was Ailen, Mugen, Qin, Solomon and then Sun Wukong, but he was most likely to get spoilers out of her so that was fine as well. "Interesting, I look forward to watching you grow~" mentioned Miwa. This girl was about to bring something interesting to her little group.

[Bloodedge]

Anais's choice in the end was the cycle of promotion, the first cycle known to this world. It made perfect sense that she picked that one, given her natural leaning. Moreover, her interest in following every cycle was exciting to many ─ none more so than Mugen, it seemed. Wukong, on the other hand, fell onto his back with an exasperated sigh. "Ugh, why am I always last?!" he asked. Ailen shifted his gaze toward the primate, one brow lifted. "This is our first time teaching within the cycle," said the elf. "Well... yeah, and? I'm last at everything!" the monkey insisted.

Whatever the case, the decision had been made. Each Myouou knew their place in line, and would therefore know when to keep themselves available. "In that case, I have something for our newcomer." Solomon stepped forward, simultaneously beckoning Anais toward himself. What he had for her was magical in nature. It would be transmitted into her Spiritual Core just as knowledge was, should she accept it. "When the time comes, you will need to reach me in a very different place. Come here. I will give you a single-use pass to Ars Paulina. You may find it impossible to continue your studies without it," he said, choosing to stand in waiting thereafter. In the end, all things were Anais's choice. He'd leave an offer to take his teachings when desired, and if Anais consented, he would conclude his business in Munetsuchi within moments.

[Apollymi]

Meanwhile, the order was established and all knew where they'd be placed in the circle. This was fine for Anais, who figured she'd made the choice best suited to her current understanding. Of course, all seemed to be relatively excited except for Sun Wukong who didn't enjoy being picked last. She wondered if he'd actually been picked last before, but Ailen took care to mention that this was their first rotation of such teachings. That wasn't exactly true, by Anais's own understanding he was likely in her top three favorite mythological people, but she considered his finality in the list like her normal human self considered dessert. Ah, she couldn't really say that aloud either, it'd get really weird if she did. 'Box it,' she mused to herself. "Iie, you were the first person I recognized," Anais concluded. This was the truth, she was still working through potentials for two of the others, so he could take that victory.

Now she had something else to do. What was it? Well, apparently Solomon had something for her. And much like everything else she'd accepted today it came in the form of a kiss. She was going to have to re-evaluate her policy on personal contact given how much of it she'd participated in over the course of the last few hours. "Sou ka, that sounds pretty important," the girl said calmly. 'Magic-sensei make-out session go!~' Anais nearly scoffed. She'd been making heavy life decisions and nothing had been said by this aspect of her internal voice. Of course, she decided to speak again when it came to receiving a 'gift' from Solomon. Of course, Anais couldn't even argue with it herself, considering she'd been all but stricken since he appeared. The graphic Miwa had been holding disappeared. She watched the approach of Anais towards Solomon and wondered something, 'Does she always look like she's walking into a trap?' It was something worth observing. It took a moment or two but Anais made her way to Solomon and stood before him. She leaned up towards him, ready to accept a kiss and trying not to actively feel her heart beating out of her chest. Actually, she definitely had this thought initially so it was actually pretty exciting overall, "Shitsureishimasu," and ever polite, it took all Miwa had not to chuckle.

[Bloodedge]

Ah, Wukong was indeed the first person who registered as a legendary figure to the girl. Upon hearing that, Wukong's chest inflated even as he lied on his back. "Hmph," he muttered almost triumphantly. It seemed all would be well. Of course, there was a bit more to establish before the likes of Solomon disappeared yet again. For her first cycle to reach its conclusion during this century, she'd have to reach Solomon in his own realm. Since she accepted and leaned toward him, she could progress at great speed. He took another step forward, a flat hand's fingertips gently pressing the underside of Anais's chin. In approaching, Solomon had some advice to whisper. . .

"When the darkness seems all-consuming, know... the time of crowning has come," he suggested. With that, there came a gentle press of Solomon's lips against hers. The slight moisture of his own lips would begin the transfer immediately. Unlike some others, Solomon's exchange was of a more gentle nature. First and foremost, there was an incantation: The Time of Crowning has Come, He is the One who Begins All. Once that registered in Anais's mind, Solomon would be prodding at her bottom lip with his tongue, begging entry into her mouth. It would be in that moment that he delivered unto her an impossible image. In that image was an Orichalcum throne atop a five-layered staircase, set in stones. This structure seemed to be within the open sky, but just above it was a sphere... and that sphere was the cosmos itself. Anais would officially become one of few creatures in existence to see this exact image, but it was a place she would eventually find herself in physically.

[Apollymi]

Miwa took a different lesson from Anais in the moments since she'd met all of her husbands. She learned that this mortal girl was pretty good at easing the ego of one of her husbands. Wukong had some interestingly childish behavior which she attributed to his animal nature, but Anais had no problem keeping the man happy. Perhaps that was worthy of some extra study as well. Miwa would keep that in mind as she watched the girl approach Solomon.

Miwa knew something specific, compared to the others... Solomon was one of the better respecters of boundaries. Perhaps it was his humanity but he was a breath of fresh air compared to some of the others. With that sentiment Anais could agree. She'd stilled her heavily beating heart, and heard an interesting statement before a gentle press of lips. Those words sounded like something she should keep in mind, a whole incantation was it a summoning? 'Box it.' her mind claimed before it lost that. Ah, that was a nice kiss. Actually, this kiss was much more like romance novels would have led her to believe. Ah, even that magical thing, a gentle tongue prodding her bottom lip. He was asking for entry, well he'd definitely get it. Her lips would gently part and allow him entry, and as she did this, she saw a strange image in her mind. A throne made of the same material as her weapon, atop a five tier staircase in a space which looked, interplanetary at minimum. It was cool. Beyond that, this kiss was intense, soft, and enjoyable in a way she couldn't apply logic to. Strangely she couldn't say she'd disliked any of the kisses she'd participated in this day, but instead simply liked each one for different reasons. This was how one ended up taking the harem route, of that she was certain.

[Bloodedge]

Of the Myouou, it seemed Solomon was the one most content to make love to someone's mouth, given his approach compared to some others. Of course, his experience was that of a human. He found Anais quite receptive of his advances, easily allowing his tongue entry to her mouth. That moist muscle caressed hers, transmitting visuals and sounds alike. There, under the throne she saw, was Solomon himself, explaining over the course of a kiss all Anais needed to know. "This is my domain. You will see it again only after the light has faded. I'm sure you'll understand what I mean. When the time comes, do not be afraid. Do not hesitate. The incantation will make Ars Paulina respond to your soul just once. Time does not pass here as it does in the material world. Much of what you learn from me will be here, over a long period of time. Do not feel a need to be picky about the moment. In the time it takes a person to blink, I can teach you more than you need to know."

All of Solomon's words were spoken from within Ars Paulina while their lips were still in contact within the material world. The warning he gave was among the most important things he could tell the lass. In truth, she may find it necessary to seek his teachings with utmost urgency. Given that possibility, he would ensure she knew it was possible to reach him at any given moment with a spell. "Do you have any questions? This will possibly be the only meeting we have before you physically visit this plane. Take advantage if you wish."

[Apollymi]

As far as her current experiences were concerned, Solomon was definitely most likely to turn kissing into a love-making attempt. He could probably talk her into anything given his ability to use his mouth and tongue. Perhaps this was human, perhaps this was simply his own personal ability. Regardless, he was succeeding in making his mark upon the young mind of Anais. According to the man, the space she could currently see, was his domain. She could call upon him, with the power she was being gifted, in a time of darkness and come here, with only a blink's worth of time passing. Ah, that was interesting. "Hai, I'll rely on you then," the girl articulated. In this case, it seemed they were still kissing to everyone else, but she was being offered an opportunity to ask questions. Oh, well, she always had at least a few, she'd keep them limited to the specifics of Solomon himself, as she wouldn't get to see him very often she'd still rather have a good relationship with him if she could.

"Do you have weird spoilers? Why do you stay in this place alone? Are you lonely? Do you like the Aeons' works? What kind of music do you like?" that was a random set of questions, but she was curious as an individual and she wanted to make sure she received at least a wide view of the man to work with. Beyond that, she was interested in him as a person and having another person who was from her own world to talk to, was fun. It'd been quite a while since she could talk to anyone and she was sure he'd be a pretty interesting person given his life experience.

[Bloodedge]

Solomon nodded upon hearing that he'd be relied on. He expected nothing else of the lass, or rather... he knew she'd be doing exactly that. They had a bit of time to spend in this pocket dimension of his for the moment, but only a bit. After all, she'd yet to truly enter Ars Paulina; it was all only a vision within her own soul. One might liken the technique he used to Mugen's method. Actually, it was much the same.

He offered an opportunity for Anais to ask any question she liked. Studious as she was, it took her little time to produce multiple inquiries. It all started off very reasonable ─ questions one would expect someone to ask their mysterious teacher in a magical world. The final three, however, caused even Solomon to chuckle. "Are those appropriate things to ask? Some of that sounds like a line of questioning reserved for new friends and romantic interests," he said. Of course, Solomon knew how their relationship would be in the near and distant future. None of Anais's questions were actually problematic. "I have an unobstructed view of past and future, so yes, I suppose you could say I have 'weird spoilers'. I stay here alone because I decided to remain human, but I must remain unaffected by the passage of time. I step outside of this realm when necessary, so no, I am not lonely ─ at least not incredibly so. I'll be seeing you again shortly after we part, from my own perspective," he explained, pausing after the first more personal question. As for the others... "There is much I could tell you of that, but much I shouldn't. In short, I did enjoy the Aeons; I've met them as well. You've already recognized my influence over a few characters, no? As for music, I was always a fan of rock, a bit of classical and... pop and jazz were essentially mandatory after living with my father."

[Apollymi]

Anais would put her faith in a few people. She'd been taught to rely on those who didn't give her weird feelings so Solomon could easily be counted as a person worthy of her trust in this case. Of course, when she was given permission to ask questions, hers had taken on a variety of things for a great number of reasons. The man who this realm belonged to, chuckled. Perhaps her wayward thoughts ere truly a bit problematic, but in answer to his question of appropriateness, she could only scoff. "Appropriateness wasn't a part of the criteria. I can ask anyone any of the questions I normally have or use extended amounts of time in someone's presence to figure it out. If you are to be generally unavailable, it is best to attack points of curiosity where they are. Though, I'll keep in mind how such things could be taken, I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea when my curiosity gets the best of me," she said with a nod. Of course, she'd keep in mind that more personal questions might make people believe she was romantically interested, but given her place within this group a bit of romantic interest was probably unavoidable.

Moving on her questions would receive answers. Solomon had a level of clairvoyance which was well beyond anything that Anais had even heard of, the idea of having an unobstructed view of the past and the future was crazy. Of course, at least the former would be kind of interesting she'd keep in mind to explore her thoughts for interesting trivia she was curious about. He also claimed that he was still human and thus remained in his realm to avoid aging unnecessarily. That also made sense and it was a very human thing to do, though that made her wonder his extra reasoning. "Sou ka, knowing the past sounds useful... knowing the future sounds frightening. I don't really envy you that.." the girl concluded. "Does asking questions about past stuff count as spoilers? I don't have any real questions now, but I figure I might by the time I see you again so it could be on my list of varied questions later," she expressed. As for the rest, she found out a bit of personal information. He had liked the Aeon's worked. He wasn't overly lonely, and he liked a wide array of music, at least partly influenced by his male parent. "Hai, that's all pretty interesting..." she said seeming a bit contemplative. "I realized, I really hope mind-reading isn't in your skills list.. I already feel bad about the potential of my internal monologue leaking out to Mugen-sensei at random..." she said seeming quite a bit sheepish. Of course, she was, but that was simply her nature and not something she was keen to run from in any way.

[Bloodedge]

"You are correct," Solomon said. Indeed, there was no prerequisite for appropriateness. Anais was truly free to ask any and every question crossing her mind, and he'd answer them all. As Solomon understood, there were no bad questions. "Don't worry. I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I thought to tease a bit. Those were excellent questions. If I teach you one thing today, let it be the truth that anything deemed irrelevant, is only so for the moment it is considered. All things have their time and purpose ─ even knowing a person's musical preferences," he declared.

Few who lacked clairvoyance would envy those who did. Seeing the past had always been a boon, but only after adjusting to knowledge of the future could one truly adjust to it. One more question was presented. Anais wished to know if questioning the past counted as asking for spoilers. "The past is for all to know. My sight applies only to events that are certain, so you may question the past all you like," he answered. In terms of mind-reading, Solomon had no such innate ability. Frankly... neither did Mugen, as he could recall. "I am no mind-reader, and neither is Mugen. Once upon a time, he possessed the ability to read the human heart. It wasn't a thing that allowed him to hear words as you think them, but rather to understand intentions even deeper than the subconscious. Sadly, such a power will inevitably open one up to seeing the true, dark nature of mankind. I presume Mugen's ability is even more susceptible to picking up on things linked to the Void now, though even I don't know the full breadth of his capacity."

[Apollymi]

Anais was correct. He'd not specified that she needed to ask appropriate questions. Beyond that, he stated that he'd been teasing and felt nostalgic. To this Anais could only playfully pout. "Hmph, of course you would be teasing me..." she stated. Of course, she didn't actually mind this at all. Apparently the strange habits of her teachers in this path cycle of life were all going to be very different to undertake. Even so, there was additionally the claim that all information was important in the right time. "Sou ka, I'll keep it in mind. And not feel bad for keeping random information tucked away in my brain space..." she stated. Of course, there were many things she could like about Solomon's teaching, but that was a big concept to work with and she could happy explore it.

Moving on, the girl's questions about the past and if it counted as spoilers, was rather openly addressed as not spoilers. She was allowed to ask anything about the past as it appeared in her head. "Sugoi! That's going to be awesome when I think of something to ask," she mused, knowing it would come eventually. And much to her own relief this man couldn't read her thoughts, she'd never sighed her own relief so audibly in her entire life. Ah, well... according to Solomon, Mugen didn't have such an ability either. He previously had the ability to read hearts, and though it could have evolved he didn't have knowledge of it. "Reading hearts huh? I am pretty sure I've heard of that somewhere before... Box it," she mused. She'd deal with issues of Mugen and his potential identity later. "Also I don't want spoilers about their identities, I want to figure that out on my own... I feel like it will be really satisfying. Well, so long as I don't accidentally create one of them, you know what... I don't want to think about that. Going in a box." she stated as if that would make sense outside of her head. She found her curiosities answered and was pleased to have met Solomon beyond other things. "Hm, I guess there is only one thing left to ask, did I miss a good line of questioning?" she asked seeming to wonder if she'd missed something important in her excitement. It was always good to have one's curiosities checked by their mentors.

[Bloodedge]

Strangely, it had never been Solomon's intention to tease. Rare was it that he interacted with someone from the other world. Even he was not immune to a nostalgia trip under such circumstances. Once the moment was past, he felt no further desire to behave that way. The male passed on his lesson, and moved on to Anais's ability to question past events. There were many useful things she could learn from a time long gone, though there was no incredible need just yet.

One more thing for Anais to understand was what Solomon knew of Mugen's ability. It was always possible that he'd developed it to the point of reading minds, but Solomon couldn't be too sure. Those inhabitants of the Void had many secrets beyond the world's, and therefore his own, understanding. Regardless, Anais commented that she'd heard of something like that before. Of course she did. Solomon knew Mugen's identity was one very well-known to her and her people. His current identity may not have given it away so easily, but the signs were all obvious after being noticed just once. "Don't worry. I won't take your satisfaction away. When you find the answer, you should speak to Miwa. Demons are so secretive, there are some things she is yet missing about him," Solomon explained briefly. Anais went on to ask if she'd missed any good questions. Well, there were so many excellent questions to ask, and so little time to ask them. "Millions, yes. But... you know all that you must know for now." With that final line spoken, the vision Solomon created began to dissolve. Anais would find herself right where she once was, Solomon's tongue retracting slowly from her mouth's interior before their lips parted fully. "There we are. Now, I think it's time I left you to your study. I'll see you all soon," he said just prior to fading into his own realm.

[Apollymi]

Whether he'd intended to tease or not, he'd succeeded, but Anais understood. As someone from the other world it was really easy to fall into strange traps of mind and habit under the right circumstances. Of course, when their conversation continued it would be stated that Solomon had no intention of ruining her fun. Instead he claimed that she should speak to Miwa when she figured out Mugen's identity. According to Solomon, demons were secretive, and there were things the wisdom goddess did not know. Given this, Anais would easily share information with the woman, after all she considered her to be her relative headmistress.

"Hai hai, arigatou gouzaimasu... I'll make sure to talk to her. Assuming he's someone exciting, I'll definitely need someone to talk to..." she thought. Her given reactions to meeting the others let her know when she figured out who her remaining two teachers were she'd likely have a fit. Beyond that, it would give her a chance to congratulate the goddess Miwa on creating the perfect nerd girl harem. Moving on, apparently there were millions of questions she could have asked, but none that she needed to. She knew all she needed to now, and would soon find herself back where she had been with Solomon retracting his tongue from her mouth. There was something about that which always felt really strange to Anais even so, she managed to only look slightly abashed and given Solomon's less intrusive nature, their break was more natural and less rushed than she'd been when separating herself from Mugen earlier. "Hm, hai... I'll do my best, ja ne..." the girl managed. "It was nice seeing you, Solo-kun~" was Miwa's response, she seemed to be quite used to the man's more eclectic behaviors. At the same time, Anais was left to think over, what kind of darkness might cause her to call upon Solomon and what kind of studies she was in for during her circle around this path she was taking.