Night
An Eldritch Society ritual space, beneath a park in Kojiki Arcology, south.
The Eldritch Society. A secretive group of like-minded individuals united in common purpose to protect humanity from the various other things that would do it harm. Unlike the government, however, they sought to do things their own way, and that way would often lead to conflict with the very same government, should they act too openly. Even if someone were to shout it from the rooftops, who would believe a man claiming one of the largest megacorporations was controlled by a dangerous cult and the physical avatar of their dark god? And they were far from the only threat, just the most obvious. It wasn't usual that the Society's underground activities were quite so literal, though.
Like any arcology, Kojiki had plenty of space where one could hide something like an illicit space for practice of arcane rituals. The buildings were always an option, but just as easy were the many spaces for maintenance, movement of materiel and personnel, and other such things just below the surface. Arcologies were, almost inevitably, far more than they let on, and someone had to be able to access things to repair the moving sidewalks, anyway. So it was that after much careful planning, a ritual space was set up under a park in an apparently abandoned section of the underground.
The ritual in progress had begun days ago. A long and grueling process for both the sorcerers and other participants, the Rite of Sacred Union demanded great asceticism and strength of will. It had been days since anyone present had had opportunity to eat or drink. But, the mystic energies gathering within the circle and poised to pierce the veil were well worth the effort and soon, with any luck, the candidates within would join the ranks of the Society's greatest warriors.
Something began to...shift, subtly, in the flow of the ritual. No fault of the participants, but of some other influence. And then, the sounds of violence. Their enemies had found them, but there was little that could be done to stop things now. At best, it would be a waste of the opportunity until the next time conditions were right. And the ritual was almost over. The beings at the threshold were practically scratching at the door. The defenders would hold the line.
Meanwhile, at the same park, on the surface
It was a pleasant night in the arcology. Not too hot, not too cold. Truly a blessing of the season and not the controlled climate and civil engineering. The park was almost empty, although the lights were still on. This was one of the nicer parks for an evening walk, with some lovely water features, and nice wooded areas, carefully curated to even look like the products of natural growth.
It was also pretty close to Saya's house, so that helped. She'd been doing well recently, so she and Nanami were out and about. It was getting pretty late, but things were still perfectly safe, so whatever. Neither of the young women would ever expect what would be in store for them that evening.
"It's so nice to get out of the house," Saya observed. "Even if I feel like some sort of vampire, doing it when the sun's already down." She had just as much reason to fear the sun, to be fair. At least at night, no parasol was required on her part. "It's been a while since we got together to really run around like this, hasn't it, Nanami?" She didn't mention why, but even if she usually had no problem making fun of her illness, some things just weren't worth bringing up.
An Eldritch Society ritual space, beneath a park in Kojiki Arcology, south.
The Eldritch Society. A secretive group of like-minded individuals united in common purpose to protect humanity from the various other things that would do it harm. Unlike the government, however, they sought to do things their own way, and that way would often lead to conflict with the very same government, should they act too openly. Even if someone were to shout it from the rooftops, who would believe a man claiming one of the largest megacorporations was controlled by a dangerous cult and the physical avatar of their dark god? And they were far from the only threat, just the most obvious. It wasn't usual that the Society's underground activities were quite so literal, though.
Like any arcology, Kojiki had plenty of space where one could hide something like an illicit space for practice of arcane rituals. The buildings were always an option, but just as easy were the many spaces for maintenance, movement of materiel and personnel, and other such things just below the surface. Arcologies were, almost inevitably, far more than they let on, and someone had to be able to access things to repair the moving sidewalks, anyway. So it was that after much careful planning, a ritual space was set up under a park in an apparently abandoned section of the underground.
The ritual in progress had begun days ago. A long and grueling process for both the sorcerers and other participants, the Rite of Sacred Union demanded great asceticism and strength of will. It had been days since anyone present had had opportunity to eat or drink. But, the mystic energies gathering within the circle and poised to pierce the veil were well worth the effort and soon, with any luck, the candidates within would join the ranks of the Society's greatest warriors.
Something began to...shift, subtly, in the flow of the ritual. No fault of the participants, but of some other influence. And then, the sounds of violence. Their enemies had found them, but there was little that could be done to stop things now. At best, it would be a waste of the opportunity until the next time conditions were right. And the ritual was almost over. The beings at the threshold were practically scratching at the door. The defenders would hold the line.
Meanwhile, at the same park, on the surface
It was a pleasant night in the arcology. Not too hot, not too cold. Truly a blessing of the season and not the controlled climate and civil engineering. The park was almost empty, although the lights were still on. This was one of the nicer parks for an evening walk, with some lovely water features, and nice wooded areas, carefully curated to even look like the products of natural growth.
It was also pretty close to Saya's house, so that helped. She'd been doing well recently, so she and Nanami were out and about. It was getting pretty late, but things were still perfectly safe, so whatever. Neither of the young women would ever expect what would be in store for them that evening.
"It's so nice to get out of the house," Saya observed. "Even if I feel like some sort of vampire, doing it when the sun's already down." She had just as much reason to fear the sun, to be fair. At least at night, no parasol was required on her part. "It's been a while since we got together to really run around like this, hasn't it, Nanami?" She didn't mention why, but even if she usually had no problem making fun of her illness, some things just weren't worth bringing up.
