FujiwaraPhoenix

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Seiga's Senkai

Upon hearing the Hourai immortal's words, Sanae's face quickly curled into a grimace, almost as if she had just been given a cup of coffee and told to drink it black. If something like this had been lying underground, who knew what else could be lurking in wait?

Needless to say, she agreed wholeheartedly with the half-ghost gardener's opinion on the matter. Though the hermit seemed the faintest bit annoyed at the trio's desire to seal the thing up, it didn't appear as if she had any intent to stop them.

"...Well, if it's sealing you need then I can handle that while I'm here recovering," Sanae added as she waved lethargically at the group. "It's not going to look pretty, but if I'm going to be here recovering I may as well help handle that."

To this, Geto finally found the timing well enough to interject with a statement of his own.

"If it's sealing cursed spirits away, I'm sure I can afford to help. I don't believe those two would let me roam around unsupervised anyways, so I might as well make myself useful somewhere a bit more comfortable, no?" he added, to which Seiga simply shrugged her shoulders.

"You two can stay behind then. Rayne, I'd also appreciate it if you could remain here as well for the moment. I'll need some able-bodied assistance if I'm to care for two more people, if only for a little while," she chimed in before flashing the group a smile. "As for the rest of you... I suppose I'm not able to kick you out, but I'm still not particularly pleased about what you did to be here to begin with."

"If you two... Er, three? Are planning to head out, then you might want to meet back up with the others at that inn Rayne mentioned," the green-haired girl remarked before handing the book they had found earlier that day off to whoever would take it. "Might want to hand that off to Anne; she's more the bookish type, so she might be able to make use of that better than us for the moment."

"Ah, I believe I shall stay behind as well," Carol added before the group chose to do anything further. "I'd like to research as much as possible while I have the opportunity, and this seems like a prudent opportunity to do so."

"Then I'll have you putting in some work as well. I'm not going to let you freeload here, either, you know."

---

The Dancing Donkey

By the time the groups had finally reconverged, the sun was finally beginning to set over the horizon. Lively cheer leaked out from every restaurant, tavern, and inn through the street, and the building where the group had agreed to meet was no different. The only real difference at hand now, though, was the distinct lack of half the cast they had started the day with.

For what little it was worth, though, those present didn't seem to be particularly worse for wear. In fact, with one half of the group now with proper funds to spend, not having to worry about lodging or food for a while wouldn't be an issue.

Not that it was an issue for anyone but Anne or Youmu at the moment, but that was a different matter entirely.

The interior of the inn was lit by lamps hung up on the walls, and just barely off to the side one could quite easily see a dozen tables lined up near a kitchen. The servers were milling around as people from all walks of life called for more food and alcohol to sate their cravings.

At the counter stood a bulky middle-aged man who waved at the group as they entered.

"Hello there! Haven't seen your faces before. Welcome to The Dancing Donkey! What'll it be? A room for the night? Food? Both?" he asked with a rather practiced smile on his face.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Form

• Name: Nicolas Li
• Age: 21
• Gender: Male
• Race: Human
• Appearance: "Need something from me?"
  Standing at a somewhat respectable 5’10”, Nick carries himself with an air of reserved confidence. His clothing now isn’t exactly suitable for the mess of procuring ingredients or the controlled chaos of the workshop, but it certainly conveys the atmosphere that someone in his newfound line of work “should” have.
• Personality: With a somewhat relaxed demeanor in his day-to-day life, Nick does not seem like the type who one might mistake for a chef—or, at least, not a chef who treats his kitchen like a battlefield (though it may as well be one). In a sense, that judgement would be correct; having never actually had to work in a proper kitchen, the pressures that he is used to are mostly with regards to long-term goals, and towards those he has had ample time to prepare. Paired with a humility and desire to learn from those who know more than he, though, one could consider him an eternal student.
  
  This is not to say that Nick is a doormat or spineless, though; while he may struggle at times with responsibilities thrust upon him, any acceptance of such is built upon a mix of patience and, ideally, mutual respect. Absent of either, the young man is more than willing to simply abandon endeavors in favor of paths that are more productive.
• History: Nick’s life was fairly unremarkable, as most are. Born of the love between Chinese and Japanese office workers who had moved to America for business opportunities, the young man was, in essence, caught between three worlds instead of the “usual” two. For most of his childhood, the young boy grappled with his identity—who he was and how he fit into the world didn’t align neatly, if at all. It was only when he began high school and, half on a whim and half because he was forced into it, began to cook did he find some direction in his life. While a need to excel in academics was more or less forced upon him due to the circumstances of his upbringing, the young man found that the food that he made, be it at the behest of others or for his own personal desires, was the best way to express himself.
  
  Of course, the life of a chef in any capacity was financially reckless, and his parents made that clear as day. For the most part, it was relegated to a side hobby—one among many side hobbies of a young man his age. Thus proceeded his daily life until he got into college, at which point he, by some odd set of circumstances, ended up going to cooking school on top of studying for a degree in biochemistry. This, naturally enough, consumed a rather significant amount of his time and left him the de facto friend that people flocked to in order to get a good meal for cheap. Would that it had continued until he had finished college, though; a rather unfortunate encounter with a student athlete who had drunk a bit too much and was behind the wheel made certain that he was just another life snuffed out a bit too soon.
  
  For what little it was worth, the impact took him out quickly enough that he wasn’t conscious for more than a second after being sent flying.
• Cheat: Dimensional Atelier - Nick has access to a "small" pocket dimension, accessible only to him and those given his OK, that contains a variety of equipment tailor-made for chemistry, alchemy, and the culinary arts that never seem to degrade in quality. It is, in essence, a personal workshop where he can work and store goods, and even rest in a pinch. The entry and exit point is bound to the location where he deploys it, but it can be moved or dispelled at will.
  
  • Skill Name: Fundamentals of Synthesis
  • Skill Description: This skill provides a basic understanding of the usage and functionality of all tools related to alchemy and chemistry. As an added bonus, any items that are produced by someone with this skill will have naturally higher quality than other goods made by the same process.
• Other: Though it might not necessarily need to bear repeating, Nick is quite proficient at cooking despite a lack of any dedicated skills towards doing so.

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR: All OK.

Form

• Name: Nicolas Li
• Age: 21
• Gender: Male
• Race: Human
• Appearance: "Need something from me?"
  Standing at a somewhat respectable 5’10”, Nick carries himself with an air of reserved confidence. His clothing now isn’t exactly suitable for the mess of procuring ingredients or the controlled chaos of the workshop, but it certainly conveys the atmosphere that someone in his newfound line of work “should” have.
• Personality: With a somewhat relaxed demeanor in his day-to-day life, Nick does not seem like the type who one might mistake for a chef—or, at least, not a chef who treats his kitchen like a battlefield (though it may as well be one). In a sense, that judgement would be correct; having never actually had to work in a proper kitchen, the pressures that he is used to are mostly with regards to long-term goals, and towards those he has had ample time to prepare. Paired with a humility and desire to learn from those who know more than he, though, one could consider him an eternal student.
  
  This is not to say that Nick is a doormat or spineless, though; while he may struggle at times with responsibilities thrust upon him, any acceptance of such is built upon a mix of patience and, ideally, mutual respect. Absent of either, the young man is more than willing to simply abandon endeavors in favor of paths that are more productive.
• History: Nick’s life was fairly unremarkable, as most are. Born of the love between Chinese and Japanese office workers who had moved to America for business opportunities, the young man was, in essence, caught between three worlds instead of the “usual” two. For most of his childhood, the young boy grappled with his identity—who he was and how he fit into the world didn’t align neatly, if at all. It was only when he began high school and, half on a whim and half because he was forced into it, began to cook did he find some direction in his life. While a need to excel in academics was more or less forced upon him due to the circumstances of his upbringing, the young man found that the food that he made, be it at the behest of others or for his own personal desires, was the best way to express himself.
  
  Of course, the life of a chef in any capacity was financially reckless, and his parents made that clear as day. For the most part, it was relegated to a side hobby—one among many side hobbies of a young man his age. Thus proceeded his daily life until he got into college, at which point he, by some odd set of circumstances, ended up going to cooking school on top of studying for a degree in biochemistry. This, naturally enough, consumed a rather significant amount of his time and left him the de facto friend that people flocked to in order to get a good meal for cheap. Would that it had continued until he had finished college, though; a rather unfortunate encounter with a student athlete who had drunk a bit too much and was behind the wheel made certain that he was just another life snuffed out a bit too soon.
  
  For what little it was worth, the impact took him out quickly enough that he wasn’t conscious for more than a second after being sent flying.
• Cheat: Dimensional Atelier - Nick has access to a "small" pocket dimension, accessible only to him and those given his OK, that contains a variety of equipment tailor-made for chemistry, alchemy, and the culinary arts that never seem to degrade in quality. It is, in essence, a personal workshop where he can work and store goods, and even rest in a pinch. The entry and exit point is bound to the location where he deploys it, but it can be moved or dispelled at will.
  
  • Skill Name: Fundamentals of Synthesis
  • Skill Description: This skill provides a basic understanding of the usage and functionality of all tools related to alchemy and chemistry. As an added bonus, any items that are produced by someone with this skill will have naturally higher quality than other goods made by the same process.
• Other: Though it might not necessarily need to bear repeating, Nick is quite proficient at cooking despite a lack of any dedicated skills towards doing so.

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Prologue

Between the simply-cut throne of marble atop a grand set of stairs and the spiraling stars flying overhead, one could have easily mistaken the scene at hand from something out of a movie. The intent to draw awe in the scene's presence alone was evident at a glance, but what served to draw the eye amidst it all was a somewhat boyish young man seated upon that throne. His gaze, at once sharp and listless, seemed to linger upon something in the skies above for but a moment before they turned to face whatever lay beneath him.

"I suppose we are due for something interesting this century..." he mused to himself as he moved to rest upon one of his arms. "Maybe Luni's suggestion will be worth testing. Bringing otherworlders in to bring a spark to this world may be just what it needs."

With a limp-wristed gesture, the man raised his free hand towards the sky, then down towards the ground below. Slowly, a small handful of those stars were dragged down from their seats, pulled into the orb that the man had been so intent to place his focus upon.

"New forms, same minds. A scant few boons to aid in their acclimation. No more, no less," he spoke as the sphere flashed with every new light added to it. "Scatter them to the winds. Their lives shall be theirs, and theirs alone; whether they live or die again matters not compared to what change they may bring."

But to what end those souls plucked from beyond would have upon this world... Only they themselves could say now.

Scenario

This is an isekai fantasy RP. No fancy gimmicks (other than player cheats and a little helping hand). Invite only. If you're here, you know what this is about.

Here's a breakdown of the relevant mechanics outside of the usual fantasy stuff.

• Cheats: Standard fare. Something that breaks the rules of logic relative to even the magic of the new world.
• Skills: You get one new skill independent of your past life. This one needs to be reasonable relative to the character, be it conceptually or otherwise.
• System Access: Free text-based communications line that cannot be intercepted or interfered with. Can store records and send messages to other reincarnators. Basically a glorified notepad and chat room.

Anyways, form below.

Form

• Name: Use whatever here, honestly. Taking up a new name? Standing by the one your parents gave you? Live life as you see fit; it's a second chance, after all.
• Age: You can split it into physical and mental or just use one if you want. Please be clear, though.
• Gender: In the here and now. If you know, you know.
• Race: Classic fantasy triage? Sure. Something custom? Run it by me first and we'll talk.
• Appearance: Text, images, what have you.
• Personality: Self-explanatory.
• History: Also self-explanatory.
• Cheat: Because is it really an isekai without some bullshit power on hand? You could argue that these are a bit more balanced than most, which obviously means they'll be vetted
  
  • Skill Name:
  • Skill Description:
• Other: Anything else of note? Put it here.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Nieve — Seiga's Senkai

Seiga returned Youmu's indignant declaration with a wry smile, but ultimately chose to not give any proper response to her outcry. Whether that meant she was joking about doing so or had a plan to get Youmu to pay her back in due time was anybody's guess, and Sanae was certainly not willing to poke that hornet's nest to try and find out.

More relevant to the subject matter at hand, though, was further focus placed upon the ominous orb that had continued to grip the attention of those present. The necromancer couldn't really blame them, given how it was front and center and just screamed bad news, but it wasn't as if she could really provide much to help on that front.

If there was anyone to help find out, though, the immortal would be exactly the person to ask.

"I chose to err on the side of caution when retrieving that one and had my dear Yoshika bring it back, but she hasn't really told me anything special about it in particular," the hermit replied, lazily waving one hand in front of her. "If you wish to find out, please, be my guest. It's not as if anything can kill an immortal like you for long."

With her tacit approval provided, Mokou would thus be free to interact with the orb as she saw fit. If she chose to touch it, however, the reason behind everyone's instinctual concern around it would become quite evident. A flood of anguish and torment would flood into her from the orb—the feelings of resentment and anger of thousands of souls sealed within. The attack was purely mental in nature, but whether or not the immortal could weather the storm on her own or would need someone to pry her away would be up to her and her alone.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

Nieve — Mages' Guild

Though it seemed as though she had already been expecting some sort of bad news, Serena's expression turned grim as Anne began to detail to them the events that had just transpired. She said nothing as the older woman spoke her piece and gave her suggestions on how to proceed. Instead, the princess sat in silence with one hand brought up to her mouth, her lips pursed as she seemed to lose herself in her thoughts.

The silence was eventually broken as Serena let out a subtle sigh and looked towards Anne.

"I suppose further investigation is in order," she said simply before quietly producing a bag of coins from a nearby drawer. "I have no reason to doubt your testimony, but revealing anything to the public about this incident would probably raise further issues. For now, please keep quiet about this matter; I'll have some guards check the issue out under some different pretenses later."

With that, Serena calmly handed the bag off to Anne before glancing at the child still in her care.

"That aside, I would recommend you all try and remove the residual curses lingering around you. It's not immediately threatening—I assume you managed to avoid being hit directly—but the traces can still be tracked for a while after they have been placed. Beyond that... You should probably go and rest for a while. It may be likely that I will need your assistance sooner than not."

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Nieve — Mages' Guild

With little to show for their efforts, the group of travelers chose to make their way back to the Mages' Guild to report the results of their little trip. Though now short a member of their entourage, the trio (and the fae child still in Anne's care) had made their return without drawing too much attention to themselves.

The remnants of the rock dust scattered about on their clothing would have stood out a bit, unfortunately enough.

Once the group had entered the building, it didn't take particularly long for Serena to come down and greet them. With the requested goods missing and the traces of something having gone awry fairly evident to see on them, though, the princess seemed to take a moment to wonder what could have happened to leave them all like this.

"Complications, I presume?" she asked before beckoning the group to follow her back to the room she had been experimenting in before. "Please, fill me in on the details."

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Nieve — Beneath the Mausoleum

With every bone in her body desiring some relaxation and maybe a hot drink to get rid of the sluggishness still clinging to her body, the green-haired shrine maiden could barely muster any sort of desire to actually fight her two traveling companions, much less on the side of the necromancer Taoist (regardless of if she had helped them or not). Those not from Gensokyo seemed more inclined towards speaking about the odd disparity in their number (if not questions in general), though, which was a line of questioning that was far less likely to result in any sort of unnecessary combat.

All the more reason to try and help push that along.

"It could be a preference, or it could be something else. Maybe it's easier to reinforce a connection than it is to establish one? That'd explain why I can summon Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama..." she trailed off before glancing towards the still-fuming Seiga.

"Enough about the who and why we're all here! Even if you were looking for me, putting my dear Yoshika-chan in that sort of situation is absolutely unforgivable!" Seiga exclaimed, only for the smallest of the four intruders to raise her hand in response.

"Ah, you can place the blame on Miss Konpaku for that one," she spoke, fully aware that she was effectively sacrificing the half-ghost swordswoman in order to wring information out of the woman. "So if you want to air your grievances about that, please do so with her. I would like to return to my earlier statement. After all, there are more than a few things here—that large black orb most of all—that don't seem to fit in with the atmosphere here. Would you mind enlightening us on why they're here to begin with?"

For what little it was worth, being able to redirect her ire towards Youmu had left Seiga at least a little less inclined towards indiscriminate danmaku, especially within the confines of her own home, and so the hermit slowly drifted towards the ground before entering her home proper.

"Hmph. As long as you're not trying to steal them for yourselves, I don't particularly mind. I have made a promise to care for Miss Kochiya until she has recovered, at least, and I can't very well do so if my house is in shambles... Though I will certainly collect my dues in time. From your mistress, perhaps," she spoke, glaring at Youmu before finally taking a seat. "In any case... Most of these goods were not made by me, nor were they stolen, per se. That orb in particular was a rather nasty piece of work. I believe it was somewhere around two li underground in... That direction? Obviously, I don't have the tools to try and break it down, and trying to do so without any sort of help would be near-suicidal, so I made the choice to simply seal it up here. The other goods were in odd underground ruins I found here and there as I was searching for a place to settle down after finding myself in this world, and they seemed valuable enough to take with me. Does that answer your questions, or do you still have more to ask?"

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Nieve — Beneath the Mausoleum

Given her experience in dealing with the jiangshi that was struggling to do much of anything in the past, Sanae wasn't quite sure what to expect from whatever was waiting for them inside of Seiga's new base of operations. Sure, Yoshika was... Well, she wouldn't say strong, per se, but she was problematic in her own right in a proper fight. Granted, there weren't any divine spirits lingering around for her to heal off of here as far as she could tell, but that had been more of a one-time thing anyway.

Regardless, it felt like a bit more of an obligation to the green-haired girl at this point to follow after the Taoist, even if she wasn't in peak fighting form. There wasn't any guarantee that whatever was waiting for them would be weak enough for Seiga alone to handle, after all.

Thankfully, the fact that the three of them could fly meant that Sanae didn't have to worry about slowly plodding down the stairs inside the mausoleum—heavens knew that would make her head spin even worse—and before long, the trio passed through into a space not all too dissimilar to what she had seen from the Divine Spirit Mausoleum back in Gensokyo. This one was smaller, of course, but it certainly did fit the bill for what she expected Seiga to be living in.

The house in it's center was, of course, their destination, and before long Seiga—with Sanae, still using Rayne's shoulder for support—floating not too far behind.

Her surprise when the 'rats' that had made their way into Seiga's home were Youmu and Mokou (and two other strangers), though, was...

Well, it was more than she was able to physically show at the moment.

"...How did you two manage to even find this place?" she asked as the two unfamiliar face in the back glanced at the newcomers a bit warily before deeming that the green-haired girl, at the very least, wasn't any sort of threat at the moment—and thus, by proxy, choosing to ignore her.

"I suppose the angry one is the homeowner, then?" the smaller girl asked with a bit of a shine in her eye. "Our timing could have been better... But I've got a bevy of questions of my own to ask about the goods here, so I don't have reason to complain."

"More than that, though... Six from one place?" the monk remarked as he brought a hand to his chin. "...Never mind the odds of that happening given what you've told me, but doesn't that mean that there might be more people from our own worlds here, too? Two or three would be astronomically coincidental odds, sure, but..."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris

---

Nieve — Underground Caverns

The decision to retreat as the cave began to collapse upon itself was swift, and as boulders began to seal off the path forward the group of would-be explorers would be able to avoid the last few parting shots from the wraiths as they barreled through any stray rocks that threatened to cut them off from both ends.

Either way, the group would at least come away from the incident fairly unscathed. Unfortunately, what they had originally come for—both the goods and the shopkeeper—were still nowhere to be seen. What Serena's response to that (never mind the explanations of what happened here) would be...

Well, they were probably not going to be particularly pleasant, but it was going to have to be something that needed to be done one way or another.

With that said, this was a good a time as any to consider how to move forward. Though the princess' request could well be considered a failure, they had come away with the information that there was something lurking far beneath their feet.

Unfortunately, this meant that their presence would be known as well; whether or not that would cause problems in the days to come remained to be seen.

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Nieve — Red Light District

Once the goddess had disappeared in her entirety, Sanae let herself slacken ever so slighty. Supported by Rayne as she was, the young woman felt enough leeway now to let herself relax, if only for a moment. The Knight Witch's prompt about the nature of their helper here, however, promptly reminded Sanae that they weren't quite out of the proverbial woods yet.

"Ah... Yeah, she certainly is. I had the, uh... Pleasure of having to fight her in the past, and even under danmaku rules..." the shrine maiden trailed off before sighing. "...I'll just say that my feelings about her are a bit complicated for now and leave it at that."

It was at this point that the hermit had chosen to introduce herself to Rayne proper, and in so doing caused an expression of mixed distaste and frustration to cross the young woman's face in turn.

"I can't say you didn't help us out there or that this wasn't going to be a problem that we'd have to deal with eventually, but I feel like you had other reasons to bring us here," Sanae replied in turn, giving the blue-haired woman a bit of a side-eye as she mentioned trying to make use of the ghost that they had only really scraped by fighting.

With the building free of it's wrathful resident, though, there seemed to be little reason to linger for much longer. Despite her misgivings about Seiga, though, the shrine maiden could not deny that spending some time resting would do her some good.

Given that they still didn't exactly have much money to throw around—especially after purchasing that tome which had somehow escaped damage during the battle—it was hard to deny the offer.

"...Thank you for your hospitality," she remarked as she slowly floated towards the hole that Seiga had carved in the wall. "I'll be in your care.

Nieve — Odd Cemetery

Though traveling through Seiga's hole in the ground was a bit disconcerting on it's own (especially with little more than her words to go off of), the trio soon emerged out of the ground akin to moles popping out of a tunnel. The trip certainly took a while longer than Sanae would have liked (that is, to say, any longer than a few seconds), but she couldn't deny that the hermit was nothing if not efficient in her method of escape. The question of how the owners of the brothel would deal with the new, perfectly-carved tunnel that led straight towards a graveyard did cross her mind, of course, but the shrine maiden was far from any position to wonder about covering things up any more than that for the moment.

Once they had emerged, though, the first thing that Seiga would lay eyes upon—and the others in turn—would be the charm-less jiangshi laying face-first on the ground nearby. The doors to the mausoleum behind her were visibly ajar, but the fact that she had been dispatched in the first place...

"...I assume you had some guests while we were handling that mess," Sanae remarked as she attempted to shift her body into a slightly more comfortable position while still leaning on Rayne for support. "Should we get ready for another fight? I'm still a bit queasy, but..."

@DracoLunaris@VitaVitaAR

---

Nieve — Beneath the Mausoleum

Despite her own apparent misgivings about so casually entering the house to begin with, Carol soon followed both the two white-haired girls (and Suguru, who seemed just as nonplussed as the other two) into the house. Instead of the same sort of revulsion that Youmu presented, however, the small girl would simply regard the preserved corpse with a bit of mild interest.

"I suppose the owner must work with the deceased regularly to be so willing to openly treat and embalm a body," she remarked before skimming over the body proper. "Cleaned, free of more biodegradable matter before preservation... I'm no expert in matters like these, but at the very least I can say that there was at least some deliberate methodology in how this was handled. Whether or not it was the owner who did this or if it was taken from the graves above is a different matter, but I'm not sure if I'm all too willing to meet someone willing to work on corpses in their own home..."

Suguru, however, seemed to be less than pleased with the contents of the house. It wasn't the body that had distracted him so much as the same orb that Youmu had found herself drawn to. Unconsciously, the monk strode forward and, ignoring the talismans surrounding it, moved his hand towards it out of curiosity.

"Don't you dare," Carol remarked as she continued to peruse the rest of the goods littering the shelves, causing Suguru to turn to face her with a mildly annoyed expression on his face. "Even I can feel the malignant energy coming from whatever that is, and trying to do anything with it without analysis is asking for trouble."

With that, the cloaked girl walked over to examine the orb in turn. Slowly, she began to pace around, craning her neck on occasion in an attempt to get different views of the object in question before nodding her head.

"Hm... Unfortunately, I don't believe that I can do anything of the sort without risk, either. I do have to wonder how this got here to begin with, though; if this space didn't exist before the arrival of it's owner to this world, then why would she possess it to begin with?"

There was a brief pause before Carol turned to face both Youmu and Mokou with a question of her own.

"Is there a possibility that your acquaintance could have made this? If so, it might be prudent to try and neutralize her before trying to handle this here."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

Nieve — Underground Caverns

The chaos that erupted in the cavern as the two massive undead heaved their weapons at the group seemed to shake the cavern itself, stones and dirt falling to the ground as both the shadowy magicks from the darkness and one of the undead fighters' arms went flying into the walls in quick succession. For what little it was worth, the group of four (five, if you counted the fae in Anne's arms) did not seem too much worse for wear after the initial clash, and Lewa's buffeting winds providing cover combined with Fran's unrelenting rampage against the sole undead she hadn't already dispatched would have meant that the battle ended as quickly as it had began.

Unfortunately, the cavern, though large, was not necessarily quite as stable as one might have otherwise hoped for. It certainly didn't seem to be made for handling the barrage of blows that the Berserker was doling out as she smashed the undead minotaur into a mess of metal and guts and created a crater as it slowly began to fail to even attempt to resist. The telltale rumbling of something quite concerning starting to arise would be coupled with the fae child desperately grasping onto Anne's arm for dear life as a group of the very same enemy that had fired that first blob of magic seemed to slip in and out of the shadows and fired away.

For what it was worth, Lewa's winds did seem to slow the projectiles enough to make them nowhere near as lethally quick as the first had been, but with an impending cave-in hanging over their heads (quite literally, in a sense), the group would have to make a decision soon: push forward or retreat, lest they die in indecision here and now.

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Nieve — Red Light District

Upon hearing Rayne's response, Kanako crossed her arms and gave a slight nod in reply. There were a few things that the goddess could have attempted to pry into, but it seemed quite evident that this was neither the time nor the place to do so.

"Well, she does have a habit of getting a bit overzealous at the best of times, so if she's showing a bit more prudence with her actions then all the better," the goddess responded in turn as the halfling moved to try and help Sanae up.

Sanae herself had obviously not recovered since her initial loss of strength, and the half-hearted attempts at trying to even push herself back to her feet made it quite obvious that getting back to the inn they had planned to regroup at wasn't going to be in the cards on her own. This, of course, made Rayne's offer of help greatly appreciated.

"Ah, well... I certainly don't think I'll be walking any time soon, so some assistance would certainly help," the green-haired girl replied as she steadily dragged herself back to her feet. There was a sheepish smile on her face as she addressed her companion at first before her attention, inevitably enough, returned towards Kanako. The goddess' attention mirrored her own in turn, and the two faced each other with somewhat mixed emotions about the whole affair.

"I assume you're starting to run a bit low on faith after this miracle, aren't you?" the goddess spoke first as her eyes scanned over the shrine maiden's disheveled form. "You should try and set up a branch shrine here, at the very least. Even something small should suffice in getting enough to contact us, and given the current state of things here..."

"This was a bit more terrifying than the enemies we've seen in this world so far, Kanako-sama, but I understand. I'll get to that as soon as I get the chance," Sanae responded with a light nod.

"Mm. Unfortunately, I used a fair bit of what you provided for the summoning to make sure that the problem here was handled swiftly, so I can't provide you with any particularly helpful abilities like Suwako did. For now, make sure you go rest somewhere safe... And don't get yourself involved in incidents like this unprepared again."

With that, though, the telltale signs of the divinity's disappearance began to show themselves, and with that came the goddess' final words; these, of course, were pointed straight towards the hermit who had chosen to stay out of the situation as their conversation finished.

"As for you... You have a penchant for scheming, so let us hope—for both our sakes—that your decisions won't lead to any regrets further into the future."

With that, the goddess disappeared, leaving the three girls behind with the onbashira that had since left their scars upon the battlefield even now.

@DracoLunaris@VitaVitaAR

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Nieve — Odd Cemetery

Hearing Mokou's and Youmu's brief explanations caused the two others with them to fall into though, and the pair briefly paused as they considered the implications of what was just stated. Carol, of course, was the first to speak.

"A pocket dimension, then? I didn't think it was possible to warp space in such a way... And I can't say I'm not intrigued," she began to say as the group finally reached the end of the stairwell leading to the floor. "Your world doesn't really dabble with technology, I assume, so creating and maintaining something like this... You don't suppose it might be possible to replicate if the principles behind it were made clear, perhaps?"

"It's not quite like a Domain, but I think that there are some fundamental similarities in my eyes as well," Suguru spoke on his own as he knelt down near one of the island-like structures and slowly dipped his hand into the water. "Something more like a barrier enclosing a space, maybe?"

As the group continued to walk through the underground garden, though, the distinct lack of any anti-intruder system would feel a bit disconcerting. That feeling would only grow as they finally reached the house whose owner was quite evidently missing at the moment.

"I don't suppose you plan on entering?" Carol asked with a slight frown. "Technically, we've already broken in, but the lack of any defenses leaves me at least somewhat concerned..."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

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Nieve — Magic Shop

Once the brief clash with the armored undead had subsided, the fae child seemed to regard Anne with the faintest of nods. A brief glance towards the remnants of the battle, however, would do little more than cause her attention to linger on them for a brief moment before a return to passivity.

Compared to her practically nonexistent responses to the world around her up until this point, whether or not this was an improvement remained to be seen.

Regardless of her thoughts, though, the group's intention to push forward into the cavern was made quite clear, and one by one the travelers began to move forward. For what little it was worth, the mouth through which they passed through was uncannily wide to begin with. That width did not seem to diminish my any means as the group continued to push forward, which might have been a concern all it's own. Examination of the cave walls—if anyone thought to try and do so in the hollow darkness—would at least reveal that the wall had not been chiseled through so much as it had been carved and hollowed out by something, though.

As to whether or not that had any influence on the matter was a different question entirely.

The stifled atmosphere of the path leading forward coupled with naught but the sounds of the group's own footsteps for the next few minutes. Supposing the group had found some means by which to light the way forward, however, it would be at this point that they would encounter a pair of uncannily large humanoid beasts blocking the way forward. Their size easily seemed to double Anne's, and the massive halberds that they held in their grasp seemed no less imposing. Coupled with the bovine face masks and the cloven, hooved feet that might have been visible between the armor that they wore, however, and it would be clear that they were some sort of minotaur-esque creature.

The fact that no breathing could be heard from them as they wordlessly turned to the group before striking out, however, probably did not bode well in general.

As the probably-undead minotaurs began their assault, though, an uncanny chill would run down the necks of those closer to the rear. A brief glance behind them would reveal nothing more than what might have been a red gleam, visible for a fraction of a second before disappearing.

Would that have been all, though. A blob of malformed, tar-black magical energy seemed to come out of the darkness past where the group would have been able to see much of anything and barreled straight towards Anne and the child she was carrying.

Needless to say, the fae child's immediate response to seeing such a sight was to tense up and grip onto Anne as tight as she could, and with an expression of wordless fright that barely belied what might have been running through her head in the moment.

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious