Paradox Witch

Fate/Factitious Paradigm

Evan Strauss

Strauss Workshop, Shinto

@Art of Fun

"Silver and iron to the origin-"

An absurd gathering had taken place in this city.

This was an eastern backwater with barely a shred of noteworthiness to its name. The only claim it had was that the factory known as "Einzbern" possessed their secondary base of operations in this city, but even then, any who knew of the name Einzbern knew of their true home.

The leylines were acceptable, certainly first-class by the standards of Japan. In fact, Evan would be surprised if the leylines of this land didn't rank within the top three of Japan's spiritual lands. Yes, in that regard, perhaps only a handful of eastern vagrants would come to this place. Perhaps, attracted by curiosity and the chance for opportunity to be had, two or maybe even three magi of Evan's own standing would come here, seeking to turn a quick profit.

However...for magi bearing the titles of Fes and Pride to come here? Absurdity in its purest form. Granted, placing stock in those rankings was an idiotic measure, and truth be told, the information on said magi did illustrate that all too well, but they at least gauged a measure of importance. What sort of twit would come here when they held that sort of title, even if it was undeserved?

Well, no use dwelling on that. The larger complication, then, was the fact that they were here. And for every magus Evan possessed information on, there were likely three he didn't. And judging by what he'd observed already...this city would be turned into an utter hellscape.

"...Repeat every five times."

At the same time, though, wasn't that ideal for him? War profiteers made a killing, after all. It was for that reason that he'd remained in the city even after understanding a fraction of the scale of what was about to occur, and for that reason he stood before a shoddily-made circle, incanting the ritual to bind a Servant to his body.

He was grateful he'd managed to enter the city early and lay low accordingly. If it wasn't for those preparations, performing this near-ritual would have been a significantly more...noticeable endeavor.

"-Arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance---!"

And so, as light and sound met and a materialization of Ether took form before the magus, he could only offer a wry grin.

Hopefully it wouldn't be a knight.

He didn't do well with knights.

Fate/Factitious Paradigm

Capitalchemist

Name: Evan Strauss

Title: N/A

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Alignment: True Neutral

Rank: Cause

Objective for the Grail: Mad cash.

Command Seal: The first seal is in the shape of a featureless circle, beneath the first knuckle. The second seal is a winding rope that trails down from the first towards the opposite end of the hand. The third seal connects with the second near the wrist, similar to the first but more akin to a total eclipse in form than the featureless circle of the first.

Personality: An incredibly mundane individual. Were one not aware of his nature as a magus, one would be hard-pressed to pin him down as one. He lacks any of the obsession that a magus must have, instead being a rather lackadaisical, head-in-the-clouds individual. A decidedly un-magus-like magus who would likely get along rather well with the being that unknowingly completed the forgotten Escardos family wish. In conversation, he is casual to a point that is absurd, even with regards to those who emanate a pressure enough to freeze the blood in his veins. That isn’t to say he is disrespectful, but merely that he does not change his demeanor to fit the situation. Rather than the sort of person who changes throughout many trials and tribulations, who has one face around the parents who raised him and another around the friends he drinks with on the weekends, he maintains a single face on a constant basis.

The sole exception is when money is concerned.

There is no reason for this that one can isolate. Evan did not grow up poor and become obsessed as a result of endlessly scrounging for bills, nor was he raised so wealthy as to see the dollar as almighty. Rather, it is simply an obsession born of nothing but himself, and in this regard one can truly see the madness fitting of a magus blossom in Evan. The sort of individual who empathized with Scrooge as a child who had just learned to read. The sort of individual who constantly knows what the exchange rates for all primary global currencies are. The sort of individual who charges interest on money his friends owe him when he pays for a bag of chips on their behalf.

It is legitimately shocking that he has yet to start selling his bodily fluids to the Association.

Bio: The sixth generation of the Strauss family of alchemy. A child born steeped in magecraft as was par for the course, inheriting his family’s Crest and beginning his studies at a young age. His life has been a relatively simple one, generally staying in the Clock Tower but with a handful of acquaintances and friends who exist outside of the Moonlit World. He maintains his studies, stays out of the way of chaos, and simply attempts to maintain his daily life. His life can only be called mundane in its day-to-day operations. Viewed as something of a genius, he is currently projected to reach the rank of Fes in the Association before his twenty-fifth birthday.

It can only be wondered, then, why someone with such a daily life would choose to disrupt it by volunteering to participate in a duel to the death in some magical backwater.

The answer, of course, is "for mad dosh".

Family History: An alchemical family of six generations, belonging to the Toranbelio faction of the Mage’s Association despite their relatively established position. They are viewed as heretics among western alchemists due to their path to the Root being one that bases itself upon undoing alchemy, but this primarily takes the form of other alchemists frowning slightly when passing them in the halls, rather than anything truly hostile.

In pursuit of their path to the Root, they have experimented upon gold to the aims of creating prima materia. The details of this process can be found in the Strauss Family Alchemy described below. Currently, the family has perfected the processes of undoing rubedo and citrinitas, capable of undoing these steps with a practiced ease on the order of mere hours, with albedo and nigredo remaining. While this would seem to the layperson to mean that they are “halfway to the Root”, this is a complete misunderstanding, as the closer one becomes to prima materia, the more difficult the next step becomes. In other words, while the family seems to be 50% complete with the conversion of gold to prima materia, in truth the two steps they have perfected do not even consist of 1% of the path.

---

Magic Circuit Switch: The sound of a coin falling down a well.

Number of Magic Circuits: C

Quality of Magic Circuits: A

---

Elemental Affinity: Earth and Water

Magecraft:

Strauss Family Alchemy

In alchemy, there is the concept of prima materia, the first matter which exhibits all things. The primal existence that precedes even that sea of chaos which served as the bed of this planet, and the dust which those heavenly bodies are wrought from. It is thought that by taking prima materia through four stages of processing, creation of a philosopher’s stone is possible.

The Strauss family’s magecraft is based around “creation of prima materia”. If one is able to create the original matter from which all things spring, then it is only natural that the Root would be reached. As a result, the Strauss family does not follow alchemy to make a philosopher’s stone, but rather to unmake a philosopher’s stone. By subjecting prima materia to nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, and rubedo, a philosopher’s stone can be born. Then, by subjecting a philosopher’s stone to the reverse of these processes, it is possible to give rise to prima materia.

In alchemy, the philosopher’s stone exists. This is a super-pure photonic crystal, a peerless computation device. However, the Strauss family of course does not possess a philosopher’s stone. Rather than a philosopher’s stone, for their magecraft they utilize gold as a substitute, conflating the foundations of turning lead to gold with turning prima materia into the philosopher’s stone. Thus, they subject gold to the inverse of the four aforementioned processes, in an effort to create prima materia. More generally, if alchemy is in the business of “turning something into something else”, then the Strauss family’s alchemy is in the business of “turning something else into something”. A disgusting regressive ideology of transmutation that is rightfully looked down on by true alchemists, as a Strauss will never create something that can truly be called his own.

As the current family head and the most talented magus of his bloodline, Evan can be called the number one magus in this particular subset of alchemy.

Alchemy: The general theories and principles of western alchemy and transmutation. Something he can be considered an expert in, due to the necessity of it in his family’s magecraft.

Spiritual Evocation: The department that Evan has chosen to "minor" in at the Clock Tower. While a far cry from his talents in the alchemical field, he is nonetheless above average in the evocation of spirits, specializing in guiding them to possess materials.

General Magecraft: The Clock Tower primer for everything a young lad should know. Fixing glass, contracting familiars, basic shielding, standard Bounded Fields, and so on. Naturally such things as combining his knowledge of Bounded Fields with his alchemical abilities are also included.

Crest: Six generations.

Weapons:

Mundane: Everything you would bring on a trip to Japan. A bag, a pen, sunglasses, a water bottle, clothing, three prana furnaces, a pair of rollerblades, multiple suitcases filled with gold, two suitcases filled with coal, and a cowboy hat.

Mystic Codes

An suitcase of each, stored with a weight-reduction enchantment.

Gold-Sans-Red: Gold which has had the process of rubedo undone from it. In other words, prima materia which has undergone nigredo, albedo, and citrinitas. It is an unstable existence despite having had rubedo perfectly removed from it, as rubedo (reddening) is simply the process of completion. Improper storage can thus lead to disaster. As it has undergone citrinitas and this is the most-demonstrated of the processes in its current state, though, exposure to it prompts a clarity of the mind and increase in strength of the consciousness. If given to an Atlas alchemist, the results could be interesting.

Black-White Gold: Prima materia which has been putrefied and then purified. Unlike its predecessor, it is a perfectly stable existence, and serves as a representation of stagnation. Through nigredo, its life has been snuffed out, and through albedo it has been cleansed like a corpse before a funeral. In its presence, processes implicitly halt; for this reason, experimentation on it has been an ordeal in itself.

Nigredo (False): Prima materia which has undergone the process of putrefaction and spiritual death. Incomplete, as the process of undoing albedo has not been perfected. Nonetheless, it is a noteworthy existence, as it is a blank slate steeped in death. It can be compared to a curse that has acquired a material form, with the nature of the curse itself varying based on an innumerable number of factors that go into the creation process. Physical contact is ill-advised.

Prima Materia (False): As neither nigredo nor albedo have been properly undone, it is a far cry from the existence meant to show a path to the Root. Nonetheless, it is a useful tool, a “clay” that can shape itself into anything or integrate itself into anything, guided by the mind of its holder and limited by its own mass. Its best purposes are for use in repairs or as a “glue” to hold things together. However, as it is not true prima materia, it is inefficient. Were one to make it turn into the shape of a wrench, for instance, it would be far inferior to a wrench that one can buy at any hardware store for a negligible price. The same goes for just about everything else it can become. Its purpose can largely be outmatched by a suburban father’s toolkit.

Exceptional Benefit: One Week of Preparation.

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Bacchus Archer

𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕖: Chiron [Lily]
𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: Bacchus Birthplace
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: Archer
𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣: Male
𝔹𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤: Age of Gods
𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥: Chaotic Bacchus

ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: A narcissistic alcoholic who is concerningly good at rallying people. He carries no desire for the Holy Grail, save for potentially being incarnated, for the aims of being able to drink more.

𝔹𝕚𝕠: A "Lily" Servant is a title accorded to a Servant representing an aspect generally understood to be focused on an aspect of the source Heroic Spirit from "before their prime". In the case of Heroic Spirit Chiron, there is no doubt of the prime of his legend; the wise teacher who raised countless heroes, the most brilliant and level-headed of his kind, the god who relinquished his Divinity so that he might die.

In that sense, this is the Chiron who precedes that sage.

The race of centaurs are bombastic, ludicrous beings. Lost to violence, brutality, and drunken revelry, they are far from the mental tranquility that Chiron, their foremost member, possessed in his later years. As a result, the concept of "Chiron in his youth" has become muddled with the concept of centaur-kind more generally, and the latter has contaminated the former. This has been amplified through specific anecdotes of Chiron within the time of his youth, chief among these being the occasion on which he founded what are known as the Dionysian Rites, by teaching the god of wine, Dionysus, of how to lose himself in drunken revelry.

The synthesis of centaurs' concept within Greece's culture sphere and such anecdotes of Chiron's youth have led to this result: an aspect of Heroic Spirit Chiron lost to the drunken revelry of his kind.

The young Chiron before he became a wise teacher. The man who taught the god of wine how to drink. An existence who embraces the narcissism and foolhardiness inherent to his nature. Rather than Heroic Spirit Chiron, this is Divine Spirit Chiron, the chaotic madman who had yet to give up his immortality.

...ordinarily, the Holy Grail can only call on Heroic Spirits. After all, one does not require the Holy Grail if one can reproduce phenomena on the Divine Spirit level. This should mean that this aspect of Chiron cannot be summoned. However, due to actions on the part of Divine Spirit Chiron, both his Divine Spirit aptitude and his transcendent ability, Authority, have been sealed away, making him into a phenomenon reproducible by the Holy Grail.

Incidentally, the inspiration for aspects of the personality and appearance of this creation stems from a certain Disney animated film, namely the voice actor who plays the role of Archer’s counterpart within the story.

𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟: A bow and arrow; strictly speaking, these are god-forged arms, but they lack any notable ability aside from their hardiness and usefulness for their intended purpose. Through the Personal Skill "Bacchae", all manner of alcohol and containers can be freely conjured as well.

ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤

Strength: D
Endurance: D
Agility: A+
Mana: A
Luck: B

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ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤

Independent Action: A

The ability to remain independent even when rejecting the Magical Energy supply from one's Master; the ability that allows for action even in the absence of the Master.

At higher ranks, it is also possible to remain for extended periods of time in this world without an established contract. It is possible to take action even without a Master. However, to use Noble Phantasms of great magical energy consumption, backup from the Master is necessary.

At Rank A, it is possible for a Servant to stay in the world for about a week without a Master.

Magic Resistance: C+

Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals.

Through the nature of the body accorded through the Personal Skill “Bacchae”, this aptitude expands tremendously while inebriated.

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ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤

Wisdom of Divine Gift: C+++

A gift of wisdom given by various Greek gods to the character. It bundles together the various skills and abilities that he received from the Greek gods. It covers various skills, from artistic categories like music, to battle techniques like archery and spearmanship, and even to ranger skills such as outdoor pursuit and medicinal harvesting.

However, these skills are based on the techniques of Greece's mythic era, and as such Archer cannot acquire skills developed in another time and place. Unique skills limited to specific individual such as “Imperial Privilege” and “Pioneer of the Stars” all fall outside the scope of “Wisdom of Divine Gift.”

Due to Archer’s inexperience and youth, the breadth of this skill has suffered a rank-down compared to his rank in his prime, and an additional rank-down has been incurred due to the presence of the Personal Skill “Bacchae”. With the exception of skills he has the potential to gain in the future, Archer is limited to “what can be learned through effort”.

With the invocation of the Noble Phantasm, though, the triple modifier on this skill activates, and it becomes possible to bestow knowledge which surpasses “what is possible for the teacher to know”.

God’s Divine Core: X (A)

A Skill that expresses one being a perfected god from birth. A composite skill that comprises the Skill Divinity, preserves the absoluteness of the mind and the body, repels all mental interference, prevents the body from growth and prevents the figure from change no matter how much calories are absorbed.

As a proper Divine Spirit, Archer’s rank in this is A. However, it seems that he has sealed the exhibition of this skill for the purposes of “getting hammered”. Due to this, it has become possible for Archer to be summoned despite being a Divine Spirit.

This skill is merely listed here for completion’s sake. Functionally speaking, there is no effect due to being sealed.

Bacchae: EX

The bacchic rites and initiations that Archer taught to his fellow god, Dionysus. While there is application to magecraft, the philosophical foundation is something broader, and is premised upon "returning the individual unto nature". Through use of dance, music, and rampant substance abuse, a connection to nature beyond what is achievable by mere magecraft is possible, whether for the effecting of nature interference or other aims. At the same time, this also bundles together the magic foundation used by those followers of Bacchus and Dionysus.

As the foundation’s originator, Archer possesses this skill at nonstandard rank, and is capable of calling upon it as easily as breathing. Rather than requiring incantations, it can be said that Archer’s breath (existence) is Bacchus itself, his existence analogous to those children whose bodies are pure natural circuits. Naturally, he can materialize alcohol just as easily as he does his weaponry, through expenditure of magical energy.

...however, this has simultaneously inflicted a form of mental disorder upon Archer, the results of which are evident. The effects are analogous to Mental Disorder of equivalent rank.

Human Derision: A

A mutation of the skill "Human Observation". The skill to observe and understand people; however, this is not something which allows for the identification of everything about a person's way of life, but rather the identification of "aspects which can be lambasted". One could compare it to the talent of a certain fake priest.

In order to build something up, it must first be broken down. Traumas, fears, and weaknesses must be dredged out so that they can be hammered away, and that shining monument known as a "hero" can take its place. It is the results of this aptitude that can be seen even in the students of Archer, for instance the fastest hero who possesses post-traumatic stress at the mere mention of Archer's training, in spite of his bravery in the face of all things.

Given the mental distortion afforded to Archer, this aptitude has been exhibited in full. For Archer who identified and buried trauma in even the greatest of heroes, it has reached the domain of an "attack". However, strictly speaking, this is not mental interference, but rather the opening of a trauma that was already within the victim; the larger their own problems, the greater the effect.

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ℝ𝕦𝕝𝕖 ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕒𝕙 ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕪-𝔽𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕂𝕚𝕕: ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖

𝕋𝕠 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 "𝔾𝕝𝕒𝕕" 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 "𝔾𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕠𝕣"

Rank: C+
Type: Anti-Unit
Range: -
Maximum Number of Targets: 1

The crystallization of hero creation. Not something to be conflated with the Hero Creation skill which encompasses “rearing up a hero”, but rather this is the feat of “providing heroes with what they need to become great”. Ordinarily, this would be separately sublimated into the Personal Skill “Wisdom of Divine Gift”, but due to the aspect of Archer most represented being the god who had yet to know pain, his nature as a hero creator has paradoxically risen in representation.

Through invocation of the Noble Phantasm and demarcation of a singular target, a high-thaumaturgy Bounded Field is created around Archer and the target which recreates the process of hero creation. Within this Bounded Field, the flow of time operates at a rate ten times that of the outside world; in other words, the inverse of a certain Sealing Designated’s path to the Root. Similar to the nature of one of his student's creations, third-party interference is barred for the aid of the "student", as they must become a hero solely on their own measure.

Within this space, Archer is capable of enacting a form of imagination materialization. Namely, Archer actualizes a “training montage” within the space of the Bounded Field, with the aim of improving the individual in question and bringing them to their ideal self. A warrior will become able to challenge the gods, an orator will gather an army of heroes, and so on.

Compared to the Noble Phantasm of a certain great author, this can be said to be certainly faster in operation and possessing fewer preconditions; however, the odds of death are in turn higher. In order to overcome Archer’s training and become one’s ideal self, one must possess the ability to defy fate and overcome odds...in other words, the nature of a hero. The difficulty of this check is based upon one’s status; a human will be compared with “the ability to defy fate among humans”, for instance, while a Servant will require the ability to overturn even an “absolute” fate.

Without an external source of prana, though, Archer lacks the magical energy necessary to complete this “montage”. In order to maintain the Noble Phantasm’s absurd prana expenditure to see it through to completion, then, it is possible for Archer to receive the aid of magical energy from the Divine Spirit Dionysus as the only form of third-party interference permitted, but for this to occur, Archer must be inebriated during operation of the Noble Phantasm. This can be called on outside of the Noble Phantasm as well, but obviously there is little purpose in doing so. Naturally, though, this lowers the odds of success to the point where success becomes nearly impossible.

...the most terrifying possible outcome, perhaps, would be if Archer were to be met with the Tiger of Fuyuki.

---

ℙ𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟'𝕤 ℙ𝕦𝕓

𝕀𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝'𝕤 ℂ𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝔹𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕔 𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

Rank: D
Type: Anti-World
Range: 1-20
Maximum Number of Targets: 200

The location inexorably tied to Archer's legend. Throughout the stories of Archer, the majority of his accounts take place within the cave he resides in, carved into the south-facing side of Mount Pelion. Originally, this cave belonged to his mother, the Oceanid Philyra, but under Archer's ownership became renowned as the home of the greatest among the centaurs. In the accounts of Pindar among others, it is referred to as a holy/immortal cavern, something analogous to a shrine to Divine Spirit Chiron. This is further conflated with the Divine Spirit of Thessaly that Archer is said to bear his prototype in, which is moreover the location of this cave.

This is not a Noble Phantasm which should be confused with those Bounded Fields created by magecraft. Rather, it is the process of altering the land to create a natural Bounded Field that imitates an alien world. This stems both from the accounts of the threshold to Archer's cave in being described as another land, its origins in his family line, and a muddling of its concepts due to being summoned in Japan, where the notion of an "immortal's cave where a god resides" possesses obvious significance. As a result, it has acquired the characteristics of a shrine under this cultural sense.

Ordinarily, this would be a Noble Phantasm limited to Chiron as a Caster-class Servant. However, the nature of this Servant as "Divine Spirit Chiron" has allowed for its manifestation, due to its nature as a shrine and the strength of its tie to Chiron as a divine. At the same time, though, the nature of this Noble Phantasm has been distorted, as Archer has sealed his Divinity. This should mean that the Noble Phantasm would simply do a one-eighty and return to inaccessibility, but the tie that Archer possesses to another certain divinity and the burden of existence placed on him for similar reasons has resulted in the Noble Phantasm being retained, albeit in a heavily distorted state. It is similarly worth noting that the listed name is not the true name of the Noble Phantasm, but rather a false name granted to it by Archer in response to this distortion, similar to the modifications of certain obscenely golden weapons.

Putting it more simply, the concept of Bacchus has become muddled with the concept of Chiron in the exhibition of this Noble Phantasm. This has further been compounded through such accounts as that of Statius, who wrote of Archer granting to his guests "the gifts of Bacchus, and contriving various amusements for [their] beguiling". As a result, this is the creation of "a shrine and world of Archer's which brings about drunken revelry". In other words, a bar.

In the accounts of Statius, the cave is referred to by the epithet of "health-giving", and there are numerous accounts of Chiron entertaining guests within this place. These aspects have been amplified due to the bacchic distortion of the Noble Phantasm, and have resulted in bacchic substances (alcohol) being altered while within this space. Within this world, alcohol is almighty. Alcoholic substances obtain a healing property that functions across all levels of one's being, with the quality of this healing scaling with the quality of the alcohol. A purification property equivalent to the substance known as aqua vitae is similarly obtained, with the sole exception of being incapable of removing or abating the status debuff of "inebriated".

...however, exhibiting the darker side of the bacchic rites, this area has simultaneously become analogous to a zone of bad luck, and a nexus where bad luck "absolutely congregates". A bacchic shrine is a den of madness, rather than a place of peace. The only means by which one can absolve oneself from this is through possession of the one status debuff that this place accepts.

---

Bartender

Class: “Bartender” (Classless)
Name: Dionysus
Keywords: Bacchus, Eleutherios, Bromios
Strength: Irrelevant, Constitution: Irrelevant, Agility: Irrelevant, Magic: Irrelevant, Luck: Irrelevant
God’s Divine Core: EX, Shapeshift: X (EX), Performance Continuation (True): X (EX)

Keywords

01 - Bacchus: Let None in this World Deny My Name

The first Authority of Dionysus, and the nature most exhibited in his legends.

At the most basic level, it is something hung similar to the Bacchae skill at elimination rank. One is able to manifest alcohol at will, and through the arts of the Dionysian Mysteries, a connection to nature may be achieved.

For Dionysus himself, though, there is something of another degree. This is to say, the bacchic rites’ representation of and relevance to Dionysus’s role as a giver of blessings and curses.
Induction of madness into others. Blessings that the land may be fertile. The golden touch of a man lost to avarice. The procession of debauchery that follows his wake.

This also ties into the process of “enthusiasm”. Etymologically, this meant to allow a god to enter one’s body. The followers of Dionysus were said to utilize his rites to reach a state where Dionysus could enter these followers; in other words, use of the bacchic rites to utilize his followers and friends as mobile shrines to his name.

The similarity this has to the Eastern practice of taking the gods in through one’s breath may be worth noting.

Dionysus is himself a representation of the Greek theme of catharsis. Let those who stand beside him be blessed. Let those who slander his name be cursed. For after all, in the end, this world is one in which a blessing and a curse are but the same.

...however, this has been sealed.

02 - Eleutherios: Let None in this World Live as Slaves

The second Authority of Dionysus, and the nature most exhibited in his character.

Dionysus is a god of liberation, a force that frees men from mental restraints such as their own fears and worries, as well as from physical restraints such as the oppressive reign of the tyrannical. This is, in other words, an Authority of “shattering restraints”.

Dionysus does not like making use of this frivolously. However, if used to the utmost, it is without question something that validates his place as one of the Twelve Olympians.

...however, this has been sealed.

03 - Bromios: Let Those in All Worlds Sing Together

The third Authority of Dionysus, and the nature most exhibited in his ambitions.

Dionysus is a god who lives between life and death, trading between the worlds of the two, and indeed stands as the only god of his pantheon to know “death”.

While not an underworld god, he is a god who belongs to the land of the dead and the land of the living in equal measure. The movement and nature of such underworld gods is thus afforded to him. If taken to the pinnacle, it could be possible to conflate this with Dionysus’s nature as a god of chaos in order to further compound its nature.

...however, this has been sealed.

Skills

01 - God’s Divine Core [EX]

A Skill that expresses one being a perfected god from birth. A composite skill that comprises the Skill Divinity, preserves the absoluteness of the mind and the body, repels all mental interference, prevents the body from growth and prevents the figure from change no matter how much calories are absorbed.

In Dionysus’s case, the nature of his Divinity allows him to become inebriated at will, in spite of this status.

02 - Shapeshift [X (EX)]

Borrowing bodies and appearance change. In the case of Dionysus, this is most commonly utilized in order to take the form of animals.

The nonstandard rank of this does not signify Dionysus’s own transformative abilities, but rather that he is capable of forcing such transformations into others.

Rather than magecraft, this is more akin to an event achieved through the bacchic rites’ connection to nature.

...however, this has been sealed.

03 - Performance Continuation (True) [X (EX)]

An altered form of Battle Continuation. In Dionysus’s case, this does not refer merely to the ability to survive, but also to the ability to revive.

A god killed by the Titans and restored to life from nothing but his own heart. He will not be struck down without severe difficulty.

...however, this has been sealed.

Setting

01 - God-Sealing Cavern of Civilization’s Light

Ordinarily, manifesting Dionysus “as a Divine Spirit” is impossible. Through the alien world of Pelion’s Pub, though, it became possible for an avatar of his will to appear, as the space itself is one in which “a god may appear” and he is the divinity most connected to it.

It is a mistake to compare this Dionysus with a Servant, however. Even with the benefit of an alien world, a full manifestation is impossible without significantly more prana than said world can bring to bear. As such, this existence is merely a puppet actor.

Due to the nation where the events of this story have occurred, the nature of “a god-sealing cavern” has simultaneously filtered into the meaning of Pelion’s Pub. For the pub, the god in question is none other than Dionysus. This has further solidified his existence and allowed for this manifestation of him to maintain itself.

...however, part of the nature of that god who lived within the god-sealing cavern of Japan has contaminated this avatar’s existence. That is to say, her nature as a Beast.

02 - Absolute Love for All Humanity

Unique among the Twelve Olympians, Dionysus is a god who lived and died as a human.

He is a god who both knows eternity and finitude. In this regard, he can perhaps be called 'the most human god' within the bounds of his culture sphere.

Naturally, this has translated into a kinship, and indeed a love for humans.

A fraternal love. A parental love. A romantic love. It is all and none of these. Dionysus truly adores humans in all their regards. Both the individual humans and the grander concept of humanity are to be cherished.

He will aid any human who comes to him seeking counsel or assistance, with his fullest power.

They change, they grow, they imagine, they dream. They are so much more than the gods, and it is only natural that they had subsumed the world from such beings.

...however, that too is their greatest weakness.

03 - Absolute Hatred for the Human Order

Divine Spirits, due to association with different concepts, become self-contradicting existences. One could say that they acquire different conflicting 'programs' due to worship. For instance, a god of fertility being worshipped as a god of death.

These contradictions lead to degradation of the Divine Spirit's mind.

The initial contradictions present within Dionysus have been amplified under the weight of Pelion's Pub's accumulated misfortune, and the nature of a Beast inherited from Amaterasu. In other words, the instantiation of Dionysus that this being serves as has become riddled with such self-contradictions.

This has manifested in an extension of his love of humanity, to a desire to destroy all that would hamper humanity. The true exhibition of a Liberator.

His goal is to create an age of true freedom. Not the Age of Gods, where men were but chattel, but the Age of Man is no better.

The Age of Man demarcates the living and the dead, the Age of Man refuses to realize human imagination to the utmost, imposing myriad limits of possibility. Yes, it is crafted by humans, but it is a gilded cage of their own design.

And so, he will shatter it. Every restraint, every order will be broken, and a world of true freedom will be made.

This is the 'love' of Dionysus.

---

Beast

Designation: Beast I, Eleutherios
Principle: Freedom
Original Name: Dionysus
Keywords: Beast, Black Goatskin, Sealed Sun, Agrios Eleutherios
Nega Liberator: EX, ???: ?, ???: ?

Keywords

01 - Beast

Class Beast. A disaster born from the beastly nature of humanity, manifesting as a spiritual foundation. The blights of mankind, the countless disasters that would threaten the Human Order.

A living catastrophe that threatens human history, the self-destruct mechanism and fail-safe system of the Human Order that serves as the basis for the summoning of Heroic Spirits. The stronger humanity becomes, the stronger too do these cancers embedded into humanity become.

At the same time, they are not evils meant to destroy humanity, but the evils that humanity is meant to destroy. What destroys humanity is not malice towards them. Malice is a transient thing, something that thins out the more it is used. Therefore...

What truly threatens the human order is the wish to protect humanity.

Evils birthed by a love of humanity. The desire to regress, the pity of mortality, the salvation of all. This is the nature of Class Beast.

It is said that a world where one such evil has awakened will begin to experience further calamities as it heads towards the "final evil". At the point that the Beast I has manifested, the Beast VII that brings about the end will also have appeared somewhere in the world.

In the case of the Beast I, the skills Authority of the Beast at rank ? and Independent Manifestation at rank ? are possessed.

The heart of the most human god, and the prayer to save the world with his own two hands.

02 - Black Goatskin

The degraded divinity inherited from the former self of Dionysus. That is to say, the Authorities, form alteration, and survival aptitude of the original designation.

While this being is not the true Divine Spirit Dionysus, its original nature and foundation have allowed for these aspects to be retained. However, due to incarnation coming about through a ‘lance which denies the divinity of gods’, their power has fallen significantly in scope, to the point where they barely enter the realm of Authority.

Nonetheless, the Beast I calls on these abilities as easily as breathing. To it, they are ingrained capabilities that it has never once lived without.

To allow its friends to join hands in drunken revelry.

To unshackle the slaves who suffer beneath a tyrant.

To extend a hand out to one who simply wishes to see their beloved one more time.

The memories are meaningless, the feelings are meaningless, but there is something about those images that remains with it.

A song without a melody. A hand pressed against cold glass.

03 - Sealed Sun

The degraded divinity inherited from the contaminant of Amaterasu, another existence who possesses candidacy for class Beast.

As in the case of the original designation, degraded Authorities and aptitudes from the source have been obtained. It seems there is an odd source of synergy present due to the meanings of their individual natures.

The tyrannical nature of a sun has become muddled with the Beast I’s nature as a liberator, and so it has become a tyrant who imposes liberation. One could call this contaminant the reason that the Beast I was allowed to be born. Indeed, without it, the original designation would have been retained even after manifesting.

And from on high, the sun laughs. A high, keening noise as it watches the ants fritter below. It laughs in the face of tragedy, for all the world has always been its.

....However, there seems to be something else to this nature.

04 - Agrios Eleutherios: Let the Final Laws be Shattered

The conceptual locus of the Beast I. Anti-Humanity designation Artificial Noble Phantasm.

The absolute release of the Beast I’s nature as a liberator. In some regard, one could call this the Limit Break of an Authority possessed by the original designation. It is the pinnacle of destroying restraints, an absolute ability which transcends even the limits of that Authority.

In other words, edict shattering.

Beyond merely destroying that which restrains, it is an ability which is capable of undoing ‘laws’ themselves. Cutting karmic ties and severing fates are among these aspects, but to limit it to such things is a mistake.

Fundamentally, this is a tool to shatter the Human Order. It is for this reason that it is designated as ‘Anti-Humanity’, as it is the weapon of the Beast I to wipe away the Human Order’s edicts.

Let the boundary between life and death break. Let the yoke of physics and reason break. Let the tragedies of these damnable laws break. For, to the Beast I, a world that restrains humans cannot be allowed.

As it is restrained by a seal, the true nature of it is not known.

Skills

01 - Nega Liberator [EX]

The fate of one who sought to free ‘everyone’, even if it meant imposing an unasked destiny upon them. If ??? is the heart of the Beast I, this is its flesh.

Unconditionally shuts out all forms of interference which seek to ‘hamper’ the Beast I, in their entirety. Examples include imposition of ??? or restraints, but this is not exhaustive. This is not inclusive of ??? or effects which ‘solely arise from ???’.

One could call it the absolute pinnacle of abilities which oppose such things as the skill “Shackled Desire”. Even if something does not necessarily qualify as antagonistic interference, nothing is permitted to bind the Beast I.

Rather than a conceptual bounded barrier, this can be called something buried deeper into the Beast I, such that even indirect effects and targeting are incapable of bypass. One might better call it a subcategory of ???.

To shackle the liberator is a futile effort.

...However, there seems to be one sole exception to this rule.

02 - ??? [?]

Information unavailable.

03 - ??? [?]

Information unavailable.

Setting

01 - ???

Information unavailable.

02 - ???

Information unavailable.

Fate/Factitious Paradigm

I'll join the slew you already have and declare interest! This seems like it'll be a lot of fun.

The Chasm | Made In Abyss | ALWAYS ACCEPTING

Oh, lovely, a Made in Abyss thing. I'd definitely be up for this.

Weirdos get locked away

I'd be up for this!

Naraka

Rainer Feit

The Rockin' And Noisy Coffee Emporium (R.A.N.C.E) [District 2]

@ADamnFiddle

For the majority of those who had been chosen by Naraka, they had no other choice than to scour the city on foot in search of others, lest the twenty-four hour timespan elapse and this strange, corrupted world claim their lives.

Foolish. Incredibly foolish. What sort of idiotic desires did they have, to not have something as basic as a detection ability?

The Eye of Mimir illuminating a sketch of the university campus and its surrounding region in his mind, Rainer had awoken in his door room. A handful of minutes later, a figure had exited the dorms, a self-assured smirk splitting his face as he walked. Yes, he had nothing to fear here, because this was a land in which dreams were made reality, and who could have a stronger will behind their dream than his?

After all...

"Ha, it's like I'm already in a story!"

That force he repressed in his day to day life for the aims of not being a "fuckin' weirdo", those shackles of normalcy that society had placed upon him, had been shattered in the wake of this fantastical Naraka, and so he strode forwards. He had no doubt that the other competitors would be aimlessly searching, perhaps trying to get a handle on their abilities, but as he could detect those within his range with pinpoint accuracy, he alone had the ability to strike first.

It was in a coffee shop that the Eye of Mimir saw her, no doubt she was getting a cup to start the day before this whole mess had happened. For a moment, he hesitated. Could he really kill another human being? Could he bring himself to take the life of another?

...wait, why was he pretending like this was real? This was all just a story, some dream he'd have forgotten by the time he woke up, some game to play around with.

Hesitation quelled, Rainer stopped himself a fair distance from the outside of the coffee shop, such that he was still invisible to those inside it but could just barely make out the figure of the coffee shop itself. Of course, his ability ensured that the girl was not invisible to him. He could have stayed in the comfort of his dorm, sure, but he needed to be at least somewhat near the fight, to direct his warrior in its battle.

"...Yetzirah."

Muttering the word under his breath, a book appeared in Rainer's right hand. The book opened of its own accord, flipping through its pages like a gust of wind had run through it.

Experience was necessary, so simply something he'd read about wouldn't be possible. At the same time, he could see her Assiah and Yetzirah through his ability, which alone gave him an advantage in this war, so it would be a pity to not make use of that. Myriad options flitted through his mind. Tactically superior choices, ones that could end the fight before it began, but all of these were censored, because...

"There's no way I'd use those when I can use this!"

Roughly twenty meters from the coffee shop, much closer to it than Rainer himself was, something appeared. As for what it was, well, its figure could very easily be anticipated for anyone who knew of Rainer's nature. A towering being that rivaled the coffee shop itself in size, a feral intellect glinting in its eyes. Even if Rainer couldn't control it directly, he could at least direct it, like pointing a missile at a target.

And so, the dragon's fire ran forth, to engulf the coffee shop locally known as R.A.N.C.E.

Dice (Modern Fantasy with some RPG Elements)

Interested.

@Duoya

Alrighty, welcome aboard! I'd ideally like 4-5 people who've shown interest before I get to making the OOC proper, as a foreword.

Dice (Modern Fantasy with some RPG Elements)

You are human. A simple, mundane human. Perhaps you attend school, perhaps you have a day job, perhaps you are unemployed and struggling to make it through the days. Regardless of all of that, you certainly have some imperfections. Maybe it's your appearance, maybe your mentality, maybe your ability, but there has to be something about yourself that you would change if you could, doesn't there?

And, if you're that one-in-a-million person who really, truly was blessed with perfection, then, well...

There has to be something about the world you'd change if you could, doesn't there?

Here, take this.

Don't look at me that way, there's no need to be suspicious. Just...roll it, and you'll understand.

---

In some form or fashion, it has come to you. Maybe a friend or stranger happened to give you it with a cryptic explanation. Maybe you were walking down the sidewalk, and saw something glinting. Regardless, you have obtained a single, translucent blue die. Curiosity eventually gnaws at you, and you roll the die.

The die is rolled, and after it comes to a halt on a 4, its color shifts from blue to red. A moment later, the die fades out of view, seeming to dissipate into the air as though it had never been there.

Just as you see this, trying to make sense of it, the phone in your pocket buzzes.

New Text Message from Err:Unknown

Hello! Thanks for rolling the die! I've gone ahead and installed the application on your phone, take a look! We'll be in contact a lot in the future!

-X

You feel a slight shiver dance along your spine as you unlock your phone and see a new app installed on it, simply named "Dice". Opening the app, you are met with a strange selection of menus. Several are greyed out and unreadable, but the two available to you are "Status" and "Quest".

Clicking on "Status", a picture of you is pulled up, next to what resembles a stat distribution page like what you would see in a roleplaying game. Strength, Agility, Endurance, Appearance, Intelligence, all of these have values, and above these "stats" sits a single sentence.

4 Dice Points undistributed.

Out of curiosity, you click on the arrow that indicates raising Appearance by one, and confirm the selection. The number of points remaining decreases to three. You race to the nearest mirror, scarcely able to believe you're buying into this, but as you look into the mirror, you realize something. The mole on your left cheek, something that had always bothered you, is gone.

Eyes widening, you look from the reflection back to your phone, hastily tabbing over to the "Quests" selection.

"Confess to the girl in your science class! Reward: 3 dice."
"Stop biting your nails! Reward: 1 die."
"Call your parents at least once a day for two weeks! Reward: 3 dice."
"Beat up that annoying mathematics teacher! Reward: 6 dice."
"???. Reward: Capability to stop time."
"???. Reward: Precognition."
"???. Reward: Right of Creation."
"???. Reward: Become God."
"???. Reward: ERROR."

Your phone vibrates once more, as a second text from the unknown number is received.

I hope you have fun! There will be tons of new quests soon, so try doing some of the ones that are there right now in the meantime! Let me know if you have any questions~!

-X

Tentative Character Skeleton

Name: The first and last name of your character. Middle names are fine too.

Age: Self-explanatory.

Gender: Let's not get too complicated, here.

Appearance: A picture is fine, a written description is fine, a stick figure is probably not fine.

Personality: Try and flesh this out a fair amount.

History: Everything that has occurred in their life up until now, which is worth noting. Nobody is allowed to know anything about the existence of dice prior to the start of the roleplay. At the very end of their history though, you may include how they received their first die.

Specializations: Areas in which your character can call themselves "specialized" toward, and thus will be above the average of "20". This can be anything from physique and intelligence to sight, to wealth, to attractiveness. Just about anything is allowed here. You're allowed to have one "high" specialization, which will have a value of "30", one medium with a value of "25", and one "low" with a value of 22.

Imperfections: Areas your character falters in, being below the average of 20. The same as Specializations, but in reverse. You're required to have one "high" imperfection, which will have a value of "10", one medium with a value of "15", and one "low" with a value of 18.

Other: Anything else you want to note.

Handy FAQ

Q: How do dice work?

A: Your character will start off with one die. Upon rolling it, the number they get (which is decided by me literally rolling a die) is the amount of "points" they gain. Points can be put into a character's abilities, in other words to increase their stats. Just about anything can be increased. You can get additional dice by doing quests. There are other methods and nuances, but you won't be given that knowledge just yet.

Q: What about these stats?

A: Everything can be counted as a stat, more or less, from your physique to your attractiveness. With the exception of three Specializations and three Imperfections that you'll note on your character sheet, all characters will start with a value of "20" in all stats; assume that 20 is the human average. Through the dice, they can increase this even further.

Q: What are quests?

A: Quests are things assigned by X, the admin of the "game", that give you rewards such as dice for completing them. Most of them are individually-sensitive, but two people might get the same quest, in which case they'll be competing to do it before the other. There can also be follow-up quests and the like. As an aside, there are quests that, instead of normal die, will grant you the ability to surpass humanity entirely, but information on them is unknown.

Q: So what's the point of this roleplay?

A: It's intended as an open-ended sort of thing, essentially. If your character thinks that the influence of the dice is something to not be trusted, or to try and exploit or take control of, then they're more than welcome to try and figure out the system behind it, who "X" is, and the like. However, they should also consider that "X" might not take kindly to that.

Similarly, if your character simply wants power, wants to survive, or wants to better themselves because of an inferiority complex, then it's probably in their best interests to just do quests and get more dice. There will likely be some PvP elements if you go down this route, depending on the specifics of what happens, but I don't want to get too in-depth on that because of spoilers.

But yeah, I won't tell you how to play the game, and I have things set up to where whatever choice you make, it's fine, so it entirely depends on personal preference.

Q: How relevant is the "Dice" manhwa to this?

A: Outside of the framing being incredibly similar, not at all. The nature of X, mechanics of the world, themes, and so on are entirely different from the material that inspired this. You gain absolutely no advantage if you are familiar with that manhwa.

Q: I have a question you didn't answer here!

A: Ask it here, then.

Naraka

@Yukitamas@ADamnFiddle@TsundereStorm@Scarifar@Feyblue@FamishedPants
At this time, Naraka has begun.

Your character will begin where they were prior to Yama kidnapping them. Please clarify this location using the map that can be found in the OOC OP.

Naraka will last for 24 IC hours. If no character has died during that time, all characters will be consumed by Naraka and the roleplay will end. An OOC time equivalent will be placed on this if things are deemed to be moving too slowly.

Good luck.

Naraka

Yama

A Northern Park(?)

@Yukitamas@ADamnFiddle@TsundereStorm@Scarifar@Feyblue@FamishedPants

It seemed that the skeptical girl had been quelled, at least for the time being. In her place, though, that disheveled man who looked to be thoroughly downtrodden under society's heel had spoken up, spoken with a question that Yama had only rarely heard previously. She fought back the urge to click her tongue; she knew she could hardly show disapproval with someone who seemed eager to begin Naraka, but that sort of mindset...wouldn't that be what humans thought of as repulsive?

Regardless, regardless, since there were no further questions, since the others had grown quiet and since time was marching on-

"We begin now. I wish all of you luck. May you burn up brilliantly in pursuit of your happy ending."

As those words left Yama, space bent. Tahp would find himself outside of his apartment door, Emilia in her favorite coffee shop, Gin in his bed. Each of those who had been gathered had been placed squarely back where they had been before that absurdity they had just witnessed. A glance at a clock would confirm that it was still the early hours of the morning, such that any well-minded people would be fast asleep, but still...something felt off.

Such as, the fact that there was no sound, not from those few early risers nor even from animals waking up.

Such as, the fact that there was a new strength flowing through the veins of those who stood in this world.

Such as, the fact that the red sky hung overhead, lonely moon staring down upon the city of Riversfield as though watching what was to come.

The tragedy's prelude had concluded. The curtain had been pulled back.

With this, Naraka began.